i am a 15 year old kid. i just got my tax maney from my job and i just had a birth day so i have money to spend. about 150. i would like to have some left over for fishing lures. but i dont know what to by for a rod and reel. it needs to got as small as pan fish and as large as steel head on the border of MN and Canada. if that is possable. any ideas?
Welcome! 
Way to go by pumping some of that $$$ into the economy. I wish more would think your way. I cannot offer much help on the steelhead but I don’t think you should go with a 5′ ultralite! Again, Welcome to IDO!
In my opinion, make the reel a priority. You can get really good rods for not too much money these days but you need to pay to get a good reel.
I’m guessing we’re talking spinning reels here, right? For the money I would consider a Daiwa Hardbodyz reel. You can’t find a tougher reel for the money. A lot of guys here like the Pflueger President and the majority of people will tell you to get a Shimano. From my experience you have to pay a lot more to get a Shimano as tough as a Daiwa.
The cheapest Hardbodyz is the Daiwa Exceller for $69.95, a great buy.
As for the rods, see what you have left over. If you can find them still, Rapala makes a great rod for the money. Very light for it’s power. St. Croix has their Triumph series which are foreign made but still very nice. If you are going to use it for panfish, go with the 2500 size reel, max and maybe a 7′ ML rod (Triumph TRS70MLF or TRS70MLF2 (two piece)). That should cover both species. You’ll get two spools with the Exceler so you can have different line weights for panfish and steelhead.
That would be $70 + $69.95 ~$140 and a really nice setup.
I would buy a 6’6″ M St Croix Triumph spinning rod with a Shimano Sedona reel. that oughta leave close to 50 bucks for lures and you have a set up that will last a long time.
The Shimano Clarus line are great rods for the money also. Cabela’s has a great reel sale going right now. I own all of the above and am happy with everything
I’ll agree with the Triumph TRS70MLF and go with a size 30 Pfleuger Asaro reel for under $50.(incl an extra spool)… There are nearly 30 reviews on them on the Cabelas website and 99% are all 5 star!
Now you have almost $30 left over for lures/line…most tackle shops have sales now…fill one spool with 100yds of a good 6# mono for panfish and the other with 8-10# crystal braid for Steelies. Pick up a couple spinners for Steelhead and small bobber/hook/worms for panfish…
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I would buy a 6’6″ M St Croix Triumph spinning rod with a Shimano Sedona reel. that oughta leave close to 50 bucks for lures and you have a set up that will last a long time.
The Shimano Clarus line are great rods for the money also. Cabela’s has a great reel sale going right now. I own all of the above and am happy with everything
Without going a totally different route and adding confusion to your selection process…I like the above choices!! I also have a Triumph, Clarus and a few Sedonas…all good quality and won’t empty your pockets.
BIRDDOG
The reel choices are right on and the Triumph is a nice pick but for a little more money you should check out the MoJo rods from St. Croix. I have heard they are very impressive for the money and they are AMERICAN MADE!!!
i gotta agree Redneck. those Mojo rods look to be the bomb.
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The reel choices are right on and the Triumph is a nice pick but for a little more money you should check out the MoJo rods from St. Croix. I have heard they are very impressive for the money and they are AMERICAN MADE!!!
Check out St. Croix’s site and they list these as “Handcrafted in North America” which will be MEXICO as soon as their production is set up there.
Their American made rods are listed as “Handcrafted in the U.S.A.”
Dan
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