kentropy

Thanks for the breakdown. Awesome setup.

Thanks, I'll take a look at the ARK rods. Thanks for breaking down your basics for me. Good to see an Ohio brother on here.

Thanks. I really do appreciate your advice, your point about pros wanting to get to the next cast makes sense. I’ll definitely look at the 734c. I didn’t mean to imply a fast reel winches out a bass, but reels it in quickly from cover once caught. I have read some version of the following in multiple places: “The reels used for flipping and pitching can be the same reels you use everyday for other techniques but they should be high speed, around 6:1, to pick up line quickly when a fish inhales your bait for a solid hookset and to ensure the big bass cannot turn around in the thick cover and wrap itself up so you cannot get it out. “ https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/guides/flippitch.html A high speed reel is my choice for techniques like flippin' and pitching or worming — anything where you're working the bait for a short stretch and then hustling it in to make another presentation. When you're pitching and fighting a big bass in close quarters, you need to be able to catch up to that fish quickly if she heads toward the boat. You can only do that with a fast reel. https://m.bassmaster.com/tips/how-do-you-choose-right-gear-ratio

Hey Tom, Thanks for the thoughtful advice. I do flip and pitch into a lot of heavy cover around bank edges for bass in the lake I fish. I have heard that a fast reel like the revo rocket is good for getting bass out of heavy cover quickly so I was thinking about pairing those two. This combo was also suggested by answers to this post so I may give the 7'5 MH XF Bass Mojo a try with the rocket for flipping into cover (your first suggestion I believe). In retrospect, I wish I wouldn't have gotten a MH XF, but it sounds like that could still work for me and I could still use that rod for some heavier bottom contact soft baits. I hadn't thought of it until now but I do sometimes troll for saugeye using flicker shads which I believe qualifies as a deep crankbait. I had only been thinking of that heavy rod as a heavy flipping rod for punching with a heavy weight texas rig plastic, but maybe it should become a flicker shad type trolling rod. Does that align with your thoughts? It sounds like my next purchase should be something MH mod fast to fast for the shimano metanium. Maybe a less than 7' Dobyns fury MH F or a Bass Mojo MH M (it seems their action labeling is on the stiff side). To answer your question about what I fish most, I tend to use my finnesse spinning setup (not really mentioned in this discussion) for ned rigs. I fish a lot of wacky rig senkos, spinner baits, chatterbaits, texas rigged soft plastics and I pitch/flip jigs the most. I live in Columbus Ohio where we have some great lakes but they are extremely pressured and it isn't easy to catch fish without season/species/spawn specific technical knowledge. I have only been seriously fishing for a couple years. The first year I hardly caught anything on a kayak, it was incredibly discouraging. The second year I bought a 10' plastic boat with a trolling motor and I had the most success on ned, wacky rigs and spinnerbaits. This year I just bought a 16' Tracker and have tried to pound the shore more with jigs and texas rigs, but I am still learning and clueless. thanks for the advice, I'll keep experimenting Ken

Thanks, I have heard a lot of good things about the Dobyns rods and the MH/F being a good all around rod. I do need to add a crankbait rod at some point that has a little more flex. I appreciate the input. K Point taken, I should just swap up the reels and fish them for a while before making a decision on what to add next. I should probably try the mojo/metanium first as a bottom plastics rig (like fishingmickey suggested) also before I swap things out.

Thanks for adding this. That is exactly the rod/reel swap up I was considering and it makes a lot of sense to me, but I am a little hung up on on putting a high end reel (I actually got it for much cheaper at an expo clearance) on a $50 rod (vengeance). Looking at those rods as a whole, would getting something better for that metanium be the priority for a next purchase (6'6 vs 7', M vs MH, F vs MF?). What's the next step? thanks again

Thanks for the advice, that is helpful. I do have a nice spinning finesse rig that I am really happy with, its the ML XF bass mojo with the shimano stradic reel. I also have a couple flueger president spinning reels in szs 20 and 40 and some cheap spinning rods (abu garcia vengeance, field & stream and ugly stick all medium weight or lighter). I will put some thought into my spinning setup later, but I do feel like I am missing something more in between the spinning finesse setups and my heavy/fast baitcaster setups. Looking at those baitcaster rods I listed, what would you add next? Thanks Thanks, you nailed it when you said I was hung up on the XF action, I think that is the part that bothers me. I may just need to have a little more confidence that it can do more than fling frogs and try it out more as a bottom set up. I'll try to use it more that way and see how it feels. Any advice on a "next rod" to add?

I could use some advice from those of you that fish from a boat with a collection of rods. I am still relatively new to boat fishing (bought a 16" Tracker this year) and I am having a hard time building a good baitcaster rod collection to cover the variety of techniques (Ohio Bass/Saugeye in lakes). Each rod I buy feels like a mistake looking back. I am underwhelmed with the cheap Abu Garcia Vengeance rods I have and would eventually like to replace them. I really like St Croix Mojo Bass rods, my favorite rod is probably my ML XF spincaster finesse setup with a stradic reel (I didn't add it below since not a baitcaster). I was at the Columbus Ohio fishing expo this fall and a vendor also talked me into getting my first Bass Mojo baitcaster rod (MH XF). Unfortunately, I am a little worried now that I have started using it, that it isn't a very versatile rod due to the length and XF tip (I now know it is a swim frog rod). I would like to get another Bass Mojo, but I am a little lost on what to go with next or how to build on what I have . I could use some advice on what to get to round out what I have and what techniques to use for each rod. I also included the reels I have them paired with in case that helps. St Croix Mojo Bass 7’5” MH XF Baitcaster with Shimano Metanium 7.4:1 - I have no idea how to use this rod other than for "swim frogs" - any advice?, it feels like a waste for the Metanium reel (got a crazy deal) Abu Garcia Vengeance 7’6” H MF Heavy Baitcast with Abu Garcia Revo Rocket 9.0:1 (currently set up as a punching rod with 50 lb braid and a 1 oz titanium weight/skirt/soft plastic beaver tail) Abu Garcia Vengeance 6'6" MH F Baitcaster with Lews Mach Speed Spool 5:1 7.2 oz. (Despite being the cheapest setup, I find myself using this combo the most because it seems more versatile. It drives me crazy that I am not using the Mojo Bass / Metanium reel more) Overall, my setup feels pretty messed up and not very versatile. What should I change with my setups? How should I use these rods? What should I add? Thanks for any help, Ken

On the baitcaster or the spinning rods? I assume you mean set up the baitcaster for pitching into weeds, frogs, etc? Thanks. If I set up the Stradic/Mojo as a finesse type rod, do you think 15braid/10 fluoro still works? How else would you use the stradic/mojo setup with the 15/10 lines?

Thanks, I was thinking maybe 8-10# braid with 6-8 lb fluoro leader on the stradic/mojo as a finesse rod. Maybe a 20# braid or mono for the quantum/vengeance as a flipping rod. 12 # braid for the president / Field stream (+/- leader) for the FS/president? Does that sound right?

Over the years, I have haphazardly collected my fishing gear without really fully understanding how to build an optimized rod/reel collection for fishing. I am working to broadening my knowledge base, techniques and my understanding of how to use different rods and reels depending on the approach. I primarily fish for Bass, but sometimes fish for crappie, bluegill and Saugeye. I have never fished tournaments, but fish from a small boat with a bow mounted foot controlled trolling motor (sometimes kayak) in Columbus, OH. I have listed what I currently own below. I could use any advice on the following. 1. How to best pair what I have to build a basic collection that covers most techniques? 2. What is missing that I should buy next? (Probably will build slowly and stay in $60-$150 range for each rod/reel) 3. What type of line, line weight and leaders (if needed) should I use for each setup? That is a lot of advice to ask for, thanks for any help you can give. Baitcaster Reels Abu Garcia Revo Rocket RV03 9.0:1 Quantum Pulse 6.6:1 Baitcaster Rods Abu Garcia Vengance 6’6” Medium Heavy - Fast tip Baitcaster (I also had a medium but just broke it) Spinning Reels Shimano Stradic Ci4+ 2500 6.0:1 35”/crank 20lb drag Pflueger President 40 (6740) 5.2:1 31.6”/crank 14 lb drag Pflueger President 20 5.2:1 20.2”/crank 6lb drag Spinning rods St Croix Mojo Bass 6’10” Medium Light - Extra Fast Spinning Field & Stream 6’8 Medium - Extra Fast Spinning Ugly Stik 4’8 ultralight Cheap Combo sets (both are spinning) Shakespeare Ugly Stick GX2 ($50 combo) 6’6” Medium. with GX235 5.2:1 spinning reel Lews Speed Spin Combo ($25 Combo) 6’0” medium with 5.1:1 spinning reel Several cheap Zebco 33 setups that I use for the kids Thanks again

Thanks everyone. I guess the real question is what happens if you have a 45 ft lb motor that has a max amp rating of 50 A (and has specs that require a 50 amp fuse/breaker) but you use the power center with a built in 60 amp breaker and you get stuck in the weeds so your motor starts to strain and pulls 59 Amps. Will the motor blow before the 60 Amp breaker on the power center even triggers. I suspect most people running this setup don’t have an issue because manufacturers build a little wiggle room into their ratings, but I decided to not chance it and returned the power center. Besides having too high of a rating on the breaker, it’s too tall to fit under the seat easily. Nice concept but not perfect. Now I just need warm weather in Ohio to actually test things out on water that won’t kill me if I fall in. Thanks again

I picked up a Minn Kota power center to use with a Minn Kota 45 lb bow mount TM. The power center has a 60 Amp breaker but the TM requires a 50 amp. I believe all Minn Kotas below 50 lbs require a 50 Amp breaker but reading through this forum, it seems a lot of people use the 60 amp power center with smaller trolling motors that should require a smaller breaker or fuse. Is that a problem or is the difference between a 50 vs 60 amp breaker not significant enough to worry about? Do people add a 50 amp fuse to the box (sad to not use the built in breaker, which was half the reason why I bought the box.) Thanks New to forum, read it all Sportsman Angler 10’