Noob

Some more great advice, thanks. As an Army guy, I do my homework, but I really want to pull the trigger. Hell, you guys have me fired up, I want to go fishing now! As a self-admitted 'gear-do' I know I could spend a lot of money on this. Which is why I came here. I like the idea of going for a 4-10 lbs rod so that I can handle anything from bluegill to walleye. I did try out the Pflueger President, and I really liked the feel. Plus I figure I can move it to a heavier rod if I need to. Sounds like I also need to look into varied use of leader lines for options as well. Am I back on track? Haha

Thanks for the advice folks, I really appreciate it. I'm starting to see the light on not being able to catch everything with one rig. I talked to a local angler, and I think I'll leave the muskies be for now. They're big here, but apparently pretty tough to catch. So with muskies out, for now, it looks like the crappies and bluegills are the issue, since a medium 7' rod might be too much, but it will be good for bass and walleye. Am I right so far? Also, it seems like the Ugly Stik doesn't have a lot of fans here, but I saw that it got good reviews. What are the cons? Again, thanks everyone, this is great stuff, I already feel less overwhelmed. Hunting is way less complicated, haha!

I'd like to be able to use live bait or lures. My goal is to get outdoors, involve the family in a way I really can't yet with hunting, and put some food on the table along the way. I really enjoy making a dinner with meat I've caught and vegetables I've grown.

For the species I'm looking at (I know this is a Bass fishing forum, but I would like to get those Crappies and Walleyes as well as Bass), is there an advantage of medium action (the rod I was looking at) versus medium-heavy? One of the reviews I saw said that there wasn't enough drag, but it seems like 9 lbs should be enough, even for muskie, since using the 1/4 of line test = drag formula, that means 9 lbs of drag would mean I can use 36# line...seems like that would be plenty for what I'd be fishing. And thanks for the replies so far, that was fast! I'm really looking forward to taking my daughters. My oldest (2 1/2) loved it so much that she watches fishing shows and cheers them on. How can you not take that kid fishing?

I'm hoping to get some advice on my first rod and reel. I fished when I was a kid, and now that my dad has gotten my daughter hooked, I'm gladly going to start myself. I'll mostly be fishing in Northern Virginia, lakes and possibly the Potomac and larger rivers. The species I'll be fishing are bluegills, large mouth bass, walleye, black crappie, and possibly muskie. I'm looking at the Shakespeare Ugly Stik, 7 ft, spinning rod, rated for 6-15 lbs...also, could I use 4# or line rated higher than 15 lbs? For the reel, I'm thinking about the Pflueger Supreme (8230MG). So, would this combo be good for those species? I'm looking for something that is versitile, durable, and will last me many years of casual fishing, and for less than $150 total package. Thoughts? Any help is greatly appreciated.