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[SirCastsAlot]

So I have a 15% off at army and navy and I would like to get a new spoon/spinner rod/reel for fishing trouts/kokanee/pinks.  My current float setup is: 10'6" Trophy Titan XL 3106 and Diawa luna 300. Which is a little to long and overkill I believe.

So I have looked through some old threads on here and have found that the Shimano Claris is a really nice rod for this. I went to Army and navy and they have the following:

Shimano Claris CSS-86M2B - 8'6" $119.99 +15% off
Shimano Claris CSS-86M2B - 9'0" $134.99 +15% off

Now which one to get!!! I like the 8'6" as it is a little smaller and can chuck lighter gear, but with the 9' I can put a levelwind on it maybe and use it for chucking gear and also for the GF/backup rod for float fishing..

What do you guys think?

My budget is < $200 for Rod/reel and was thinking of just going with the shimano spinning reel 4000 ($40) or a levelwind.Or any other one you guys recommend.
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Other Option:

Sea-Run is having their sale next Friday and if I get there early enough, I can get 40% off a St.Croix/G.Loomis rod. But if I wait that long, the 15% coupon expires from army and navey.

[EZ_Rolling]

I have the 8'6" and find it to be a good rod for smaller rivers, if your primary fishery is the Vedder or similar size rivers I would suggest the 9 foot.

[typhoon]

All of those options are overkill for trout. 7' med to med-lt action spinning rod is a better choice.
Levelwinds are not preferred for tossing smaller gear. I use an 8'6" 4-8lb spinning rod for Pinks and Coho. I find it is underpowered for Chum and extremely underpowered for Chinook.

[Zackattack]

I'd probably look at something a little lighter for what you intend to use the rod/reel for.

I have that Clarus rod and ignore it all the time for lighter gear.  A 2500 Shimano will be more than sufficient for trout/kokes and will be great for pinks  while still being lighter and easier to manage than the 4000.

[SirCastsAlot]

Thanks for the input!

Any recommendations on a lighter setup rod to use for pinks/kokes and trout? Other Rod someone recommended was Fenwick HMX 7'

[ynot]

take a look at the repala rods at a&n.

[BananasQ]

Sea-Run is having their sale next Friday and if I get there early enough, I can get 40% off a St.Croix/G.Loomis rod. But if I wait that long, the 15% coupon expires from army and navey.

A sale at Sea-Run, pray tell - do you have any more info on this? Wife is picking me up waders for upcoming birthday and I want to see if I should tell her to hold off.

[BananasQ]

Nevermind - found it: http://www.sea-run.com/sale2015/   

[Humpy]

Any medium/medium light action around 7' in length will be suitable. As others have said, a reel in the 2500 size will be ideal for your target species.

[Tenz85]

I believe Clarius has a 9ft med fast 6-10# for the spinning reels but not sure for baitcasters, or maybe it was the other way around. Fenwick HMX also has a 2-8# line up which i picked up but havnt yet tried. $200 may be tight for st croix or g loomis with a reel. Best adivce I have is to go to the store and make sure they have it in stock.

[Animal Chin]

x 3

Shimano 2500 size, move along their lineup according to your budget .. overall I liked Shimano spinning reels the best. Smooth.

I also spool it with 12 lb (I think .. ) Fireline Crystal. I know some don't like this line, but I've enjoyed using it. Casts a mile and strong. I rig the mainline to a swivel and then a 4-5 ft fluoro leader (12-15 lb).

I usually cast 1/4 oz crocs, jigs and smaller buzz bombs.

I don't think you can go wrong with a Clarus, HMX etc in 9 ft range. If it's fast action, I think you could even go down to a "light" power rod.

I recently bought a Shimano Exage 9' telescopic (med), Searun had a few they found in their backroom, and it's not "ideal" but works well and serves my purposes for coho season on the Vedder. I hate bringing two rods to the river, float fishing is my primary method, so this works well for me as far as portability etc. And makes a great travel rod ... pike/muskies, walleye ... I'm confident I can handle anything under 12 lbs in a current on it.

It collapses down to about 1.5' with lure rigged, fits in sidepocket of bag out of the way and has a fighting butt. Actions not perfect and neither is the "sensitivity", if anything it's a little stiff with a strange balance but it can cast a 1/4 croc as far as my 9' St. Croix triumph 2 piece light action.

For trout and kokanee (if I catch any) in the Lower Mainland, I use an 6 ' ultralight rod and Pfluegger President (eqv. to a 1500 size) reel. Cabela's IM6 graphite 2 piece for $25 and a $40 reel. And this sometimes feels like overkill. I'm confident I could take a 4-5 lb rainbow in a lake with this setup. Really like an ultralight setup for trout (1/8 oz spinners, bubble float etc). 

[SirCastsAlot]

Thanks Guys, great info!!!

[clarki]

You could also scale down to a 1500. I have used a Shimano Sedona 1500 for many years as my primary reel for cutthroat, pinks and coho. Nice and small and holds an ample amount of line for my purposes.     

[typhoon]

Shimano Symetre 3000 for me. 150yds capacity is nice for chum bycatch.

[Rodney]

The 9' Shimano Clarus CSS90ML2B spinning rod rated 6 - 10lb with a 2500 spinning reel is really a fantastic spinning outfit for coho and pink salmon. The more I use it, the more I enjoy it so I keep recommending it to anyone who wants to get into spincasting for salmon. It worked great for me during last year's coho salmon season, and it'll be more than enough for pink salmon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOnmPLQogIA

This outfit however is too heavy for trout and kokanee. I'd get a second spinning outfit, rated ultralight for these two species. Personally, I use a Shimano 1000 reel with a Daiwa Spinmatic-C rod rated 2 to 6lb. The one I have right now is 7' long, and it has actually performed superbly on bigger species like bull trout. The Spinmatic-C series is a bit stiffer/thicker than the previous series, Spinmatic Tuflite. You can see this outfit performing in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5HSwaXl2Dc