what's your favorite rod/reel combo

[cattracker16]

I'm wanting to buy a new rod/reel combo for panfish and am wondering what you guy's/ girls use? brand name? or just a cheapy? what lasts and is durable? length? Thanks in advance.. Kenny

[Illinoisgiller]

Kenny, Asking which outfit is best can be compared to the Ford- Chevy debate.
The outfit I use most is a 7 1/2 ft 2 piece Bass Pro Micro Lite rod and a Procastor 1500 reel.
The rods come on sale for 25 or 30 bucks in the fall. The procastor reel was down to $25 but has been discontinued, but since it was made by Daiwa, one of theirs in the 1500 size is fine.
I was gifted with a shakespear Slab Seeker rod that is nice but the reel that came with it has a spool smaller than I like.

The reason I picked the 7' to 7.5' rod length was from trial and error. It will cast a country mile and is long enough to land a 7 1/2 lb cat or an 18" bass on 4 to 6 lb line. (float tube) It also makes a 1/2 lb gill feel like a monster :cool: .Mike

[4rum]

Excellent answer Illinoisgiller.

For panfish there are so many ways to go. A lot will depend on how and where you fish. If you fish from a boat, the longer rods are great. From a brushy riverbank or choked cat tail pond they can be difficult.

Spincast... it's hard to beat the venerable old Zebco 33 on a good 51/2 or six foot medium action rod. (medium action will aid when using larger slip bobber rigs or drop shotting with heavier wieghts).

Spinning... my goodness, let your pocketbook be your guide. One thing I always check is... back travel of the handle when the anti reverse is set. A lot of back travel of the reel handle will result in missed hooksets and occasionally tangled line.

Jiggerpole... 11 or 12 footer with just enough line to 'pendulum' back to you when the rod is raised so you can unhook the fish.

Flyrod, I prefer a 7 or 8 foot, class 5, weight forward line and a 6 foot leader, then a tippet and poppers... hand tied deer hair poppers are a favorite, but the one with the little rubber legs are dyn-0-mite when the bull bluegills are over the nest. (Look for a stump field and hang on!)

Casting reel... well I don't personally reccomend a casting outfit for panfish. I like lighter line than is usually practicle. If you are proficient with a casting outfit, don't let my reservations stop you.

Usually 'bout anything you already have and are comfortable can be used... just get on the water with a bucket of crickets an' the rest is magic!!!

[Illinoisgiller]

Kenny, 4rum done a much better job of explaining than I.
I did get to looking around the shop and came up with a 6' Micro- Lite rod w/ a reel that I don't really have any use for . I wanted to make sure it worked ok so I went to the canal and got these + or - 30 gills. You are welcome to it , and it is guarenteed to catch gills in my hand. lol
The picture of the gills could not be resized down enough to post . You'll have to take my word for it .
Sure would be pleased to hand off this outfit to you so it can be used instead of gathering dust. Mike

[Mutt]

I just use a microlite setup from shakespere its was like 20 bucks something like that 4.5 foot pole little spinning reel got 2 pound test on it works great lots of fun for catching pan fish with.

[T Bartels]

Right now I've got a 7 foot rod/reel combo my little bro gave me for Christmas that I use for bluegills and crappie. It's an ultralite with a small spinning reel on it, I could go look to be more specific if needed but don't fell like getting up right now:p I'm not a huge fan of spinning reels but i like this one. Mike, just out of curiosity, can you post a picture of the rig you use to catch all of your 'gills?? Just like bobber size and jigs and such...Thanks!!

[Illinoisgiller]

Well lad, I guess I didn't even have the length of rod I use right. :confused: It is a Bass Pro Micro-Lite ultralight 8 1/2 ft. The reel is no longer available. I even checked Ebay before I posted the model. It is a Daiwa procastor 1500. There is absolutely nothing at all fancy about it. I let my grandson pick out his own new reel for his birthday a few years ago and he chose this one .[ I'm betting because it was red lol. ] I got to checking it out and liked it also. I think it is important to recomend a reel with the same size spool as it does wonders to avoid the dreaded line twist.
Rod again- I've caught well over a thousand gills on this rod and it preforms just as it did when new. :cool: With that said, when I go to a place like Belva Deer to pull large gills up through 15 ft. of tree tops, I want a rod in the 7' range and light to med action. The ultralights just don't have the backbone to snap a big gill upwards through that first critical 5 or 10 ft. of underwater limbs.:rolleyes: I've got rods from 12 to 4 ft. But 7 to 8 1/2 ft are my favorite. Mike

[Illinoisgiller]

Taylor, I'm a fan of 1/80 oz. Grizzly jigs. I fall in and out of love with different patterns but have never had a problem getting gills large and small on one called Bill's Water Flea. Tidwell's teal has proven it's self over the years also. As much as I favor these things all is not perfect. Since they are made in the local MO area of the Grizzly Jig Shop and sold at cheap prices, the tie string would sometimes come loose after a dozen or so gills. :mad: To overcome this I carefully paint the strings over with 5 min. epoxy. Problem solved for sure.lol
Annother favorite is another tiny jig tied by Jeff and Thersa Shadle. I gave you their add once .I tie my own now in very near the same pattern.
Floats-- I most always use one type, and add weight to balance it low in the water. It is a Carsyle 783. I order them by the box of 36 from the Grizzly jig co. also. The picture shows two type stems. One is as the float comes, the other is one I altered for long casts. Over time, when setting the hook on a deep slip float rig, it wears a groove in the plastic bead at the top of the float. I just couldn't put up with that as the string would hang up in it sometimes and leave me at the wrong depth. :mad:
It took a few trials and errors, but cut off the plastic bead, came up with a #8 glass seed bead held in place by a length of electrical shrink tube. Problem solved!!!! I seldom have to use these now that I have a float tube.:cool: :p :D :D
For float stops everyone has their favorite, but I use the 2 hole dogbone style like they sell at Farm&Fleet, Hope this helps a bit. Mike

[T Bartels]

OK, Thanks a lot Mike!! I'll head down to R&R (our local sporting goods store) tomorrow because I'm almost sure they have those near their ice fishing stuff!! Thanks again!!!:)

[cattracker16]

Mike i would be pleased to take that rod off your hands, I know if you say it catches gills i believe you i've seen you in action, not only that maybe this year you and i and hopefully the misses's will get togather and do some gilling togather and if i'm not using it properly you could show me what i need improvement on..

Thanks mike your far too kind.

Kenny

[gofish]

cattracker......i like the microlite rods better than any others for the money (an ive tried a few).......i throw bigger stuff than giller on a regular basis so i like a light action 6 1/2 ft rod.like ta have longer but its the longest 1 piece they make.had lots of different reels an most important thing i look for is line capacity.most reels list a range of three capacitys,the middle one is gonna be the most commonly used for that size reel.i opt for a size larger than what is normal.example.....i mainly use 6lb for crappie an the reel states 4lb/180yds...6lb/120yds....8lb/80yds......i buy the next size up, 6lb/180...8lb/120....10lb/80 more line ....longer casts.

[Timotha7]

I like 6foot with lil shimano reel
best spinning reel I have ever owned without question

use 6lb on it, casts a country mile with a slip bobber on it
which I how I fish crappie nine times out of 10

[Illinoisgiller]

Great Kenny, This is no hi class outfit but will bring them in while you are making up your mind. I'll PM you to make arraingements. :cool: Mike