suggest a reel for med-hvy/fast rod...?

I have a St. Croix 7' spinning rod rated medium heavy w fast action.  I plan to use it for hunting northern pike.  What size reel do forum folks recommend for this rod?  If you have a brand preference that would be fine too.

I prefer a medium heavy bait casting rig for pike. But I go to Canada a couple times a year and since there’s 4 of us, there’s only so much room in the rod locker. I have a 7’ medium fast action St. Croix that I use for pike and lakers up there. I put a Plflueger President on it last year. Specifically the size 35. Size 35 sounds big but it fits and balances a 7’ rod perfectly.

Thanks so much for your responses.  It will be fun shopping.  

Shimano, Okuma, and Pflueger are the brands that I like to stick with for any species. Goture is my pick for setting up a cheap ice rod. However, if you are hunting big pike, pick a reel that has a higher drag strength. 40"+ pike are generally 20# or more, and are very strong. Something that has at least 15# - 20# drag should do job just fine.

I managed to pull in a 42" (about 21 pounds) pike this fall with a 10# drag reel, and there were several times that the fish had full control of taking my line out, even though the drag was set at full power. I essentially had to tire the fish out for about 15 minutes before i could get it to the boat, and I was constantly adjusting my drag to make sure that the line had proper tension. A higher drag weight would have allowed me to horse it in a bit quicker, without fiddling as much with the drag.

I generally use a 30# braid and sometimes 50# on my reels, such that the line is limp enough to cast lures further, as well as target smaller fish with jigs. 

As far as the spool size is concerned, pick a size that's common to how quickly you go through line, or how deep you fish. If you use swivels to attach your lures, you shouldn't be losing much line regardless.

I hope this helps! May the fish that you catch always be larger than the holes in your net!

I use a 3000 size reel on my 7' med/hvy and my 7' heavy St Croixs. One reel is a Daiwa and the other is an Abu, can't remember the models as they're probably 10 years old or more.  To me it feels like the perfect size reel for that size/power rod.  You could probably get away with a 2500 or a 4000, but to me I like the smaller size compared to the 4000 and the extra line capacity compared the 2500.