new2BC4bass

Maybe I should offer to pay gas money if they will take me on their boats.

I tend to think of 3/4 or 1 oz. as fitting in the MH category even though I know I have some Medium power rods in that range. Went through my list of rods, and was surprised by how many of my MF topped out in that range. Normally I think of MF as topping out at 5/8 oz. A couple of mine say 5/8 oz., but will handle heavier with no problem. My MF Falcons are all rated 1/4-1/2 oz. but I've used heavier without the rod feeling overloaded (to me). Still in all I'd rather use a MHF for 1/2 oz. weights. Kind of funny, because before I got into baitcast rods I was using 4# XL on spinning rods. A favorite being a ML Berkley older than many on here. Of course I wasn't fishing 1/2 oz. lures. A 1/8 or 3/16 oz. lure was heavy to me back then.

Funny how that works. My dream reel was a Daiwa TD-Z ito 103M. Found a nice specimen at a decent price and couldn't pass on it. Not near the cost of your dream reel, tho. Congratulations. No doubt you will pass it on to your heirs.

Okay. I've seen your mention of the F-9 several times and have to ask....what is your F-9? A search showed up either a F9-R such as this https://www.boatsdata.com/farrier-f9---r-trimaran-37728/specs or the Yamaha F9.9 motor.

Not 2710 miles for me, but we fly to Florida for visits with relation. Drove the first couple times, but you lose way too much of your 2 week vacation driving plus it takes another few days to recover from the drive. Keep rods there at a B-I-L's home. Carry reels with me. An hour is about it for me anymore. Especially with the current gas prices. Guess it's a good thing I don't own a 20' bass boat as I hear they can be a bear to paddle. I want to live by you.

I seldom used swivels and fished Roostertails a lot in my youth. Will catch many varieties of fish. My largest smallmouth was caught on one while letting it troll behind the boat while I was rowing from one spot to another. A BeetleSpin with a small Mister Twister Curly Tail Grub was another favorite lure that would catch about anything.

Same here. 74 now. Dad died from a heart attack at 74. Mom at 59 from heart attack. Even if I'm alive in 2040 it is highly unlikely that I will give a chit about bass fishing as I will be lucky to make it to the bathroom let alone make it to a lake. Besides, my 10 oz. combos will be too heavy for me to fish with.

I live in Bethlehem, PA. Nuff said.

Bassheads? More like head cases.

I thought this was the proper way to set up Magforce Z reels, i.e. loose spool/more brakes if needed. That's how I run mine. Very, very seldom do I need to tighten spool tension a bit. I found it required more work (for me) setting up Shimano's new braking system. Never a problem with the old system. Easy, peazy.

Good to know about how much difference the reel makes. Thanks. The Expert Amistad is another of my rods that hasn't had a reel on it. What reel worked best with it for you?

I've read that the OG Tatula 6'10" MHF makes for a very versatile rod. I bought one on sale a few years ago and have never used it. But I can say the same for several other rods and reels. The fishing is so bad in this area that I quit for 23 years. I've had a lifetime fishing license and lifetime trout stamp for years, but I got tired of just going out to practice my casting. I didn't stop buying until this year. The last gear I purchased was all fly rod rated, and purchased before January. Hoping to retire and move to Florida near my wife's family where I will have a bass fishing buddy, and finally get to put my stuff to good use.

The 6’10” Head Turner is still on my wish list even though I don't need another rod. The Amistad was also on my wish list, but got one of those last year.

Agree. Too often there is never an update. I always like to know how someone makes out. Who knows. Maybe I will benefit from the knowledge gained.

I'd take more than 3, but carry 2 max. Prefer to walk around with just one. Nothing is wrong with going back to the car for a different rod. Shore cover matters. I've fished where I had to make an underhand flip. Spinning rod in this case. Shorter is better in that kind of cover, but I prefer longer if I can get away with using one. I also prefer casting if at all possible. Limited to 3: 6' ML Berkley Lightning with Penn 430SS and 4# XL. Can get some line out in almost all cases. Handles small panfish lures very well. A fun combo to fish with. Okuma Helios 7' MF handles a wide range of lures and would double for trebles. Would be hard not to put a Helios Air with 12# AN40 on it. But I am also very fond of the Primmus Xi HS and TD-Z 105H. The first 2 reels get very good distance and the 105H isn't too far behind. Lastly a MHF...but which one? Would go with a Cabela's Prodigy 6'6" if cover dictated a shorter rod. Daiwa T3 1016 SHL or the blue Patriarch XT would make a good match. Hard to backlash if where my casting stroke gets abbreviated. Really like the 7' Rainshadow RX7. Tour S3 or Elite 100H (which DVT is going to try and repair for me) because distance is important to me when fishing from shore. The RX7 is surprisingly sensitive. If I needed a heavier rod, and could use a long rod, then I like both the Zillion 7'6" HF and the 7'3" HF Falcon Amistad. If I had to use a shorter rod, then the PT Tour Edition 6'10" HF or 6'6" Prodigy MHF. I have two of these rods (MHF Prodigy) from different years. This one is rated 3/8-2 oz. while the previously mentioned one is rated 1/4-1 oz. My Gen1 STXL has 40# braid and gets very good distance. A Steez 100HL has 45# braid on it. An older Trion has 17# mono spooled on it and is paired with the 6'10" Tour Edition and also casts very well. You may have noticed that I put a premium on casting distance from shore. May not always need it, but nice to have it if you do. TBH I am surprised I was able to limit my selections this much.

When I was around 15-16 I went from 8# XL to 4# XL. I wasn't a 'bass fisherman'. I was a 'fisherman'. It was great if I caught a bass (largemouth or smallmouth), but I was just as happy to be catching bluegills, crappies, perch, pickerel, bullheads, etc. I never stopped to consider if this was UL fishing. It was just fishing with a lighter line to me. Tried 2#, but it was too fine for me. I have one casting rod that probably could be classified as UL by some of you. It's an Ace Hawk Double. UL tip is rated for .018-.14 oz. (.5-4g) and the L tip is rated for .07-.21 (2-6g).

I'm partial to my Tatulas as well. OP, never touched one, but the St. Croix 6'8" M-XF gets lots of praise on here.

Early, but I'm wiped out so won't read through all the posts. No doubt this line has been mentioned. I like Siege Neon Tangerine. Mostly I use 8# and 12#.

OP, you faked me out. Thought for sure you were going to tell us you were going to start fishing with a reel heavier than 5.8 oz. and a rod heavier than 3.9 oz.

My daughter liked to fish, but hasn't in several years. I'd say it is life taking priority. But even if she was still fishing, I highly doubt she would post on any fishing forum. BTW, she started on spinning gear. I had DVT build her a casting rod. She only fished Senkos. Wanted a short rod. Loves pink. So she got a pink 6' MHF casting rod. After that she wouldn't touch her spinning rods even though most of the rods and reels were pink.

Sorry Tom. I was just searching for the 2 Fenwick models I mentioned. There's got to be a few other 2-piece models somewhere. Not knocking that rod. Can't knock what you've never used. Just trying to find other options for the OP. It's not much of a choice if there is only one choice. Although it sure simplifies things. OP. Maybe look on Japan websites for some other options.

Don't know if Fenwick stopped making them or if just out of 2-piece models. I see the new Eagles are blue. The ones I handled a few years ago at Cabela's were green...and 2-piece. Just did a little searching and couldn't turn up anything. Bummer!

Bucket seats? Cuz I can put a 7'7" one piece rod in my Camry. I can't be of much help with 2-piece rods. I have a Major Craft Benkei 6'7" LF spinning rod and an Olympic GraphiteLeader 6'9" MHF casting rod. Any other 2-piece rod I have is over 45 years old. I am going to guess that most 2-piece rods are going to be lower cost rods...except for some travel rods. (And they will be over 2-piece.) Fenwick makes 2-piece models in the HMG and Eagle lines. St. Croix (Mojo Bass), 13 Fishing, etc. have a few 2-piece models. Seems the 1-piece dominates these days.

What a surprise. Various opinions. And all good...for where and how they fish. Armchair expert here. ? But I have been doing a lot of research. I think most will agree on one thing. The size of the fly is going to determine the (line) weight of the rod. Lengths are grounds for a fist fight. I don't know if this link will be allowed as it is for another forum. One on fly fishing and this link is to a thread entitled "Set-Up For Bluegills". https://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/set-up-for-bluegills.357555/ Nine pages long. Some won't use less than a 5wt because of the opportunity to catch the occasional bass or pickerel. Some think a 3wt is on the heavy side. Some like graphite, some like fiberglass and no doubt there are more than one into bamboo. It just depends on where you fish, what flies you like to use and (of course) personal preferences. AND the depth of your pocketbook. I tried to cover all my bases (to a point). Already had a 7'6" 3wt from several years ago. Tried casting it once and put it aside. I had learned on a reasonably fast 8wt and this rod was definitely slow. So when I decided I wanted to try fly fishing for panfish, I figured a 9' 5wt would be a good in between step for learning to cast the 3wt. (Actual all I probably needed to do was LOOK AT MY BACKCAST.) When the reel for the 5wt arrived, it turned out to be a 3/4 instead of 5/6 in the picture. A quick check brought my attention to the fact I needed to look at the little box to see the size of the reel I was actually buying. So I did the only practical thing. I ordered a 9' 4wt for the 3/4 reel, and ordered the correct 5/6 reel. Both Echo Carbon XLs as they were the number one choice in a couple reviews as the best budget rod. Another highly thought of rod for the money is the Redington Classic Trout. It's a $150 rod that can be found in the $115-$120 range. I know because I now have an 8' 4wt and 8'6" 3wt. Yup. That Bait Monkey is a monster. EDIT: I thought smaller streamers might be a good choice occasionally so I found a 9' 6wt Aetos at almost 50% off that I am the proud owner of. It is another highly regarded budget rod. (That I no longer consider budget at MSRP because it went from $179 to $235 but I'll admit it is budget compared to a $1375 Asquith.)