Originally Posted By: Jason B
Originally Posted By: bankbum
I must be a light line junky i guess.

I fish an 11'6" 4-10 ist or 11'6" 8-12 xst Rainshadows and a curado 201e7....Never any heavier than 10lb power pro or sufix 832 (love this stuff btw) and 10 or 8lb leaders.
My spinning setup is an 11'6" 8-12 xst Rainshadow, which is my centerpin rod, but I stick the spinning reel on it when I'm not having a good day with the pinner. Or my actual spinning rod is a 10'6" 4-8 rogue which fishes a little heavier, more like a 6-10 rated rod

That's my everything setup. Including kings in any water conditions. I've never felt the need to fish heavier. There's a few times throughout the season I get my butt kicked hard by a king....but I see guys fishing 4x heavier having harder times fighting fish than me.

I don't necessarily dislike fishing heavier than these setups. I just grew up fishing noodle rods a lot, so I've just learned to love light line fishing smile


Must be where you fish and what you fish for. My 12# rated 10.5' gets leveled by steelhead every year and can't put a dent in anything over 20# worth catching. I def am fishing heavier and heavier as I encounter the fish that matter. It only took me 15 years of serious salmon and steelhead fishing to get to the point where I can find the big boys often enough to warrant it.....









That last line was 100% sarcasm.


I don't fish the big fish rivers to much, but the satsop and nooch are my new home rivers so I'm sure I'll hook bigger fish more often. I have caught my fair share of steelhead flirting with 20lbs. Never over yet frown

I just fish with what I love to use. What feels the most comfortable to me. When and if I hook that fish of a lifetime I know I have the skill to land it....my gear may or may not hold up, usually I does just fine 80% of the time.
The longer rods make up for quite a bit. Knowing how to fight fish makes up for even more than the lack of heavy gear.