First time at ABC

B
budney
I went and checked out ABC for the first time this morning. I normally just fish right under the Ferry St. Bridge (Coburg Rd.), as I live by Campbell Center. It was slow going for the first couple hours for me. A couple other guys there were catching them regularly. After messing with my set up and baits I was able to C&R 4, 3 would have been keepers. Not bad for someone who is new to canal fishing, and using hand-me-down gear. Here is one of the four I caught.

One problem I was having was getting my bait out there far enough. I know my rod and reel are the main culprits. So does any one have any recommendations for some good trout gear? I am more interested in specs than model #s and brand names. Thanx!

caf35d5a3fcd167c14ad4bdbbed2c5e8.jpg
 
N
navanafti
Personally, I use a $20 pole from bi - mart. Nothing fancy, by any means. I throw on three sliding sinkers, a swivel, about 18" of leader, size 12 hook, and a power egg. They seem to like yellow and bubblegum best. I usually fish the pond, rather than the canal itself, but that's what has been working for me.

Good luck, and tight lines!
 
B
budney
navanafti, thanks for the info! The setup I finally had luck with sounds very similar to yours. I hope to make it over to the pond sometime soon. It would be nice to have a bike to travel through Alton Baker quickly.

I am not looking to break the bank with gear, and I know good gear can be very inexpensive if you look carefully. I was looking more for length and action of the rod, and line size and number of bearings in a reel.
 
C
coyo7e
What kind of reel and what weight of line are you currently using? I've never really had an issue with covering the width of ABC with any cheap-o spinning reel and a 6'-6.5' light rod (I have a pile of them, and a few reels each with a specific weight/type of line for different purposes, but mostly just use my ultralight and lightest line around ABC for stockers). The longer the rod the more leverage for distance, and the heavier the rod the harder you can pitch it (but the less fun it is to fight smaller fish as well since there's less play). If you're using anything over 4-8 lb mono at ABC and JCP etc, you're probably overdoing things, and the thinner the line the farther you can pitch it before its own friction takes a toll. Follow-through on a cast is also important for maxxing your distance capability, it's like baseball or golf in that regard.

I use an old shakespear ultralight rod with a small Shimano spinning reel (both are probably at least twenty years old, I've had them since I was in middle school LOL) around there and have never had issues with distance, I don't think either of them cost me more than 20 bucks. Just take the reel apart every couple/few months and give it a dose of 3-in-1 or WD-40 and you're set, do it more often if you take 'em to salt water.

If you go into any Bi-Mart and chat up the person who's in the sporting goods department though and tell them what trouble you're having, they'll probably be able to help you get set up with a rod+reed+line that'll help cure whatever your issue is. I'd avoid pre-spooled reels with line already on them though, since the line itself can start to get a "memory" and if it's been sitting in a factory or on a store shelf for ages, it'll just make a birds-nest. All you need to know to spool your own line is that you want to have the label facing you, don't overfill, and keep a bit of tension as you reel it on... Also don't buy the cheapest line you can find for the weight (imho), I personally have had shoddy experience every time I bought the cheap/generic line over a brand I recognized.
 
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B
budney
coyo7e, I am using an old beat up combo of a Shakespeare real that takes 4-8 lb line (using 8 lb original Stren), with a 6'6" Berkley Lightning Rod with ML action and takes up to a 3/8 oz lure. This combo was given to me as a stop gap. I had a nice Fenwick/Shimano for years. I left it with family who I let use it, but the rod ended up being snapped and the reel was never cleaned. If the beat up combo wasn't so, it would be a nice setup for ABC.

You give a lot of good info on cleaning and casting. I grew up in SoCal and fished OFF the piers down there, so I do have some experience. I just don't have much experience in the way of freshwater fishing. From what I have been reading is that the ML action of the Berkley rod isn't great for trout. I am definitely not feeling the fish as well as I need to. The lack of distance is from the combo being beat up. I do like the idea of getting an ultralight setup, but I am not sure it would be a good idea if I go elsewhere to fish. And I defiantly don't want to over do it and loose that play once the fish is on.
 

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