Shall I buy the same multi piece rod+reel for my use?

[OutdoorRacer]

Hello everyone,

I'd like to ask about your opinion as to what rod and reel I am using now.

I have been fishing in Norway for a while now and I have until now only targeted smaller fish like perch, trout up to few kilos - in freshwater lakes using sometimes worms but mostly spinners and wobblers. Sometimes I also go for sea trout from the shore. A very important factor for me is mobility, I often have to bike further from civilization to have a chance to get nice fish. Also, there is bunch of trees around the lakes so I need something not too long to be able to move around.

Therefore I decided to go for Shimano Speedmaster S.T.C rod this spring. The rod is 6'/7' (180/210cm), medium light, 1/3 medium fast action, 5-20g bait and 130g heavy.

Combined with Abu Garcia Cardinal C101i reel it made a really nice, light responsive set for smaller fish. I absolutely loved it. The reel is really nice for the price but rather starting class from Abu I guess. The reel specs say max. drag is 8 lbs. (3,6 kg).

Last thing, I use Berkley Fireline 0,12mm up to 6,8 kg and I have just bought one spool of crystal Fireline 0,20mm up to 13,2 kg if I decided to go for some bigger fish.

I have recently got interested in some pike fishing. Going for perch with small wobblers I managed to pull out few pikes up to 2,5 kg. I am thinking of trying to catch some bigger ones but that means I have to be ready to set a 10 kg one as well because they are here, although majority would be about 3-6 kg I guess.

Stupid me, yesterday I managed to break off the tip of the rod during disassembling it in darkness in the forest, believe me I was mad at myself.

Now about my problem. First I just thought about getting the same rod as I get really good deals for it. But already working on that 2,5 kg pike I noticed few things. Rod seemed still fine, but the reel has not been smooth afterwards at all. I can now see from the specs that the line is much stronger than what the reel can withstand.

So firstly, I have not much of an idea how big fish I can take on the same rod. Where is the level that I should start to worry?

Secondly, should I move up a bit to bigger rod? What size, specs would you recommend for mostly trout or perch fishing, but so it also usable for pikes? I would like to make it usable for both while keeping at least some of that responsiveness I had now. I could also take a Beastmaster, would slower action rod be better in this case?

And finally, how big reel would you recommend for this use? I understand that the one I have is too small for anything over the trout.

I'd like to say that I am aware of the fact that there is no one rod "best for everything", I would just like to know what to pick so that the compromises are minimal.

Thanks a lot for any answers []

Good luck on your trips [fishon]
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[lskiles]

Hey OutdoorRacer,

First let me say that it usually does not take this long for someone to respond to questions like this, they must be all out fishing ha ha.

Secondly I do not know enough about rod and reel selection to advise you on your dilemma.

Finally, let me give you some advise I am competent to give. If I were you I would get some input from some of the expert anglers on this site, or elsewhere about finding the rod and reel combo you need and then the old rod, the one with the broken tip, I would repair that. Buy a tip repair kit, you can easily find one online or in a local sporting shop, and keep it for either a spare or to give it to someone who does not fish as a starter for them. So many times I have heard people say they were taken fishing and enjoyed it but did not have the equipment to go again, so lost interest. If I take a person fishing and they do not have a pole I let them use one I have and tell them at the end of the day to keep it. I purchase them, when I find them, at tag sales and in thrift stores just so that I can give them away. Share your passion!
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[OutdoorRacer]

Hey Lewis,
Thanks for your answer.

Well, I was afraid that my post was so long that nobody had enough courage to read through it all

Thanks, I think I'll take your advise on repairing the rod. It's missing about 4-5 cm I think, should be still ok to use. I may as well keep it for parts because it is 5 piece rod, and lend it to someone occasionally , as you say, if they join me.

I also ordered the same new Speedmaster STC, because I totally loved it for that perch and trout. Where I am fishing now there are pikes up to some 5-6 kg, those should be fine to take on that rod too, I just ordered bigger reel for it. As to the big pike fishing in fjord, I decided what a heck I'd just buy a bit cheaper combo specifically for that.

By the way, what do you mean by "one fish at the time"?

a) you only catch one and go home... :p
b) you only keep one, release rest...
c) you don't use multi hook setups...
d) you don't use more rods to avoid hooking "two a a time"...
can't think of too many more options

Anyway thanks a lot and here in Norway they say "I hope you don't catch anything" - meant in a opposite way.

Ondrej
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[lskiles]

Hey Ondrej,

You mentioned fjords, do you live in one of the scandinavian countries?

The tag line "one fish at a time" comes from another site I am a member of, roughfish.com, where it does not matter what fish you are targeting. The goal for the folks that frequent the site is to see how many different specie of fish you are able to catch. I have a "life list" of different specie and I am catching them, well, one fish at a time.

The fish I would love to catch is the Mountain Sucker, which is only found in cold, clear, running water here in Washington state. One day I will be able to afford to target them and catch one!
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[OutdoorRacer]

Hey Lewis,

Very nice, I hope you'll get lucky with that mountain sucker, I just checked it on the web, we don't have this fish here as far as I know.

Yes, I live in Norway, close to Oslo. The best fjords for fishing are along the west coast but we have here one big inland fjord close by, Tyrifjord, you may know it as the one with Utøya island, which held the bloodiest massacre here since WW2 exactly year before yesterday. Not too far from that island, in one bay about 5-10 km north east, every year in May there is a few days long pike festival. You can go there for free and are supposed to catch as many pikes as possible to make some room for other fish in the fjord, they always catch huge number of pikes but usually the really big ones go back. I missed it this year but that doesn't mean there are no pikes left, the fjord is almost 60 km long However, you almost need a boat, which I don't possess at the moment so I have to figure out a way to convince may friend that lending me a small boat (with paddles) and a trailer is a good idea

Best luck with the mountain sucker.
Cheers,
Ondrej
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