new2BC4bass

Majority will have either a mono or co-polymer line. As a general rule there will be 8# on reels used on Medium power rods, 12# on MH rods and 17# on Heavy rods. I also use 8# on ML rods with a couple having 6# and one with 10# braid. Technique plays a part in determining which line I choose. A Patriarch XT has 40# braid. I use it mostly for fishing lily pads...usually with a plastic worm. My Curado 201E is on my frog rod and has 60# or 65# braid. (I'd have to look for the box to know which.) There are other exceptions to the general rule. I've got 10# Super Natural on a reel used for cranking. I will be going to 8# on this reel. It is used on a rod for shallow cranking and has a shallow spool. Also a reel with 10# fluoro for cranking. 15# mono on one reel that sees a lot of use with spinnerbaits. Actual breaking point of a line is starting to make a difference in my line selection. As an example, I have some 8# and 10# CXX and 10# Yo-Zuri Hybrid to try where 12# would have been my normal choice. Generally a small diameter line handles better than a thick one. So if 8# CXX has the diameter and breaks at the same point as many 12# lines, why would you want to go to the larger diameter 12# CXX? Unless you were looking for a line breaking at 20#s plus. EDIT: I want to point out that these are MY choices. A friend uses 15# CXX on the majority of his rods in Medium and MH. Works for him.

And you can get a $69.95 backpack for free with proof of purchase if you buy it from BPS. If you buy it from TW, you have 4 choices for free stuff.

Wow. Sure has been slow lately. At least this thread isn't 10 years old. Always nice to know what current reels are the best for your buck. Surely a few more will jump in with suggestions.

Yup. 40 yards should be doable with about any reel. DVT cleaned an older Trion for me. Spooled with 17# mono, mounted on a 6' 10" HF and casting a 1/2 oz. jig plus trailer it will do 40 yards or better all day. It was a $100 reel when new. An older 7' ML HMG with a TD-Z 105H spooled with 8# mono will cast a #5 Shad Rap (3/16 oz.) 30-35 yards with no problem. No doubt further in a better caster's hands. A 1/4 oz. compact lure should do 40 yards easily. I (and others) could go on with plenty more examples. I've got reels from at least 8 brands. All will make that 40 yards with the correct set up.

I got my Tat for $98 and Type R for $131....both originals. For me the Type R was worth it because I got the faster ratio that is unavailable in the standard and I liked the finish of the Type R better. Leftymuk, I like your reel handles....but I think you should change your handle to Rightymuk.

I got a chuckle, too. But to add my .02c worth for any newbie looking...closeouts can be great. $200 reel for $98, $300 rod for $75. Some sales can be great. $225 reel for $104, $279 reel for $156, $180 rod for $75, $225 rod for $87. You just got to keep looking. Walmart Online has some super deals at times.

Not a lot of Heavy bass spinning rods, but Falcon has a 7' HF in the Bucoo SR line rated 3/8-1 oz. I've no experience with this line although I do own several Falcon rods. Diawa Tatula and Tatula XT offer a couple MHF rods at 7'2" and 7'3" respectively both rated 1/4-3/4 oz. No experience with the XT line....or either line in spinning....but I own a few of the original Tatula casting rods and feel they are very nice rods for the money. Especially since they can be found for about $110. I'm also of the opinion that a MHF with that rating would be more versatile than a HF rod. I am a fan of the Fenwick HMG rods. They offer two 7' models that should work nicely for what you want. One more in the Heavy area although listed as a MH. In reels the Pflueger President is always a good option. About the same price is a Diawa RG. I gave one to a brother-in-law for his birthday and he is loving it. Of course he normally buys all his gear at Walmart, so..... No experience with Dobyns rods, but they get excellent reviews. The Sierra and Supreme are going to put you on the high end of your budget. Any combination I mentioned will be about $80-$100 below your $250 limit.

I don't know how it works, but I have had backlashes that weren't anywhere near that bad, yet I had to pull all the line off the spool to clear all the loops out.

Never carry more than 2 combos at a time while walking the bank. However, there are always several more sitting in the car. Number depending on if my wife rode along...in which case I won't be there very long....or if by myself. With wife...3 or 4, by myself 8-10.

Wow. Thread is 5 years old. If the OP doesn't have a finesse casting rod by now he never will. BTW OP, what rod did you wind up with? Are you even around now?

Sorry. Saw it. Should have said thank you earlier.

According to what ww2farmer says, the Lightning Shock is quite versatile. Read posts from fishnkamp and smalljaw67 My only experience is with the original Lightning. It is a 6 foot spinning rod rated 1/8-3/8 oz. that caught more fish in my youth than all the fish I have caught since getting back into fishing in '09. I do have a 6' MHF Lightning baitcast rod that is dedicated to spinnerbaits. As I said, I like my HMG rods. Fenwick makes a 6'6" & 7' MF rated 1/4-3/4 oz. that should work for plastics. I have a couple ML rods, but don't feel they are as versatile as a Medium for bass fishing. Guess it would depend on the weights you plan on using. BTW, that 1/4-3/4 oz. rating is what I consider a MH in my baitcasting rods. Most of my Medium baitcasting rods top out at 5/8 oz. Some ML spinning rods top out at the same weight. As you have already discovered, there are plenty of options open to you. Some of the store brand rods can offer good value for the money. I can't help you with store brand rods although I do have 3-4 of Cabela's Prodigy casting rods. They are a decent rod....especially considering I got them on sale.

Did you read this stickie? A couple lower cost rods that get good reviews are the Berkley Lightning and Lightning Shock and the Ethos H20 rods...which go on sale a few times a year. The Veritas 2.0 for a bit more is also well liked. In the $100 range I like my Fenwick HMG rods. There are several rods at this price point that are said to be pretty good for the money....such as the Powell Inferno and Falcon Bucoo. A few here have been recommending the Dobyns Fury at $110. Sportsman's Outfitters still has a couple models of the original Tatula spinning rods left at $110. I've not used a Tatula spinning rod, but own a few of the baitcast rods and have to say they are extremely nice. Personally I think they were well worth the $150 list price. I am going to assume that $110 is going to be the most you would be willing to spend so I will forego mentioning any higher priced rods. There are 2 things you should do. 1) Keep an eye out for closeout sales and 2) keep an eye on the For Sale forums. Both can lead to some pretty good deals. My most expensive rod was on closeout. A $300 Daiwa spinning rod for $75 shipped. EDIT: Stickie says "Baitcast rods", but it would still apply for spinning rods.

X2 I run spool tension like this, but seem to need more brakes than many use. Often my tuned reels let me run lower brakes than on my factory reels. Mostly run stock reels in the 6-8 area (of 10) but less for tuned reels like my TD-Z 105H and Zillion 50th Anniversary. I've always felt that I get better distance (on any reel) with less spool tension and more brakes...if needed.

Got to agree with John. Your Diawa should be doing a lot better than that. Play with the brakes and spool tension, but if you don't see much improvement I would be sending it out for a professional to look at. My Daiwa Alphas SV105 was a very poor representative of that model giving poor distance and backlashing too easily. Sent it out and now it is in line with how others report their experiences with the SV. Might wind up being better than their reports once i get use to it and set up right for me.

Is this the reel? If so, grab it. Any reel that lists for $220 that you can buy new for $80 is a no brainer. http://store.carpcoastalmarine.com/lews-pss1sh-platinum-speed-stick-baitcast-reel-7-1-1-10bb-120-12lb-msb-brake/

Neither. Daiwa or Shimano. Of those two I feel Lew's currently has the better offerings, but must qualify that statement. I don't own any current Revos. Nor do I have a desire to after reading reviews about them when the Gen 3 reels first came out. I do like the Gen 1 and Gen 2s I own.

Gee. I don't know. Never heard of a Shimano Antares DC rod or Dobyns 701 spinning reel. EDIT: Sorry, but had to bust your chops. I couldn't give any advice because I don't own any of those rods or reels. Like the old adage says, "There is more than one way to skin a cat." I seriously doubt there is a wrong way to pair your gear.

It is a $300 reel. Why would you feel like a sucker for paying $150 for it? You are doing extremely well anytime you can buy a new reel at 50% off list. The Premier has always had a good reputation AFAIK. Now if it doesn't feel good in hand to you, and you wind up letting it set in the rod locker , garage or basement then it wasn't a good deal for you. However, if that is the case you could most likely sell it later at a profit.

Nice budget. Personally I'd be tempted to go with the MGL because 1) I own more Diawas than Shimanos and 2) TT gave the MGL an Editor's Choice Award. However, at that price I don't think you could buy a bad reel...short of the occasional lemon, of course. The Zillion SV gets excellent reviews as well. All of which I am sure you are already aware of. I like to make the suggestion (for this type of question) to pick the reel that interests you the most. I think you will be happier that way.

Have you had a chance to use it yet? If so, what is your opinion of it? My newest Curados are the E series. I do have a new MB. It is a nice looking reel and so far a good performing reel.

Back when I researched braid for my first ever use (was for a b/c reel), it was suggested not to go below 40# braid for a baitcast reel. I put 40# on it and have never had a dig in that I can recall...and have been hung up plenty of times. A used Alphas F I bought came with 30# Ghost. It took quite a few casts..and stripping out extra line after each cast...to get all the tight spots out of the line. Have not had a problem since then. Actually I was surprised at how well it handled afterwards. It has also been snagged a few times and haven't had a dig in yet. Every so often I will reel the line in using slight pressure between thumb and finger. You can tell the line is well broken in.

Never had a desire for a Gen 3 after reading some of the remarks about this generation when they first came out. Have read that many feel the Gen 2 models were the best. I picked up a used Gen 2 Premier, but it still sits in the box. I also picked up a used Gen 1 Premier that has seen very little use by me. So far I am not as fond of it as I am my Gen 1 STX....which was my first Revo. I like the Gen 1 STX a lot. Excellent distance. Handles a 10" ribbontail worm and 5/0 hook like a champ. It is loaded with 40# braid and almost always makes the trip to Florida with me. Would be nice to pick up a mint Gen 2 STX to compare it to.

It is more difficult for me to remain smooth with a hard overhead cast than a sidearm roll cast. I like to make a slight roll cast with the overhead unless looking strictly for accuracy. I haven't got it down good enough yet to be real accurate with that cast, but it does help smooth out the rod's reversal.