Creek fishing setup options

[ShaneHamilton]

Heading down to the creek either tonight or in the morning and realizing it's been a long long time since I've actually really fished a creek.

So. I have an 8 ft rod and reel with braided line that I use for walleye and a 7+ foot reel with 8lb mono that's really just my spare (old rod, eyes aren't good for braid but I'll use it for trolling to find fish.)

I have a decent amount of tackle, some new some handed down from my father when he passed away 11 years ago, but I really don't know much outside of jigging and trolling mepps, neither of which are very useful in a creek.

So, what's easy and works for a not quite beginner?

 

[grubman]

What is it that you want to go after in the creeks? Brook, Brown, Rainbow Trout, salmon? Maybe time to get a new updated outfit. I use a 7' with 8 lb for salmon, but then I have a new Rapala reel with a great drag. The quality of the drag is the most important for salmon. What reel you have maybe you only have to get a new one and use your older rod.

Good luck.

 

[ShaneHamilton]

Preferably Trout. The rod is new it's 6.5 ft sorry.

Reel is an old Shimano 2500R.

 

[ShaneHamilton]

So, I've determined I need a new reel. Landed a salmon yesterday afternoon but it took an age and a half, pretty sure my drag is shot.

So, reel suggestions?

 

[grubman]

Why not try to lube your Shimano drag discs and see if it's still good. If it can't handle salmon then save it for bass. Most of my reels, about 5 of them are Abu Garcia, they are flawless for bass but never used it for salmon. I use a 7'6" Diawa with a Rapala reel. The Rapala is ultra smooth drag when I have a salmon on it. I'll probably have to lube it's drag this year, had a few on and I want to take care of this reel. Who says you have to spend alot, I got it for $35. Worth every penny and it only has 3 or 4 BB on it. My only criticism with it is that the handle is not perfectly balanced, minor but still all my other reels are balanced.

Good luck.

 

[ShaneHamilton]

Why not try to lube your Shimano drag discs and see if it's still good. If it can't handle salmon then save it for bass. Most of my reels, about 5 of them are Abu Garcia, they are flawless for bass but never used it for salmon. I use a 7'6" Diawa with a Rapala reel. The Rapala is ultra smooth drag when I have a salmon on it. I'll probably have to lube it's drag this year, had a few on and I want to take care of this reel. Who says you have to spend alot, I got it for $35. Worth every penny and it only has 3 or 4 BB on it. My only criticism with it is that the handle is not perfectly balanced, minor but still all my other reels are balanced.

Good luck.

Wouldn't know how but I'm willing to give it a shot. Not sure that's the issue though. The drag doesn't tighten up, on the highest setting with the fighting drag cranked right up I can still pull line out quite easily by hand. I can bring fish in but I have to wear them right down to do it which isn't good for the fish. Not a big deal if it's something I'm keeping for dinner, not so good if it's something I want to release.

I remember being able to break my line off with this reel if I wanted, can't do that now.

 

[Blair]

Why not try to lube your Shimano drag discs and see if it's still good. If it can't handle salmon then save it for bass. Most of my reels, about 5 of them are Abu Garcia, they are flawless for bass but never used it for salmon. I use a 7'6" Diawa with a Rapala reel. The Rapala is ultra smooth drag when I have a salmon on it. I'll probably have to lube it's drag this year, had a few on and I want to take care of this reel. Who says you have to spend alot, I got it for $35. Worth every penny and it only has 3 or 4 BB on it. My only criticism with it is that the handle is not perfectly balanced, minor but still all my other reels are balanced.

Good luck.

lol


"BEARINGS" are the MOST OVERRATED bunch of BS that the MARKETING DEPT have ever laid upon us!

* Yes, some very high end and excellent "modern" reels do have an average of 8-12 bearings now a days.



However, a WELL BUILT and TAKEN CARE of REEL with say 4 bearings is just as good.
I would always recommend taking a "bit" of extra weight in a reel ( Steel, NO PLAStIC CrAP) then going with less solid construction.


We (The owners) are RESPONSIBLE for the REST (Up keep and maint)

- I clean my reel(s) after EVERY outing (No exceptions) It has become a GOOD HABIT

- Clean, lube, tighten .... Change line (All easy "normal stuff")

 

[Blair]

lol


"BEARINGS" are the MOST OVERRATED bunch of BS that the MARKETING DEPT have ever laid upon us!

* Yes, some very high end and excellent "modern" reels do have an average of 8-12 bearings now a days.



However, a WELL BUILT and TAKEN CARE of REEL with say 4 bearings is just as good.
I would always recommend taking a "bit" of extra weight in a reel ( Steel, NO PLAStIC CrAP) then going with less solid construction.


We (The owners) are RESPONSIBLE for the REST (Up keep and maint)

- I clean my reel(s) after EVERY outing (No exceptions) It has become a GOOD HABIT

- Clean, lube, tighten .... Change line (All easy "normal stuff")

Any DECENT SETUP will be able to HANDLE the STEEL and BROWNS of the TRIBS and CREEKS (Albeit with an experienced fishermen)
If you going more specific, then there is a whole world of CENTRE PIN/FLOAT or FLY options.

 

[grubman]

lol


"BEARINGS" are the MOST OVERRATED bunch of BS that the MARKETING DEPT have ever laid upon us!

* Yes, some very high end and excellent "modern" reels do have an average of 8-12 bearings now a days.



However, a WELL BUILT and TAKEN CARE of REEL with say 4 bearings is just as good.
I would always recommend taking a "bit" of extra weight in a reel ( Steel, NO PLAStIC CrAP) then going with less solid construction.


We (The owners) are RESPONSIBLE for the REST (Up keep and maint)

- I clean my reel(s) after EVERY outing (No exceptions) It has become a GOOD HABIT

- Clean, lube, tighten .... Change line (All easy "normal stuff")

"BS that the MARKETING DEPT" Total agreement there. How else can some reels with only 4 bearings be smoother then my BP with 9 bearings? Putting bearings inline offers no advantage to make it mechanically smoother, the bearings will last longer as the forces placed on them will be spread out between the two instead of one. And as you say as long as it is maintained then they should not fail; and the most important element of maintainence is lubrication. A cheap reel with high quality bearings is better then an expensive reel with a whole lot of cheap bearings. I'm finding that most new reels now are not lubed. When I opened a couple of reels I just bought, all the inner parts are bone dry. Anyone else notice this?

 

[NADO]

Answering this question requires another question.

Do you want the right setup or do you want an incorrect setup that you can get by with?

1. Incorrect setup that you can get by with
- 7ft medium or heavy rod with a 2500 spinning reel.
Alot of people have this setup for warm water species and if you are just getting into salmon or steel then it will do until you are hooked. The downside of this setup is it wont work well for using the right leader as you need the longer rod to absorb the brute force of the fish. Sure I could probably land a salmon with a 5' medium rod but its not as good for the fish or my enjoyment on the river. Reel to me is not as important, and half decent reel with a decent drag will do the job. Spend 20-30 bucks on a POS from Canadian Tire and you will get what you pay for.

2. Proper setup to get more hookups and do less harm to the fish
- Rod is a minimum of 9ft and 11ft or 13ft is ideal
- Reel can be any spinning reel from the low end Shimano Sienna to a Shimano Stradic (for example) both will be able to handle salmon and trout. You will be much happier if you suck it up and get a centre pin but I wont go there for now lol.
- mainline anywhere from 8-12lb mono
- leader 6-8lb for salmon and 4-8lb for trout

This is just my preference but that is pretty much the standard for creek fishing. Use what you have to get by for the mean time but when you do decide to get some new gear you might as well get the right stuff. It doesn’t even have to be expensive. Get a 2500 Shimano Sienna for 30 bucks and a 9’ ugly stick for 40 bucks and you’re good to go. Or you can find some good deals on kijiji for entry level centre pins for 100 bucks and float rods for 50-150 and you then have the ideal setup. I got my Okuma Sheffield rod/reel for $175 on kijiji and I can fish alongside any of the guys with high end setups.

 

[ShaneHamilton]

Ideally I prefer fishing for Pickeral. Salmon is just available and close to home right now (not buying a boat until the spring). I can't see myself spending a ton on salmon gear, brown trout sure, not salmon. So anything I purchase would have to be useful for other species. Right now I don't have waders so that would be budgeted before a proper float rod setup, it's just not a priority and while not poor I can't really justify hundreds of dollars on gear in one sitting, I'd have to budget it piecemeal and that won't happen before the season is over. Flexibility is the word of the day, good enough and multi-use is what I'm going for.

I'm concerned about the reel, not because it's not salmon worthy, but because I think the drag isn't tightening up like it should. It's like a car with bad brakes.

You're right about the rod though, I swear I could hear the thing slowly cracking the whole time. It's a new rod I bought for Pickeral might try one of my older rods.

What's the logic to the lighter leader material? Just harder to see?

 

[Blair]

What's the logic to the lighter leader material? Just harder to see?
[/quote]



If your only going out 1-2 times, I'd stick with just using one of your "older Rods" (if they are Fiberglass - a bit heavier, but will certainly hold up!)

As for Leaders:


Most guys use them out of HABIT (Fishing for Steelies etc.) Great habit to have and use!

However, not 100% neccassary for Salmon.



I personally will only use a SWIVEL (less tangle and better presentation) for a LURE or BAIT.

My "leader" - from the Swivel, is usually the SAME MAIN LINE that I use (10lb-12lb mono, when SALMON FISHING).


Keep it SIMPLE for the SALMON and definately have a GOOD DRAG.



Now, CHROME and BROWNS are a different story.

Having a proper leader set up is very important.



ps: Good advice by NADO!




Always remember, Use the SET UP that YOU are COMFORTABLE with. Then as you learn and gain experience and knowledge from others and your own personal experiences, you can make choices.

It's FISHING .... not "Rocket Science".
Fish were caught before, and will be caught in the future.

"They" dont really change much! Our pursuit of the "perfect" set ups seems to change on a Yearly basis.



lol

 

[ShaneHamilton]

Thanks everyone, very helpful advise here.

 

[rocheleauc]

The logic behind the lighter leader for salmon is to prevent losing floats on breakoffs which happens often. Also it's nice to have just Incase that incidental brown or rainbow trout is mixed in with them.

 

[Blair]

Also it's nice to have just Incase that incidental brown or rainbow trout is mixed in with them.

VERY TRUE!
Best to cover all the angles.


Good thinking.

 

[Dugger]

"BS that the MARKETING DEPT" Total agreement there. How else can some reels with only 4 bearings be smoother then my BP with 9 bearings? Putting bearings inline offers no advantage to make it mechanically smoother, the bearings will last longer as the forces placed on them will be spread out between the two instead of one. And as you say as long as it is maintained then they should not fail; and the most important element of maintainence is lubrication. A cheap reel with high quality bearings is better then an expensive reel with a whole lot of cheap bearings. I'm finding that most new reels now are not lubed. When I opened a couple of reels I just bought, all the inner parts are bone dry. Anyone else notice this?

yesh.... just bought an 11 year old Shimano Sedona 1000 from a local tackle shop, brand new, 3 ball bearings and one sweet tight little reel! Have had the 2000 for years and love it!

forty bucks and Bob's yer uncle