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[noobfisher]

Looking at picking up a new spinning rod down the line.

Decided on the St. Croix Avid Spinning Series .... trying to decide on rod length and action.  I already have an ultralight set using a Fenwick 6'9 ultralight fast action that I enjoy for trout but I fear is to light to chuck larger spoons for salmon.  So I plan to use this for shore fishing for pinks along the Fraser next year and perhaps Steelhead on the Vedder. 

Any suggestions? Thanks as always for your input!

[ynot]

i like 9ft for salmon casting spoons ,fraser and chuck. get longer distance. mine is a repala.RSC.

[bcguy]

Looking at picking up a new spinning rod down the line.

Decided on the St. Croix Avid Spinning Series .... trying to decide on rod length and action.  I already have an ultralight set using a Fenwick 6'9 ultralight fast action that I enjoy for trout but I fear is to light to chuck larger spoons for salmon.  So I plan to use this for shore fishing for pinks along the Fraser next year and perhaps Steelhead on the Vedder. 

Any suggestions? Thanks as always for your input!

If you like Fenwick rods then you should try a Fenwick HMX 8'6" 4-15# spincasting rod
Picked one up last year fishing for Pinks and Coho on the banks of the lower fraser
What a blast it is!!! Team it up with a nice reel like a Shimano Stradic C14 or a good Phlueger
and you got your self a great little set up that will give you hours of fun

[troutbreath]

I used one, I'm not sure which model, for Walleye fishing light jigs and was really impressed with how you could feel the bottom and bites. Really great rods for sure. But to me most any light and strong rod is going to be OK for chucking lures for salmon.

[Chrome Mykiss]

The St. Croix Avid rods are an under valued series of rods in BC. The high modulus SC III graphite make them very sensitive and responsive. Great workmanship and components with these rods too. I personally would choose either the 9' or 9'6", M power, 8-12lb line rating for your intended use. It will be a fun rod to fish with for Pinks on the Fraser, Coho in the Fall and Steelhead. This rod will cast everything from light spinners to spoons up to 3/4 oz with ease. It will also fish jigs both twitching and under a float too. However, if you are only going to fish with heavier spoons from 5/8oz to 1oz, you might consider stepping up to the MH power for more backbone on hooksets. Pair it up with a Shimano 2500 size spinning reel and 15lb Powerpro for a truly sweet setup.

[Drewhill]

The St. Croix Avid rods are an under valued series of rods in BC. The high modulus SC III graphite make them very sensitive and responsive. Great workmanship and components with these rods too. I personally would choose either the 9' or 9'6", M power, 8-12lb line rating for your intended use. It will be a fun rod to fish with for Pinks on the Fraser, Coho in the Fall and Steelhead. This rod will cast everything from light spinners to spoons up to 3/4 oz with ease. It will also fish jigs both twitching and under a float too. However, if you are only going to fish with heavier spoons from 5/8oz to 1oz, you might consider stepping up to the MH power for more backbone on hooksets. Pair it up with a Shimano 2500 size spinning reel and 15lb Powerpro for a truly sweet setup.

Good call. 9' 6" is what I use and it casts great.

[Every Day]

Rod I'm using now is light power, medium fast, 4-10 rating 8 feet long and a lure weight maxing out at 3/16 (important for me!)
Been awesome for beach coho, and river chinook (got a 20+ this wknd in less than 5 mins to the beach on it), river steelhead, pinks, coho, chum, everything.
Seems light but I find for some reason the rods that have that much flex but still have back bone seems to tire fish way faster.

Reason I want the rod to max out at 3/16 is so I can cast those crocs farther off the beach. Still handles 2/5 spoons very nicely (biggest I toss for steel/chinook).
Far casting is also an asset for me fishing lots of the larger rivers on the island, stamp, etc that I can cast right across with a light spoon for sometimes spooky fish.

To be honest, gonna beef up my rod a little bit this year, probably to a 4-12 or 6-14 pnd medium rod at around 11+ feet just so I know I wont break it, but so far over a year of use and the little rod I have now is still going strong, and I'll be honest, I land fish faster on it than I do most of the time on any fly rod or level wind set up (going back to, I think, the rod absorbing so much of the pull and tiring out the fish faster). Many times the fish wont even peel much line after the first run even though I have the drag set quite lightly.

In the end (might not be the most qualified to give suggestions though, just what I'v found), I'd go with a fairly long rod (8 feet or longer, my ideal that I'm looking for is 11-13 ft) with a medium fast action (partial to fast action rods). Anything 4-14 or 6-14 (not sure what they offer) and medium action will be perfect for what you want.

Have fun with it, gets addicting tossing hardware. I find myself doing that even more than fly fishing steelhead/coho now a days. There is just something about it that keeps me coming back...

[noobfisher]

Thanks for all the input.  Think an 8'6-9 foot is suitable for drift fishing faster water like the vedder for steelhead season with a spinning reel setup?

[Noahs Arc]

I wouldnt recommend a spin reel for drift fishing. Something capable of paying out line for a drag free drift would work much better.

[TheChumWhisperer]

Thanks for all the input.  Think an 8'6-9 foot is suitable for drift fishing faster water like the vedder for steelhead season with a spinning reel setup?

No..

10'6 or better for for float fishing the Vedder.  Also, it's impossible to drift fish properly with a spinning setup. 

[Fillibert]

Can someone expand on the spinning reel not being good for drift fishing? I was doing it the other day with an open bail with a hand on the bail. No bites. Wondering if that was the problem

[Noahs Arc]

Well you could get away with that I guess, however you want your drift to be drag free (in mist cases) but you dont want your line on the water because that will pull your presentation around. Also your hookset will be delayed with your open bail where as a baitcaster or pin you just have to bite down on it. Some spin reels have a feature that allow you to wind out line backwards (paying it out) but you would have to wind out while you're drifting it wouldn't do it on its own and would be a pain IMO.

[salmonrook]

Tried drift fishing a salmon spinning setup last year,to save money.
Was a pain in the neck to monitor the line peeling off and god help you if you had a strike ,in which case you have to flip the bar over to reel in .You will risk breaking the line if a spring hits or he will spool you.
Better to get a drift setup.imho

Good luck

[noobfisher]

Thanks, guess I'll have to keep practicing with my baitcaster for any Vedder trips and will look at the St. Croix for my coho/pink Fraser shore rod, thanks!