Upgrading my Ultralight (<$100)

[Buzzbaiter]

Howdy, I do a fair bit of ultralight fishing, mostly fish sunfish, perch, crappie, and trout. I’m currently running a $30 fiberglass Shimano rod (paired with a no-name reel and 4lb Stren) which has served me well, but I want to try something a bit more refined. Any suggestions for a rod and reel combo? Limit is $100. I’m a Daiwa guy, but I’m willing to compromise  

 

Also, is switching to braid worth it? I use it to great effect on largemouth and river smallies, but don’t know if it makes enough of a difference for panfish to justify the price

[MN Fisher]

Okuma Celilo Specialty B rod - I have the 7' Light and 7'6" Ultra-Light...for $40 rods they're very well made and the core of my panfishing arsenal

Lews Wally Marshall Signature Series Reel - I have a 100 on the Celilo Light and it's a really good combo. A $40 reel that actually feels good

 

If you're sticking with 4# - the 75 or even 50 size for the Lews reel would do you - and the total weight without line would be just under 9oz (3.8-3.9oz for the rod, 5.0oz for the reel)

 

I would go with Sufix Siege for line - but that's more personal preference.

[T-Billy]

Won't leave much meat on the bone for the reel, but the BPS Panfish Elite is a LOT of rod for $79.99.

[Further North]

On 12/17/2022 at 10:44 AM, Buzzbaiter said:

Also, is switching to braid worth it? I use it to great effect on largemouth and river smallies, but don’t know if it makes enough of a difference for panfish to justify the price

Braid lasts years.  It's less expensive over time.

Tie in a 7' - 8' mono or fluoro leader, change that at intervals, and you'll spend less.

[Bigassbass]

Academy sells Shimano reels ul ones and they fit your budget go look at them, they are lots better than anything Lew's make.  For UL honestly any brand of rod will work, go to Walmart if you're looking to save money, they have some Shimano reels and cheap rods. 

[mrpao]

There's lots of good cheaper ultralight reel options out there.

You mentioned you like daiwa. The daiwa regal is a decent reel for around $50. The daiwa QG 750 and QZ 750 are decent ultralight reels. Piscifun carbon x would be my first choice. Often found for around $50. The new model Kastking zephyr 1000 SFS seems to be a decent reel. It's a very lightweight reel. Look around and it can also be found cheaper than retail.

As for rods. I have several okuma celilo also, but I probably wouldn't consider it much of an upgrade from whatever you have now. It only retails for $30 to $40. 

I would suggest looking around to try to find a daiwa presso rod at a good deal. I was able to pick up two more presso lately for around  $55 to $65. The presso rod with any of the reels mentioned above would make a great ultralight combo.

[Eric 26]

I’m with @T-Billy for $79.99 you can’t beat the bps panfish elite, Fuji guides and reel seat and pretty sensitive for the price. If you can wait until the bps spring classic you can trade in the rod or reel and get the rod down to $65.00 which is what I did. As far as the reel I’m with @mrpao on the Piscifun Carbon X reel, I have 3 of them and paid around $55.00 shipped from Amazon. Again if you can wait to trade in both the rod and reel during the bps sale you can pair the rod with a Daiwa Legalis LT $70.00 reel should be $55.00 if bps continues with the trade ins. Here’s my 2 a 6’-8” ultralight and 7’-2” light power. 

[DitchPanda]

On 12/18/2022 at 9:57 AM, T-Billy said:

Won't leave much meat on the bone for the reel, but the BPS Panfish Elite is a LOT of rod for $79.99.

 

29 minutes ago, Eric 26 said:

I’m with @T-Billy for $79.99 you can’t beat the bps panfish elite, Fuji guides and reel seat and pretty sensitive for the price. If you can wait until the bps spring classic you can trade in the rod or reel and get the rod down to $65.00 which is what I did. As far as the reel I’m with @mrpao on the Piscifun Carbon X reel, I have 3 of them and paid around $55.00 shipped from Amazon. Again if you can wait to trade in both the rod and reel during the bps sale you can pair the rod with a Daiwa Legalis LT $70.00 reel should be $55.00 if bps continues with the trade ins. Here’s my 2 a 6’-8” ultralight and 7’-2” light power. 

My next pan fish rod will likely be one of these...lots of good recommendations on them. Ill see how good my next paycheck is after working Christmas Eve and Christmas day...then probably pull the trigger.

[Eric 26]

@Buzzbaiter Just saw this on the Piscifun website 

[islandbass]

On 12/17/2022 at 9:16 AM, MN Fisher said:

Okuma Celilo Specialty B rod - I have the 7' Light and 7'6" Ultra-Light...for $40 rods they're very well made and the core of my panfishing arsenal

Lews Wally Marshall Signature Series Reel - I have a 100 on the Celilo Light and it's a really good combo. A $40 reel that actually feels good

 

If you're sticking with 4# - the 75 or even 50 size for the Lews reel would do you - and the total weight without line would be just under 9oz (3.8-3.9oz for the rod, 5.0oz for the reel)

 

I would go with Sufix Siege for line - but that's more personal preference.

I second the celilo.  I also have the 7’ light and this rod has caught more fish than all of my other rods combined. 

[JS8588]