Cabela's Brand Rods and Reels

[Fish_N_Russ]

Id like to hear some opinions on Cabela's brand rod and reels. I have bought some of their branded clothing before and had no complaints. Specifically I am looking to get a 'budget' steelhead bobber spinning setup and I have been looking at the following combos:

item #s

IE-116917 Fish Eagle Guide SS/Fish Eagle II Combo - GSS-35D (in rod sizes GS904 or GS1004)

OR

IE-118456 Okuma AV-30/ Tourney Trail Spinning Combo (in rod size SS864...yeah I know its only an 8'6" rod :smile: )


Looks to me that the Cabela's reels are made by Okuma (as well as Abu Garcia reels) from comparing the pics on the Cabelas site.


thanks
Russ

[Mojo]

I've owned several Tourney Trail and Pro Guide series rods, and they are excellent. I have mostly had 9 foot casting rods, and I love them for bottom bouncing and pulling light plugs. For the money they are about as good as you will find.

As for reels, I have only used one. A buddy bought a tournet trail combo with the cheapest reel. It was O.K., but I like Abu's better. Their better reels work well, from what I have heard.

IMO, of course.

[ 01-11-2004, 09:55 AM: Message edited by: Mojo ]

[spinner53]

I have two of the Fish Eagle Spinning reels, one's a guide ( 7 bearings)$69.00 and the other is a Tournament ( 11 Bears )$74.00.
I've had them for at least 4 years and they work great. Just don't submerge them, if the one way mechanism gets water clogged, it get a little harder to wind, I took them apart and dried the water out and they've been fine since. VERY SMOOTH ACTION, The bail reset device broke on one and a replacement part was sent to me ( ctually they sent 3, it's plastic and took a minute to replace.
Conversely, I have a Bass Pro shop spiining reel that I had for 6 years, that I have never taken apart, The spool even rides on bearings, talk about sweet. it also ran about 70 clams.
Needless to say , I won't pay Shimao for their name... for 70 buck, you may get 3 bearings. Just my opinion.

For $54.00 I picked up a Okuma Exipor ef 20, and it seems Muy Sweet, also it carries 10 bears. comes with a titanium lipped sealed spool and a spare aluminum spool. Have also used it practing in the yard, and the action is very smooth, well balanced, etc etc. I have it set up on a 6-10 lb. rod
You may want to get the ef 30, which is the next size up if you use a higher weighted rod, say 8-17 lb.

Plus the Okuma's can be had locally, no shipping, & you get to fondle it

[corkyking]

Bought one of those "Whuppin' Stiks" for $20 and was surprised at how fast they subdued the fish. So much bend in the rod that they couldn't find a weak spot. It's a little heavy and clumsy feeling for driftfishing but I really like it for trolling.

Their flyrod combos are great for a beginner to moderate fisherman.

Like Costco or Honda, it's the price you pay for the quality you get.

[Salmo Gairdnerii]

Fish_N_Russ....Last winter I bought a Cabela's Fish Eagle II GSTII 904s-2 9' CX2 Graphite rod primarily for jig fishing for summer steelhead. I feel it is a good rod, however my son Sparkleboy thinks I should have picked up a longer rod. He uses 10'6" and knocked summers dead all season. The longer rod sure looked fun during the fight (it would bend almost in two), but I started having pretty good success late in the summer with a 9' and I felt it played fish well with a lot of action. It also worked well with spoons and spinners on the day I broke my GL3. I feel it is a very good rod for the money. I learned this past season to fish jigs longer and more thoroughly to have good results with them even though I have primarily been a spoon and spinner guy.

[Chromaflage]

I was at Cabela's in KS last year and this is one of the issues I wanted addressed while I was there...basically, Cabela's contracts with several other companies to make their products and cut deals with them to put their name on them. Part of the agreement with some companies prohibits Cabela's from disclosing the actual manufacturer. Others don't....you can guess who would not allow discosure - most likely the higher end stuff.

That being said, you can call Cabela's and ask them....if they are allowed by their contracts to tell you who makes a certain produt, they'll tell you.

ORS

[KChookem]

I use the 10 ft GS1006 (10-20#) as a Flobber rod. I have the spinning model, but mostly use a 4500 or 5500 ABU casting reel with it. I like the rod very much, and it handles fish, and mends line, very well. However, it is a bit tip heavy, probably due to the length, but the handle butt rests nicely under my forearm and I can fish all day. Another minor annoyance is that it has metal rings to keep the reel in place, so in cold weather that is not as comfortable as an all composite reel seat.

I recently found a 9 ft. Berkley IM7 in 15-50# at GI Joe's, but I've not used it for Float/Bobber fishing (yet). It is virtually the same as the 8 1/2 ft. GI Joe's frequently has these rods on sale.

If you are looking for a spinning reel, take a look at the Mitchell 300X for $35-40, and compare it to others for weight, line capacity, and action. I find mine very satisfactory (although I've only used it a dozen times or so).

[float2ber]

I use a Cabela's rod for float/bobber/jig fishing also. 10 ft. 10-20# spinning. It's a great rod and I wouldn't be surprised if it is a GLoomis. Very high quality.

[TH]

Cabelas has been in business with Gary Loomis for years.... its nothing new... and when Shimano bought Loomis I think everyone noticed that Shimano started selling more rods under their name...

The Fish Eagle blanks are very nice...

YUou would be suprised at who really builds the different blanks we see out the on the market.. and even more surprised on what components they use!


A side note, Over the weekend I heard a some very interesting info regarding on of the major rod building companys... we'll have to see how things play out in the near future!

[spinner53]

Fiss n Russ, Remember, the 2 cabela's Fish Eagles are 4 and 5 years old. Just compared them, not very similar.
Will list Fish eagles as compared to Okuma
Gear box square as opposed to round
rotor square corner, okuma rounded
handle fold mechanism completely diff.
bail bend at roller immediate on the Fish eagle, but seems to come out of the okuma about 3/16" then turn, this seemed to catch or hang-up a few times as I opened the bail getting ready to cast, i did not however have any trooble casting.
Hopefully I'll get to spank a steelhead soonest.
If it gets really slow, I may remove the side plate and look into the okuma, see if it's like the others.
By the way, the device that causes the spool shaft to extend and retact looks like a level wind on a casting reel ( inside the cabelas)
hope this helps.

one more thing, I've marked my line roller so that I can easily see it rotating, has anyone else done this ?, and is it just too freakin' strange ??

[Bobby Ray]

FnR

I went over to GLoomis and took a tour of their plant just a few months ago and I was surprised when I seen them rolling blanks for Cabela's, That's right your buying a Loomis blank with a Cabela's name on it. Now keep in mind I didn't see what make or model of Cabela's they were rolling but they were. I kick my self now for not asking what rod it was.

[Fish_N_Russ]

hmmm very interesting big n bright :smile:

spinner53, does your reels look the same 'styling' as Okuma reels? The new Fish Eagle reels look very similar to me, so im thinking Okuma just makes the reels for them..........which isnt that suprising since it sounds like Loomis makes some of their rods :smile: