Rod and Reel ?!?!?

Im looking for a good rod and reel combo for walleye fishing. Itll be used for slip bobber, jigging, short casting...and maybe once in a while trolling. Hoping for a pretty much all around good rod. I was looking for a combo..or I could match a rod and reel. Im on a college students budget, and dont fish a whole lot, but need a new setup. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[REW]

If you are getting a single rod, I would get a 6'6" or 7' medium light rod with a fast action.

Either of these rods work pretty well for all of the above applications. Not necessarily perfect for everything, but not bad.

Since you will be able to cast a good distance with this rod, I would get at least a 2000 sized reel and possibly a 4000 sized reel.

Particularly when you are float fishing and cast it a country mile, it is nice to be able to quickly reel it in, when you are out of the fish catching zone. A larger reel also works well, if you are going to do some trolling and need to let out a lot of line to meet your trolling requirements.

As far as brand is concerned, it is up to you.
There are lots to choose from. You can go with the high priced spread, the middle spread, or the inexpensive spread. In general, a nice medium priced setup will work quite well for the person who doesn't fish too often.

You can check out some of the rigs from Bass Pro, from Cabella's, Gander Mountain, Fleet farm and others. Many of these outfits sell a package, that can work well for your particular needs.

If you have the money, you can spend $500 for a rod and another $500 for a reel, of specific brands. Will it catch more fish than the $50 rig - Mayby - mayby not. Will you be happier with the $1000 rig compared to the $50 rig. Probably not, if it means that you can't pay your school tuition.

Take care
REW

[Sportdog]

Excellent answer REW! You da man!!!!

I and several of my fishing buddies have purchased combos from Bass Pro. They have a varity of combos avaliable. If I were goig to buy just one combo for the variety of fishing you want to do I would get a Shimano Spirex rear drag Reel in 2000 size and 6'6" Bionic Blade (Med) combo. The Bionic Blade is an excellent mid price 45 million module IM8 Graphite Rod. It has the sensitivity required for jigging and can make the long casts for other application. Its a steal of a combo at around $90. I like the Spirex rear drag becuse it is easy to adjust and has the Fish Fighting feature on it which comes in handy for a precision drag adjustment if the fish Gods bless you with a Big Girl.