Rockhopper

I bought a 2 piece spinning rod, and looking to add a 2 piece baitcaster. Specific purpose is to be able to remove reels and put rods in a short tube that can fit in a large suit case. Very much for travel and vacations when I want to drag a rod and a few lures with me. I don't own any 2 piece baitcasters. What do you guys think I should be looking at for size and weight for this specific purpose? Think multi species. But I want light weight rod in the hand. Need ability to throw bank fishing type lures. Nothing too heavy like swim baits. Just basic gear for bass, trout, etc. Frogs, plastics, spinnerbaits, jigs, kastmasters, roostertails, blue fox, etc. I see St. Croix offers 6'8" MXF and also a 7'1" MF (I already own this rod in 1 piece) in 2 piece that sparked my interest. Assuming will lose sensitivity though with a 2 piece.

That's awesome! You are just up by Stevenson correct? There are some good holes between the Wind River House and the Stevenson Cemetery.

I would definately get bored always using the same fishing technique. But not the same lures. A black/blue jig vs. a green pumpkin jig in a different size for instance. Or casting a moving bait like the spinnerbait vs. instead throwing a chatterbait or a paddle tail on a flashy swimmer. Or weightless finesse a dinger vs any other plastic. If you close your eyes and cast and never see whats tied on...the techniques don't really change. So why do I really own dingers in 20 different colors?

This has probably been discussed before. Last weekend I was having fun in my shop, drinking a brewski, and digging through my tackle boxes admiring all the cool lures I have, and how I have multiples of certain lures in different colors. Then it started to dawn on me that I have thousands of dollars tied up in tackle, but yet I really don't use any of it. Like ever. Obviously I am a fish/tackle junkie, but what's the point? I have all this stuff and in reality all I use is the same three or four baits over and over and over again. (not the exact same bait, but the same bait in multiples.) Its because they work and I catch bass on them. I could literally bass fish the rest of my life with these four baits and never be bored. Dobyns Beast willow/willow shimmer shad 1/2oz Riot Baits lil creeper black/blue 1/2oz with riot baits little fuzzy money trailer black/blue fleck yum dinger black/blue fleck 2.5" stupid tube. Okay technically that's five baits with the trailer, but you get the idea. I have spent about $300 this spring alone on crankbaits because I never have tried crankin' and want to expand my repertoire. Trying new things is fun, but I really don't need any of it to catch a bass. I guess my childhood dreams of being a pro angler still sit in my mind and I think I need all this stuff to catch what is really one of the dumbest and easiest fish to catch there is.

1. People 2. People 3. People 4. People 5. Short season up North

I fish a lot for salmon and steelhead in the PNW. I do a ton of fly fishing on local rivers/streams and central Oregon lakes for various trout species. And we have a local lake that has very large size tiger muskie that I frequent. Whenever I head to the coast a few times a year lingcod, sea perch, and snapper are on the radar. The only thing local that I have yet to target is walleye. Oh, and sturgeon as well.

That pack fully loaded is way way way too heavy for bank fishing. 😂 I actually have the small Cabela's sling pack for bank fishing. Use it once in awhile bass fishing, always in the kayak, and mostly for steelhead bank fishing when I am not in the drift boat. Comes with (and holds) two 3600's, and enough room for about 10 bags of plastics. Perfect for a few hours of fishing. Hard to beat for the price.

Mail call! Also just picked up this backpack from Cabela’s. Tons of space. I have 12 total 3600's that fit in it.

Curado Family. MGL 71HG, MGL 151HG, 201K HG

They use a nice Mustad

To me budget is sub $150 rods and sub $150 reels. I am absolutely not hung up on any one brand, but I have more than several of the non trigon mojo bass rods for this very reason. I think they are (were) one of the best budget rods on the market outside of a couple in the series. I don't buy budget reels, but if I were to I would take a long hard look at Shimano SLX series. Spinning gear budget setup for me is a Fenwick HMX with a Shimano Nasci. That's my "travel" rod that I beat around with and don't care if it gets to beat up.

Roland Martin Bill Dance Hank Parker KVD

I routinely catch large salmon and steelhead on a spinning setup 🤷‍♂️

I always have a riot baits little creeper 1/2 oz blue steel tied on with either a riot baits little fuzzy money color or a reaction innovations smallie beaver in tramp stamp color. I have caught more bass on that than any other lure I own. I now buy a dozen at a time when needed. https://riotbaits.com/products/lil-creeper-jig?variant=42791835828450 https://riotbaits.com/products/little-fuzzy?variant=42791838810338 https://www.reactioninnovations.com/smallie-beaver/4o3i3yijehkjsplsksim29wbh0b4md

Thanks man. All of those fish are from this spring. That first smallie is my PB smallie to date. Didn't get a weight, but what a fun fish to catch. I am a big dude, 6'3" for size reference. It ate a 2.5" black/blue tube.

Honest response...very rarely. The majority of the fish I lose are the ones that self release out of my kayak. 😆

70 size reels are amazing. Super comfortable to palm all day. Never once had an issue with being spooled, though the above mention of bank fishing and long break offs is legit. If you are bank fishing and have 3 or 4 of those in a day, that could be an issue. The Shimano MGL 70's are some of the best casting reels you can get from any manufacturer. Easily cast weightless and up. Great for anything and everything except bombing long casts in open water. The obvious larger baits require a larger spool and larger line to compensate for the style of fishing (Swimbaits, DD cranks, etc.) But if you are just flipping docks, casting structure, bed fishing, pitching or whatever, 70's will always be my first choice. I have five 70's, three 150's, one 200, and one 300 for example. IF you are a fisherman that has limited funds, and can only have one baitcaster, most definitely do yourself a favor and buy a 150 or 200 size reel that will cover most all techniques. But if you have multiple rods, then do yourself a favor and get some 70 size reels.

Would the legend tournament bass 7'2" mhm carbon cranker be a good example of what I could expect from the 7'1" mojo mid carbon cranker? Specs look similiar, and there is one local on the shelf. Looks like the additional inch is in the butt section with a 10" handle vs a 9" handle on the mojo. But I am wanting to stick with the mojo bass line.

Highly recommend a Loomis 6"10" mag medium extra fast DSR. Such an amazing light rod. I have mine paired up with a Vanford 2500 and it is feather light and honestly one of the best rods I own to fish with. Mine is the E6X series. Same can be had in the NRX line, but I found little to no difference in the feel of the rod for the money spent on the NRX. That rod is kind of a hidden gem that I do not see a lot of folks talk about. But the action and feel is incredible.

Anyone with personal experience?

Personally I buy rods 80% off of how they feel to me, then I put that last 20% of thought into build quality. Personally warranties don't matter to me. I have several Loomis rods from different lines (I also salmon and steelhead fish in the PNW). I have 6 mojo bass rods, and only two Loomis rods dedicated to bass fishing, both of which are my spinning rods. I guess what I'm saying is I don't get hung up on brand. I buy rods that feel good and are fun to actually fish with all day. Yes, some of the mojo bass rods feel horrible to me, and I don't own those. Same can be said for Loomis.

68MF SC mojo bass "jerkbait" rod has served me very well for years. And is an absolute pleasure to fish with.