DanielSweeney

Full disclosure: I'm new to baitcasting (just picked it up this spring), so I don't have experience to fall back on. But for what it's worth, I started on an Abu Garcia Black Max combo from Dicks. It was $80 with a $20 mail in rebate. I really like it. It was forgiving enough where I was able to get hang of casting it much sooner than I thought I would. I don't have anything to compare it to, but for the price, I think it was a good investment.

Congrats. I'm making the same father's day trip this weekend. Stopping at my first BPS in the Finger Lakes. I'm hoping that the freshwater tank keeps the kids busy while I shop.

My current rod is 6'9" MH/F Vengeange. It seemed to handle the crankbaits well, but it also seemed to handle my topwaters and jigs well too. I'm new to a lot of this, so just because I think it handled well, doesn't mean that it was really performing as it should. I really don't have anything to compare it to.

Thanks for all the replies! I really appreciate it. Like I said, I have a lot to learn and you guys gave me a lot of good info to sort through and keep in mind.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm definitely looking for a rod that is more of a jack-of-all-trades. I don't have the cash for a setup for everything, and don't want to limit myself to trying new things because my rod can't handle it. I'll check out the Mojo at the store.

Thanks for the replies guys. I've been fishing for years, but was always just happy to get out and was more into the "mental-health" benefits than I was into catching the fish. In the last year or so, I've been reading a lot more and trying a lot of different things so I can actually start catching some fish. lol. I obviously still have quite a bit to learn!

So I got my first baitcaster this spring (Abu Black Maxx/Vengeance combo) with the thought that if I liked it, I would upgrade over the summer. Well, so far I've loved fishing it. Next week I'm making my first trip to a Bass Pro Shop and was planning on making my upgrade purchase. I've been online researching different brands, and thought I had settled on the Abu Revo S and Veritas. I figured since I like the Black Max combo, it made sense to stick with Abu Garcia. My problem is that I've kept checking product reviews and forum threads, and now my head is spinning. Any suggestions for me to look at? I'll mainly be throwing crankbaits, and topwater lures. I've also just discovered jigs. I'm looking to spend around $250 combined. I'm hoping to get a few solid recommendations to give me an idea what to focus on. Any suggestions are appreciated!