If You Could Have Only 1 Rod And Reel

[Glenn]

I asked Hank Park if he could have only 1 rod and reel, what would it be?  Here's his answer:

 

 

 

[bulldog1935]

I'll provide the strangest answer to this question.  

70's Vince Cumings Water Witch and 1930 click-pawl Medalist.  

The super-progressive glass fly rod is rated 6/7-weight, but will dry-fly fish a 3-wt, and becomes a different rod with every line weight in between.  

Happens to be my PB bass sight-fished on the Sabinal River.  

yeah, that's me with the stogie

[the reel ess]

The MH 7' with some tip. It's the most versatile stick there is.

[roadwarrior]

I agree with Hank and more specifically:

G.Loomis GLX MBR844C/ CTE100GT/ Tatsu #12

 

[fishwizzard]

For just bass fishing the answer would be easy, a GLX mbr844c, a Steez A 7:XX, 40lb braid if I am only allowed on spool, if allowed two, then a second spool loaded with 14-16lb fluoro.

 

For all fishing, it would be a fast taper spinning rod that covers as much of the 1/8-1/2oz range as I could find, whatever reel balances it best, and 15lb braid to leader.  

[jimmyjoe]

   I love what Hank Parker said about gear ratio; I myself do NOT like fast reels. However ..... a smaller spool reel with heavier line will empty itself on a long cast, leaving you with an IPT so low that you can't control the lure or set the hook effectively at the end of the cast.

   As far as rods go, I've always like the MH/F rods that St. Croix makes in 7'. They also make them in 6'-08", but they're just a leeeeeedle too stiff of a tip for me. The vast majority of my retrieves are steady retrieves.

   So the rod would be an Avid, 7' MH/F with a Lew's BB1 Pro in 6.4 gear ratio. I'd use Big Game in 12 lb test because of the reliability and versatility.

   If I could have two, you can be sure my choice(s) would be different.  ?  But that's another story for another day.  ?     jj

[soflabasser]

Hard to pick only 1 rod and reel combo if you enjoy fishing for bass in very different areas. I have combos I use for fishing small mountain rivers for redeye bass, combos for trophy largemouth bass fishing, etc. 

[BassNJake]

If you could only have 1 Rod and 1 Reel.....

 

Does that mean the other Googans were already picked?

[MN Fisher]

Have to partially agree - MH/F rod...but for me a 7-ratio reel.

 

3 minutes ago, BassNJake said:

If you could only have 1 Rod and 1 Reel.....

 

Does that mean the other Googans were already picked?

Who'd pick them?

[BassNJake]

1 minute ago, MN Fisher said:

Have to partially agree - MH/F rod...but for me a 7-ratio reel.

 

Who'd pick them?

[jimmyjoe]

  Totally off-topic:

   One of my fishing buddies had his grandchildren visit this last summer. The boy is 5, the girl is 8. As kids are wont to do, the two got into an argument about something. The girl said to her brother, "You're stupid!". The boy replied, "Yeah? Well, You're a googan!"

   I knew exactly where he got that.  ??    jj

[bulldog1935]

3 hours ago, soflabasser said:

Hard to pick only 1 rod and reel combo if you enjoy fishing for bass in very different areas. I have combos I use for fishing small mountain rivers for redeye bass, combos for trophy largemouth bass fishing, etc. 

It's not only hard to pick one rod and reel, it's impossible.  That's why I picked the most versatile fly rod I know.  I think we should all have at least one of each, instead of just one.  And think a lot of us are already well on our way.  

[Boomstick]

My first thought is that I would do the same thing (MH/F baitcaster). I could fish most things and I would say at least 85% or more of the same lakes and spots I fish.

 

But now that I'm thinking about it, I might skip out on a few lakes and spots and go with a M/F rod, probably a spinning rod. We have a lot of clear water. I can catch a lot of fish on a drop shot, smaller weightless soft plastics, cranks, inline spinners. I don't even own a quality M/F spinning rod, although I plan to add one for 2021. And I don't even always bring out my spinning rod. But in places I spent the majority of my time, I would be able to adjust and still be nearly as successful.

[Log Catcher]

I would have to go with a 6'6" MH/F and a 6.4:1 reel with 12# mono. It would work for most techniques including topwater baits.

[NathanDLTH]

MH

Medium Fast to fast

length: 6’10-7’3

reel: Daiwa 7:3 or 7:1 Tatula or Zillion

line 30lb braid to a flouro leader. 

[scaleface]

[the reel ess]

2 hours ago, jimmyjoe said:

  Totally off-topic:

   One of my fishing buddies had his grandchildren visit this last summer. The boy is 5, the girl is 8. As kids are wont to do, the two got into an argument about something. The girl said to her brother, "You're stupid!". The boy replied, "Yeah? Well, You're a googan!"

   I knew exactly where he got that.  ??    jj

The boy won.

[J-rod]

The common answer would be a 7-footish MH/F rod, which I probably use most often, but I'm going to play the odd man out on this one. 

 

If I could only have one combo I would probably go with my 6'9" Tatula Elite Skipping Jig rod and Tatula 100 7-ratio reel.

 

The rod can handle lures from 1/4oz to 1.5oz, so it covers 90% of what I throw. I can throw anything from senkos to jigs and frogs on it. The 6'9" length let's me get into tight spots, yet it still gets a lot of distance when you just want to chuck a lure out there. Not ideal for crankbaits, but that's not my wheelhouse anyway.

 

The reel can can handle anything you can throw on it. 7-ratio because I don't have any issues with slowing down my retrieve and it's fast enough to burn if I need to.

[hoosierbass07]

For me, 7 foot or so mh spinning rod, Shimano spinning reel with eight pound mono.  With that I can fish all I want and fish in dirty and super clear deep water.  

[marmooskapaul]

Shimano Magnumlite XL 1702 rod

Shimano Curado CU200B reel

15# Berkley Big Game line.

[ajschn06]

12 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

It's not only hard to pick one rod and reel, it's impossible.  That's why I picked the most versatile fly rod I know.  I think we should all have at least one of each, instead of just one.  And think a lot of us are already well on our way.  

It’s really not.  I fished for Bass for YEARS growing up with only one pole and I threw everything on it.  A MH/F can pretty much do anything. Is it ideal for everything?  No- is it as efficient as having multiple rods rigged up? No.... but it’s not difficult at all 

15 hours ago, soflabasser said:

Hard to pick only 1 rod and reel combo if you enjoy fishing for bass in very different areas. I have combos I use for fishing small mountain rivers for redeye bass, combos for trophy largemouth bass fishing, etc. 

But you COULD do both with a 7’ MH/F rod....

[bulldog1935]

Mine was 7' Berkley Tri-Sport and Mitchell 300 from bass fishing to inshore and the jetties.  Then Millionaire 6H on Fenglas Lunkerstik, Orvis Fullflex A, 7-1/2' Browning HiPower for inshore and surf (my first graphite)...

[N Florida Mike]

Thats my choice too 7”ft m/h , fast tip.

Id choose a Shimano stradic spinning reel, spinning is more versatile for me. Id also use 12lb. test, but mono., I like line to float - suits me best . I like 6:2 gear ratio- not any faster. I like a slower gear ratio than that for some baits...

[jimmyjoe]

   Although I chose a MH/F like so many others here, it's surprising to me that there aren't more people using moderate action instead of a fast action, and going up one power. IOW, using a MH/M instead of a M/F, or using a H/M instead of a MH/F.

   I had thought that there might be more disparity.  ?   jj

[TnRiver46]

6’6” spinning rod/reel, nothing expensive or I’m guaranteed to break it