After being out of the water for the past 20 years... I'm looking to get back in. I'll mostly be fishing small rivers/lakes, but also can't rule out smaller creeks and larger rivers either. In the past I really enjoyed spinning rods, so think that is a safe place to get started.

Budget wise I'm looking to spend up to 500 dollars or so for a nice rod and reel. My preliminary research is poiting me towards a st. croix rod (on the lighter side as can't rule out fishing some smaller creeks). 

St. Croix Trout Series Spinning Rod - $129.99

• Length: 6"4'
• Power: L / Action: Fast
• Sections: 2 / Handle: 2
• Line Wt: 4-8 / Lure Wt: 1/16-1/4 oz.
• Rod Wt: 2.8 oz.

Shimano Stradic CI4 - $215.00  Bought the Shimono Stradic FK 2500 - $166

Line: Not sure.

 

 

Only comment I can make on the Rod is I'm a huge St. Croix fan. As far as the Stradic is concerned I have the CI4+ (2500) and it's an amazing reel. You may also want to look at the new Stradic FK, I have it as well in the 1000. Used it once so far with success and its a great reel as well. Good luck and welcome back to fishing. 

13 minutes ago, Midwest Fisherman said:

Only comment I can make on the Rod is I'm a huge St. Croix fan. As far as the Stradic is concerned I have the CI4+ (2500) and it's an amazing reel. You may also want to look at the new Stradic FK, I have it as well in the 1000. Used it once so far with success and its a great reel as well. Good luck and welcome back to fishing. 

Thanks! Any St. Croix rods in particular, or do you think the above can also handle the occasional bass? Don't think I'm going to catch any monsters either way. Yeah looking at the new Stradic FK look pretty nice.

My experience is very limited but I do catch bass. I purposely throw cranks for bass with an Eyecon 6'6" ML-F but I did that just for the colder temps. To answer your question, if they like what you are throwing they will bite on it. I think it would be best to let someone else answer that for you, sorry. 

6 lb mono is a popular choice for trout (if we're talking rainbows), if you also target smaller bass i would bump up to 8 lb... I would not go bigger than 8 for trout, and wouldnt go smaller than 8 for bass... So its a perfect compromise 

Just my opinion... I would spend less on the reel.... At that price, you could pick up 2 quality rods and 2 mid-grade reels... That doubles your tackle choice options

26 minutes ago, JRammit said:

6 lb mono is a popular choice for trout (if we're talking rainbows), if you also target smaller bass i would bump up to 8 lb... I would not go bigger than 8 for trout, and wouldnt go smaller than 8 for bass... So its a perfect compromise 

Just my opinion... I would spend less on the reel.... At that price, you could pick up 2 quality rods and 2 mid-grade reels... That doubles your tackle choice options

Thanks for your comments, yeah the next big quesiton is line. I've been looking at Silverthread based on what I've read on this site. Unfortunately the fish out by me are on the small side (most trout are stocked), but I can see your point about making some compromises. i think I might go with a couple of spools 4, and 6 test on a Stradic FK 1000 (or 6 and 8 on a 2500). Thoughts?

Your point about costs is true, but I hope to get my wife and kids to come which would be a good excuse to buy her a nice rod later... thus getting two quality set-ups...

Updated: Bought the 2500, figured I could add a specialized trout set-up latter.  Since I got it for much cheaper than planned (166), think i could move up to a better rod. Anyone have anything bad to say about the Avid Series from St. Croix (AVS66MLF2 in particular)?

What 2500 did you buy 

Any St Croix Avid or higher 6'6 or 7 ML will suffice on all but the smallest flows. I am using a 7' ML Powell.

I'd go with 10/2 or 15/4 PP with 8lb leader.

2 hours ago, Midwest Fisherman said:

What 2500 did you buy 

Grabbed the Shimono Stradic FK 2500 for $166

2 hours ago, Drew03cmc said:

Any St Croix Avid or higher 6'6 or 7 ML will suffice on all but the smallest flows. I am using a 7' ML Powell.

I'd go with 10/2 or 15/4 PP with 8lb leader.

Hmmm, could you elaborate on your opinion regarding the line? I was thinking 6lb-8lb test as described above to handle a mix of river bass/trout while providing some good action. Not sure I understand what 10/2 or 15/4 PP are yet.

2 hours ago, David Record said:

Grabbed the Shimono Stradic FK 2500 for $166

Sweet

5 hours ago, David Record said:

Hmmm, could you elaborate on your opinion regarding the line? I was thinking 6lb-8lb test as described above to handle a mix of river bass/trout while providing some good action. Not sure I understand what 10/2 or 15/4 PP are yet.

That is Power Pro braid for main line and a fluoro 6-8lb leader.

I'm not sure about river trout but reservoir trout I've only had success using 2-4 lb leader.  Anything heavier and I think the fish just spook.  If I were looking at a bass/trout combo the Stradic FK is a perfect reel, the rod I think really depends on what you're gonna throw on it for the bass side.  I would probably pair it with a Phenix Elixir FX802-1X, with 8lb PowerPro on the reel, and switching between a 2-4 lb fluoro leader for trout or a 6-8 lb fluoro leader for bass.

I don't know what a comparable St. Croix rod would be, but if you're okay with spending $200 on an Avid, go to St. Croix's website and check out the Legend Elite rods in their Bargain Room.  For a few extra bucks you can get one of their flagship rods and they have almost every model on sale.  Not sure how much overhead clearance you have at your local river/lakes to recommend a length, but I'd probably go with a ML/M Power in either F/XF Action, as long as you think you can get away with.

20 years ago 6' spinning rods were standard length, today the rod length trend is longer and 6'6" is considered minimum, 6'10" to 7'  being the norm.

The 2500 reel will balance better with the medium longer rod, the 1000 series with 6' 6" medium light  rod.

Tom

6 hours ago, blckshirt98 said:

I'm not sure about river trout but reservoir trout I've only had success using 2-4 lb leader.  Anything heavier and I think the fish just spook.  If I were looking at a bass/trout combo the Stradic FK is a perfect reel, the rod I think really depends on what you're gonna throw on it for the bass side.  I would probably pair it with a Phenix Elixir FX802-1X, with 8lb PowerPro on the reel, and switching between a 2-4 lb fluoro leader for trout or a 6-8 lb fluoro leader for bass.

I don't know what a comparable St. Croix rod would be, but if you're okay with spending $200 on an Avid, go to St. Croix's website and check out the Legend Elite rods in their Bargain Room.  For a few extra bucks you can get one of their flagship rods and they have almost every model on sale.  Not sure how much overhead clearance you have at your local river/lakes to recommend a length, but I'd probably go with a ML/M Power in either F/XF Action, as long as you think you can get away with.

Yeah, been hearing a lot of great things about St. Croix but there seems to be a lot of debate between preference between the Avid X vs. Legend Elite, with the discount they are about the same price. But in fact the Avid X is the same price as the Avid Series... think I'll try to get to a showroom and see how each one feels... as the price is relatively equal.

As for line, yeah can't say I've ever fished with PowerPro, how does that compare with monofiliament, fluoro, braided (back in the day I did use spiderwire a bit)?

5 hours ago, WRB said:

20 years ago 6' spinning rods were standard length, today the rod length trend is longer and 6'6" is considered minimum, 6'10" to 7'  being the norm.

The 2500 reel will balance better with the medium longer rod, the 1000 series with 6' 6" medium light  rod.

Tom

Hmmm, I was hoping to stay with a medium light rod with fast action for trout and smaller fish I'm likely to catch in my area.  Think that will be a major issue with the 2500 reel I got?

Think about going with a 6'10" to 7' ML rod with the 2500 reel. Most trout anglers that bank fish prefer 2 piece rods because of ease to transport and traverse stream/ river banks. Bass anglers prefer 1 piece rods for better feed back and strength, different strokes for different folks.

The 2500 reel has more line capacity and weighs a little more, very little difference in performance casting lures like inline spinners, small spoons, crappie jigs used for trout, size 3 or 5  Rapalas, Pims minnows etc. You want to use filler or back line, unless spooling a over 200 yards of 4 lb or 6 lb mono or FC. The longer rod is a advantage casting lake rigs or finesse bass rigs and lures where distance is more important.

It's your choice and you have selected top quality products, can't go wrong!

Tom

 

 

15 minutes ago, WRB said:

Think about going with a 6'10" to 7' ML rod with the 2500 reel. Most trout anglers that bank fish prefer 2 piece rods because of ease to transport and traverse stream/ river banks. Bass anglers prefer 1 piece rods for better feed back and strength, different strokes for different folks.

The 2500 reel has more line capacity and weighs a little more, very little difference in performance casting lures like inline spinners, small spoons, crappie jigs used for trout, size 3 or 5  Rapalas, Pims minnows etc. You want to use filler or back line, unless spooling a over 200 yards of 4 lb or 6 lb mono or FC. The longer rod is a advantage casting lake rigs or finesse bass rigs and lures where distance is more important.

It's your choice and you have selected top quality products, can't go wrong!

Tom

 

 

Thanks, yeah I'm looking at 7' rods with 2 pieces (my goal is to stop for fishing breaks on the way home... as much as the wife will let me).

Any recommendations on line, some people above are recommending power line with leaders... and then I can start thinking about fun things like lures (I have an empty tacklebox I got a gift several years ago).

Sunline Super Natural Mono 6 lb test is .008 dia and should work for your application; easy to tie good knots; Palomar or improved clinch knots.

330 yds for $7

Tom

So my rod finally arrived (delivered to another street by FedEx... thankfully USPS let me know where it was) and had my first day of fishing... what a pleasure. Although the fish were no cooperative the rod performed and the line/knots held up pretty well (even pulled the boat when I was tangled up with some debris).

Now I just need to get back on the water and get some fish on the line.

Nice, what rod did you settle on?

St croix tournament bass rod. You can't go wrong with this rod at half your budget cost. I had this rod, and I miss it greatly. It's the one rod I regret selling when I switched companies.

17 hours ago, blckshirt98 said:

Nice, what rod did you settle on?

I got the 2015 Legend Elite Spinning Rod 70' ML/F... hoping to leave work a little early today and get some more practice in... hope some of the ice breaks up...

2 hours ago, Fishinthefish said:

St croix tournament bass rod. You can't go wrong with this rod at half your budget cost. I had this rod, and I miss it greatly. It's the one rod I regret selling when I switched companies.

Maybe next rod