new2BC4bass

I mostly use 8# mono and co-polymer on that power crankbait rods. It has been 8# AN40 for any reels spooled the past couple years since I have a 3000 yd. spool of it. I'm sure most will suggest fluorocarbon or braid or braid/leader for jigs. I don't fish jigs often (I realize I should fish them more) so I don't have a dedicated setup....yet. Thinking to use my Techna AV 7' MF and a 12# fluorocarbon for my dedicated jig rod since I normally use 3/8 or 1/2 oz. jigs. Probably a fluorocarbon from Sunline. I don't fish where a heavier line would be of benefit against abrasion otherwise I'd up that to 15#.

I'd agree with Goose, but that would mean I hardly ever have a favorite rod or reel. Therefore I have to go with "The reel/rod currently in my hand." I do have a few favorite favorites, tho. Reels: Zillion 50th Anniversary, Primmus Xi HS, Helios Air, Alphas, TD-Z 105H, Pro Z Rods: Fenwick Smallmouth in a couple sizes, Aetos 6'6" ML, Rainshadow RX7 MHF, 704CB Glass, Diablo Spec R and a couple of the original Tatulas You figured correctly. I only have one rod that I actively dislike.

I'd say for such a youngster that you have covered a lot of bases without overlapping. As fishnkamp said, knowing more about the water you fish and lures you'd like to use would help a lot. I like fishing squarebills, jerkbaits and topwater. The best rod for these lures depends on who you ask. Some like a Fast tip that is soft, some a Med-Fast or Mod-Fast, some an XF and all 4 actions are used with all 3 lures by different fishermen. I guess it is a matter of finding out what works best for you. There are no hard and fast rules although I would hazard a guess that there is a certain action for a specific technique that would work better for most of us. I have to let others make more qualified suggestions as to which is the best rod for each technique. Fishing in my area sucks, so I seldom bother anymore. When I go out, I go to practice with different setups. I like using my Fenwick Smallmouth 6'9" M-XF for topwater, but I couldn't say whether or not that is the best. I normally use a MF for the other 2 lures, but a MH Med-Fast for larger squarebils. I'm probably way off base tho.

Type good casting rod for senkos in your favorite search engine and have fun reading. My daughter fishes Senkos....I don't. However, any rod that is used for bottom techniques should be as sensitive as you can afford. You can get a Tatula or Tatula CT for $95. These are great reels for the price. The rest I would spend on the rod. The 7'1" MH-XF Tatula at Sportsman's Outfitters would bring you in under budget. So would a Fury. No experience with the Fury, but fishnkamp claims they feel like a $200 rod.

Nice combo young man. I don't remember if this is your first baitcaster, but Fat Ikas are a good lure to use while learning if it is. They cast like bullets. http://www.***/articles/misc/backward-ika.shtml Google is your friend. EDIT: Okay. Guess I found another no-no place to link to.

First welcome to the forum. Second a budget is always appreciated. Third, what techniques do you prefer? Some good reading. Personally my first pick for an all-around baitcast rod is a 7'-7'3" MHF. Preferably one rated 1/4-1 oz. rather than a 1/4-3/4 oz. rod, but that wouldn't be a deal breaker. The Fury and new Mojo have been getting recommended a lot lately. I prefer to buy closeouts...or big sales...when buying new. A rod I like a lot is the original Tatula series. Look to Sportsman's Outfitters for some of the best prices. In this case either the 6'10" MHF or 7'1" MH-XF. I also am a fan of Fenwick rods. The HMG is a nice place to start although with the HMG the 7' MF...1/4-3/4 oz. would be my first choice over the 7' MHF because of its 3/8-1 oz. rating as I like to occasionally throw a lighter lure than 3/8 oz. Some store brands such as Carbonlite, Tournament ZX and Ethos get very good reviews. Getting a very nice rod for $100 is a lot better possibility than it was just a few short years ago.

Check out Reed's Sports first. Some $250-$260 rods for $117 with free shipping. Spend the extra $7. You won't regret it.

Reeds has some great deals on rods. Picked up a 6'10" Aus ML for $116.99 with free shipping....their normal price $225, but think I read the list is $250. Don't need more, but felt I had to buy something as I normally miss the good sales due to low funds. Still low, but I couldn't resist this deal.

I like the finish on the original Type R better than on the standard and that alone makes it worth it to me, but the 8.1:1 ratio is only available on the Type R. All ratios are available for both models in the CT line. The Tatulas have 20 selections on the dial versus 10 on older Daiwas. I do fine with 10, but anybody learning to use a baitcast reel will probably appreciate the 20 as you can really restrict backlashes and over-runs (and distance) by cranking up the brakes. Personally I think the Type Rs are worth a lot more than $130. You should take fishnkamp's advice.

The Curado 70 and 200i are within your budget and I feel confident a little searching would produce a C14 for $250 or less as well. I am a fan of the original Tatula Type R. Prefer its looks to the new CT. The Zillion TWS is also on sale for about $180. The SV103 can be found for less than $230 and should make an excellent choice. The T3 MX 1016 also makes the cut-off and I feel the MagForce 3D braking system is terrific. I also happen to like engaging the reel by closing the cover. Any of the above should work great. Depends on if you have a preference for a certain braking system, and how they feel in hand. Of these I only have the Type R and T3 so can't make any comparisons. other than to say any $150-$250 reel will be very good. It isn't either make, but I absolutely love my Primmus Xi HS. The best set-and-forget reel I have. My Curado 201E7 and Daiwa 50th Anniversary Zillion are close, but not quite as good in that aspect. If you decide to save a bit of money, the Tournament MB at about $110 and the original Tatulas and CTs at $95 are fantastic bargains. Should you decide used is also a viable option, there are many excellent buys. Currently a $300 Lew's Pro Z for $180 on another forum. Very nice reel. How about a Revo MGX for $185 in mint condition? Lots of guys want the latest and greatest every year or two so it is easy to find reels you like at a much better price than new. I've purchased several like new reels this way. Be sure to let us know what you decide.

I prefer a Fast action for most of those lures. I used a MF for cranks before I got a crainkbait rod. Worked ok. Most Mediums seem to top out at 5/8 oz. My Falcons at 1/2 oz. I've got an HMG 7'2" Medium-Moderate Fast that is rated 3/8-1 oz. that might work. Unfortunately for me mine hasn't seen much use yet so I can't give a definitive answer. Falcon and Hammer rods in a fast action would probably be good choices. Both have a nice parabolic bend yet are plenty strong enough to land any bass.

Great suggestions. Be sure to read the stickie Roadwarrior posted. Lots of good information in it. Casting a MHF and spinning a MF in a length you prefer for the first two rods would cover an awful lot of bases. Just remember that "real" fishermen carry a boatload of combos with them. Kidding of course. I fished with one rod for years not knowing what I was missing out on. Now I have too many. That is the curse of this sport. Easy to get carried away wanting the next latest and greatest.....or even an older late and great which is why my last 3 purchases were reels no longer produced. Being a baitcast fanatic, I'd start adding more baitcast combos after that although a ML spinning rod would be a prerequisite for several techniques. Next choices would depend on where and how you want to fish. Got to have a MF and HF and at least one cranking rod.....two if you fish both shallow and deep cranks. Don't go hog wild buying at first until you find out what techniques you prefer to fish, and then buy rods geared towards those techniques.

12# mono or co-polymer is my choice for most of my MH rods. I prefer this type of line for the majority of my fishing. Braid and fluorocarbon go on very few reels. Never used either of those items, but have a couple Abu reels and several Fenwick rods. I've always felt I got good value for my money with Fenwick. My Abus are nice, but they are an STX and a couple Premiers. In your place I probably would have waited for Academy to have a sale on their Mettle reels. Aluminum frame versus a graphite frame, and the reel gets very good reviews. However, too late now. I hope you enjoy your new combo. Baitcast reels are a joy to use.....once you get the casting part down.

Lists for $200 and you are asking if it is worth $130? A better question would be "Is it worth the $200 some people pay for it."

Would look better in pink.

I've stated more than once that I prefer Diawa to Shimano whenever I'm looking to cast light lures. Probably because I learned on a Diawa and have more magnetic brake reels than any other kind. I don't fish salty/brackish water. Been over 40 years since I caught any fish that big or bigger. Actually I quit fishing 2 years after moving to this area. Didn't fish for 23 years. Can't really call what I do most of the time "fishing". More like "practice" which is why I am hoping it works out for me to move to Florida in a few months. Had hoped to already be there.

80s? Try 60s. I love how light the new rods are and can also appreciate light reels. My Zillion may weigh almost twice as much as my Helios Air, but it is still one of my favorites. When it comes to rods I'll take on of today's anytime over what I use to fish with.

No CTs. No Tat. Had to look for about 10 minutes to find a Type R to compare. Top pic looks similar. Don't know if that bluish-green is the real color, the lighting when you took the picture or if it is my old and cheap monitor. Being out of focus (on my monitor) doesn't help. The way the top opening on the reel in the bottom picture dips down looks odd to me. Also the handles are on the wrong side compared to my reel. I hope the color I am seeing on the top picture isn't real, and normally I'm not one to be too concerned with looks as long as performance is there.. Now this is funny. I have 5 Shimano casting reels, but wouldn't mind another 3 or 4 more. As previously stated no CTs or original Tatulas. Sold the one I did have to a college student with little money looking to get into baitcast reels for about half what I could have gotten for it. Actually I wouldn't have sold it except for wanting to help a young fellow member out. I do have 2 Tatula Type Rs with one being a Limited Edition that has only been out of the box to look at. Now here is the funny part. I just listed my Diawas. Don't think I missed any. I still have 30 Diawa casting reels. The fact that I am not one to notice every little nuance is probably why I've never met a reel I didn't like.

Picked up that rod this year. Naturally a Helios Air had to go on it. Another light reel I love is the Pinnacle Primmus Xi Hs. 5.7 and 5.9 oz. respectively. I am going to try to learn skipping next year with the 6'3" M-MF Smallmouth and the Alphas SV105. If I can get good with this combo, I'll have to give the Okumas a try.

Looks like I won't be buying any new Tatulas. Butt ugly.

I didn't want to be "that guy", but I feel the same. My hands are average size for a guy my size (5'10") so fit a large size glove...although I couldn't tell you exact size, but I have no problem palming any baitcast reel I've got including such reels as the Procaster 100HN, older Trions, Zillions and even 1600 size Abu round reels. Nor does their enormous weight bother me.

Ebay. Just looked and not only can you find an original Tat for $89.95, but the CT can be found for $89.99. I'd opt for the CT as it is a bit smaller and a bit lighter plus it is the newer model.....unless you want a little heavier reel to balance a rod.

I really like my 50Es. DVT (Mike) cleaned one, and supertuned and upgraded the other. However, I reach for a Daiwa whenever looking to throw light lures. Well, a Diawa or an older gold colored Carbonlite if not below 3/16 oz. I can cast the 50Es with 2 brakes on, but prefer to leave 3 on for hassle free casting. Maybe I'm that way because I learned on a Daiwa.

First the Tatulas only have magnetic braking. The original Tatula has the 8.1:1 ratio only in the Type R. As stated casting performance is the same for both....at least for a guy like me. TT came to the same conclusion. Spool on the Type R is lighter, but I can't see a difference in performance. The CT models both have the same gear ratios. They are a bit smaller than the original models. You won't need dual braking with the Daiwas as there is more than enough adjustment with the magnetic dial. Heck I do fine with the 10 available on my older Daiwas. The Tats have 20. Both Type Rs have 2 CRBB bearings while the standards don't. I personally favor the finish on the original Type R over the other 3 versions. You can find the original Type R for less than $125 with free shipping on fleabay. I'd go with the 8.1:1 ratio. I didn't see a Lew's tourney pro mg on TW. However, I do have the Tournament MB. The Tournament MB is .5 oz. lighter than the CT and .9 oz. lighter than the original, has a very nice finish and is a dual control reel. I believe it is smaller than the CT, but don't have a CT to compare it to. It can be found for just under $110. I didn't get to spend much time on the water with mine this year....with any reel for that matter. Some guys on here will tell you their Lew's reels will outcast any other they own. Although I like my MB, I didn't feel it casts any further than most of my other reels, and took a bit more adjusting to cast as well for me as the Tatulas. That could be because I learned on a Diawa and over half my reels are magnetic only, so I am very familiar with magnetic braking. Or it could be because you have twice as many adjustments to make. I will say that I set the centrifugal brakes with 2 on, left it there and used the magnetic brake and cast control to fine tune the reel. I believe this is a case where you can't go wrong. If at all possible, mount each reel on your rod and see which feels best to you.

You have mentioned this before, Mike. I used the word supertune, but maybe that isn't the correct word. I don't know what a "full tuning polish" is, but maybe it is along the lines of the article written by ChuckE for TT entitled Polishing Up the TD-Sol, an exercise in tuning. Guess I should have asked, but I didn't remember your comments about this at the time.