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The Best All-Around Fishing Rod setup | The Inside Information

Written by Jordano Costanzo on . Posted in Blog, Fishing

When I used to work at a sporting goods store I used to get asked this question a lot:

“What is the overall best type of fishing rod that I can use for any type of fishing?”

When I was working at this store, the people that were coming in looking to buy something weren’t die-hard fishermen. They weren’t guys looking for a million different setups. And, they weren’t looking for reasons why they should buy an expensive setup.

All they really wanted was a rod to get out there and fish from time to time, and they wanted it to be logical and of decent quality.

So, I want to walk you through a specific rod setup that should allow you to fish for whatever you want.

This is going to be a rod and reel combination based on size and power. That way, you’ll be able to get out there, and just fish a pond or whatever it may be with the same setup.

Best Fishing Rod setup | Rod and Reel Specifics

The rod that you will want to use in this setup is a 6’6” to a 7-foot, medium-action rod. You can certainly go medium-heavy if you want, but medium is usually a good all-around size rod to be able to handle the majority of fish you would catch.

best fishing rod length
A medium action 6’6″ – 7′ rod is the ideal size for the best all around fishing setup.
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best fishing reel
A 2500 to 3000 size reel like this one is perfect for an all-around fishing rod setup.

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Color diagram of the anatomy of a fish. Click here!

Along with a rod of this size, I would recommend a 2500 to a 3000 size reel.

If you aren’t sure what those numbers mean, simply look on the reel. It will often say 2500 or 3000, or it may just have like a code name with some letters and after it, it’s going to say “30” or “25”, that way you’ll know what size it is.

fishing reel size numbers
The fishing reels will typically have the series numbers indicated on the reel, as in this picture. Go for a 2500 or 3000 series reel, which may also be indicated by a “25” or “30.”

These reels are going to allow you to hold an 8 to 10-pound test line, or even 15. And, if you guys are going to use braided line, they can hold up to 25-pound, 30-pound braid. So, it’s going to be a good size spool to have enough line to use the lures you need and catch the fish you want to catch.

Learn 2 ways to filet a crappie!

Why Not Baitcasters?

So, why did I not recommend a baitcaster? Well, baitcasters can be complex, and it takes some skill and practice to use one.

However, a spinning reel will allow you to fish the majority of baits without much trouble. Most people are able to quickly learn to cast one of these and it’s just a good size rod to have all the time.

Musky fishing tips you need to know HERE!

In addition, this size rod comes in one-piece as well as two-piece variations.

This type of setup is what I grew up learning to fish with initially; just a medium spinning rod that allowed me to fish for just about everything.

best all around spinning rod
This is a good travel rod that I use all the time when I just need to do all-purpose fishing. It’s a 2-piece, 6’6” rod. It’s a medium action and this is a size 30, or a 3000 series reel. It’s just a good all-around rod for me. I have it stringed up with 10-pound mono. I use this rod alongside the boat. I drop shot with it. I walleye fish with it. I go pond hopping for bass with it. If I’m really getting bored and the fish aren’t biting, I can even use it for catfish.
Rod customization at its finest HERE!

Now, some may say, “Oh, you can’t catch giant catfish or carp on those size rods because they’re going to break it.”

My answer to that is, you absolutely CAN.

Use some braided line, make sure you set your drag correctly and have a strong knot tied, and as long as you know how to angle that fish correctly, I can guarantee you you’ll get it to the shore or into the boat.

Priceless life lessons learned fishing with Dad
set drag appropriately on fishing reel
Setting the drag appropriately, according to the fish you’re after and the type of line you are using is key to landing a wide variety of fish.
Get all the details on flathead catfish

Final Thoughts On The Best All-Around Fishing Rod

So there you have it. That’s really all you need to know about what the best all-around fishing rod setup is.

I hope I gave you enough information on the best all-around fishing rod setup. This rod size and reel size combo is fairly inexpensive and it’s going to be a fishing rod you can keep in your car or in your house… perfect for the everyday angler.

Check out THESE top baits for catfish!

So, whether you’re fishing on the weekends, or riding your bike around pond to pond; bass fishing, crappie fishing, or even looking to hook into a big catfish, it’s going to be an affordable and good-size setup to do everything you need to when it comes to fishing (well, maybe not shark fishing!)

I hope you put a hook N1!

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Jordan Costanzo of TightlineTV
muzzy trocar header image

Muzzy Trocar Broadheads Review | The Inside Information

In this review, I took an in-depth look at the Muzzy Trocar broadheads.

I know, the Muzzy Trocar head is not new. It has been around for a long time, and I’ve used it in some of my other tests, but I’ve never done a comprehensive test on it alone. So, that’s what I did.

Muzzy Trocar design specs

The Muzzy Trocar and it’s a pretty cool-looking head. And as you can see, it has a short overall profile, which is going to aid in flight.

muzzy trocar short profile
The Muzzy Trocar is all steel and has a short overall profile.
muzzy trocar offset blades
The Trocar has offset blades in a right helical pattern, which helps aid in rotation, making them more accurate.

It also has offset blades. In the above picture, you can see that the blades are arranged in a right helical offset pattern, which helps with rotation and aids in flight, keeping them more accurate, due to a spinning effect. This feature makes it different than many other 3-blade broadheads.

And, then within the animal or any medium it hits, the blades will continue to rotate. It’s going to create a decent wound channel inside the deer or other animal as well.

The ferrule of the Trocar is one-piece construction of steel, with a really nice, small, but stout tip.

Curious about the FOC of your arrow?
muzzy trocar 1-piece ferrule
The Muzzy Trocar has an all-steel, 1-piece ferrule.

The blades are all steel as well and they’re 0.035 inches thick, with a cutting diameter of 1-3/16 inches.

So, it provides a pretty decent size cut, just one 1/16 of an inch bigger than the standard 1-1/8 inch cut. This head is 100 grains.

Now, another thing about them is they have a 3-point blade retention system. The blades are held in place at three different points just to make sure that you don’t lose a blade, even on hard impacts.

They have a nylon washer at the bottom just to help secure them snuggly to your arrow.

Muzzy Trocar 100 Grain 3-Blade Broadhead 3 Pack, Multi, One Size,Silver
Muzzy Trocar 100 Grain 3-Blade Broadhead 3 Pack, Multi, One Size,Silver
$30.74
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Performance tests

I was eager to put these to the test. I tested them for long range flight, edge sharpness, edge retention, for penetration, and durability.

As always, in these tests, I used my Bowtech SR6 set at 72 pounds. I used Bishop Archery FOC King Arrows in 460 grains.

All right. Let’s see how the Muzzy Trocar performs.

Long-range flight

the Muzzy Trocars flew great at 70 yards. I was able to pop a balloon with no problem.

Out of the box sharpness test

In the out-of the box sharpness test, the Trocar was able to cut paper after five strokes of an arrow shaft. And, I will add that by the way they cut the paper, they are some of the sharpest blades that I’ve ever tested.

out of the box sharpness test on muzzy trocar
In the out of the box sharpenss test, the Muzzy Trocar sharpness was quite impressive. It was about to still cut paper after 5 strokes of the arrow shaft and were some of the sharpest blades I’ve tested to this point.
stroking an arrow shaft on muzzy trocar
I use a carbon arrow shaft in my sharpness test to dull the blade, in order to see how many strokes of the arrow a broadhead can take and still cut paper. I use a maximum of 5 strokes, which the Trocar was able to handle and still cut the paper.
This broadhead has SIX blades!

Ballistic Gel Penetration Test

I shot the Muzzy Trocar through ballistic gel to test penetration. The Trocar penetrated 9 inches, which is pretty impressive penetration. See picture below.

muzzy trocar penetrating ballistic gel
Muzzy Trocar penetration in ballistic gel… 9 inches.
A quick and easy calculator to find arrow speed!

Steel plate test

In the steel plate test, I shot the Muzzy Trocar through .22 gauge steel plate five times.

As for the holes themselves, you can see below that it really does make three “slits” rather than three big triangles.

You get a little bit of an extra curl because of the offset blades, but it’s not the most impressive wound channel compared to some others like the Exodus broadheads. (That one opens up much more of a triangular hole than it does three slits). But, in terms of durability, the Trocar did very well.

muzzy trocar after steel plate test
Here’s the Trocar after going through the steel plate five times. And, as you can see, it held up really well. Two of the blades did remarkably well, but this third one got pretty dinged up. But again, that’s after several shots. And the tip was in great shape. Of course the ferrule is in great shape. It still spins true.
G5 Striker X broadhead review

Muzzy Trocar broadheads review | Final Thoughts

So what do you think of the Muzzy Trocar?

I’ve got to say, it’s a performer.

I know this head has been around for awhile, and it can easily be overlooked by many, with all of the new heads that are coming out. But, this head definitely has a lot going for it.

This is a pretty stout head.

It flew fantastic. It penetrated really well, made a nice wound channel, and held up pretty well.

So, check out the scorecard below and see how it compares to other similar heads like this and see if it’s the right head for you on your next deer hunt.

muzzy trocar scorecard
This is the final scorecard for the Muzzy Trocar.
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John Lusk of Lusk Archery Adventures
g5 deadmeat broadhead

G5 Deadmeat Broadheads Review | The Inside Information

In this review, I tested a mechanical called the G5 DeadMeat broadheads.

Right off the bat, I was very impressed by the design. First of all, it’s a 3-blade head and it has a cutting diameter (when blades are fully depoloyed) of 1 and 1/2 inches, which is nice.

That cutting diameter is perfect for whitetail deer, turkey, smaller hogs, and so forth.

I’m typically a fixed blade guy, but I’m constantly looking at the latest and greatest broadheads, and always willing to try some new mechanicals.

The G5 Deadmeat broadhead at first glance

g5 deadmeat broadhead in closed position

I like the configuration of the blades on this head. As you can see, it’s really stout. It has a super short profile, and when the blades are in the closed position, it’s very small.

g5 deadmeat in deployed position

This is the G5 DeadMeat in the deployed position.

Flight

These heads fly incredibly well. They come with a ballistic match point which looks just like the regular head’s shape that’s basically a practice head. It flies just like the regular head would fly.

They are also  extremely forgiving. Now, I realize that a lot of heads fly very well. My bow is really well-tuned. I can pop balloons with fixed blades out to a 100 yards, but this is on the extra forgiving side for sure. So, I love that.

Does your arrow have a high FOC?

Head Construction

On the downside, I don’t like that it’s just a metal injection molding. I’m not a huge fan of that. It’s still good, and it’s better than a lot of aluminum heads, but it’s not as good as machined heads (of course, it would cost a lot more if it were a machined).

However, it is still a solid steel and it has a two-piece ferrule. It is a few different composite pieces of steel, but it is, in essence, 100% steel.

g5 deadmeat broadhead components

The DeadMeat also has a cool retaining clip that is replaceable, which allows the blades to lock in place. When they lock in place, they make a little snap sound. I like this much more than a rubber band. I also like it more than the retaining clip that Rage uses, where you’re hoping it’s really in there, but it doesn’t have that little dimple to lock it in place. This blade should not come apart when they’re bumped and they shouldn’t come apart in flight at all. I also like that it’s also a solid steel construction. That’s a big plus. Everything is steel.

Looking for a fixed 3-blade that’s “Tuff?” Check this out…

In the first test, I shot the DeadMeat through a 3/8” piece of plywood. This is my favorite thing to do with mechanical broadheads, so that I can see how well they deploy upon entrance. It also helps me see how well they penetrate and hold up to the plywood. In many ways, it’s similar in consistency to bone.

If they don’t hold up to plywood then I’m not going to be hunting with them for sure.

So let’s see what happened with the DeadMeat in the 3/8-inch plywood.

G5 Outdoors Deadmeat 100% Steel Expandable Standard Broadhead (3 Pack + Practice Tip) (Made in The USA)
G5 Outdoors Deadmeat 100% Steel Expandable Standard Broadhead (3 Pack + Practice Tip) (Made in The USA)
$59.95
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In the testing, I used a footed Hexx 330 arrow with a total weight of 500 grains and I shot it out of a Hoyt Carbon Spyder 30 at 73 lbs.

Plywood penetration test

After shooting into the plywood, the blades were not near as sharp. So, they dulled significantly such as metal injection molded blades will often do.

blade deployment of deadmeat in plywood

The blades fully deployed on impact. However, while two of them deployed all the way, one did not have deployed quite as much. That’s interesting. Maybe because it was going with the grain of the plywood.

Check out this “MEGA” broadhead!
back of plywood after deadmeat penetration

On the other side of the plywood, you can see it certainly made a nice hole. Penetration was very good.

Awesome archery tees HERE!
deadmeat bent blade

Although the blades dulled after the plywood test, they did, however, hold up remarkably well. The only problems was that one of the blades had a little bit of a bend to it.

Use this arrow speed calculator to find the speed of your arrow!

Something to watch for

I have known someone who had one of the three heads in his pack that had blades that would not deploy at all. Upon further inspection, he found that there is a groove that the blades slide up and down in.

This groove can contain small burrs, which is what was preventing his blades from opening. He talked to G5 about it, and of course, they replaced them. But, that would be something to test before you shoot them to be sure the blades are sliding and opening effectively. 

DIY arrow building… click here to learn!

G5 Deadmeat Broadheads | Final Thoughts

These heads have good durability. I’m impressed with that. They have a really good cutting diameter size for a 3-blade and it will really make a nice hole.  

In addition, flight is extremely good. You should always have a well-tuned bow. But, this head would be extremely forgiving, even with a bow that is not optimally tuned.

deadmeat blade angle

The only thing that is a little concerning is the blade angle. You can see here that it is really steep when the blades are fully deployed; it’s almost horizontal. Because of that, it won’t get as good of penetration as if the blade angle were more streamlined. Although that is somewhat of a concern, I don’t believe it would be a problem at all with deer, smaller hogs, or turkeys. So, if that’s what you are hunting, I think this could be a winner of a broadhead.

While this head would not be my first choice on an elk (those bones can be really tough, and I would want to be sure to use a fixed blade head on an animal like that), I’m sure it would take an elk if you hit it in the right place.

But, it would be great for hunting whitetail deer, turkey and small hogs.

Overall, I give this head a thumbs-up.

John Lusk archery goat
John Lusk of Lusk Archery Adventures