BooshBass

This sounds like me lol. I don't do well with multiple rods or even just things placed on the ground while fishing. I have also left an embarrassing amount of gear next to a pond or river never to be seen again. Stepped on and broke a fly rod within about 5 minutes once. Now I decide what I want to try that day, tie it on at my car, and bring 1 rod and some other backup stuff that fits the rod which stays in a backpack on my back until I'm back to my car. Sometimes I chose wisely, sometimes not.

My do-it-all is Yo Zuri Hybrid 12#. I appreciate the Berkley Big Game suggestions as well, it's the mono I use on my mono reel and it's what some great fishers I know use for everything. But, I don't view the Yo Zuri Hybrid as high maintenance at all so why not use the hybrid for the all around - all around flexibility is why it exists I assume. It's just as cheap as Big Game as well.

I have never tried one of these but I really like the options they have. So far I think I'm between this and the other suggested Dobyns Fury 663c.

Thanks for the awesome tip! The first Amazon review says: "However this rod isn't medium heavy. It's definitely medium." Edit: It seems kind of weird and misleading that Dobyns appears to have power ratings 1-6, but then they call a 3 medium-heavy. Seems like calling it medium is a no brainer and pretty much every person who uses the rods considers it as such.

1.0 KVDs are the smallest I've used, but this rod would likely be used to experiment with even smaller and no bigger than 1.5 KVDs. I already have a Dobyns Fury crankbait rod that's 7' med-hvy, mod-fast, but I sometimes fish in the Chicago river in areas that are quite tight and the fish are heavily pressured. I did pretty good last month there during the spawn with my 6'8" Shimano Clarus medium power, extra fast action, in those conditions and it was quite fun, but I missed a ton of fish I'm pretty sure due to the extra fast action. I think a short, medium power, moderate fast action rod would be a good compliment to the Dobyns and Shimano rods I already have. I would probably give it a shot on poppers and jerk baits as well and see if I like the more moderate action for that. Believe it or not, the 6'8" was fine but even still a little bit long to be 100% comfortable in the conditions I plan to use it in. So a 6'6" medium, moderate-fast rod I think would be exactly I am looking for, if not even shorter.

Did not know about this rod. The shortness is very appealing, but is it pretty whippy? True moderate or could it be perhaps mod-fast?

$150 or less

I'm in the market for a light square bill rod for use in tight quarters. Ideally 6'6" medium with moderate fast action. Any suggestions?

I'm looking to buy a couple rods but looking for some kind of deal if you're trying to unload some stuff. One I am looking for is a 6'6" medium power, moderate fast casting rod for small squarebills for around $60-80 Another I am looking for is a 7' or longer medium-heavy power, extra fast action casting rod for larger bottom contact around $100-$120 Edit: I'm a big fan of the older Shimano rods that have the very exposed blank in the grip area. If someone had an old Clarus or Crucial in this configuration for a reasonable price, that would be an instant buy for me.

These are in my opinion three if the most important pieces of advicewithout getting into gear and whatnot. I first got serious about fishing fly fishing for trout. When nymphing, 99.9% if the time you are setting the hook based on watching your line. I was told repeatedly to set the hook any time the line does absolutely anything other than just float normally. I did not follow that advice for quite some time out of fear of snagging and having to tie more tiny ass flies to each other with tiny ass line, which any fly fisher knows is completely infuriating for about your first 2-3 years at least. Then I started setting the hook what seemed extremely excessively and caught more fish, and snagged a lot more. Now I can pretty easily discern what's a fish and what's a snag and catch even more fish, and can tie flies on very easily because of all the snags. Same thing with bass but you get way more benefit from feel. You can watch line, feel for bites, and ideally do both where appropriate. Set the hook excessively, you will catch more fish, lose more lures, tie better knots, and then eventually catch even more fish and lose less stuff.

You bet I took a picture lol. It was a tough day on the lake for bass, this big carp really made the day.

There's not a lot on the boards about these newer Fenwick Techna PX rods so I figured I'd provide an anecdote, even though its not a bass, it's bass gear. I went fishing on a Northern Illinois lake yesterday and landed a 13lb carp on a 7' medium-heavy power, fast action Fenwick Techna PX with a Daiwa Tatula SV TW strung with 6lb Invizx flourocarbon and a bluegill colored 3/8 oz. swim jig with a green pumpkin Strike King rage craw trailer (didn't know a carp would ever eat that, but it choked on it). The rod bent waayyyyyy down, but the strength the maker touts about this rod is true, it handled the golden lake whale very well, I was never worried about the rod breaking the entire 15 minute or so fight, felt real solid. Just my experience with the strength of this rod.

I'm fairly new to baitcasters in the last five years and am definitely still liable to backlash due to either forgetfulness in setting the reel correctly or just your basic incompetence. I use a Daiwa SV TW 7.3 for lures that could cause a lot of backlash because the brakes are ridiculously good and you can set them easily because they are located on the outside side of the reel, not on the inside. I think being able to set the brakes easily on the outside makes it very versatile, you can fish a light worm and then switch right over to a heavy jig and reset the brakes in 2 seconds, and I think Daiwa is one of the only big brands that has this feature but I'm not sure. You will be able to cast spinnerbaits far when you want to and light lures into wind when you want to with that reel. I think this is a good option to consider. For what it's worth, I am giving having only two baitcasters this year a try as I sadly lost a bag with two other baitcasters in it and don't want to buy another one (though I would prefer three setups: braid, hybrid, flouro). Daiwa SV TW 7.3 with #50 braid for frogs and high sensitivity lighter stuff and my other reel is a Daiwa Elite 6.3 with Yo-Suri Hybrid for stuff that moves whether on top or submerged. If I understand correctly, the brakes are the same on both reels, the spool on the SV makes it better for casting lighter stuff, the spool on the Elite makes it a little better for casting farther, but they're both good for both. Both of those reels are extremely versatile, either one would work great for either application. This isn't a brand thing, I'm not a Daiwa salesman. I haven't used Shimano baitcasters but my buddy who is a better fisher than me swears by them, especially Curados. No brake setting on the outside though.

It's entirely possible I end up with a Shimano reel, they've always been my safe space for spinning reels. But the lighter options from Shimano are more expensive than the BPS and Fuego, so I might give one of those a shot for a change. BTW, I'm on the NW side of Chicago, getting ready for smallie season on the Fox River, possibly the harbors as well depending how frustrated I feel like getting that day.

Yup, that's my instinct as well, I use Daiwa casting reels but have never used a Daiwa spinning reel, I assume they're good. But, the fact that this Prodigy reel is aluminum where the Fuego LT is plastic caught my eye. It also says "all metal gears" which is a good thing? I'm no expert on the inner workings of reels, especially spinning ones.

I am thinking about buying a St. Croix Avid 6'8" Medium Extra-Fast for soft plastics and was looking for a light spinning reel to go with it. Looking for a light setup as the only spinning reel I currently have is a Lew's Speed Spin that came on a spinning combo (despite the hate it gets I think its actually pretty nice, just pretty heavy) and some old janky Shimanos. I came across these new reels: https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-prodigy-spinning-reel 3000 size weighs 7.9oz and has 30" per turn retrieval. Seems pretty legit. In the small amount of time they've been out has anyone tried one? Any feedback?

Hey fishers, I figured I'd provide an update on this now that summer is ending and I got a lot of fishing in since I started this topic. Maybe it will help someone in the future. I've had a chance to fish with my broken/repaired rod quite a bit and it really worked out. The action is definitely slower and feels like a medium. It doesn't cast as long as my 7' rods as expected, but as hoped it is a terrific crankbait and hard plastic jerkbait rod now. I paired it with a Diawa Fuego CT 6.3:1 and had a chance to go on a trip to Lake Clitherall in Minnesota last week. There I caught probably 30 largemouth, maybe more, it was almost too easy. The broken rod was stellar with squarebills and several different types of Rapala (floating, suspending, countdown, husky jerk, rippin' rap). I caught many fish banging them off the rocks and jerking them over ledges on a couple of nice long points on Clitherall. I caught some pretty decent sized largemouth and there is a nice bend on the rod that feels good while fighting the fish. It also feels good fishing a Rat-L-Trap and Shad Rap vertically at the harbors, as well as topwater poppers, though I haven't caught any fish doing that yet. So here are my non-fly rod setups I think I've settled on for now: - Lew's Carbon Fire 7' Heavy, Fast and Lew's Tournament MB 7.5:1 - Frogs, throwing weighted spoons at the harbor for salmon/steelhead - Lew's Mach 2 Baitcaster Combo 7' Med-Hvy, Fast 7.5:1 - Bigger/weighted soft plastics, bigger jigs with trailers, bigger/weighted swimbaits - Lew's Custom Speed Stick 6'8" Med-Hvy, Med and Daiwa Fuego CT 6.3:1 - Crankbaits, hard plastic jerkbaits - Galyan's Performance Series IM7 6'6" Med-Hvy, Fast and Shimano Sahara 2500FB - Smaller/unweighted swimbaits, soft plastic jerkbaits, and small jigs, all along the harbor walls - Lew's Speed Spin Spinning Combo 7' Med, Fast 6.2:1 - Smaller/unweighted soft plastics/swimbaits, smaller jigs, roostertails/other smaller spinners, lighter jerkbaits/Rapalas - UglyStik GX2 9' Med, Fast and the Lew's Speed Spin Reel from the combo - launching bait under a float for salmon/steelhead at the harbors, probably catfish at some point - Zebco Rhyno 6' and Quantum Energy E2-1 - Probably catfish or something - BPS Ultra Lite 4'6" and Pfleuger Trion GX - Panfish/trout, roostertails/other spinners, bobber fishing with a minnow - A couple of old Eagle Claw Med/Light 6'-6'6" rods with old Shimano AX1000/2000 reels - backups/lending/probably my wife at some point, maybe some light applications sometime just because they're there Super happy with my newly created non-fly fishing setup. I spent a bunch of money this summer but also caught way, way more fish than I used to while fishing solely with the Galyan's rod. Having all the different rods for particular purposes and not having to change my lure every time I want to try something else really makes a world of difference in catching more fish. Now I can just upgrade 1 rod/reel at a time from my current budget oriented setups whenever I feel it's time.....

I stupidly lost the piece despite making it a point to keep it. Any idea what a typical tip ring size for a Lew's casting rod would be? I've pinned down the size 7 tube, but the ring I don't know. I was thinking 4.5 as the 7 I bought is about two times too big. Lew's service didn't respond to my email, though I figure give them a little leeway with the pandemic I suppose. I'll probably call them tomorrow.

Add in that I, a self proclaimed dummy, just received my nice new tip guide, with the wrong ring size, as I had to order it at night instead of just waiting until morning to call Lew's and ask about the size.

This is what I was thinking, as well as possible some top waters like a popper. Like I said, I've been fishing at the Chicago harbors a lot lately and extremely long costs are generally not necessary or even possible. Maybe I can tap into some smallmouth this fall or next spring on some slightly more aggressive lures than I can in the summer doldrums like rat-l-traps, red eye shads, or shallow crankbaits. I also think fishing a rat-l-trap vertically near some of the structure at the harbor might be good. The break was right above the next guide, so I clipped it right below the guide and it's clean. Maybe a 1/2 off from where the second guide would be, but there's a good 3-4 inches of rod until you hit the next guide. Similar to why I still use the old 6' Galyan's rod for small swim baits along the harbor wall. Anything longer and I'm constantly scraping the tip on the concrete, dock, railings, etc.

Some people online say throw it away, some people say that's ridiculous and you can find a use for it catching bass. The broken tip eats at me big time for sure and I d**n near threw it in the garbage. I also just went out and bought a Lew's Mach 2 casting combo 7', Med-Hvy, Fast, and a Lew's Speed Stick spinning combo 7', Med, Fast, and I'm happy with my purchases - I think they'll cover a lot of water for now. That said, as you say, the action gets slowed. With that in mind, I bought an appropriate tip guide and plan to try the broken rod on some top waters and crankbaits and see how it goes. What do you anticipate my problems doing that will be so I can be aware while using it?

Hey all, to those of you who know something about the physics behind rod construction, I have a Lew's Custom Speed Stick Spinnerbait rod, 6'10", Med-Hvy, Fast Action, that I broke the tip off of and put on a replacement tip eyelet. Now, the rod is a little bit over 6'7". My main question is how does breaking the tip off a rod affect the power and action of a rod? Secondary question: I am asking because, while I've been a moderately serious fly-fisherman for trout/steelhead/salmon for many years, and really a more casual suburban pond bass fisherman, I have the bass fishing bug and am trying to work my way up to a 3-5 setup system and am in the market for a new setup. My only two setups currently are: - Lew's rod described above (6'7.154837", Med-Hvy?, Fast Action?) with a Lew''s Tournament MB 7.5:1 baitcaster - Old Galyan's 6' IM6 rod (not even sure the specs, they wore off) with an old Shimano 2500 Sahara I live in Chicago and use the Galyan's/Shimano setup for moving soft plastics (speed shads, darters) along the wall at the harbors for smallmouth, the short rod works well for this. I also use the Galyan's rod for scummy suburban pond fishing with weedless soft plastics (ribbontails, finesse worms). I use the Lew's setup for pretty much everything else (poppers, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, jigs, maybe try some worms, really anything I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing). I'm thinking about buying a new spinning setup and a new casting setup. Do you think it makes sense to designate the broken Lew's for topwater, keep doing what I'm doing with the Galyan's rod along the harbor wall.... now this is where I'm stuck. What do you think will make my setup better rounded? I'm thinking a 7' medium power, extra-fast spinning rod for plastics in the ponds (ribbontails, trick worms, tubes) which I do a lot during the summer, a 7' medium or med-hvy, fast action baitcasting setup for hard plastics (rat-l-traps, red eye shads, squarebills) for the rivers around my area (Fox River, Kankakee River in Northern Illinois) and smallmouth in the harbors in spring/fall, 7' heavy, fast baitcaster for frogs in ponds. I'm 5'10" and an amateur, so rods over 7' feel a little unweildy to me, but I'd probably look at something that was 7'2". Any help from anyone with more experience than me would be much appreciated! I've been having a good time catching a few bass this summer and would like to keep it going, but I think my gear is severely lacking and, as a result, less fish. Thanks!