Home Forums Fishing Freshwater 1 rod/reel for the river/lake

I haven't fished much in the last 5 years but an starting to get back into it.

I mainly fish for crappie, rockbass and small mouths but am wanting to try my hand at stripers/cats in the Ohio river.

What I need is one rod/reel that can do both. I prefer a spinner and not want anything too long. Hate the look of the Paylake type rods


I'm on a tad bit of a budget and would like to keep it under 200$
If you could, reccomend something's to look at.

$200 is a tad bit of a budget? most my river gear is $50 combos

ive really got no rec's.....my setups for river fishing is basic as hell cause im bank fishing and there is no need for anything fancy for fishing with a weight a hook and a minnow....but im also targeting mainly walleye and sauger and not bass....

I'm bank fishing as well. For these fish I just want to chunk a piece a bait out there and let it sit.

I use to catch a lot of striper on accident when fishing for cats....I remember the fight being awesome

i would prolly just go an Ugly Stick and what ever reel trips your trigger......i like nice sensitive expensive poles for jigging for walleye out of the boat.....that makes sense to me....putting a bunch of money into a pole that doesnt need alot of sensitivity for fishing like the sit and wait we both seem to be doing doesnt make alot of sense....

course then again the state record for any sort of bass here is around 10 pounds....not sure how big your stripers get....maybe they require something im not familiar with....

What rattler said on the "Ugly Stick". Medium or medium lt. action, six & a half foot length. Shimano Sienna 2500
spinning reel. Eight or ten lb mono. Well under a hundred bucks.

I know nothing of that reel but (not trying to sound like an azz) but I come from
The school of...you get what you pay for.

Would like to have a tad bit better of a reel?

i think its less of an issue than with a reel your casting all day....but thats why i said go with the reel you prefer....cheap has worked for me for the last 20 years with the toss a bait out and sit and wait type river fishing i do.....ive started putting more money in the rigs i use at the lake out of the boat where im doing things like jigging where a real sensitive rig for walleye is really nice to have and a definite asset....

I'm probably gonna go with an ugly stick of some sort. Just undecided on the reel.

No problem; I agree the price on the reel, $30.00, makes you wonder. I got one early last year based on several favorable reviews. It was the only spinning reel I used all year and I'm using it this year. I haven't caught anything much over a few pounds on it but don't see why it wouldn't work for bigger fish. So far it works as well as reels I've paid more than three times as much for.

One negative is it only comes with one spool. If I was using one rig for everything I'd get a reel with two spools for light and heavy line, an ugly stick and still be well under $200.00.

Crappie, Rock Bass and Smallmouth all the way to cats and stripers is like asking for a nimble sports car with 10,000 towing capacity. Take your $200, and buy TWO rods so you're not using a broomstick for your panfish and you're not getting spooled by anything either.

I'm not a good one to answer this question,
I'll just get you in trouble...



I've got 91 in all, some in another rack, and some more in the boat...

he is prolly like me in that when he tosses a chunk of bait in the river he has no [bleep] clue what is gonna grab it.......we fish for walleye mainly but in the process we catch northerns, catfish, drum, bass, sturgeon and everything else thats in the river.....

No no I'm not using it for crappie rockbass and smallies. I have rods for that.

I need one for striper and cats only. I'm sorry if that was confusing

Okay, that makes a bit more sense. Do you know what techniques you'll be using? All of the striper fishing I've seen has been with throwing lures or trolling. All the catfishing I've done has been with bait.

I'd stay away with anything heavy. If you're casting lures for stripers, a heavy rod with wear you out by the end of the day. Higher modulus graphite rods are lighter and more sensitive. The only drawback is they can be fairly stiff in the tip and don't absorb a lot of shock at the boat. Spinning outfits will be harder to come by at the power level you'll need, so I'd look for inshore saltwater rods because they tend to give you baitcaster muscle with a spinning rod. Shimano has several inshore rods in the 7 to 8 foot range that would be a good fit in the 8-14 to 10-20# range. I know Quantum also has an extensive inshore saltwater line of rods. All should be around $100 to $120.

Ugly stick lite 8 1/2' medium action with any front drag Shimano 4000 series reel. There aren't much of a difference in any of the Shimanos in the $30-$100 price range so go with one that has two spools (Sedona?) You won't break the Ugly Stick and the reel should last a few years of regular use. If you want a more durable reel look at the Penn spinning reels with the metal frames. They are rebuildable. 90% of spinning reels available are disposable. I just treated my self to a Van Staal this year and it will last several lifetimes but I fish for a living.

Not using any technique at all. Just flipping a chunk of bait out there. No lures will be used and I'm from the shore.

I would prefer a baitcasting set-up for what you are doing, nine to eleven foot surf rod with an Abu 6500 size baitcaster loaded with minimum 30lb. PowerPro braid.

Very easy to do around 200.00 if you shop around.

I use spinners also but they can be hard on fingers throwing heavy bait with braid.

With a 200 dollar budget, you can pick up a St Croix rod and whatever spinning reel trips your trigger. The upper end Shimanos are great, and I've had good luck so far with a couple of Okuma's offerings.

. I spend a lot more $ on my other equipment.

But I couldnt see buying another G. Loomis for just slinging a piece of bait. Or even a St. Croix for that matter as I have a couple of those 2.

6 - 6 1/2'Ugly Stik medium action with a Garcia 300 reel. Will handle anything from the bank. Set you back less than $100 with line and a bit of tackle.