kickerfish1

Phenix recon or St. Croix avid. I can tell you the recon 714 is under 3.7 ounces and it is built on a 36 ton graphite blank. They retail for $170-$180 but you can find them for 20% off during sales. It is a great rod for bottom contact presentations given the criteria you mentioned.

Nice get! When you have a chance be sure to give us an update on your findings...I think you will be happy with that reel!

If you haven't read this before I would highly recommend doing so... http://seaguar.com/seaguar-community/fishing-line-q-and-a.htm

You have a good understanding of what you are doing so far and I applaud you for researching it! For your main line braid or floro is a great choice. However you may want to consider mono for your leader line. Reason being is that floro typically sinks while mono tends to float more. The thinking behind the Carolina rig is to run a bait behind the leader that is a foot or two "off the bottom", but not dragging the bottom like a Texas rig. A fellow angler I fish with will take his frog'n setup with braid and convert it to a Carolina rig outfit when needed. You may not need to buy a designated outfit or additional line depending upon what you currently have on hand. I would recommend a tungsten weight, a glass bead and lightwire hook along with a soft plastic bait with moving arms, legs, tail etc or something that is known to float. Zoom trick worms, rage space monkeys, eliminators, lizards, and flukes are good choices.

Also keep an eye out in the flea market here. You can find anglers looking to move bags of plastics or hardbaits sold in groupings. Often times many of these are unused. The actual cost per package or bait can often work out to less than a dollar or two a bait/package.

From cost standpoint spinning gear is hard to beat for finesse applications. Most professional fisherman tend to opt for quality spinning gear over casting gear for this purpose. IMO finesse casting rods/reels came about from more of an enthusiast crowd. Those that were willing to shell out MUCHO $ to be able to say they have a "finesse rig" in the form of casting platform over spinning. More of a cool or fun way to go about finesse fishing... Unless you have your mind made up on casting gear I still think spinning gear is a better "bang for your buck" option. If you get the BPS reel let us know what you think of it for finesse applications. Good luck with your decisions!

I have purchased all of my seaguar line spools from TW and THUT and never had a bad one. Have set hooks into thousands of fish from a wide range of techniques and have had a VERY high hook up ratio. I have NEVER broke a seagar floro line on a hookset. When I get my reels back from cleaning the designated floro reels will be getting the appropriate line in either 8, 10, 12, or 15# line. If you are breaking line off on hooksets you may want to inspect your knot quality or rod guides. If any your guides are rough this will fray the line and may be the culprit. If it is a line issue then it is what it is. No manufacturer has perfect manufacturing processes and bad spools will be sent on for sale from time to time. To think sunline or any company for that matter is immune from creating poor or incorrect diameter lines is wrong. Sorry about your experience with the seaguar line. I wouldn't give up on it!

To an extent the core/curado/chronarch "50" series reels are cheaper alternative. As noted above a Daiwa alphas or Sol would also work. But in all actuality there isn't another reel out there that really even compares to the pixy. It was designed for light line and finesse fishing. The spool allows for a high up speed for lighter baits typically reserved for spinning rigs. You can do a finesse spool upgrade to variuos Daiwa and Shimano reels. These aren't cheap though and will easily set you back $100-$200. The BPS brand reel you mention may work but it will be NO where near the quality of the pixy. Also it won't last as long nor feel as smooth after a few seasons on the water.

Big bite and Berkeley havoc are two brands of soft plastics I would consider to be cheap and effective. Most are under $3.00 a package.

I have been fishing seaguar floro lines for going on 3 years. I have NEVER had issues of longevity with any of their lines. I log many hours and fish with their products and have yet to get a bad spool of line. Last year I almost exclusively fished their lines for 80% of what I do. The reels were spooled in the spring and the line was still in perfect shape prior to me removing the line to have the reels sent in for their annual cleaning. I will agree than sunline's premium floro lines are more sensitive but are no where near as manageable or long lasting.

Well it might depend on casting or spinning and the intended use for the rod. Assuming we are talking about a 7 MH casting rod give or take you can't go wrong with most of the rod manufacturers listed above. The dobyns savy series is well balanced and a very sharp looking rod. The Powell endurance rods are also nice looking and pretty sensitive. The avid rods are light and sensitive in more of a classic styling feel. The phenix recon is the lightest and most sensitive of the rods in this price range from my experience. They also look like a JDM rod but without the price tag. For bottom contact applications I would pick the recon every time.

I would get the invisix personally... unless you have interests in throwing topwaters with this outfit.

Go with 8# floro or 10# if you feel you need it. Sniper or invisix would be good choices without spending lots of money on line. If money isn't an issue I would suggest tatsu.

No problem!

There is already 3 pages on this...(see other thread)

For price and quality you can't beat bassteamtackle. He allows you to buy tungsten weights by both size and color without having to buy them in a 4 pack or 3 pack for example. The weights vary from very small to punching. On average the prices are about 40-50% less than any other brands I have used prior. I have fished their weights since spring of 2012 and never had an issue with line fraying. The website allows you to choose from insert free or with insert. I have used both and can't tell a difference. When I asked the owner on the phone if there was a difference he said he couldn't tell and neither could his customers. Just a preference thing for some. Give them a look. Lots of color options as well as non painted weights as well.

Great post Islandbass! I think you are pretty much 100% on track. I too have similar thoughts but you stated it perfect. It is at least something to think about on more of a simplistic level.

It may be a bit out of your comfort zone but if you are serious about the dobyns rod options I would give the good folks at dobyns a call since there may be only a few guys on here with experience with dobyns spinning rods that will see your post and chime in. It is very family oriented business so you will likely be speaking to Gary or a family member. I wish I could help you out with their spinning rods but I haven't used one despite owning 5 of their casting rods. I would think a 2 powered rod may be the ticket or a 3 powered rod. Gary and crew can defidently point you in right direction! On a side note even if you purchase the champion rod on sale (20% off) ... it will still cost you about $180. This only leaves $70 for a reel assuming the $250 max end of your budget. If this is the way you are thinking you have a few choices here. Wait for the okuma RDX spinning reel which is super light and under $100. Secondly look for a symetre or a sahara in the 2500 series. If you got these on sale for 20% off or wait for the spring when BPS has their reel trade in program and spring sale you can get one of the above reels for under $80.

Fenwick still makes the elite tech "smallmouth" series rods. I don't know if these are different than the "dropshot" series of the elite tech you mention but the smallmouth series has a 6'9 ML fast action spinning rod which is stellar drop shot rod that is readily available.

Do you have a budget for this outfit? You will hear anything from and NRX/stella to a Berkeley lightning rod and cheaper reel. I have two outfits I use for this technique. 1) cabelas XML ti 7 foot medium/fast action rod with a shimano 2500 series sahara FD. 2. Fenwick elite tech 6'9 ML fast action rod with a 2500 shimano symetre. Both reels have 8# invisix.

I don't use a leader for hollow body frogs. With pike/muskie and their teeth you can try a floro leader but I would go pretty heavy. I am thinking at least 20# good quality floro. Since floro sinks I don't know if it would affect the action of the frog or your hookup ratio. I am guessing it likely will, but it shouldn't be too dramatic. I have landed 20# muskie with 15# floro and no wire leader before on accident while bass fishing. Floro is stronger and more abrasian resistant than mono. Also even if the pike or muskie don't cut your line your frog will likely be shredded if you do get it back. Their teeth may puncture the body and rip some of the rubber strands of the leg material off. Good luck!

Your new rod will also work for most jerkbaits. If it was me I would NOT use the 15# yozuri hybrid on that rod/reel outfit. That line would be better suited for bigger texas rigs or jigs. I think 10 or 12# would be plenty. This will be easier to cast and get you better action and depth on your lures. Yozuri is a fine choice but I personally would get 10# invisix or your favorite 10# mono. If you spooled with mono you could also use this setup for most topwater baits as well. That is a very versatile setup and should be nice and light weight! When you have a budget in mind for the remaining outfits let us know. Also don't be afraid to do a search on the forum here for jig rods, cranking rods, finesse spinning rods, etc... lots has been written on all of these and may help as a starting point.

I can't recall when all these lures were first produced and sold so I'll will do my best to give you a few examples. From there you can decide if they fit your style / budget and if the are "new" to "you". Crankbaits- I am not the one to ask here so I will default to someone more qualified than I am. Lucky craft and strike / kvd seem to be the best I have used along with koppers. Jerkbaits- the lucky craft pointer series is simply the best I have used. Either the 78 or 100 size have been great producers. Topwater- spro and koppers frogs are great choices for heavy vegetation. For open water lucky craft gunfish sammy, and a bunch of other traditional popping and propellar baits. Jigs- I would look strongly at these 4 brands... Revenge, Dirty jigs, and the next to are both bassresource sponsors... Northstar and SiebertOutdoors. The nice thing about the last two are they are superb quality, many color options, and also use a wire tie verses the rubberband style which will likely brake over time. Texas rigs- lots of good baits. Strike king rage tail makes great baits. The anaconda worm, space monkey, and smok'n rooster and the menace are all good. The strike king rodent and reaction innovations beaver are great baits. Also look at the missel baits d-bomb. Just and endless amount of baits for Texas rigs. If you don't have some I would suggest getting some tungsten weights for greater sensitivity and and some 2/0 - 5/0 EWG gamagatsu hooks for rigging. Weightless baits- assuming you have some senkos and flukes you may also try some strike king caffeine shads or the yamamoto d-shads. The reaction innovations skinny dipper and keitech fat impact are all good baits. Dropshot- anything made by roboworm is killer. Straightail worms and the sculpin line are my favorite. Aaron's magic is great color but lots of other options. I also like the jackall line specifically the I-shad and cross tail shad. Tons of other options as well... I know I through a few more techniques in there. Hopefully this helps or at least serves as a good starting point. I would strongly encourage brousing T A C K L E - W A R E H O U S E to see most of the items mentioned above. They may have a video and user reviews plus a description of the product and how to rig it. Welcome back to bass fishing! If there is anything else you need help with just ask. Lots of good folks here willing to help.

Absolutely stunning Maico! I noticed the "jet black" color is absent but there is one spot empty. Thinking this color may already be on the top water outfit? I am going to be adding a few of these baits to my arsenal... thinking jet black and bluegill?

Assuming the 2500 series reel or other manufacturer equivalent I would say it would be a toss up between the stradic FJ and the CI4. Both of these reels share the same drag and bearing quality from what I understand. The CI4 is 2 ounces lighter while the FJ has a few features not found in the CI4 but are found on the higher end reels like the sustain and Stella. I believe the FJ is more of a refined reel with a very long life span similar to the older shimano chronarch d series casting reels. I have heard many say the phfleuger reels are nice for a few years but the drag and smoothness faded with regular use. However I still have a president reel I have used for walleye and panfish and it is still kicking just fine. I am in the same boat as you are except I need 2 new spinning reels. Going to get both the CI4 and FJ reel. I also will pick up the new okuma RTX reel which I believe should be hitting the market soon as an upgrade for an older reel. The RTX is 6.6 ounces and should be a solid reel and the best thing about the reel is it will be priced under $100. Hope this helps!