New Rod

[hunt_britto]

I now only have one distinctive bass rod, a 6'6" Abu Garcia Veritas. It is medium and I have a 6:4:1 Silver Max on it. I also have a spinning rod, it is a Laser and it too is a medium and I use it for my spinner baits and small crankbaits and small jigs. The thing is that I want to get a rod and reel that I can use for both swimbaiting and topwater fishing(frogs, plugs, etc. but mainly frogs and such in thick cover) and if possible using it for heavy jigs. What type rod like MH or H and what are a couple of good rods for it and what reel ratio would be good for swimbaits and topwater? I would like 2-4 suggestion for each rod and reel. I am only 14 and don't have a job so I don't want to spend over $150 total my max would be about $165-$170.

Thanks!

-Hunter

[5 Dollar Fishing Game]

I use a Berkley rod Med/Heavy and is 6ft. I have an Abu Garcia Pro Max reel 7:1 and I use it for EVERYTHING!!! I also have a spinning set up rod/reel that I use for everything also. Everyone is different. I don't really have a "set" combo that I use for specific lures. Rather I focus on the line weight, wind conditions, water depth, etc. You may get several different opinions on here, however this is just mine. Just keep a variety of tools in your pouch and get used to how each one provides. Your budget is plenty to get a good set up man. - Joe

[smalljaw67]

Those techniques will take a toll on equipment, I suggest you wait until you can go over $250 for the combo and that would be the very least. You can get a lot of good rods and reels now at good prices but for heavy techiques like frog fishing and swimbaits you need something that will take the abuse but will let you work your bait. Since you want to fish jigs and swimbaits along with frogs look for a reel in the 6.4:1 up to a 7.0:1 gear ratio, it will give the speed for jigs and frogs but can still be controled to slow down for swimbaits, anything with a 26" to 28" IPT would be optimum. For the rod you will be looking at a heavy or extra heavy depending on what kind of swimbaits you want to use. I suggest starting out with smaller ones around an ounce to 1.5oz at the biggest, this will let you get a rod that can handle that as well as jigs and frogs.