Well I’ve been looking for a 6’6” multi species rod for a while now and finally found it at Joes the other day….It’s a North x Northwest 6’6” Medium action rod with medium fast action. It has 7 guides + tip and has good balance and feel to it. Looks really nice too, a dark brown wrap. I figure I’ll use it for bass and trout fishing. I have a lot of trout rods that are just too light for bass use and my bass rods are too heavy duty for trout fishing…This one I can use for both so I don’t have to pack more then one rod now when I’m heading somewhere that I’m not sure what I’ll end up fishing for.
I’m posting this up as a gear review cause I know a lot of us here on the site shop at Joes and if you’ve checked out their selection of rods you’ve probably seen their North x Northwest rods before. Some of these rods are made by Lamiglas and Okuma and they just stick “North x Northwest” on it and are made for Joes to sell. They are usually cheaper in price but I have seen no difference in the quality of them between the other name brands. Just a little bit more affordable so they get my vote.
Anyways the rod was $59.99 and the reel was the same price. Shimano makes great reels, rods too now and I'm trading out a lot of my Abu Garcia reels for these Shimano's. This combo is sweet! I tried it out for trout but it was so windy I couldn't keep the boat straight to get the lines out...DID have a hit though, so thats something to be happy about...
The Shimano Sahara is a little more expensive then the Senora ($39.99) and the Sedona ($49.99) and I was thinking the Sedona was what I'd buy while walking into Joes, but after sticking the Sahara on that rod I couldn't resist. It just felt better. Anyways, if anyone has questions just lemme know. I know the rod and reel are a little more then some people like to spend, but this rod and reel is definitely one of my favorites now...
Here are some pictures of it. 6lb Pline strung onto the Sahara.
