Eric 26

I believe St Croix used to make a 5’-0”and 5’-6” ultralight in the Triumph series also. I just checked and they still do.

As far as going higher end I can honestly recommend in your price range the 13 fishing omen ultralight rods. Although I don’t own the rod/rods I have a 13 fishing fate black in med light I purchased on the recommendation of others on this site especially @bulldog1935 who has a omen series rod and he speaks highly of it. In my opinion my rod is extremely comfortable, well built and very sensitive for the price. As far as reels I don’t think you can wrong with Shimanos at pretty much any price point but as the saying goes “you get what you pay for”. As for me I’m going to stick with my Piscifun Carbon X reels as I really enjoy them and find the drag as smooth as I’ve needed. With that said I’m hoping maybe this upcoming spring to purchase what would be (for me) a top tier combination of an Avid panfish rod and a Shimano Stradic FL reel, which if I could I would purchase through the Japanese domestic market now as the exchange rate is absolutely in our favor. Any questions on that just search on this site and you will see what I mean. PS I know they’re not huge but both came on my 6’-8” ultralight/Carbon X combo.

I’m not going to try and tell you the bps rods are more sensitive than the Okuma Celilos or st croix (panfish series) im assuming as I don’t have either. I will say before I purchased my second bps rod (7’-2”) I handled the st croix (panfish series) for comparison and for the money I feel the bps is a better value. I have no problems telling when I’m ticking weed tops vs the light bite of a crappie using my panfish elite. As far as bluegills go they are relatively aggressive so I usually don’t have to worry about sensitivity with them. If your budget allows st croix introduced the avid panfish series which cost 2-1/2 times more than the bps rods but I’m assuming are probably superior as far as sensitivity if that’s a concern. I will say for me at least the light powered rods are a tad more sensitive due to the blank being slightly faster, I could be completely off base here but it’s just my observation.

I’m going with @The Bassman. But have to ask how? As in how did that happen ?

As a guy who loves ultralight/light powered fishing rods (7) currently, Im going to throw my suggestions out here. Without knowing what you’re willing to spend my suggestion is a bps “panfish elite” rod in 6’-2” light power. If you’re looking for something shorter they have a 6’-0” ultralight or if you’re looking to go longer the next step up is a 6’-8” ultralight which I have, I also have the 7’-2” light powered rod. The sensitivity is really good on these rods for the price and I believe it’s due to the Fuji guides and reel seat. Don’t be fooled by the light power designation as these are definitely panfish rods. As far as reels I use a 500 size to a 1500 size (varying brands) with my 2 favorites being Piscifun Carbon X reels in 1000 size. They weigh 5.7 ounces and I have enough 4 pound monofilament on them to cast as far as I need to. They are also available in 500 size and are around $70.00 but if you’re patient you can find them as low as $55.00 usually during the holiday sales. I know it makes zero difference but I’m also a sucker for the color combination on these rods/reels.

I’m not sure if you purchased a 2 piece rod or not and if so I’m a day late and a dollar short. But I have a 2009 Focus and my longest rods are 7’-3”, I believe the interiors should be similar in that the passenger back seat folds semi flat, meaning the upper half center folds flat. I don’t usually carry more than 3 rods but I’ve had up to 8 in the car. Whenever I carry more than 3 I use my ready rig rod/reel carrying bag/bags to keep them from tangling up and always have rod covers on them. I’m pretty sure the ST models are stick shift but you can lay the front passenger seat flat enough to keep them out of the way if you’re fishing solo. Hopefully this is helpful. Just realized after looking the rod isn’t even offered in a 2 piece model ?

Although they’re all nice. That last picture could be a postcard, ?Do they even make them anymore ?

That is one good looking bass?? And yeah I’m with you on the Bears although instead of fishing I’ve got to get my lawn mowed.

My favorite spinner baits are the $1.00 Wal Mart house brand, caught fish on every color they have except black with my favorite being pb&j. Also I’m a fan of the Ozark trail crank baits and rattle trap style hard baits, again my favorite being the bluegill pattern with their sexy shad version being a close second. Also absolutely love and highly recommend the Creme mini rattle traps available at Wal Mart. I also picked up 2 ozark trail whopper plopper knock offs this spring in Decatur but haven’t seen them offered at any other Wal Mart since then. I did pick up a handful of Berkeley Choppos at the bps spring sale along with 2 bps versions as well as a couple bps square bills. Haven’t caught anything on the bps stuff but like the way they run in the water. Soft plastics I like the “big bite bait” plastics. Almost forgot my favorite jigs are the strike king jigs available at Wal Mart also, especially the finesse swim jigs.

You and me both?

Double Digit ?

Even though the crappie/bluegill may be eating the minnows which are eating the bugs, both species will also eat bugs on the surface. Although it’s been way too long one of my favorite ways to catch panfish especially in the summer months is a rubber legged spider or a small popper, both are sold wherever they sell fly fishing gear. I use my favorite ultralight rod and usually just add the smallest round clip on bobber I have (extremely small) about 6”-12” above although I believe they still sell the adjust-a-bubble which is clear as the bluegill get so aggressive they actually hit the bobber as well as the spider/popper. As a bonus at least for me is if carp are present they will feed alongside the panfish when the bugs are active and they put up one hell of a fight on ultralight/light gear.

I would take my 6’-4” all star light power fast action/BPS carbonlite 2.0 size 1500 spinning reel,4 on test can throw panfish jigs/crappie sized cranks. Second is my 6’-10” Lews Hank Parker speed stick med power fast action/ Daiwa CA80 with 10 lb Suffix Advance Mono. I throw spinner baits and mainly 1/4 oz swim jigs and if I ever grab one I’m positive it will be perfect for mini chatter baits.

I remember watching and thinking it was as recently as 2 years ago ?. All kidding aside if you do go I would love to hear how you and your dad did and maybe see some pictures.

@slonezp I’m not sure if you will be able to find it? But John Gillespie Waters and Woods did a tv show on the lake. I believe it was last year maybe 2 years ago, I know this is a long shot and probably not very helpful ? I just googled it and the episode comes up it’s from May 19th 2016, so I’m not sure how helpful it will be but it’ll definitely get you wanting to catch those beasts.

Although I don’t own either of the specific blanks my vote would be the Okuma TCS A blanks in 7’-0” med plus for both. I have the 7’-3” hvy fast casting version of this blank and it’s awesome at its $145.00 price point. The 7’-0” med plus version’s are moderate /fast for a more all around use that you’re looking for. Also the spinning version is available in a 3” shorter version 6’-9” with the same power rating mod./fast. Bonus both rods combined come in at $290.00 pre tax/shipping (Tackle Warehouse) leaving plenty of money for rod sleeves and some extra lures?

I for one hope you will update this post when you find what works for you.

People may call him all sorts of things but I prefer plain lucky and more than likely grateful. I’m not a boater so I can’t and won’t comment but it does remind me that people including myself take all sorts of chances. When I rode bicycles in my younger years I didn’t wear a helmet but when I rode my brothers or dad’s motorcycles I wore a helmet 99% of the time. Although I’m older and haven’t pulled the Schwinn down in quite a few years when I rode with my kids as recently as 5 years ago I never thought twice about putting on a helmet as “I know what I’m doing “.

I have 2 different shops within a half hour of my house. I haven’t been in the one shop in quite a few years and last time I was in there I felt the selection wasn’t as good as I remembered in the past. The second one I use to stop at quite often as it was on my way home from work, it’s literally stuffed with a good selection of rods, reels and lures for any fish swimming in Illinois waters. The shop also carries live bait and not sure if they still do but the owner used to buy your gear and then resell it. I need to visit there soon as I’m sitting on a gift certificate from Christmas.

I will agree with all the statements above. But with that said my favorite retention pond is loaded with small bass and one of my favorite lures for them is a little Creme rattletrap available at Wal-Mart.

I’ll start by saying im not sure what your budget is but I have the 13 fishing fate black 7’-1” med light ($79.99). I have it paired with a close out 13 fishing creed 2000 size reel with 8 lb braid and I love this budget combination. I mainly throw 1/16 ounce Ned heads with a z-man trd which isn’t the lightest of trailers. I’ve also thrown 1/16 ounce roadrunner heads with a 3” gulp alive body which is by far lighter. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this rod as @bulldog1935 did for me based on his upgraded version of the rod.

Although I don’t subscribe to any magazines anymore, I still enjoy the In-Fisherman special editions. The Panfish and Bass ones are the only ones I purchase but I know they have/had catfish and walleye issues also.

I really like a 1/32-1/16 oz roadrunner plain head with the hook keeper,chartreuse head is my favorite with a 1” Berkeley gulp alive minnow. If I’m able to locate them I switch to a 1/64 - 1/16 ounce plain jig head with the same 1” gulp minnows under a wing it bobber.

I’m still drooling over this reel ever since @bulldog1935 first posted a photo of this reel. I’m a Daiwa fan but man my gen 4 Revo X winch just feels so good in hand.

Stopped at my favorite retention pond for 1/2 hour on the way home, caught 2 but only took a picture of this one.