The Hunt For Big Fish with Larry Dahlberg

Hey larry, I'm looking for an new rod and need your help. It has to be 7ft or longer have a tip light and fast enough to throw a 3 inch D.O.A shrimp a fair distance but enough backbone to horse a snook out of mangroves. I'm sort of on a budget and looking for something enexpensive.

My 2 cents: I use the Cabelas Tourney Trail 2 piece 7 foot rod for weights up to about 3/4 ounce. This is a spinning rod. I have more expensive rods, but like this one because it works perfectly for the kind of application you describe. Cost is about fifty bucks, and it's very well made. Been using it for a couple of years as my favorite inshore spinning rod.

I would go somewhere like BPS or large store in your area and handle all of the rods. I fish basically the same type of lures and I love my St. Croix tidemasters. They are a little pricey, but I got them on sale via the internet. The custom Ugly sticks will fit your range, but they get heavy after a while. Daiwa made a flats rod for a while in the $30 range that I use for plugs. It is very forgiving and light, but they quit making it several years ago. Good luck.

That's good advice. It's how I found the Tourney Trail. I live near a Cabelas. I was hoping to limit my cost to $150 for a new rod, and tried everything they had within the general type I was looking for, and kept going back to that one. Came in way under budget on that one.

$140 is my current limit.