Fishing pole?

[sirandrew]

I"m looking for a good all around fishing pole from pike, to panfish. I've heard a shakespere ugly stick is a good place to start.
I fish in Arkansas, but here i'ts a hook and a worm.

I got a box full of split shot and panfish hooks an all around large fishhooks? Good thing?


I'm also trying to decifer though the lures.

THANKS!

[tcman]

For the money, an ugly stick is the best bang for the buck and a good all around choice for many species. However, the more you fish in Alaska the more you'll probably buy more rods that are species specific. You can never have too much gear in Alaska .

The panfish hooks you have will be good for fishing the lakes for stocked trout but if you're after salmon you'll need different gear. Plenty of advice on gear if you search this forum. If you really want to know what lures work for what fish stop in at 3 Rivers in Wasilla, BJ's in Anchorage, or Trustworthy Hardware in Soldotna. They'll get you set up with pixie spoons to spin 'n glows to catch what swims in these waters

Good luck and welcome to the adventure.

[garnede]

A good medium to medium heavy Ugly Stik with a spinning reel will take care of salmot upto small kings. Another good combo that is sold localy is the Shimano FXS-66 mb2 rod. 6'6" medium action rod with SHIMANO IX 4000R Spinning Reel, it runs about $40-45. The second one was my first salmon rod and did well under a year of heavy use and abuse. It only caught 3 kings that year, but it hooked and fought about a dozen. I then started expanding my colection.

Bass and panfish rods are great for lakes, and small stream fishing. A panfish rod is a perfect setup for Grayling, and most of the lures work good too. If you have tackle and can bring it with you, do so. I have had great luck using lures from Alabama. I don't think them. A Carolina rig works well here in lakes for Trout and dollies, when fished around submerged weed beds.

Decifering local lures largely depends on where and what you want to fish for.

[aknater]

IT'S DECIPHER!!!!

Sorry, I haven't been outside in a while.

[garnede]

IT'S DECIPHER!!!!

Sorry, I haven't been outside in a while.

Come on now you can't expect a couple of southern boys to know how to spell.:eek:

[monello]

I've caught pink salmon on bass crank baits. I just wanted to see if I could do it and don't usually use them on pinks. Come to think of it, most anything you throw in the water and reel back will catch a pink.

[JediMasterSalmonSlayer]

Pole vs Rod

Just an observation: I noticed the pole vs rod lingo.

If I could only have one traditional rod in Alaska, I would chose a med/hvy action graphite minimum 8ft with a extended fighting handle and thats line rated at least 15lb or more. You can use a rod like this for trolling or wading, salt or fresh, in just about every situation for all species. Yes its over kill for smaller species (grayling and stocker trout) and a not perfect for vertical jigging an ice hole, but it can be done.

I prefer casting rod, however the rod as I described is available in spinning models also.

I see people using spinning reels/rods everywhere I have fished, just not my choice. I equate my baitcaster to a wench like on my 4 wheeler, just like the feel and position of the drag adjustmernt better.

I guess when you get down to it, all you really need is a stick and a string.

[Alaskan Salmon Sith]

I too am from the baitcasting school of thought. I simply cannot stand spinning rods/reels. As TSS said, the drag position and feel of the rod and reel are more appealing to me. I agree that an 8'6" is the best all around rod and a M/H stiffness will work well. Also, a panfish rig you have will work excellent for grayling, trout, and even pinks. I fish an ultralight for pinks on 6lb test line on occasion. I wouldn't suggest doing that on a crowded river, but it is fun if you are off to yourself.

[sirandrew]

THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP! (I won't be fishing salt water)

Lures aside, What would be a good panfish pole? I'm guesing just about anything you can put a line on right?

I've been fond of a spinning reel, the little I fished with them, but have been fishing with a casting pole since as long as I can remember.

[garnede]

THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP! (I won't be fishing salt water)

Lures aside, What would be a good panfish pole? I'm guesing just about anything you can put a line on right?

I've been fond of a spinning reel, the little I fished with them, but have been fishing with a casting pole since as long as I can remember.

I consider a panfish pole anything that is little and light. I have used a 5'6" rod wit a Zebco 202 on it, but unless they are the older models you can wear out those in a week of good fishing up here. The older ones have a metal cap, the newer ones are plastic with a metalic film over it.

[sirandrew]

Hmm, and I guess if you need you can always drop a line over the canoe!

[bigjigs4bigfish]

Panfish rod

I like my 5'6" light action St. Croix with a Shimano Stradic 1000 reel spooled with 6 pound flourocarbon line. It will also double as a great trout rod when you get to Alaska.


DEAN

[sirandrew]

Thanks!

I'll see what I can find.

[Brian T.]

I've used the ugly stiks quite a bit and really enjoy them but a friend of mine that works at Cabela's put me on to the new Shimano voltaeus. They run about the same price as ugly stiks but they have stainless steel guides instead of ceramic for use with braided lines, they also have a life-time warrenty. Heres the link or if you get a chance to check them out at a store I'd highly advise it, the sales person at Cabela's bent it all the way over and then put the tip on the floor and bent it backwards.
http://fish.shimano.com/publish/cont.../voltaeus.html