I am new to fishing and have only ever used an old Berkley rod that my grandfather gave me several years ago. I shopped around and picked up an Ugly Stick this past weekend. It is a 6 foot, MH 8-17 test line. My brother and I have taken an interest in fishing and will be focusing mainly on freshwater and bass in particular. I am looking for a reel to pair with this rod and believe I have settled on the Pflueger President XT. My question is what size reel do I get? The President has a model that will hold a 17 pound test max. I guess my main question is should I get a reel that matches the max test for my rod? I know that I would not have to necessarily use 17 pound line but keeping that option open seems like a good idea I think. I am a little overwhelmed and would greatly appreciate any guidance anyone is willing to toss my way. Thank you in advance.

First off, I would not recommend a Pflueger product. They have gone to just about entirely plastic clutch mechanisms and are very much the same reel as the Abu Revo and the new Lews reels. Parts are hard to come by from Pflueger but the others can be supported. After the 1 year warranty period you are pretty much on your own from any Pflueger product.

In that price range a Curado E series reel at around $179 or a Citica E series at around $119. are a much better over all reel. If you want smaller there is a Curado E in the size 50 (CU50E). These are workhorse Shimano Products.

Quantum and Okuma also has some very nice reels in that price range and all are part and technical supported.

Either one will be a fine match for any rod that you come up with.


Good fishing and let us know what you do

I like pflueger