Bass fishing is best

I wouldn't even bother trying throwing a 3" senko weightless on a casting rig. I can throw a 4" senko as long as it's texas rigged and there isn't a strong breeze in my face, otherwise that's going on the spinning rig too most days. Most of my weightless presentations are the standard 5" senko and up. Just weighed a 4" senko and it's a hair under 1/4 oz, which I can only imagine is the lowest rating on that rod in that combo.

Pflueger spinning reels too.

If you already have them why not give them a shot and find out for yourself. I have an 8'6 light action Fenwick HMX for live bait fishing. I do 99% of my fishing using artificial lures but when I do use live bait it's from shore and little to no added weight. I can flick bait effortlessly. I find it more of an advantage getting different angles around obstacles rather than increased casting distance. What are your rods ratings? I certainly wouldn't suggest them for kayaking. IME the longer the pole, the harder to land from a kayak. I try not to bring anything longer than a '6'6 in my kayak, that's just me though.

I have a 7 ft MH shock for throwing topwater only. It's a fine rod but I'd agree the Fenwick is worth a look. The Cabelas brand Fish Eagle rod is also on sale for $48.99 and is worth a look in this price range. I own two 663 Fish Eagle II's from previous generations and they are fine rods for the price. I still do most of my weightless senko and soft plastic fishing with these rods.

Thanks that is what I was afraid of. I own 5 shimano baitcasters so I don't speak Daiwa, the names and amount of reels they sell is staggering. Thanks very much. Thank you I've heard this before but couldn't find this exact info. The main reason I don't already own a Daiwa is I'm no fan of the bulky feel the older ones had. I looked at them again after the CT but did not like a few things about the Tatula, but did like the size. This was a tag sale purchase of my family out of state and I haven't held it yet so we'll see. I think I'll just give it to my neighbor and pick up an SV this Spring. I have 2 Met's and Chronarch MGL's and love them, they aren't going anywhere. They can't skip...or more appropriately I can't skip with them. I've heard Daiwa's are an easier reel for this. Out of curiosity if I do like this reel when I use it, are there any after market lighter spool options?

First off my apologies if this is common knowledge I've searched for an hour and can't find many detailed posts on this. Just got a used Zillion TWS What are the main differences of this model Zillion TWS 100 hl vs Zillion TWS SV 1016? Is the reel itself that much different or is the SV spool the main upgrade? If I put an SV spool in it do I have nearly the same thing as if it were the SV 1016 reel? I'd be using this primarily for skipping. I was going to buy the 1016 this spring but pretty much got this reel for free so maybe just a spool upgrade is all I need? Hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance.

@hawgenvy All my best wishes to you and everyone in the storms path, that includes some of my family. You all down there have some good practice at hurricanin' and some of the best response people when it comes to this. Be safe. Those Florida bass are no joke, every pic you post is a monster.

I know I've caught the exact same bass this year, this week but never in my life have I caught the same day with my hook still in it. Taken plenty of other people's hooks with mono or floro still attached though. If anything I think I've been over estimating the handicap of straight braid until the end of last year. Ditched the leaders last year and haven't had any drop off in numbers. In fact I'd go so far as to say I've landed more quality fish this year on straight 50 lb braid because of the lack of break offs. I can confidently horse a fish out of trouble that I know would have been trouble with mono or floro leader. 20 and 30 lb on my spinning set ups and 50 lb on my baitcasters and they all get bites. Color hasn't been an issue either, I have bright yellow on my small salt setup and it's landed some nice bass, in some of the clearest water I've fished. I'd say fish that straight braid until you notice a drop off, if ever. Only bummer is I've needed to put more braid on a reel in the same season for the first time ever so I've also ditched the palomar knot.

You have enough gear. I've seen your set ups listed in another one of your threads.....why add 2 of the same reels that aren't really that much of a step up? Buy the Metanium MGL if you have the 45% sponsor discount and the bucks to drop. Other than it's shockingly light weight I don't think the Aldebaran is that great of a reel for the price tag. It casts light lures well but the MGL spools in the Casitas JDM, Chronarch, and Metanium perform nearly as well IMO and carry enough line so you can still use them for cranking and topwater.

Did you put line on it?

I don't weight them unless I think it's a record. My guess is 5lbs +.

Micheal, The great thing about being a beginner fisherman is every day is an easy opportunity to break your PB, especially if you have the bug. Nice catch. Had about 15 minutes to fish before work. On the last cast grabbed this solid bass. Was 5 minutes late for work but well worth it.

I don't mean to add more selection to this as you've already gotten some fine advice, and I don't think you can go wrong with any of the suggestions. My only contribution is the last 2 used chronarch ci4s sold for $130 on ebay last week. There are a couple right retrieves on auction right now that end in 5 days. Just saying it's worth a look if you want a shot at a chronarch. Good luck.

For line on your reel I'd worry about line diameter more than lb rating. Right now I have 15lb power pro braid on my ultra light setup that has a diameter comparable to 4 lb mono. Check out this chart. http://www.powerpro.com/content/powerpro-north-america/en/home/products/powerpro.html Regarding the lure rating on the rod the quickest explanation is too light a lure will not allow you to 'load' the rod and casting distance and accuracy will be severely reduced. Too heavy you risk breaking the rod, and casting distance and accuracy will also be reduced. I generally find the sweet spot for a rod is in the middle of the ratings. For example I own a 6'6 Fenwick Aetos spinning rod that is rated 1/8-5/8 but it throws lures the best in the 1/6-1/2 range. I'm guessing since you have an UL setup your rod is 1/32-1/4? Most stiffer rods that I own throw 1/2 perfectly, my UL no way.

I haven't cracked open my 201I in a while but I'd imagine it's the new micro brass gearing looks a little wider than the I's that's adding some weight. Just a guess. .2oz more weight for a little smoother retrieve sounds like a decent trade off. Have you considered a 150 size reel? I'm one of those guys who can't say enough good things about the Chronarch. It's a bit thinner than the Curado I but still holds enough line for bass fishing, about 20 yards less line than the Curado. It's a subtle difference size wise but the performance and feel are night and day...and I love my Curado. The Citica MGL is a JDM only so far but it's also worth a look. Same size as the Chronarch minus the brass micro gearing. If I didn't own 2 Chronarchs I'd probably take a look at it. Who am I kidding I may take a look at it anyway.