What's y'alls opinion on the the ideal set up for an umbrella rig. Brand of rod, reel, line.

Brand is your choice.. I throw it on a 7'2" Heavy action rod, a use Daiwa reels but that's just me. I use a 6.3 reel spooled with 50 lb Daiwa J/8 braid. I was using 65lb line and really didn't see any difference when I made the change. It was just time for new line and I had the 50 lb stuff. I'm sure some will say certain brands or models are what to need, But just keep in mind your will be throwing a very heavy rig that will wear you out using. lol well I'm getting older so. It does catch them when the conditions are right! Good luck!

I have trolled u-rigs in the past for stripers. I use a Cabelas 9' inner flow planer board rod, daiwa sealine line counter reel with 40# test braid. I have used some heavy u-rigs too. I used the Offshore planer board, I upgrade the line release. I have used this in Elephant Butte lake quite some time ago, worked great using a Co-Pilot Minnkota bow mount trolling motor to keep me on track. They don't make the inner flow any more so now a Cabela's DepthMaster III Trolling Rod 9' planer board rod is what is up. I guess the inner flow was too hard for people to figure out how to thread the line. Using it for contour trolling with live bait is very effective.

I like the Yumbrella Jr set up, comes with flashers hooks and white grub with a curly tail. I use a 7 Ft MH Temple Fork Outfitter TFO Rod, with a Plugger president reel with 30 lb braid. Or a TFO rod with a Mettle Reel and 50 lb braid for trolling

6.3 ratio Daiwa Tatula 200
7'9" heavy rod I think its a 13 fishing, it was a $99 rod, works great.
20lb tatsu floro

flash mob jr

I will be trying a new umbrella rig out this weekend. Using a st croix premium 7' heavy and johnny morris reel 6:1 i think. with 20lb fluro. Not sure how its gonna work yet

I use a Dobyns DC805CB, 8' M/H Mod Fast, mated with a Daiwa Tatula SV TW 6.3:1, spooled with Yozuri Hybrid 15 lb test line.

I use a 9 foot Cabelas Depthmaster, with a Daiwa Accudepth 57LC line counter reel, which holds a mile of line. I've had both of them for 10 years. I actually use 20lb CattMax mono from BPS on mine. Love the setup, but not a fan of big heavy Umbrella rigs, unless its on Texoma or PK. Otherwise, the Jr. ones seem to work better, in the shallower reservoirs, for me.

I use a Dobyns Fury 795SB for a-rigs and really like it. 65lb braid to 20lb mono.

It all boils down to personal preference but, I use a metal 8 inch leader with mint. That keeps the line from tangling up in the arig when casting it.

I have a 7-6H moderate action Abu Garcia Vemegance. $50@ walmart. Soft enough tip to launch and take the impact with backbone to reel. Use a 6.3.1 Shimano Caenan, big handles, with 20lb Mustad Thor mono. Like the Yumbrellas. Hard to beat for the money. I will say the yumbrellas you get at wal mart have terrible swivles and clips unlike the ones from Bass Pro. Big difference and worth the xtra $2.

7'3" Daiwa Aird-X Medium Heavy with 25lb Big Game Mono...I know I know cheap mono but I find using mono allows for some stretch so if you ever get a birds nest it doesn't break off your expensive A-Rig mid cast. I don't go with a heavy rod because I like the rod to load up and keep that consistent pressure on the fish when they strike. I learned that after watching tons of A-Rig videos from pro's on youtube and it seems to work great for me.