It would be so easy to swap over a reel from something else when I travel but then I wouldn't have a reason to buy more reels. 😁

 

Follow up question: Which mid/high tier casting reel would you try from each of these brands; Daiwa, Okuma SeVIIn?  

I have a Stradic 4000 FJ that I only use on my Loomis Escape travel rod lol 

no idea why lol 

I use a Daiwa 1500 BG with a Benkei 6'7" LF and a Zillion PE 100 on an Olympian GraphiteLeader 6'9" MHF (both 2-piece) for combos kept in the trunk for 'just in case' opportunities.

 

I've been moving reels between rods since my first baitcaster, Millionaire 6H, in 1978.  

I had a 6' Fenwick Lunkerstik for bass, and inshore, 7-1/2' Browning Hi-Power that telescoped the blank into the butt for 6-1/2' travel length (also my first graphite rod)

Through the '90s and millenium, my reels matched a 7' rod, and 8-9' steelhead rod for inshore and surf.   This became more important with back-up 3-pc rods stashed in kayak hold.  Salt trips are most always multi-day trips.  Throw in shore-finesse tackle for nite-lite dock fishing in canals and navigation channels.  

I also have a bicycle set up for bike-fish, with multi-piece rods that cover limestone headwater creeks to salt shore.  Some very fishy places you can't get to by car or boat.  

 

 

Your reel question is a no-brainer.  Daiwa 34-mm floating spool is the most versatile reel platform ever made, and Zillion is the entry door.  You can swap spools from shallow finesse fixed-inductor to deep swimbait MagZ - 2g to 2 oz.  

  

I’ve got two telescopic rigs I keep in the truck. They not expensive at all.  I have found, for me any way, rods take a beating keeping them in a vehicle .
They are for that spur of the moment, see a cool place to fish. 
One has a no-name generic spinning reel, the other has a Zebco Omega 20 spincaster.
Keeping reels in the car is rough on the too. Besides getting knocked around, here in Florida the heat is hard on them. Melts the grease out of them.

That is a nice set up for your bike @bulldog1935 

@GRiver - the Ostrich front bag is the largest made - it will hold wading boots and fishing bag - or a 15-liter ice mule and a six-pack.  

The Smith Dagger Stream telescope is permanently matched with 1500CI.  

Easy fit in the bike half-frame bag, and you can pedal from crossing to crossing with the rod still rigged and collapsed.  

I use to but sold both combos.  I always liked a Shimano Curado and a Shimano Stradic.  Both would hold up well to the abuse. 

I have an old Daiwa tatula I keep in a backpack in my car along with a Daiwa Ardito travel rod for "emergencies" 😉

No.  I poach a reel from a setup. 

Why buy a dedicated reel for a travel rod? I have a bunch of travel rods in 4-5pc, and i just use whatever reel i own and like on them. No reason not to.

22 minutes ago, Micro Module Police said:

Why buy a dedicated reel for a travel rod? I have a bunch of travel rods in 4-5pc, and i just use whatever reel i own and like on them. No reason not to.

I agree, but then I found a deal on a zillion.  

I use BPS Inshore Extreme reels when I go to Florida from Indiana, basically suped up Pro Qualifiers with corrosion protection and good for Bass or Redfish.

I use four baitcasters, and 1 spinning rod for all of my bass fishing.  Only one rod, my flipping stick is a one piece rod.  The rest are all Diawa Ardito travel rods.  For reels I have a Diawa Tatula CT, Diawa Coastal 150, Diawa,  Zillion SV, Diawa Tatula 150 and a Pflueger President for the spinning rod.  I don't feel I am at any disadvantage using travel rods, and would have a travel rod for my flipping stick if Diawa made an Ardito in a 7 foot 6 inch heavy fast.  I will say, if I owned a boat, I would probably use one piece rods.  The cost to get my flipping stick here, was equal to what I paid for the rod.  I have to tie it to the top of my car with my kayak, and I leave it behind more than I would like due to the difficulty in transporting a full length rod.

59 minutes ago, king fisher said:

I use four baitcasters, and 1 spinning rod for all of my bass fishing.  Only one rod, my flipping stick is a one piece rod.  The rest are all Diawa Ardito travel rods.  For reels I have a Diawa Tatula CT, Diawa Coastal 150, Diawa,  Zillion SV, Diawa Tatula 150 and a Pflueger President for the spinning rod.  I don't feel I am at any disadvantage using travel rods, and would have a travel rod for my flipping stick if Diawa made an Ardito in a 7 foot 6 inch heavy fast.  I will say, if I owned a boat, I would probably use one piece rods.  The cost to get my flipping stick here, was equal to what I paid for the rod.  I have to tie it to the top of my car with my kayak, and I leave it behind more than I would like due to the difficulty in transporting a full length rod.

Back when I had a car with roof rack to transport my Portabote, I added a ski rack holder on one side.  Rods went in that.

@king fisher when I was buying longer multipiece rods a few years ago, two shorter rods stood out in the mix for versatile weight range and big-fish power - opposite ends of the price spectrum.  The cheap end ($70  close-out at Japan discounter) was Abu Xrossfield ML-BF, and has found a permanent place as my salt back-up rod in kayak hold

 

The second, though, really bowls me over, Daiwa Black Label, which was a great Yahoo buy in almost un-used condition.  I couldn't put it down the first trip, matched with my newly rebuilt '18 Ryoga, also bought used.  

Now, the rod stays assembled full-time as one piece, matched with my SLPW Zillion.  

They designed this rod as wide-range, multi-use, from shore BF to heavy vertical jigging.  

I have two rods I leave in Texas.  I bring the reels with me.  

On 12/31/2025 at 5:40 PM, king fisher said:

transporting a full length rod.

Get a minivan?  One of the advantages of transporting kids all the time is the rod storage it allows.  I can fit rods up to 8'6" assembled and rigged.  Plus, Chrysler knows people think of a minivans as dogs so they put a pretty aggressive stock tune on the Pentastar.  

@king fisher I was planning a road trip fishing adventure that never ended up materializing, but I bought this major craft salt rod, TCX-792MH, to be my 2 piece version of an expride 7'7H.  Turns out I actually prefer this rod, deep cranking, heavy swim jig, large spoons, large scroungers, and swimbaits rotate through the seasons.  It has the length, tip, backbone, and sensitivity to be a good to great flipping stick.  It easily handles more than the 40g listed as the top end and is around $200.

 

https://shimreels.com/products/major-craft-triple-cross-series-baitcast-rod-tcx-792-mh-b-0883?_pos=1&_psq=major+craft+tcx+792&_ss=e&_v=1.0

 

scott