are combos any good? 2025
ohihunter2014 reply :
I have been trying to decide on a new fishing setup and picked a reel to go with my 5ft6 or 5ft10 or so ugly stick and decided on a pflueger summit but from what ive been reading is maybe I should go full 6ft or 6ft6. I found a cabelas tourney rod with pflueger summit reel on it for $69 that got great reviews but ive also read stay away from combos. I want an all around multi species setup.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/rod-reel-combos/spinning-combos|/pc/104793480/c/104762880/sc/105791580/pflueger-reg-summit-cabela-s-tourney-trail-reg-se-spinning-combo/1750481.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fspinning-combos%2F_%2FN-1102843%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_105791580
http://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/rod-reel-combos/spinning-combos|/pc/104793480/c/104762880/sc/105791580/pflueger-174-monarch-8482-spinning-combo/2175539.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fspinning-combos%2F_%2FN-1102843%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_105791580
http://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/rod-reel-combos/spinning-combos|/pc/104793480/c/104762880/sc/105791580/pflueger-reg-trion-reg-spinning-combo/1720832.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fspinning-combos%2F_%2FN-1102843%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_105791580
bigturtle reply :
You are right that combos are geared heavily towards beginners and many experienced anglers avoid it.
I dont know what your max budget is, nor do I know your level of experience, so I can't really say whats good and what's bad. I do believe in buying the rod and reel separate, but a combo can be good as well. Im pretty sure the Summit/Tourney Trail combo is better than your uglystiks, so its an upgrade at the very least.
ohihunter2014 reply :
On 3/1/2017 at 8:52 AM, bigturtle said:You are right that combos are geared heavily towards beginners and many experienced anglers avoid it.
I dont know what your max budget is, nor do I know your level of experience, so I can't really say whats good and what's bad. I do believe in buying the rod and reel separate, but a combo can be good as well. Im pretty sure the Summit/Tourney Trail combo is better than your uglystiks, so its an upgrade at the very least.
I usually just screw around on the weekends throwing top water and some worms and everyone once and awhile crank baits. I want to try steelhead fishing and do more bass fishing with crankbaits and worms and such. I'm a shore fisherman if that helps. what size action would you suggest?
bigturtle reply :
On 3/1/2017 at 9:13 AM, ohihunter2014 said:I usually just screw around on the weekends throwing top water and some worms and everyone once and awhile crank baits. I want to try steelhead fishing and do more bass fishing with crankbaits and worms and such. I'm a shore fisherman if that helps. what size action would you suggest?
Ah, heres the thing with shore fishing and topwater. If you are fishing from shore, you want to cast as far as possible to expand the amount of water you are able to fish. This means a longer rod. A topwater lure is mostly fished with downward twitches of the rod, which means a shorter rod. I dont know how tall you are, but generally a 6ft6 is good for topwater. I personally like a 7ft even when fishing from the shore, but thats up to you, you have to decide whats the most comfortable length for you. As far as power and action, you want a medium power fast action for crankbaits and topwater, unless you are throwing bigger baits (5/8oz-3/4oz), in that case move up to medium-heavy power.
ohihunter2014 reply :
On 3/1/2017 at 9:23 AM, bigturtle said:Ah, heres the thing with shore fishing and topwater. If you are fishing from shore, you want to cast as far as possible to expand the amount of water you are able to fish. This means a longer rod. A topwater lure is mostly fished with downward twitches of the rod, which means a shorter rod. I dont know how tall you are, but generally a 6ft6 is good for topwater. I personally like a 7ft even when fishing from the shore, but thats up to you, you have to decide whats the most comfortable length for you. As far as power and action, you want a medium power fast action for crankbaits and topwater, unless you are throwing bigger baits (5/8oz-3/4oz), in that case move up to medium-heavy power.
My ugly stick would probably work for the short end in guessing. I'm 6ft6 so 6ft6 rod would be okay I guess. Never uses anything but the ugly stick Walmart combo in the plastic ready to fish box.
MIbassyaker reply :
I have a cabela's tourney trail/summit combo and a pflueger trion combo. The are both perfectly good budget options for a combo and both are far superior to an ugly stick. I would get a 6'6" M power, unless you think you specifically need another short rod.
lmbfisherman reply :
It depends really, BPS for example will give a discount if you buy a PQ reel or Carbonlite reel paired with their carbon lite rods. That is a setup that would be leaps and bounds better than what you posted.
In general the generic combos, the reel is usually the quality piece of the pair, the rod is usually a bust. You can get decent combos for around 100. Like get a Berkeley Lightning Shock or a Shimano convergence and pair that with a baitcaster like a silver or black max. If spinning you can go Trion or President.
jdz197 reply :
Ultra cheap spinning: abu garcia cardinal sx/pfleuger trion on a berkely cherrywood HD medium heavy (which is much more medium than heavy) - $60-65
A step up: pfleuger president on a berkely lightning shock or similar 40 dollar rod - ~$90
Ugly stiks aren't bad rods but they're too heavy for me. I've got a 6' heavy ugly stick for catfish but that's about all it's good for. Once you get used to fishing lighter rods it's hard to go back.
6'6" is alright but once you go 7' once again it's hard to go back to 6'6". Do compare rods though, one model's 6'6" and one model's 7' might only be 2-3 inches different in reel to tip distance so you need to consider how long the grip is as well.
Raul reply :
Not all combos are bad, avoid the "cheap" ones, if you want to get a combo pick those in the upper mid to upper level.
Silas reply :
I used to manage a Sporting Goods store and sold all sorts of combos.
We usually priced them fairly cheap and almost always were targeted to new fishermen.
Our usual fishing customers almost never purchased them no matter the price or quality.
Their comments were that one of the items, usually the rod, was not really the best value as presented in the combo. ( and they were right) perhaps they would get a combo for a kid as his first outfit.
House reels and rods sold cheapest.
If it were me, I'd buy separate. Better chance of getting what you want, instead of falling for the promise of a "great deal!"
MrTightLInes reply :
I got an awesome deal on a Lew's Speedstick and Speedspool at Dick's Sporting Goods...it's still my favorite setup currently 
But I believe "generally" those combos are of lesser quality items. Take this nifty looking Quantum combo I keep looking at in BPS. The reel seems to be super sub par...but why do I keep looking at it when I go? That value looks pretty nice for a "decent brand" baitcaster...but upon closer inspection, that reel is only 3 bearing and feels kinda bad.
I haven't seen another Lew's combo since grabbing mine, but I see these Quantum combos lined up by the dozens.
NYWayfarer reply :
My general rule when looking at a combo is to check out the price of the reel when sold individually. If the combo only costs a few dollars more than the individual reel price then its a junk rod and the combo is not worth it.
Something like a Lews Mach II combo is a different story. Both rod and reel are quality and would be a combo you can't go wrong with purchasing.
Chatterbaiter reply :
Commonly sold at places like Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods, I've found Shimano Sojourn spinning rods are of great value (~$30). I like them enough that I continue to use one in my normal rotation of higher quality rod/reel set ups. It's a two piece so it's great for traveling, but still has decent action and feel.
Hawkeye21 reply :
I have a few combos and I think they are a great way to get a good start on a collection. Once I had a few different combos I then started looking into more higher end, specific gear. The first bait cast I ever got was a KVD combo and it's still one of my favorites. It was cheaper than my other setups yet it has more features.
Along with the KVD combo I also have a Pflueger Summit combo and Lews combo.
CTBassin860 reply :
I learned baitcasting on my Abu Garcia Silver max combo.Havent bought another combo since.It wasnt terrible,it was a learning tool and i got it for 15 bucks.You cant go wrong with the Berkley lightning/silver max for 90 bucks.
ohihunter2014 reply :
man this is driving my nutz. good reviews, bad reviews, etc. I was looking at the lightning rods but seen a lot of bad reviews. why does it have to be this hard lol.
snake95 reply :
On 3/2/2017 at 7:45 AM, ohihunter2014 said:
man this is driving my nutz. good reviews, bad reviews, etc.
I get it. I started bass fishing about 2 years ago and made some poor and some good choices starting out. Hang in there.
After scouring these threads during that time, I feel like the broad consensus is that for economy gear you can't go too far wrong with the pflueger reels mentioned above. Looking back, I bought a President spinning combo in the 35 size, not knowing what on earth I was doing, and the good news is the reel has been really great. I would go with a size 30 though, have bought a few of these since then.
I also bought an ugly stik, because growing up in the 80's that was the thing to get back then, and I couldn't fathom paying more than about $40 when I was starting. I so thought 6-6 was the right length because that fits with "old-school" advice.
Looking back, the ugly stik was not the best choice. I have since bought several rods in a higher price category, but if I could do it again for about the same cost, I'd pick instead the lightning rod shock (I don't own one) due to popularity on here, or go with the Abu Garcia Vengeance or slightly more expensive Veritas (both of which I now have and use as my main "trunk" rods). The advantage of these rods is that they are generally more sensitive and have faster tips than the ugly stik, which will help with detecting bites and hooksets, which is key for most bass baits. The Vengeance costs about the same.
Oh yeah, I now almost always go with 7 ft or so rods and rarely consider a 6-6 though nothing really wrong with them. For me the casting distance improvement is worth it for most situations.
Go with those, keep it under about $100 total, and you won't regret it.
NYWayfarer reply :
On 3/2/2017 at 7:45 AM, ohihunter2014 said:man this is driving my nutz. good reviews, bad reviews, etc. I was looking at the lightning rods but seen a lot of bad reviews. why does it have to be this hard lol.
Don't go nutz.
Get a Pflueger President reel (6930 or 6935) and a Fenwick Eagle rod (6'6" M/L, F or 6'6" M, F) This is a great all around set up that will blow away most pre-packaged combos you will find out there.
Hawkeye21 reply :
On 3/2/2017 at 7:45 AM, ohihunter2014 said:man this is driving my nutz. good reviews, bad reviews, etc. I was looking at the lightning rods but seen a lot of bad reviews. why does it have to be this hard lol.
I know how you feel. You will run into this a lot when shopping especially for lower priced items. I've had two lightning rod shock rods and both broke at the same spot and both in similar ways. I still use it with the tip busted off and probably catch more on that with my president reel than any other combo I have.
When reading reviews it's important to take them with a grain of salt, especially negative reviews. Some negative reviews can be ridiculous and don't even have anything to do with the product itself.
ohihunter2014 reply :
Well i might just bite the bullet and spend a little more money. I have a local mom and pop chain here in Ohio that has $40 off any st Croix rod $99 or more. I grew up poor so i have the tendency to buy cheap stuff.
Hawkeye21 reply :
Dick's has a Flash Sale online right now and they have a Lew's bait cast combo on sale for $79.98 from $119.99. I'm not sure how good it is but it's a good brand and good price.
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/lews-american-hero-tournament-baitcast-combo-16lewahtrn6ft10mhcom/16lewahtrn6ft10mhcom?&color=
Choporoz reply :
On 3/2/2017 at 11:47 PM, ohihunter2014 said:Well i might just bite the bullet and spend a little more money. I have a local mom and pop chain here in Ohio that has $40 off any st Croix rod $99 or more. I grew up poor so i have the tendency to buy cheap stuff.
This sounds like a great idea....for a lot of reasons
ohihunter2014 reply :
On 3/3/2017 at 1:20 AM, Hawkeye21 said:Dick's has a Flash Sale online right now and they have a Lew's bait cast combo on sale for $79.98 from $119.99. I'm not sure how good it is but it's a good brand and good price.
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p/lews-american-hero-tournament-baitcast-combo-16lewahtrn6ft10mhcom/16lewahtrn6ft10mhcom?&color=
not really into bait casters but thanks. looking for a spinning outfit and have to spend the $ at cabelas preferably because of the rewards points and gift cards i have.
Choporoz reply :
On 3/3/2017 at 1:42 AM, Choporoz said:This sounds like a great idea....for a lot of reasons
1. I REALLY like the idea of supporting your local B&M
2. You are FAR more likely to get good advice
3. There aren't many who will tell you to avoid St. Croix
4. You can match a rod and reel in person -- (Just because the big box puts a spinning reel on a spinning rod and calls it a combo doesn't mean that it'd be a good match for you.)
5. You'll still be able to go to Cabelas with your gift cards and get line, lures and all sorts of other stuff that you don't know you need yet
ohihunter2014 reply :
On 3/3/2017 at 1:47 AM, Choporoz said:1. I REALLY like the idea of supporting your local B&M
2. You are FAR more likely to get good advice
3. There aren't many who will tell you to avoid St. Croix
4. You can match a rod and reel in person -- (Just because the big box puts a spinning reel on a spinning rod and calls it a combo doesn't mean that it'd be a good match for you.)
5. You'll still be able to go to Cabelas with your gift cards and get line, lures and all sorts of other stuff that you don't know you need yet
Thanks.
I still have some finding to do. IDK if its a certain rod or not. the last time they did the spend so much get a instore gift card i was screwed 2 times cause it was on certain items or wrong and they didn't want to fix the sales ad. Im going to take a ride there this weekend and check out what they have. I found the pflueger summit reel at cabelas for $44-was $59 i couldn't tell the difference between it and the president. I have about $50-60 I've got to spend at cabelas in gift cards plus a spend $150 get $20 coupon for them. If the other store has some good st Croix deals ill probably get the rod from them and reel and what not elsewhere to meet my $150 to get $20 or $25 off.
BaitFinesse reply :
Combos are OK in my opinion as long as both the rod and reel are also sold individualy, are considered good value and a discount is applied to the combo purchase. Some of the bps house brands combos can be good whem a heavy discount is in effect. It's the goofy moderate noodle rods that are found exclusively on combos that you need to watch out for. Those rods often aren't worth the price increase over the base reel. The black max 3 combo, for example, can be had for around $70 at my local walmart and the reel alone for $40. That's a $30 difference and that rod is not worth it.
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