What is the best all around fishing rod and fishing reel combo? This video explains it https://youtu.be/GAncfvVayto This KastKing Blog about the best rod and reel combos is an excerpt from that video by Clayton Andrews.

“Maybe you're a newbie, you're new to fishing, you're just getting into it. You're thinking my goodness there's so many different kinds of fishing rods, so many different kinds of fishing reels this is overwhelming.  ‘I don't know what to pick. Do I need a medium heavy rod? Do I need a heavy rod? Do I need a spinning reel; a baitcaster reel?’  So, it is my hope that this video might make that decision making process a little bit easier for you. Not just going to talk your ears off.  You are going to get to see some fish catches as well.

His Favorite Rod and Reel Setup

“Here we go.  In my hand I have what I would consider to be my favorite rod and reel combo if I was only given the option to have one. If somebody said, ‘Clayton I’m only going to give you one rod and I’m only going to give you one reel, what's it going to be?’ And, that's all you get.  I’m going with this all day long. On here I’ve got the KastKing Speed Demon Elite Spinning Reel and I’ve got that paired up with the KastKing Perigee II Spinning Rod.  I actually already fished today.

What Is The Best Fishing Rod And Reel Combo

“Let's see what goes into making a rod and reel combo. Obviously you need yourself a reel and you need yourself a rod. I personally, again if you said you can only have one - you can only fish with one, what's it going to be?  I’m going with a spinning reel over a baitcasting reel all day long and the reason why is because I know it doesn't matter where I fish. If I’m fishing a pond, if I’m fishing out here on my lake, I am going to have no problems throwing every kind of bait. Now when it comes to like skipping baits and getting up under docks and getting up under structure, again, that's another reason why I'm going to go with a spinning reel because you know what I don't have to worry about bird’s nests and backlashes.

The Problem With Baitcasting Combos

“When you're using a baitcaster you're going to run into those problems a lot more. When you're throwing a lot more than when you're throwing a spinning reel.  Especially when you start using lighter baits. Again, I know I don't care what I’ve got rigged up on here. I can throw it with ease without any problems. So for me, that's why it's going to be a spinning reel when it comes to the reel selection because, again, they make them in all different sizes, all different gear ratios.

Best Size Spinning Reel

“This is the 3000 size. Right, so I do a lot of fresh water fishing.  So, I’m either going to go with a size 2000 or a size 3000. Again, this is personal preference, but I’ve always used those size reels. But again, if we're keeping this to one, and you can only use one, I’m going to say go with a size 2000 or size 3000 in the size of the reel. 

Best Spinning Reel Gear Ratio

“Now when it comes to the gear ratio this is where it gets a little bit tricky. I guess for me this is why I choose this reel right here. This is a 7.4:1 gear ratio, which is blazing fast.  I think it is the fastest spinning reel that you can buy regardless of brand. That's why I have it on here. That's why I would use it for my everyday combo because I know no matter what kind of fishing, no matter what technique, whether it's: soft plastic spinner baits, top water, Ned rigs, crank baits, swim jigs, this gear ratio is going to cover that no problem.  So, that's why I would recommend to you this reel is perfect and KastKing they're the only ones that make a reel that is this fast.

Best Fishing Rod For A Combo

“Now let's talk about the rod. This is the KastKing Perigee II spinning rod and this is a two-piece rod. It comes in actually  two pieces, but it comes with two different size tips or action tips. This is the medium heavy action, but you can also put a medium action and they also make different ones. But if again, if I'm recommending one, and you can only have one, I'm going to go with the medium heavy action rod. Now you don't have to select this rod. Let's just say you want something different; that's fine. But, I would recommend getting it in a medium heavy, because no matter what type of fishing you're doing: top water, Texas rigs, swim baits, moving baits a medium heavy action is going to be plenty. That is my recommendation.  That's what this video is all about.

Recommendation For The Best Combo

“If I could only pick one and I'm going to recommend to you guys, you can only have one, you're going to want this Speed Demon Elite reel because of the gear ratio meaning you can cover every kind of type or every type of fishing. And, I’m going to recommend a seven foot, somewhere in that seven foot range. I wouldn't go under seven foot, but I would stay right around the seven foot range in length in a medium heavy. You cannot go wrong there. I promise you I’m going to catch you some fish right now in this video.

Spinning Combo For Fishing a Weightless Senko

“Let's get to fishing! Here we go. Okay so I just rolled up to my first spot here and the first bait that I got tied on is this weightless Senko. This kind of bait is going to be perfect throwing on a spinning setup, not to say that you can't do it on a baitcaster, but the lighter the bait gets when you're throwing it with a baitcaster the more likely it's going to be that you have a likelihood or a chance of birds nesting and backlashing. Those things that we absolutely hate to talk about when it comes to fishing. So again, for me, that's one of the main reasons why I’m always going to use this spinning setup or why I would use a spinning setup if I only had one to choose from because these light baits like this are perfect on spinning reels.

Advantages Of Fishing High Speed Spinning Reel Combos

“When you're throwing these types of bait and soft plastics you know, things that are bottom contact baits, a lot of times they're going to get bit on the fall. So, the advantage of having us a gear ratio that's higher or faster is that as that fish takes off with your bait I’m going to be able to catch up to it a whole heck of a lot faster with something like this one. We got a gear ratio in the sevens. That is super quick; very fast.

“Switched it up. Now we're going to a swim jig, something on the totally opposite end of the spectrum in terms of baits and presentations and how we're going to fish this. The good thing about having this spinning reel in such a high gear ratio is when I throw this swim jig out I can do anything I want with it. I can slow roll it, r go real slow, let it just bump and bounce off of the bottom, or I can burn it. Now the good thing is about having this gear ratio here is I don't have to I don't have to create that burn or create such a fast retrieve by speeding up too much because it's already doing that for me and here in the reel. So, that's what's really nice about having this. No matter what I do here with this bait I can easily control it.

Clayton Andrews lives in Florida and goes bass fishing regularly. He is a former MLB player with the Toronto Blue Jays and loves kayak fishing, snowboarding and surfing.