Trout Fishing
spinning rods
I have the Timber Coulee model plus a shorter one I had him custom make for me.
Shorter the better if you fish off of the beaten path! I can't imagine dragging a 7 footer back to some of my favorite holes!! I use 4# on the shorter (5 foot or less) rods and if you set the drag right it's a blast!
An oooold Fenwick 6' medium with a really fast tip. Excellent. Then it broke.
A custom made 6' lamiglass blank with 9 line guides. Best rod ever. Lost over the side in a deep, fast river. Cry.
Lately I use a 4' 3" Cabelas pro series UL rod I found in a garage somewhere. Lost 3" of the tip which made the action a little stouter. Very nice rod with the 'modification'.
But I got a 6' St Croix UL for xmas from my Bro and I'm liking it so far. That'll be my primary for now. The action is a little slow, but with 6lb line instead of 4 it casts very well.
I also have a 5.5' Fenwick that is UL++. Very fun to land a 15+ on that noodle. Also can launch small lures a good 25 yards.
I've used so many different types of rods over the years that it is pretty clear that anything will work, as long as it is balanced to the weight of the lures/bait you are using.
Other than the new St Croix I use 4' Trilene Flouro on all setups and change it twice a year. Usually no problems with it, but I am very careful to avoid loose line on retrieves. For the longer rod with the slightly slower action I use heavier 6' to get a few more feet out of my casts when needed.
Wow a lot of 7' rod users. I wouldn't have expected that. My little bush rod has allowed me to make a lot of casts that even a 6' rod couldn't make. Of course I fish WI bluff country and the good streams there are not exactly 'open'.