# spinning rod for conventional reel ?



## Finny

I've been casting a jigmaster & a 309 with my 7'
boat pole useing a pint water bottle with 5 ozs.
I get 65 to 75 yds with them both the 309 can hit
80 yds now and then.
I've had some bad stuff happening with my spinning reels like the bail tripping there goes that
rig,I fought a huge ray for an hour and the anti reverse broke down that spinner didn't last a year! So I was left with one reel for the surf
will the bail trip or will it cast? 
So I start to fool around with my tin boat river
reels the jigmaster and the 309 and I quickly
get that yardage with my boat poles. I think
I can do this just need another 20 or 30 yards. 
A longer pole should do it right? Or wrong?
Well I'm not made of money so I'm thinking of
an 11' or 12' spinning pole for the jig & 309 ,
and if I am wrong and I can't get past the wash
with the penn's I will have a heavy pole for soakin
bait with the spinner. Any advice for some one 
who's been there done that. Or am I just dumb?


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## sprtsracer

*Depends...*

It sounds like for all you want to do with them, it won't matter that much...however...all rods have a "backbone" and the guides are placed accordingly. I.E. when a blank is held up and pressure applied to the tip with the butt on the floor, the rod will twist around to it's natural "bow". A spinner will have the guides placed along the inside of the bow while a conventional will have the guides placed along the outside. I probably haven't explained it too well, and don't get me wrong, I'm not an expert on rods and have never built one, (but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night) Anyway, for the way you intend to use them, it shouldn't matter that much, but if you want to get more distance, I would imagine a conventional reel on a conventional heaver would be best. As to length...that's a whole nuther ball a wax and there are guys far more qualified than me to speak on that subject. Hope I helped a little and there'll be others who will chime in as well, many of whom have built their own rods. They'll give you a lot of good advice.


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## Surf Fish

The purists will tell you no, you can't use a spinning rod on a conventional reel. I switched to conventionals a few months back, and I all I had were spinning rods (lots of them) so I used them for a while on conventional reels until I found some casting rods I wanted and learned that it was possible to cast with a conventional reel. 

Probably doesn't work quite as good as using the right rod, but it works.... Yes, a longer rod should be able to cast farther than a shorter one, but with a conventional reel, you'll also generate more seagull homes with a longer rod until you get used to it. I found out that when I "tuned" a reel to work on an 8' rod and then switched it to a 10' rod, the tuning process was null and void and I had to start over again. 

I know where you're coming from - I didn't want to buy a bunch of casting rods and then find out that I couldn't cast them. I bought the longest, cheapest casting rod I could find at Walmart, and once I figured out that it worked, I didn't have a problem buying more casting rods. 

Trust me - once you've crossed over to the dark side, you'll never go back. With just a couple months of practice, I think I can cast as far with a conventional reel as I can with a spinning reel, with a lot less effort. 

Many times I've stood on the beach and watched my unteathered tackle headed off in the direction of Italy. Only had that happen once with conventionals, and that's cuz I let the guys at P&S talk me into putting a shock leader on an Ah Boo reel with a level wind


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## Mark G

*Hmmm*

Let's see. Maybe I misunderstand. Sounds like you are considering buying a longer rod (11' or 12') to use with conventional reels. Why would you want a spinning rod instead of a conventional rod. Price wise they are generally the same price. THe OM 12' for instance is the same price whether for spinning or conventional casting. It definetely makes sense to buy the right rod for the reel you will be using. Longer rods will definitely get you more distance to a point, tho you may need some practice with it. 

The problem with using a spinning rod for conventional reel is that the guides on a spinning reel are spaced farther apart. When fighting a fish with the rod "upside down" you will likely see that the guides are not sufficiently spaced to keep the line from resting on,or even past a bent rod- makes it difficult to fight a big fish 

Hope this makes sense.


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## Mark G

*little more on spining*

Spining was pointed out earlier. This is finding the way a rod wants to naturally bend and then placing the guides on so the rod will bend in the correct manner when fighting a fish. IF you go aginast this natural bend the rod will to a certain extent want to twist when fighting a big fish- particularly one running to the side- just adds a little more problem to the catch.

Having siad that, cheaper rods are not likely to be splined correctly any way, so I wouldn't make to big a deal out of it. Custom rods are a different story.

Bottom line - right tool for the right job makes job easier-
course some peolpe like a challenge  
to each his own


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## poppop1

*spinning reel on a casting rod*

Just read all the info regarding a conventional reel on a spinning rod, I did the opposite, I put one of my Daiwa Emblem X-A's on a 12' Tsunami casting rod, would all the above info apply to this combination too? I'm not a expert distance caster, but this combo worked pretty well, a little short of my older All Star Breakaways with the same reel, needed another rod and reel for afriend of my son to use, so used what I had, any thoughts?, thanks, the old farmer in Pa..


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## creek

It does and also the collector guide which is the first guide that the line passes through after comming off the reel is much bigger on a spinning reel to allow for the loops coming off the fixed spool. This can cause a problem and shorten your distance.


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## sprtsracer

poppop1 said:


> Just read all the info regarding a conventional reel on a spinning rod, I did the opposite, I put one of my Daiwa Emblem X-A's on a 12' Tsunami casting rod, would all the above info apply to this combination too? I'm not a expert distance caster, but this combo worked pretty well, a little short of my older All Star Breakaways with the same reel, needed another rod and reel for afriend of my son to use, so used what I had, any thoughts?, thanks, the old farmer in Pa..


I guess whatever works...works. The important thing is to have fun and to catch fish. One can be a purist and use only the best matched equipment with the appropriate rod, reel, line and lure and have a blast. You can also take an old cane pole out to the creek and have just as much fun. I probably fit somewhere in-between, but I must admit that I am becoming somewhat of a tackle "Ho" and enjoy using the better equipment. That does not necessarily translate into catching more fish...it only means you have a little more fun when you are NOT catching fish. The only thing about using a spinning reel on a conventional rod is that you will get more "line drag" on the eyelets, and therefore not as much distance on the cast because of the way the line spools off the reel, but if you are only throwing a little way, and not trying to get past the "far sand bar" it won't matter. Heck, I've seen people have a heck of a lot of fun using a pocket fisherman off the edge of the pier. Since you are from PA, I'm not sure what part yopu are from, so it depends on if you fish western PA, Eastern PA, the Great Lakes, or wherever. As long as the equipment does for you what you want it to do, that's all that counts. Have fun and don't worry about the purists and us in-between-ers. When you hook into a fish that is more than your equipment will handle, then you'll get the itch to upgrade...and trust me...you WILL upgrade, just to get the same fish landed that you lost the last time. There probably oughta be a 12 step program for fishermen. "Hi, my name's Larry, and I'm a Tackle Ho". Just enjoy. That's what this sport is all about and you'll find some of the nicest guys around that participate in it.


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## cotton

Years ago when I used to fish a trolly from the pier, I thought I could get more distance for my anchor rod by getting a longer rod; I was using an 8 ft Star 35H throwing a penn 980, and I could get probably 80 yds out of it; it worked well from the pier, because 8 ft is about all that is practical due to crowded conditions; I bought a 12' conventional ugly stick H (which is now probably the most useless rod I have) thinking I could gain more yardage - I couldn't cast it half as far as my "boat" rod LOL! Understand that we knew NOTHING about surf rods (cause we were pier rats). If you buy a longer rod, make sure it can handle the weight you want to throw; that ugly stick looked to me like it would, but the tip was so limp it was useless; I thought about cutting it off but then I might have a useless and cut rod  I put it away for years, until a few days ago; I needed a lighter action long rod for pompano fishing from the surf; I stuck my 704 on it (yes it looked stupid having a spinning reel on a conventional rod) and it threw 3 oz pretty well; since I use sand fleas for bait, the combination of spinning reel and soft action rod (read limp) get me some distance without slinging the bait off; I caught pompano with it, so the fish didn't care. So for average fishing (and the distances involved) you can "get by" with such shenanigans...most rod building theory is really for the top end experts who push the limits of their equipment...someone who's talented and practiced enough to get the most out of it; not a bait soaker like me. 

The bottom line (to me) is: distance costs money. That first 70-100 yards is probably "doable" for most folks depending upon size and innate skill; after that, it takes MUCH BETTER equipment and MUCH MORE practice and technique. that extra 20-30 yards may not sound like much, but its not as easy as the first 75 yards or so (in my experience).


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## poppop1

Thanks for the replies, I've learned a lot over the years from this forum. That is a very good way of explaining good equipment, ( having more fun when you are not catching fish), I liked that. I have to admit too that I enjoy looking at all that high dollar equipment. Wish I were in Florida, it was 25 degrees here this AM, must go cut more firewood, thanks again everyone.


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## ReelinRod

creek said:


> It does and also the collector guide which is the first guide that the line passes through after comming off the reel is much bigger on a spinning reel to allow for the loops coming off the fixed spool. This can cause a problem and shorten your distance.


The rule of thumb for the size of the spinner collector guide is not iron clad when one uses braid.

Current thinking for distance is to throttle the loops as soon as possible with small guides. I use Fuji SiC Lowriders on my spinning distance rods, they have a 20mm "gathering" or collector guide.










Using a conventional rod with a spinner throwing braid (with braid casting leader, _*NOT MONO*_!) would not be a distance killer. Only problem I would forsee would be a guide wrap or two because the "gatherer" guide will be too close for optimal spinner performance.


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## rattler

did i miss something...a penn 309 and a jigmaster are both conventional reels...otherwise i agree with sgt_slough


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## Dyhard

Spinning rod for a conventional reel? I do it all the time, never a problem. I have several from 8' to 12'.


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## FishinTopsail

*Conventional reels on Spinning Rods*

I have used my penn conv reels on spinning rods, and they will work. I prefer the correct rod because of the spacing of the guides. The spinning guides are so far apart that when a big fish is on, and the rod doubles, the line can rub on the rod and may break if the fish is big enough. I use light line, and a shock leader for casting distance, and I don't want the line rubbing and risking a break when the big one is on. If using stout line it probably won't make much of a difference. I also used the spinning rods until I learned to throw the penn's. 
Good Luck. 
Johnny
http://www.fishintopsail.com


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## Fishman

Why would ya pu a conventional reel on spinning rod?


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## FishinTopsail

*conv reel on spinning rod*

I wouldn't put a conventional reel on a spinning rod unless I didn't have a conventional rod in the length I wanted to use. That was my situation and the spinning rod worked just fine until I was able to replace it with the correct rod.
Till next time.... 
Tight Lines!
Johnny
http://www.fishintopsail.com


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