Northwest Fishing Reports

I'm curious what you guys would recommend as the best salmon rod + reel combos available specifically at Cabelas. I'm talking puget sound trolling for salmon. I'm not necessarily a big Cabelas guy, but because of a certain situation that's where I currently have to shop ;)

will you be using downriggers? I have several rods of different brands for trolling the south sound, all 8'6" of different brands. mostly okuma and diawa. most of my reels are penn 209s. 25lb mono is what my trollers all have. I do have 2 reels of the cabelas brand, think they were made by diawa.

yeah definitely with downriggers..

thanks!

A buddy of mine picked up one of the Cabela's Depthmaster combo specials a few years ago for $60 that has really performed well for DR trolling. I think it's an 8'6" with a line counter reel and he spools 25-30# mono I think.

I've got a couple Ugly Stick downrigger rods I am happy with. About $50-$60 each.

I second the depthmaster rod. It has performed well for me.

As with everything, the answer is how much do you want to spend, lol... If you're bound by a gift card only, then I'd look at the depthmaster combo for sure. If you're putting something together, spend your money on the reel and then go from there because you can find a rid that might do double duty (mooching, inshore lingcod, etc...) to pair with your reel. I currently run charter specials, but if I were buying, I'd probably have the new Penn lever drags or the Okuma Coldwaters. A lot of folks swear by the Tekota reels as well as the Avets and Accurates as well.

Or just go centerpin ;)

geekgiant wrote:As with everything, the answer is how much do you want to spend, lol... If you're bound by a gift card only, )

yeah its a points thing so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to get the best setup they had. I've never had a really good salmon setup, but after investing good money in a nice bass rod/reel i know how much a good setup is really worth!

"Best setup" doesn't have an answer. But I'd go with one of the Lamiglass downrigger rods or a Loomis IM2 and a Shimano Tekota 400 if I were spending somebody else's money.

I have the Shimano TDR ($30) rods and a Diawa Wilderness as my backup ($20) so you can see what I'm actually running... I have the Charter Specials on the Shimano ($150 or so) and a Penn Defiance 25LW on the backup rod...

Here's another thread on this topic:
http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/vi ... 25&t=19271" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I ended up with Tekota 500s, and i really like them. They were a gift--if i had to spend my own dough I would have gone with the Okuma Coldwater at $100.

For rods I have Okuma Classig Pro downrigger rods. They're about $35 or so. I got them on special and couldn't resist. I was going to go with Ugly stick bigwater at a bit more money for the supposed durability (I'm rather clumsy).

OK so here's what we did.
Ugly stick. i cant' remember the model but I think its a 9 or 9 1/2ft light action 20lb test.

and Tekota Reel, we first brought in a TEK800 to look at it. it was AWESOME, but what a beast! lol. way overkill. sent it back and got a TEK600LC. which we are loving.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/ ... rc%3Daw.ds" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lamiglas ... downrigger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

a used fiberglass rod from the 70's or 80's is also a good choice. I used one I built in the late 70's for a downrigger rod all the way until I moved to Moses Lake 4 years ago. I also use it occasionally for sockeye. One advantage of fiberglass is it doesn't get strained while under tension in the downrigger. just a thought.

i had two older rods that snapped in half last year, lol.

There is a wrong way to release a line from a downrigger.

It will break rods.

zen leecher aka Bill W wrote:There is a wrong way to release a line from a downrigger.

It will break rods.

I typically now require visitors on the boat to supply their own rods/reels. lol

I run Fetha Styx downrigger series rods in 10'6" they are superb. Carbon fiber butt section so no damage from the DR rod holder. Good and light in the tip but strong enough backbone to handle a halibut.

I have them paired with the Shimano Charter Special lever drag reels. I like lever reels in the downrigger because I can drive the boat, and set the downrigger down with 1 hand and no backlash.

I've been using 9 foot lamiglas classic glass rods and Okuma Coldwater reels on downriggers. I'm using Shimano Clarus and Lamiglas X11 rods on divers. Nothing too special when it comes to trolling.

I run Shimano Convergence rods. Fish the Sound and Neah and they handle it all well. Horsing fish because of seals is a different matter.

To zen leecher aka Bill W: please explain the "wrong way" to release down riggers so that readers in here don't end up with poles snapped in half. Some people get in a big ol' hurry to get their gear out. Useful tips are appreciated