Advise on gear for the river

[Lard Almighty]

If you're after bigger fish, I wouldn't go with any less than a 6 to 6.5 foot medium action rod. St. Croix is good, but multiple brands can get the job done. Get a good-quality spinning reel that can hold over 100 yards of 8-10 lb. mono. Gear ratio depends on the kinds of lures you will mostly be fishing. If you predominantly fish spinners, plugs, or other lures that are constantly under tension, you should go with a slower gear ratio (5:1 to 6:1), to prevent you from fishing the lures too fast. If you are doing a lot of finesse fishing with lures on a slack line, get a higher gear ratio (7:1 or higher) so you can quickly pick up the slack to set the hook. Line also depends on the type of lures; for steady retrieves I use mono, but when finesse fishing with plastics I'll go with braid and a ~10 foot fluoro leader.

I hope this is helpful. It's not the only way to do it, but it works for me.