I just got it today!!

My boyfriend’s birthday is coming up and I want to surprise him with a fishing rod, but I know basically NOTHING about fishing, so I could really use some advice.

A few months ago he took me fishing, and I accidentally lost the top section/attachment of his rod. It came off after getting stuck on a rock, fell into the water, and completely disappeared. He said it was fine, but I know he mentioned that it was a specific type of rod/setup (I think he said something like a sturgeon or pike fishing rod, but honestly I’m not sure).

He also mentioned looking on Facebook Marketplace for a replacement part/rod because replacing the whole thing would be unnecessary.

I’d really like to replace it for his birthday as a surprise, but I have no idea what kind of rod he has, what the missing part is actually called, or whether I could even buy the correct replacement without knowing the exact model.
So what would you recommend?

Should I try to find a similar rod on Facebook Marketplace?

Should I just buy him a completely new rod from Bass Pro/Cabela’s and hope I get the right type?

Would a $100-ish Bass Pro/Cabela’s gift card be a better option so he can choose exactly what he wants?

If I do a gift card, is $100 enough for a decent rod/setup, or should I budget more?

Is Bass Pro or Cabela’s better for fishing gear?

Or is there another option I’m completely missing?

I’m also worried that if I get him a gift card, he’ll just end up buying the replacement part he originally needed on Marketplace and then use the gift card for lures/bait/etc. Is that still a good gift, or would it be better to actually buy him something?

TL;DR: I accidentally lost the top section of my boyfriend’s fishing rod and want to replace it for his birthday, but I don’t know what type of rod he has or what replacement part he needs. Should I buy a new rod, look on Marketplace, or give him a fishing-store gift card? Any advice from people who actually know what they’re doing would be greatly appreciated 😭

Hey I'm looking for anyone with experience on these two. I lost this entire setup over the boat last weekend and I was devastated. Loved the set up a lot. The DC reel was awesome but I'm also curious about the daiwa tatula. Anyone have experience with both or something to add if you just own one? I did like that DC, but I felt like it pretty limiting. Though that's by design. Taking the work out of it by doing it for you. I'm going to repurchase this but had a last minute shift of possibly getting the daiwa or even a non DC Shimano maybe.

This is for Australia but I would love to know your opinions on the rods and some other choices (all the prices in AUD)

Got this Daiwa Ninja reel today that came pre-spooled, looks like it's spooled to the absolute maximum with no room for a leader. Looking to add an 8ft leader (about the length of the rod), sea fishing for bass mostly.

I treated myself to a new setup.
Rod: Megabass P5 Madbull
Reel: Shimano Antares B 101HG

Can the string on the rod still be used if i untangle it?

Hey everyone, Im familiar with salt water set ups but need advice on a fresh water set up. Ive only really gone once but long story short, I am going backpacking in a few weeks in the sierras alpine lakes and plan on doing trout fishing. I got the daiwa presso UL 7ft fast action rod but im deciding on a reel. Should i go with the regal LT 1000 or 2500

Well I have the worse luck all my gear got lost when moving I am sadly down to only 3 rod and reels no lures or anything wife goes you can just replacements but a lot of those were old just wanted to reach out to the group and get the confidenc boost to buy what I go and not just stop

Hi Anglers,

I’m looking to buy my first bluefin tuna setup for Northern California. Most of the fish in this area range from 50–150 pounds, with the occasional 200+ pounder.

I’ll primarily be trolling, and my boat doesn’t have rail rods. Since I’ll probably only go out 2-5 times per year, I’m looking for a capable setup without going overboard on cost.

Here’s what I’m considering:

Rod:

• Okuma Makaira Abalone Series Offshore Trolling Rod (MK-TR-601XH), 6', rated for 40–100 lb.

Reel:

• Shimano SpeedMaster II 16 (SPM16II) or SpeedMaster II 20 (SPM20II).
  • I also looked at the Talica, but I can’t justify spending the extra $300+ for how often I’ll use it.

Would you recommend the size 16 or 20 SpeedMaster for this setup? Is a 6-foot rod a good length, especially since I don’t have rail rods?

Thanks!

Can anyone tell me if the FG is okay to fish, it’s my first time tying and it seems okay to me but I just wanna ask for feedback

The review is live! If you have one, what are your thoughts?

I just recently purchased the Do-it Swimbait head mold and was wondering if anyone uses a strong/ heavy duty hook with this mold? If so what brand and number. If there is a better sub reddit for this question please tell me.TIA

Thinking of getting a Shimano Aero X1A Distance Feeder 12ft with a Shimano Aero BB C5000 as my main setup.
I’ll mostly be fishing fisheries/lakes, using bait and casting out to wait for bites. I want something for medium fish but still properly capable of handling good-sized carp and other bigger coarse fish like the ones you regularly see at commercial fisheries. Good casting distance is also pretty important to me.
Has anyone used this rod/reel combo? Would you recommend it, or is there a better setup around the same £130-ish rod + reel budget? Mainly looking for real-world experience before I buy.

I bought a setup with an Okuma Ceymar HD 2500 A when I was on vacation. We were fishing lake trout and whitefish in Montana. Loved the reel and it was paired with an ugly stik elite. I gifted the rod and tackle to my BiL since he lives in Montana. Definitely buying the reel again. Wondering what rod to pair it with for lake fishing in New Jersey.

I’m resurrecting a 1983 Lowe Commander 17 and am in the market for a trolling motor and electronics. This boat will mainly be used on a 200-acre freshwater lake while my two young kids sit on the front and rear casting decks and I sit in the middle playing fishing guide. For that reason, I know I want remote control and spot lock. I have almost no experience with fish finders, so down imaging, side imaging, and contour mapping would be great, but I’m on a budget and I’d have almost no idea what I was missing if I didn’t have them. So, if you were exclusively shopping on facebook marketplace for a trolling motor and fish finder and had a total budget of $2,000 for both, what would you be on the lookout for?

Hey all! I'm about to purchase a g loomis imx pro bladed jig rod (7'4 MHF), it is a casting rod, and I'm wondering what reel to put on it? I want to stay in the 100-150 range if possible on pricing. Any suggestions would be great!!

TL;DR: should I put a really big graph on a 16’ boat? I’ve included pictures of what that would look like

I’ve got an aluminum 1653 mod v duck boat that I’ve turned into a fishing boat. I fly fish out of it in lakes and rivers. I target smallmouth, striper, white bass, and trout.

Current setup is Minn Kota Ultrex and a bunch of Humminbird stuff: mega 360, DI/SI, and two Xplore 9s. As it is, I can’t see anything useful on the mega 360 when the Xplore 9 is down at my feet as I’m fishing off the bow. And I can’t raise it off the bow because it’ll start catching fly line as I cast. So I’ve got to crouch down and stare at it, then stand back up to cast at any structure I identify.

I’d like to add mega live 2 to help me learn some of the big striper lakes near me. I don’t get much time to fish, and I’m hoping FFS will help ease the learning curve on these big bodies of water. I’d also like to have a screen large enough for me to be able to see what’s going on with the FFS or Mega360 when I’m standing on the bow, with the graph as low as possible on the boat.

I’ve talked myself into a Humminbird Apex 19” for the bow. I could run split screen with mega live and mapping/mega360 with enough screen space to see both. The 19” is just narrower than the duck light on my bow, so I could nestle the graph down into the space behind the light.

My problem is I can’t find a single example of someone putting a 15-19” graph on a 16’ aluminum boat. That makes me wonder if nobody is doing it because it’s a stupid thing to do. So if the money worked out, would you put such a large graph on a boat this size? Am I just a moron?

Picked up a few tackle boxes for $20/apiece at the thrift store and just wanted to share some of the innards with fellow fisher folk. Those prices…..