light vs. ultra-light

[rich]

i'm in a quandary here.  i plan on picking up another rod to be used primarily for gills.  i currently own a st. croix premier 6' light power rod as well as a 6' gander mt. ul rod (ugh).  i thought about a st. croix premier 6' ul, but they seem a bit whippy.  any ideas or advice.  

[rich]

i have two old conolon glass rods sitting in a closet with a 308 and a 408 married to them.  i am half tempted to break them out and use them again.  they were bought between 1971 and 1972 and sure put the hurtin' on a lot of fish back in those days.

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

OOOOOOOOOOOH YEAH RICH, I use two of the old Garcia's on a regular basis and they cast wonderfully with 4 lb. I use here. I love those 3 I have almost as much as my Wonderods and the problem with clean nice old Wonderods are they are alot more difficult to find than the old Garcia's. I"m talking Ultra LIghts here of course. I also liked the little round 304's that Mitchell made ..........

[Slip Sinker]

http://www.troutlet.com/Okuma-Celilo-Spinning-Rods-P401.aspx

I own five of these rods from the 4.5 ft to the 7.5 fter.... love these rods.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

They look good, buddy! I like to buy local, but I also live in Small Town, USA. "Local" usually applies to nails, groceries and beer. For other things I have to go elsewhere.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Mike and Chis - Thanks. I could do those - I just gotta find 'em. The nearest Academy is a ways off. I can tell you what is around me locally, and it isn't much.

But I appreciate your efforts to steer me in this direction. *Thumbs Up*

[chris kowaleski]

Finding them is rather difficult for me atleast, I've only seen the light action one that i bought in one Academy ever, and the only other eagle claw rods i've seen anywhere else are the deep sea/casting rods.

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

Yup Mike the ugly sticks are glass and made the old way of the Wonderods with one improvement, solid glass tip. I had some old ones and they had cork handles and were equal length rod sections . New ones made in China of course , but they are still tough and carry tow for backups on trips for just in case one of my old Wonderods or Garcia's bread on me.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Thanks, Larry. Seeing all these great options is encouraging. I think maybe I just need to get around more...

It would help if I had internet at home, too! LOL

[Tony Livingston]

I think that's one of the most enjoyable aspects of BG fishing.... you can go as fancy and modern as you want, with new gear that has the latest bells and whistles, or you can cut some cane, hang it up to dry, attach some line and a hook and head to the water. Either way, you're likely to catch something.

As a boy, I didn't have the luxury of buying a new rod....period. I used hand me down gear, obtained from relatives, friends, and yard sales. And I was happy, and caught fish. I was married before I purchased my first "good" rod....... a Berkley graphite, purchased from Wal-mart. I think it was around $50, which was a lot of money for a guy who had never before spent more than 10-15 dollars for a rod, and only once or twice at that. I took that rod out the next morning and went BG fishing. About an hour into it, I was reeling in a nice fish and the top 6" of the rod just snapped off...no injuries or damage caused by me, just broke....I was sick.

I took it back to Walmart and was informed that I needed to contact the manufacturer directly...the store couldn't help me. I came home and called Berkley, (this was pre-internet), talked to a real nice lady who took down some information, and said she would see what she could do. I never expected to hear anymore about it. Less than 24 hours later, UPS comes up my drive way with, guess what.....a brand new rod. No expense to me, overnight shipping paid by Berkley, and they never even asked to see the old rod. Don't see that very often anymore.

I used that rod for many years. And I was happy with it, and caught fish. My oldest son is still using it today, matter-of-fact.

Fast forward a few years.....I'm blessed to find life has been kind to me, and I can now afford the occasional self-indulgence in the form of a higher end rod or two. I love my St Croix's, they're light as a feather, and extremely sensitive. And again, I find myself happy, and catching fish.

When I look back over the years, and the various rods I have owned, I see one commonality among every single one of them.....they made me happy. Super sensitive materials, and high end guides make for a nice rod, no doubt about it. But,  I would wager that a happy angler, one who is satisfied and content with his/her gear, irregardless of what it may be, or how much it costs, will be a successful angler. And I think that's what matters most of all. Cane pole, spinning rod, fly rod......bamboo, fiberglass, graphite...... whatever. If it makes you happy, I believe you'll do better on the water with it, no matter what name is on it.

Time spent fishing is much too hard to come by for me. I don't want to look back on what time I do get to spend on the water, and spoil it by wishing that I had something different. I want to look back and be happy.

[rich]

dave, ironic that you should mention the 304.  that was my first reel in '68.  i bought another on ebay about six years ago, mint.  though heavier than the uls, it was a workhorse.

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

Yup Rich my first higher end reel was a 304 and loved it and can't now for the life of me remember what happened to it..............

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Good stuff, Tony. No matter what gear I have I make sure it works before it goes along. I like to practice in the yard and test all my lures in our little swimming pool.

These things matter, no matter what you use.