Stupid question I am sure but I still need to ask. When I'm looking at all these different rods and reels there is one question I still have. How do I know what's can and cannot fish with these setups? It may sound odd but it does have merit, let me explain. I just purchased a St. Croix avid mainly for smallies and largemouth. We do walleye fish frequently and I'd like to use this for that if possible. But where does it say that's can't use this for salmon fishing as well?

I guess my question boils down to this, how I determine what weight fish can be caught with rods, reels and so on? Thank you in advance, and I'm sorry if this is considered common knowledge, I just don't know!

Thanks

A rod doesn't care about what fish you target or how much they weigh.  What you need to base your decision off of is the baits you intend to fish.  You rod will have a lure rating, try to make sure your baits fit in that rating as a starting point.  That's what you need to worry about more than the size of the fish you're after.

Rods are usually marked for what pound test line and the weight of the presentation that they are designed to handle. For example my medium-heavy baitcasting rods are rated for line testing 10-20 pounds and for handling lures that range from 1/4 ounce up to 1 ounce. While these rods may not have the optimum characteristics of rods designed for salmon fishing I could certainly catch salmon or stripers or musky with these rods. You can whip a pretty good sized fish with light tackle if you let them work against the drag on your reel.