The gift: Ugly Stik GX2 Saltwater Spinning Rod, $40; basspro.com
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The Ugly Stick Elite spinning rod is highly durable, and when paired with one of Daiwa's BG reels, you've got an unbeatable combination.
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The best, most versatile setup for most anglers, whether they fish in freshwater or salt with bait or artificial lures, is a simple spinning rod and reel.
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You can spend more on a spinning rod and reel, of course — a lot more — and you can find rods and reels for more specific applications, but it's hard to beat this rugged pairing anywhere south of $200.
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In short, this is the most battle- and fool-proof spinning rod and reel combination I've discovered, and with marginal care, should survive most hands as long as — if not longer than — most rods and reels on the market, regardless of price.
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Here are the best fishing rods and reels:Best overall: Ugly Stik Elite spinning rod and the Daiwa BG spinning reelBest trout/freshwater fly rod and reel: Orvis Clearwater IV packageBest saltwater fly rod and reel: Temple Forks Outfitters Clouser 9-Weight with the Redington Behemoth fly reel Best bait and bottom fishing rod and reel: Tsunami Airwave Elite spinning rod with the Shimano Baitrunner D spinning reelBest trolling rod and reel: Shimano TLD trolling rod and reel comboBest rod and reel for deep-sea bottom fishing: Tsunami MH Slow Pitch Jigging/Casting Rod and theShimano TLD conventional reelUpdated on 10/22/2019 by Owen Burke: Updated prices, improved formatting, and added new picks for trout/freshwater fly fishing and for trolling.
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Best sun shirt overall:Hurley QuickDryBest hooded sun shirt:Patagonia's Men's Sun Shade Technical HoodyBest cooling sun shirt:Columbia's Solar Shade UPFBest sun shirt for cooler weather:O'Neill 24/7 Hybrid UPFBest button-up sun shirt:Columbia's PFG long sleeveBest stylish sun protection clothing for womenThe best fishing rod and reel you can buyThe best, most versatile setup for most anglers, whether they fish in freshwater or salt with bait or artificial lures, is a simple spinning rod and reel.
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Medium-sized, wet and dry flies are thrown into streams with a rod of AFTMA Class 4-6 and are intended to mimic an emerging or egg-laying insect. A spinning rod can also be used in some waters. For this purpose, a light spinning rod and various artificial lures, such as spoon lures and spinners are used. In using wobblers and rubber fish care should be taken because they are banned on some waterbodies or may only be used with restrictions.
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A fibreglass spinning rod and reel circa 1997 Fishing rods can be constructed out of a vast number of materials. Generally they are made with either fiberglass, graphite, or a new generation composite, also known as carbon fibre. Many times carbon fibre and graphite are used together in the rod making process.
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Coil springs for vehicles are typically made of hardened steel. A machine called an auto-coiler takes spring wire that has been heated so it can easily be shaped. It is then fed onto a lathe that has a metal rod with the desired coil spring size. The machine takes the wire and guides it onto the spinning rod as well as pushing it across the rod to form multiple coils.
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While the easy to use spin casting rods are often used by novice anglers, baitcasting rods and reels are generally more difficult to use. Professional anglers, however, prefer baitcasting rod and reel combos because baitcasting reels grant anglers more accuracy in their casts. Casting rods are typically viewed as somewhat more powerful than their spinning rod counterparts – they can use heavier line and can handle heavier cover. Baitcasting rods low profile design along with a super silent high-speed 7.0:1-line retrieve.
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Underspin reels or Triggerspin reels are spin cast reels in which the reel is mounted underneath a standard spinning rod. With the reel's weight suspended beneath the rod, underspin reels are generally more comfortable to cast and hold for long periods, and the ability to use all standard spinning rods greatly increases its versatility compared to traditional spin cast reels. ;Underspin Reel Operation A lever or trigger is grasped or rotated (usually by the forefinger) and this action suspends the line in place. During the forward cast, the lever/trigger is released, and the line flies off the fixed spool.
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Perhaps the extreme in this philosophy was reached during the 1940s and early 1950s, when the now-defunct True Temper corporation – a maker of garden tools – marketed a line of trolling rods of length made of tempered steel which were square in cross section. They acted as excellent trolling rods, though the action was much too stiff for sportsmanlike playing of fish once hooked. As Great Lakes sportfishing in particular becomes more popular with each passing year, all rod manufacturers continue to expand their lines of dedicated "trolling" rods, though as noted, for most inland lake and stream fishing, a good casting or spinning rod is perfectly adequate for trolling.
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Spinning reels, also called fixed spool reels or egg beaters, were in use in North America as early as the 1870s. They were originally developed to allow the use of artificial flies, or other lures for trout or salmon, that were too light in weight to be easily cast by bait casting reels. Fixed-spool or spinning reels are normally mounted below the rod; this positioning conforms to gravity, requiring no wrist strength to maintain the reel in position. For right-handed persons, the spinning rod is held and cast by the strong right hand, leaving the left hand free to operate the crank handle mounted on the left side of the reel.
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Trolling is a fishing method of casting the lure or bait to the side of, or behind, a moving boat, and letting the motion of the boat pull the bait through the water. In theory, for light and medium freshwater gamefishing, any casting or spinning rod (with the possible exception of ultralight rods) can be used for trolling. In the last 30 years, most manufacturers have developed a complete line of generally long, heavily built rods sold as "Trolling Rods", and aimed generally at ocean anglers and Great Lakes salmon and steelhead fishermen. A rod effective for trolling should have relatively fast action, as a very "whippy" slow action rod is extremely frustrating to troll with, and a fast action (fairly stiff) rod is generally much easier to work with when fishing by this method.
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