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m g September 9, 2010 at 2:55 pm

I respectfully disagree with Artie. Or, I guess I agree with Artie in a way — if you were a hardcore tournament angler I think you really would need about 4 rods to cover all the types of fishing you describe. But I think if you got the right spinning rod and a decent reel, you could cover all those bases. My understanding is that you are a serious recreational angler and that you're not catching tons of big fish. You're an avid angler and you need something to fish 50 or 60 times a year, mostly in summer, to catch a variety of warmwater fish. That's not complicated.

I'd start with a light or medium rod, not an ultralight. I know you want to fight the fish, but you're fishing from the bank and an ultralight pole can't cast very far (I like Artie's comment about not spooking the fish!). Also, if you hook into a 10-pound bass or a big catfish, that ultralight will be a goner. So, I like Ugly Stik. I don't know what the consensus is, but I think the middle-shelf Ugly Stiks are pretty nice. Cork handle, nice rod seat, and very tough:

Now, my favorite reel of the past 10 years or so is the Abu Garcia Cardinal, which is another tough piece of equipment that's not too fancy or expensive. I haven't really made the jump to baitcasting reels, so if you're "one of those" then you'll have to rejigger my whole proposal, but I'd get one of these to go with your Ugly Stik:

The Cardinal reel will come with the extra spool. I'd put 6-pound mono on one of them and 8-pound on the other. If that sounds too heavy, I'd go with 4-pound and 6-pound.

This is what I'd buy, and in fact it's very close to what I bought about 5 years ago when I needed a lightweight go-to spinning outfit. I first bought some other brand of graphite rod (St. Croix?), but about a month into the summer the tip broke off when someone set a very small tacklebox on it. I replaced it with a cork-handle Ugly Stik, and it seems indestructible. My son stepped on it once in the boat — no harm done. It got partway slammed it in a truck door — no harm done. It's been hung up in brush and treebranches while hiking — no harm done. I've seen in bend over almost in half at least a couple times — you get the idea.

Fishing rod choice is very personal, there is a LOT of brand loyalty and advocacy, and I will confess that I do mostly fly fishing. I'm not a bass expert but I've been spin fishing since I was old enough to walk, and I know that you can easily overthink your choice of spinning gear. Unless you're a bona-fide pro, I think simple and inexpensive is best.

EDIT: Guys, I think there are at least two solid arguments against recommending two or more different outfits. The first one is the asker himself indicates he wants A fishing outfit — it doesn't sound like he's in the market for more than one. The second argument is that I would bet he's not always selectively fishing for different fish — he catches small bass while targeting bluegills, catches catfish when targeting bass, and so on. This is pretty typical for a recreational, live-bait fishing style, and that calls for economical, versatile, and durable equipment.

DeckerCKWS June 28, 2011 at 2:59 pm

You like my Bass? Season opener today. 8 boats in front of my house. Leave some for the locals ok boyz?