Recreation / Fishing Gear / Fish on! with Shakespeare Prius 66 2M

When my old favorite rod was stolen, I bought the Shakespeare Prius 66 2M as a replacement.  I liked the way it felt in the store and the reel had extremely smooth action.  For the money, this is a great set up.

The rod is constructed with tubular glass and has stainless steel guides with ceramic inserts. It features a graphite twist-lock reel seat, a foam grip, and a matte finish with a holographic label.  It is a two-piece rod so it can be broken down for easy storage in tight places.

The reel is a spinning reel.  The reel is open so you can see the line on the spool as opposed to a closed face spincast reel. Open spinning reels cast much more freely than their counterpart.  These reels are also easier to refill with line and to fix any hang-ups or line tangles on.

My favorite thing about this reel is the drag set is right off the spool instead of at the rear of the reel.  For me this set up works quite well. Additionally, the bail operates smoothly and always closes after I cast and crank the reel.

The only drawback I have experienced with this reel is it only holds 5 to 15 pound line.  Initially I loaded 10-pound test and that was insufficient for cat fishing.  I re-loaded it with 15-pound test and though it was better I still tend to lose a lot of gear from the line breaking.  I went ahead and put on 20-pound.  This works for the reel but I can't load as much as I'd like.  I just have to hope the fish won't pull all my line off.

This is the first combo rod I've ever purchased. I really like what Shakespeare did with the Prius 66 2M rod and they put a nice reel on it. If you are looking for a nice rod and reel, you should check out this combo.

Update on May 05, 2009 08:00

Watch my newly added video to see this Shakespeare Prius in action!