Recently, Barresi made a post called "Take a pic of your favorite rod/reel". It quickly was dominated by baitcasters...so far Barresi's Cabo is the only spinning outfit in the whole thread. Then it morphed to a debate about left/right hand retrieve, which spawned Hossinonimus's thread "Right handed fishing". I had already started the thread "Favorite Baitcaster?", so I thought we could give the spinning combo some attention. Tell us your favorite, or post a pic of it.

I'll start things off with my favorite spinning combo, a BPS Johnny Morris JM40H on a Johnny Morris Carbon Black 6'6'' MH rod. I use this for large 7 to 12 inch plastic worms. It is spooled with 20lb. braid with a 12lb. flourocarbon leader.

Nice ! My choice is the Pflueger President !!! never had a problem with it!!!

My personal fave is a great budget combo. Its an Eagle Claw Avenger reel on a Shakespeare Durango rod. Plenty of backbone, not great cranking power but the drag is awesome. I can toss anything from a big deep diving crank to a tiny rooster tail with great accuracy and distance, comparable to a baitcaster. Entire combo ran me about $25, best fishing purchase I've ever made. Thank god for Wal-Mart sales!

That's a nice setup you got there Mo...As you stated, My favorite and goto setup is the Quantum Cabo 40 with matching Cabo rod 701MH. It's spooled with 30lb power pro braid. The drag on that reel is so smooth...it's hard to describe...lol. I still think u dont actually use any of those reels you posted...they look brand new!! I think there just for show! lol Just kidding with ya bud...nice setup!

Yep...you caught me Barresi...I actually fish with a borrowed Zebco 202. I took those Pictures at the baitshop...hee hee! Seriously, if you go to my profile page and look at the photos of my stuff, it all looks new. Some of it is, but some are older than me! Look at that old Pflueger Supreme I carp fish with...its clean as a pin. I don't get in a boat much, so they have no boat rash. I lay them in my van on a towel...they get babied!  
                                                                                                                                                                                                   

I have lots of favorites. LOL. However the one that I have fished the most over the years is a St. Croix Premier 6' L paired up with a Shimano Stradic 1000FH. I really should get the cork repaired on that rod, but I just keep fishing with that weathered out cork handle.

Hey Bob, it sounds like you've fished that St. Croix rod for a while. I've been thinking about upgrading to one. Maybe you can tell me...are they really worth the asking price? They must be...I've never heard anyone regret buying one!
                                                                                                                         

My favorite is a Shimano Stradic 2500 on a Cabela's XMLTi 7.5 foot medium light. The rod has those O so nice nickle/titanium guides that can be bent flat and spring back.

PSG- my favorite is the Pflueger President also that reel is so smooth and I have never had a problem with it. For the money you can’t go wrong. But I’m about to be getting an “okuma trio” hopefully within the next month or so. I want to see how the 6.2:1 gear ratio works out.

Hey Bassman, my Johnny Morris reel has a 6.1:1 gear ratio...that's crazy fast for a spinning reel. It picks up 43 inches of line per turn of the handle! I think you'll like the speed.
                                                                                                   

Posted By mo65 on 21 Dec 2011 07:06 AM
Hey Bob, it sounds like you've fished that St. Croix rod for a while. I've been thinking about upgrading to one. Maybe you can tell me...are they really worth the asking price? They must be...I've never heard anyone regret buying one!
                                                                                                                         

LOL, I can never justify the worth it to anyone else but myself.  I bought mine with skepticism and took a full season of fishing before I decided it was really a good rod.  It was all about lure presentation and manipulation.  Then how the rod loads and guides a fighting fish in.  Many different reels was paired up with it too.  Now I do have several St. Croix rods in Avids and Legends.  The differences are subtle, but sometimes subtle is the difference between catching fish or not.

I have a couple of Cabela's XML rods and a Shimano Calcutta rod that are top notch as well.  Some of my other most used favorites also happens to be Shakespeare Ugly Stick Lites as well.

Bassman: The President is a nice smooth reel. I think you will like the Trio. I got a Trio 30 as a field test and it has to be the most solid composite reel I have ever fished. Prior to the Trio my oppinion of composite reels was pretty low.

Love my 7' L loomis glx and 1000CI4 stradic. Most people prob cant justify spending as much on a rod but after fishing with it its tough to use anyhting else

Posted By esoxhunter on 05 Jan 2012 07:49 PM
Love my 7' L loomis glx and 1000CI4 stradic. Most people prob cant justify spending as much on a rod but after fishing with it its tough to use anyhting else

That's a good point esoxhunter, once you fish with a higher end product, its tough to go back.

I have my best luck on a 1960's Garcia hollow fiber glass rod [2pc] and a Zebco Omega 154 trigger under spin reel with 8 lb. test line.
This rod and reel combo outfishes everything else I own combo wise even graphite, !!!.

As a Steelhead fisherman in the NW, we've been spoiled wth the likes of Lamiglas and Loomis in our backyard.  So I went with St Croix a few years back.  I fished the Avid series with Shimano Symetre 2500 for quite a few years and rods in 9' and 91/2' and enjoyed them a lot.  I've been building rods for a while now and have experienced the St Croix SCV (Elite) blanks with SiC guides paired with Stradic 2500.  Awesome setup.  I also have one of Gary Loomis' new company, North Fork Composites blanks with SiC guides.  This is truly a nice tool, but very expensive and have been hard to come by.  I have one 20lb+ 44" bruiser on this rod and was amazed at the backbone.  The lighter weight with these set-ups alows this old man far less fatigue after a full day or three on the water.

My arsenal is filled with less expensive set-ups that only get fished when guests are on board, but all were important and effective when they were purchased, but I don't think I could go back unless it was an extreme emergency.

JustDave

6'6 ML St.Croix Premier w/Pflueger President 6730 (old style w/the rosewood knob on the handle)

Pflueger Trion with a Shimano Voltaeus rod.

My favorite spinning combo is my St. Croix Avid series rod paired with a Pflueger President reel. 

I rarely use spinning gear but my favorite combo is a Pflueger Solara on a Shakespere Ugly Stick medium action rod. My other spinning rig is an Abu Garcia Cardinal 101 on a Berkley Cherrywood medium-light rod.

You guys with the Plueger President on the St. Croix rod...that is a sweet sounding combo...has me thinkin'.

Posted By mo65 on 07 Jul 2012 01:23 PM
You guys with the Plueger President on the St. Croix rod...that is a sweet sounding combo...has me thinkin'.

I love to use it. I've caught fish that I would have lost with some of my other rods due to their lack of "feel". The sensitivity, quality and performance of the St. Croix rod is outstanding. Their warranty isn't bad either.
Several years ago I decided to upgrade to higher quality gear and I'm glad I did. I still like some of my other cheaper rods too but I've upgraded all of my reels and a few of my rods to higher quality gear. After using my St. Croix rod it would be really hard to go back to using anything less. The president reel I bought with it has lasted far longer that the reels I was buying prior to it and it still operates great. I won't ever go back to using cheaper reels.
Mo65... sounds like you may need to budget for a new rod and reel(?)

My favorite spinning rod is one I built myself.  It's a St. Croix SC3 blank with a concealed hood foam handle and Fiju guides, combined with a Mitchell Avocet gold 2000 reel.