Advice For Kinda Newbie.

[Billyjoe4806]

This is my first post so I want to say Hi and my name is Andrew.

I have been fishing since I was around 11. 90% of the time it is LMB.

I always have went with my step dad he had a little 16ft jon boat with a 35hp motor on it, but I would only go maybe 4 - 5 times a year. I usually just went with him out of respect cause he would ask me and I know he likes it when I would go with him. I never was really successful, even though he was and would tell me what to do.

When I was 12 my Dad bought me a Shimano Reel that I still have and use and it works great. Well about 5 weeks ago my step dad bought a bass tracker and we have been fishing every week since, and I have fallin in love with it now.

After the first trip I went ahead and bought some new reels and rods, and I have about 300 - 400 more I can spend without my wife yelling at me too loudly so I need some help from you guys if you don't mind.

As I said I have the shimano reel on a 7ft BPS crankin stick.

The other reels I just purchased were 2 BPS pro qualifiers. One is 4:1 and one is 6:1

I have the 4:1 on a Shimano Sellus spinerbait rod and I do not know what line is on it as my step dad did all that.

The 6:1 is on a Sellus worm and Jig rod and again I am not sure what line is on it. I never realized there were so many different lines and reels and rod combos you can have. I just thought throw the lure and catch a fish, which is probably why I was never successful.

As I said i have about 300 maybe 400 I can spend on a few more rods and reels. I really like the BPS PQ reels, but I am open for all suggestions.

Also if you could tell me what reels to put on what Rod and also what type of line I should be using would be much help!! Sorry for the long post.

[Billyjoe4806]

Anyone have just a little advise? I am going fishing again this Saturday and what to have a good setup with at least 5 - 6 rods so I don't have to keep switching lures.

[roadwarrior]

Don't spend any more money, fish what you have for now. With a little experience using your

tackle, you will have a better idea on what you need to get in the future. It sounds to me that

your stepfather can help, too.

[retiredbosn]

Sorry I took so long to post, I am far from any expert, but the advice roadwarrior gave is solid. As you gain experience you will know what technique you like best, if you like throwing any plastics you will want to get a better rod. On the rod side do not get all caught up in the graphite count, the glues, reel seat, guides are just as important as graphite count. Good values on rods can be found, the Convergence and Clarus lines are decent rods (and won't break the bank either) that will allow you to feel more what your lure is doing and what the bottom is made of and of course when a fish hits it. The BPS Extreme rods are good value too, but one thing they don't have that the Shimano does is an over the counter lifetime warranty, also the Field and stream rods at Dick's aren't bad, more sensitive than I thought they would be. Reels I personally feel that the BPS Pro Qualifier is the best 100 dollar reel on the market, shoot I would argue the best 150 reel. As you can see from my post, I hold to the middle ground on price, I have neuropathy in my hands and the most expensive G-loomis rod doesn't add any sensitivity for me nor any appeal. I would hold off before buying a lot though, as fishing season comes to a close and ppl start hunting the fishing tackle normally goes on sale and you can get more for your buck at that time. Also do some searching here on the forums there is no lack of rod recommendations and there are numerous articles on the site as well that will not only educate you but by the time your research is done you will be as confused as a breast fed baby in a topless bar. Good luck and tight lines

[retiredbosn]

wow after reading my post I'm confused!!!!

Get the best quality you can afford, quality is better than quantity. Reels aluminum frame, quality bearings and gears

Rods quality guides, reel seats, like I said before don't get caught up in the graphite numbers, there is no industry standard to how much graphite a rod has to have to earn a particular rating. Example BPS advertises 80 million modulus rods, you can bet there is very little graphite in the rod at that strength/brittleness. Generally the higher the graphite number the less it bends or the more brittle it becomes.

[Billyjoe4806]

Ok thanks for the info guys. I will hold off on buying anymore and just use what I have. I was at Academy last night and saw some of the H2O Ethos Rods and they seem to have pretty good reviews as well as a life time warranty. I also know that in the spring time Academy usually has a big sale on all their rods so I may wait till they do that and pick some up if I read enough good stuff about them.

Again thanks for the help. Last Saturday we went out and I caught 4 nice fish, the first was about 4 - 5 lbs and the other 3 were around 2 - 2.5 lbs. And that basically got me hooked. We are going again this weekend so hopefully i have the same kinda luck!!

[smalljaw67]

The only real advise I can give you is what works better when it comes to reels and gear ratios as they are confusing. High speed reels like any that are 6.6:1 up to 7.3:1 are used for techniques that you use the rod to move the bait most of the time and the reel is there to pick up the slack line. So use those types of reels for jigs and worms mostly but I think you'd be better off with something that is an all purpose type gear ratio and that would be any from 6.2:1 up to 6.6:1, anything in that range is what you want to look for. If you see a reel you like and it has a 6.4:1 gear ratio, that is the one you want, good luck and in time like RW said, you'll get a feel for what you need.

[Arv]

Don't spend any more money, fish what you have for now.

True dat! Find out what you like, what works, etc. No sense in spending money on a set up that sounds good on paper but winds up sitting on the deck or in the closet.

[Billyjoe4806]

Well guys just wanted to let you know that I went out again this weekend and had another good one. I caught 5 LMB the biggest being around 4lbs very nice fish. So between last weekend and this that is 9. And last week my biggest was 7lbs.

I think I need a more sensitive rod for fishing worms and senkos. I fished senkos for about an hour in the early morning but I could never really tell if I was caught up in some cover or if it was a bite. I know I missed at least one on the senko which was due to not setting the hook. Over all though it was a great trip and I am ready for October to get here as I will not be able to go out at all in September. Thanks for all the help and I will for sure be asking for more tips!

[zachb34]

put the shimano on that sellus and put that low gear ratio reel on the BPS cranking stick use the rest of the money on baits bettter line and tackle.

[Billyjoe4806]

put the shimano on that sellus and put that low gear ratio reel on the BPS cranking stick use the rest of the money on baits bettter line and tackle.

I put the shimano reel on the sellus spinnerbait rod. I put the bps low gear on the cranking stick and the bps higher gear ratio on the worm and jig sellus. I also got a H2O mettle reel and put it on an Ethos rod. I got a lot of lures that were on sale at academy for only 88 cents. I also got the KVD sexy shad kit at academy for only 19.99 on sale from 59.99 I got 2 actually. I caught all my fish on the sexy shad lipless crank.

[zachb34]

you are good to go it seems those are some nice set ups and should work well good luck