new2BC4bass

OP, given how you like to fish, I would agree you probably made the right choice. Most people seem to like fishing a 5 inch Senko. Would be a rare MHF spinning rod that couldn't cast one more than far enough. A light fluke may cause a bit of a problem. Depends on the rod's rating. Some MHF spinning rods are rated down to 1/8 oz. You could always invest in a third rod. Someone has to feed the Bait Monkey.

Berkley E-Motion 7' MH-EF can be had off Walmart Online for $62.52 with free shipping, but of course tax has to be added on. I've had a Berkley Lightning (not the Shock) 6' Medium for umpteen years, and still like it. Ethos rods from Sports Academy get good reviews, but I have no experience with them. Could also check out the Filed and Stream Tec Spec and Tec Spec Elite at Dick's Sporting Goods.

My thought exactly. OP is using a spinning reel. Time for the Bait Monkey to show his face. Or go with braid as already suggested.

Between the two I'd have to agree with trying the Fury first. You don't want a stiffer rod for crankbaits. Just the opposite. You want one with more give to keep the fish pinned. Personally I feel a MHF is not a good action for any crankbaits. Be sure to lower drag pressure, and use a mono or co-polymer line. Preferably one with a bit of stretch, which means going with a softer line. Braid would be my absolute last choice for cranking on this type of rod. I have used MF rods for crankbaits, tho, with pretty good success.

X2. My first reel at age 6 was a Mitchell 300. A Pflueger President is a reel he would still be using years from now. See if there is a spinning rod at FFO that you'd like for him. The 6'7" Aetos should be a great rod. However I don't believe its rating of 1/4-3/8 oz. A MHF should be 1/4-3/4 oz. Could be why the rod is for sale at FFO. It has the wrong rating listed on the rod.

What's the matter, JC? Cabin Fever setting in? I'm with K_Mac and Fishes in trees. As a youngster all I had was one rod although lures were normally bait I could catch or dig up such as Nightwalkers, worms, grubs, small Leeches, occasionally minnows, or crawdads (what we called crabs...with one in its soft shell state being solid gold). In my late teens I often fished Roostertails and Beetlespins. Luckily it is only a theoretical question. I've managed to accumulate more combos over the years than any one person needs. When I go fishing there are seldom 2 rods set up with the same type lure. I like fishing a spinnerbait on a MHF rod, but admit it isn't always the best choice. It can be fished fast, slow, top, bottom, in between, in cover, steady retrieve, hopped, etc. I know a jig is suppose to be a much better all-around lure, but have never become much of a jig fisherman. I like a 12# mono or co-polymer line with Siege and AN40 being current favorites. It is very hard to chose just one rod. My custom Rainshadow RX7 7' MHF might get the call. You didn't ask about which reel, but since I like to use 3/8 oz. or heavier spinnerbaits, then my Zillion 50th Anniversary would be a top choice. Can reel slow or burn. A plus is it is pretty much a set and forget reel. Also looks good on the red accented Rainshadow.

You might be alright. I have a friend that used 15# CXX on all his baitcast reels. Don't know if that is still true as he has a lot more reels than when I fished with him. It is a very abrasive resistant line. Izorline Platinum is another excellent abrasive resistant line.....but again with more memory than many. I'd try using some line conditioner on it before every outing. Maybe a spritz every few hours while on the water.

Or try some Silver Thread AN40. I've got some 6# Silver Thread Excalibur I'm trying, and also have some Izorline XXX Super to give a shot. I think most any brand will probably be pretty decent. Pick one and go fishing.

Wow. I never thought to see one like new go for the prices you guys say they sell for. Course I haven't looked lately, but $60-$70 seems awfully low for such a good reel even if it is an older model.

Paid $125 a few years ago for mine in like new condition. Might be a bigger reel than many of today's, but personally I feel it is worth every penny I paid for it.

Good luck. Stick with it and you may wind up leaving the spinning combos at home most of the time. Tried a baitcast reel many, many moons ago. Didn't know anyone using one so quickly gave up on it. Seven years ago I decided to get back into fishing locally (fishing sucks here). Tried my first Low Profile (a Daiwa Fuego on closeout), and haven't looked back since. Still didn't know anyone using a baitcast reel, but now I had Internet to teach me how to set it up and use it. No doubt the learning curve would have been shorter if I'd had someone to help me. Thanks to the Internet I now personally know 2 people locally that use baitcasters....a young man and his wife. For me....Glenn's advice about casting is more for someone already knowing how to cast. It is harder to be smooth on a cast straight back and straight forward. Baitcaster reels don't like any kind of jerkiness. Which is tougher on that type of cast unless you have superb timing. I think a roll cast is much easier to learn on. It keeps the rod tip loaded, and helps a lot in smoothing out a cast. Accuracy won't be as good as Glenn's method. However, I definitely will be using his method for shorter casts requiring my best accurate cast.

I have the same rod. Many others agree the original (and Elite) are pretty good rods for the money. My biggest complaint is tip recovery.

I and my brother-in-law spent several hours dragging weighted treble hooks for 2 of his rods. I wasn't there when he lost the first one, but was for the second so I know we were in the right area for at least one of them. Never found either rod. I should have offered to buy him a couple new rods since he uses cheap Walmart specials. Would much rather have spent our time fishing.

Nope. Have a couple older blue ones, tho. I see the new model has lost an ounce. I like mine. Throws a bare 3/0 EWG and 10" ribbontail worm very well. I see Walmart has the older RH model for $158.90. LH is $199. I'm hoping some actual owners of the new model chime in. Doesn't bother me to use heavier reels such as my Zillions, but must admit reels under 6 oz. often bring a smile.

Good luck. Have a feeling it won't be long before the Bait Monkey will be after you.

Welcome to the forum. Vast majority of my reels are spooled with a mono or co-polymer. You should be fine.

There is a young man on this site that is now retired. Fishes about 365 1/4 days a year. Uses several Pflueger and Shimano spinning reels. Has mentioned before that each of his Shimano reels have been in for repairs. None of his Pflueger reels have. I realize that there are a lot of Shimano fans on this site. I'm one myself. Just sayin'. However, it is my firm belief you should always buy what interests you the most. Congratulations on the new rod. Always nice to be able to get more than you were expecting.

X2. Easier to get a low cost spinning combo that will be pretty decent than it is a baitcast combo. Also the spinning reel can be mastered in a few minutes. Not so with a baitcast reel. Will take some time to get accurate, but you will be fishing instead of removing backlashes.

I had that problem with a used Curado 51E. Sent it to Mike Lawson at DVT. Pin was bent. He got it off and straightened pin. Still comes off a bit hard, but Mike didn't want to charge me $5-$10 shipping for a 50 cent part.

My youngest brother-in-law is a fishin' fool and a very good fisherman. I was out with him earlier this month. He was using an Ugly Stick with a guide in the middle of the rod missing. Mostly was using a 7" Finesse worm. Didn't seem to bother his fishing any. Caught more than I did with my expensive $70 Jupiter and $75 Redbone.

X2. We are all different. Many fish Shimanos with 2 or 1 brake on. I can do 2 if careful, but prefer 3 on for trouble free casting. An older blue Patriarch XT has 1 centrifugal brake on and 3 on the magnetic dial. Handles a 10" ribbontail worm with a bare 3/0 hook just fine. My 50th Anniversary Zillion is a set and forget reel while my standard Zillion requires more adjusting. People rave about how easy the Alphas 105SV is to use, but I didn't get the same results with mine. And it isn't because I'm not familiar with Daiwa's braking system. My first reels were Daiwa Fuegos and I have more Daiwa reels than any other brand. All this to say that not only are we all different, but the same models from the same manufacturer aren't all going to handle the same way. I was going to ask about your rod, but I see it is a Medium. Never used a Veritas, but it should handle a 3/8 oz. Rebel of any type just fine.

I'm not much into round reels. Nor do I fish saltwater. What few round reels I know of don't have a slider on the side. I suggest posting the reel and model. Quite possibly there will be some familiar with it that can give you advice about using it. If not on this forum, then try a saltwater fishing forum. Please don't let this one experience ruin you for baitcast reels. They work exceptionally well for bass fishing. When I got back into fishing in '09, I decided to try a baitcast reel. Haven't looked back since. Yes I have bought a few more spinning combos as those I already had were cheapos from many, many years ago. However, they very seldom ever get used. You don't need to spend a lot of money to get a decent baitcast combo. A $40 Berkley Lightning and an H2O Mettle on sale would run less than $80. A rod from FFO and a Primmus from manventureoutpost would run about $160 and would give you a very nice combo. I've spent more on reels that I don't like as well.

I had 8# CX break down in the spool....BUT....it was the line I used on my first baitcast reel. As such I feel the break was most likely caused by previous backlashes. BTW, it didn't break on a hook set. Made a cast and the lure kept flying. Apparently line was already broke. I am fond of mono or co-polymers for the majority of my rods. Bought some AN40 at a friend's suggestion Like it. Last year he tried Spiderwire's new Ultimate Mono and says it is the best mono he has ever used. I also use a lot of Siege. A local friend uses 15# CXX almost exclusively on his baitcast rods. It and Big Game are very good abrasive resistant lines. As such they have a bit more memory than some lines. I have to assume you are asking about lines for a baitcast reel given the poundage you mentioned. Don't know how much experience you have with baitcast reels, but if just learning I would suggest a softer line such as Trilene XL and Sufix Elite. I prefer 12# on MH rods.

Wrong line to start with. You want a soft line. CXX is a very good line. Quite abrasive resistant. Abrasive resistant lines are harder. Harder lines have more memory. Try Trilene XL, Sufix Elite or Sunline Super Natural. Also heavier line will be stiffer than a lighter line. Suggest dropping down to 12# test. Good suggestions from others. Thumb is critical, but so is being smooth on the cast. Know that accuracy will suffer at first. A roll cast will smooth out the cast. I feel two hands gives me better control. EDIT: As you might guess, there are plenty of threads on this subject. Try a search. Also welcome to the forum.

Nope. Started a journal, but didn't complete it. Now it is impossible to know what is on some reels. I do limit myself somewhat on pound test used, but have several brands I'm trying. ML or Light = 6# mono, Medium = 8# mono, MH = 12# mono. Naturally there are exceptions. However, Sufix Siege Neon Tangerine is easy to keep track of. I've got to try an Excel spreadsheet. Seems like that would be the easiest method to keep track. Provide I kept it updated properly.