Can anyone recommend a top notch, ultralight spinning outfit for trout (and some bass). I'm going fishing in upper Maine and I want to use the right gear . . . thanks for the imput

Calling Ingwe! I think he's caught "a few" fish on ultralight gear (pike and trout, anyways).

I'm a cheap bastard so I don't like to have a number of rods for specific purposes. I use a Shimano Symetre 2500 reel on a 6 foot ML St. Croix Premier rod. The rod is OK.

Depends on how much you want to spend. Shimano Symetre 1000 for around $100 or Shimano Sienna 1000 for around $25/30. They both work fine. There's other good ones out there if you don't like those. 4lb line and any good quality ultralight rod from 5' to 61/2'. You can spend a lot here or less and still have something that will do the job. Bass Pro or Berkley make some ultralights that are reasonably priced.

Thanks folks for the imput

That is an EXCELLENT rod and just about perfect for small crankbaits on smallmouth water. A tad large/heavy for stocker trout but it'll work. I have the Premier in the 6'/light and the 6'6" ML is a Triumph.

You didn't say how you are getting to the fish. Hike? Canoe? I ask because you should consider the 4-piece rods it so. The imported Triumph series rods from St. Croix come with this little bogus "sleeve" but the Premier rods come with a proper hard carry case. Factor needing to find and buy a case into your buying decision if you pick the cheaper rod.

If you really mean "top notch", then look at the Shimano Stradic reels on up. Otherwise, for a good bang/buck ratio, I vote for the Shimano Symetre.

I like St Croix rods as well, and use two different Premiers. a 5'6" UL and 6'6" L. All though if I were really thinking "top notch", I'd be looking at the St Croix Avid or Legend series. G Loomis would also be on the table.

Looking at the low end of "top notch" you'd be out about $200 for a Symetre/Premier combination. High end - over a grand for a Shimano Stella/Loomis GLX reel/rod outfit.


My personal outfit that I use for light bass/panfish, is the St Croix Premier 6'6" Light, 2 piece (for travel) combined with either a Symetre 2500 reel for bass, or a Symetre 500 reel for panfish. I've caught 8 lb carp on that setup. as well as was casting small Clouser flies (less than 1/32 oz) on 2 lb line to White Bass. In absolutely no way do I feel like I need more. Want, on the other hand, has me lusting after a Stradic/Avid combo


Scott

A few.......


We ( Ingwewife and I...) currently use Shimano Sedona in size 750...excellent reel for the price, and Shimano 5'6" ultralight rods ( cant remember the model but the sell for $50-$60). Loaded with #10 fireline the whole outfit is just under $100 and will provide a long service life..

We usually catch stuff like this on them....



But we also-as mentioned- use them on pike...Ingwewife got this one last week...

Thanks Ingwe, Chief of the chieftains, for the advice. I picked up a Sedona 500 and a 1000 with 10 lb power pro and light fluorocarbon leaders. These will be matched with 5'6" ultralight rods.
We will hike to some small, Brookie streams:however, we will also fish for bass (and maybe some landlocked salmon) from a boat on the lake.
Beautiful pictures of your pike and brownie - I hope we are as fortunate.
Great suggestions from all of you guys . . .
Now, who has the "magic" lure/bait suggestion?

Brookies and other trouts like Panther Martins....







You can catch bass on the Ultralight too...at least Smallmouths...

Here's a four pounder I caught yesterday on four pound test.




Cast iron + butter + salt & pepper + whole wheat toast = breakfast for four!

Ted

I started with a Mitchell 408 and 5'6" Herter's rod.

Have several Shimano's and Diawa's now, and though I still have several 5'6" rods I use a 7 foot UL rod now and with that rig the biggest fish was about 15# carp on a Mepps.

Took a while before I even controlled the action enough to see the fish. 4# test line does no give one the ability to horse a fish around.

Same rig with a different lure has accounted for several really nice smallmouths and one 27 incher.

Have not fished cold water much since I got the long rod, but it did well on the Conejos the last time I did. The long rod is nice on the open rivers, but would never work on some of the small streams I used to fish in NM and CO.

Like Ingwe said, the fireline seems to be the cats meow. I have some 10 pound test (on his recommendation)and it is is small and supple as the 4 lb test I use.

I have yet to spool any on a reel though and that is MY fault..

How do you fish flies on spinning gear? (He asks with his nose held so high that he'll drown like a turkey if it rains.)

The Clouser flies he mentioned are large minnow imitators.



Some are four to five inches long and have weighted heads. Some weigh as much or more than a small Rapala - so they are indeed castable with a UL rig. I have some articulated hellgramite "flies" that are equally castable, and are smallmouth killers.

Little bubble floats slip bobber style. Once saw one with a little rubber stopper in the side so you could fill with just enough water. Came from France I think.



Or not. I've had fun playing with small perch off the end of a dock with a wet fly on an UL spinning rig. Water in the fly gives enough weight to get a few feet out. Almost all too small to get hooked but it was fun leading the parade back and forth.

My ultralight trout quiver consists of Shimano Ci4 Stradic 1000's with Loomis TJR 561 and 720 rods. I stick with four pound mono or fluorocarbon. They are very light outfits. I upgraded last year after fishing a Penn 4200SS with a Loomis SR 6010 IMX since 1993.

I don't like the action on any spinning rod short of 6' that I've yet to own and have come to like the ability to cast small/light/soft bait farther with longer "crappie-type" rods. When we were in CO, I caught a few trout drifting a #14 Montana nymph under a #10 Irresistible with a clear casting bubble on 4# test via an older Mitchell 310 and a 6'6" Berkley Trout Dough rod. Even got a couple of doubles after a trout hit the Irresistible and gave the nymph some action. The trout seemed to be less bothered by the dry fly as a strike indicator than they did with "regular" foam strike indicators.

For my upcoming trip to ingwe country, I dug out my UL rod only to discover that some critter had eaten the foam grips. So yesterday I went down to Sportsmans Warehouse and waved a bunch of skinny little sticks. The one I came home with not only felt the best to me but turned out to be the least expensive one there - and I never looked at the prices until after I'd decided which to buy.

It's an Okuma Celilo 6' that'll handle 1/32 to 1/4 oz on 2-8# line. Sweet, sweet caster. Haven't bent it double with a monster yet, but I hope to. I have a small Shimano reel and 4# line on it.

Rocky Ive ben using the Okuma Celilo in a 4'9" for quite awhile. Very pleasant little rod. I like a bit longer one, about 5'6" for the fishing we will be doing because it increases casting distance in the low clear water and makes it so you spook less fish. That 6 footer oughta be skookum, especially for this one place I have in mind.....

I used to use 4# mono for years on my u/l rods, but also lost alot of lures. Going to 6# sacrificed a tad of casting distance, but I rarely loose lures anymore.

Need to head out on some lakes with some 1/4oz kastmasters and little cleos before they freeze up. Deadly combo on rainbows.

I've always liked the "Quickfire" feature on the ultralight Shimano reels. It's a trigger you can pull with the index finger of your casting hand that makes each cast a one-hand operation. You don't have to flip the bail with your off-hand. It seems like that feature is unavailable on almost all of their current models for some reason. They do offer the Syncopate 1000FG with the Quickfire feature in a nice reel that's only about $30. A good value in my opinion.

Uhh, can you say, line-twist? God gave you two hands for a reason. A spinning reel is properly operated with your support hand.

I've heard that claim about the line twist before but I've never heard a good explanation about it. How can closing the bail by hand be any different than closing it with the crank?

Can someone explain?


and by the way, I have 2 reels with the QuickFire triggers and love 'em. And I close them with the cranks every time.

There is no difference. Opening and closing the bail does not produce line twist at all, regardless of how it is done.

Line twist on a spinning reel results when the bail is turned, but no line retrieved, such as when a person keeps reeling without retrieving any line while playing a fish.

It is also generated when line is loaded on a reel incorrectly.

Ted

These were very small Clousers - not the 4" specimens, maybe 1.5" in length. Just cast them as you would any lure, and do a nice twitching retrieve. I was only getting maybe 20-25' of distance with the casts, but that was enough to get me on to fish.

I use an old Shimano Quick Fire ultralight reel and a St. Croix buggy whip. 2 or 4 lb. for brookies . Line twist not an issue at all, but quick casting is an advantage.
Bought the buggy whip at St. Croix in Park Falls factory store. Buy all my St. Croix rods there. Some have a X on the butt. Seconds.
Don't know the number.

I agree that closing the bail manually or by turning the handle, in and of itself, does not make any difference in line twist. With that being said, I believe closing the bail manually inevitably results in less line twist because of what usually occurs directly thereafter.

After a cast, there will always be some slack line, and maybe even a twisted loop, hanging not far from the spool of a spinning reel. If the bail is closed by turning the handle, this bit of slack line or twisted loop will be wound onto the spool. If you lift the rod or otherwise try to remove the slack with the bail open while also turning the handle, the line will not be tight, and so the slack will not be taken up.

On the other hand, I've developed a habit of always closing the bail manually before turning the reel handle. With the bail closed, I then either lift the rod until the slack or loop is taken up or stretch the line out with my support hand if necessary. Because the bail is closed, I can tighten up the line before beginning to wind. Over the course of a day, I believe this technique results in less line twist.

Slack line is your enemy.

Been enjoying Pflueger President '20' size, very small, and the 25 sized MG Supreme, both very high quality, very smooth, they are worth their price. Clarus Rods. Like P-Line CX Floro, using 6# here for what I do in LA.

I love light, and uktralight rods for the majority of my fishing, however i preder 7 foot rods. For the added sensitivity especially when drifting on the river. I use a couple from cabelas. With pfleuger presidential reels and one 7 foot light medium baitcasting rod for smallmouth

Nothing to add to all the ideas (I also use a Shimano Sedona)is that a Blue Fox spinner (silver with blue body) works great on trout!