Texas Rigs.. With A Baitcaster. Just Doesn't Feel Right

[Zeeso]

So I have been going back and forth between some of my rods trying to find that one rod that feels right and every rod I use just feels awkward.

Started with a 7ft medium heavy fast. Felt way to stiff. For pitching it works fine but casting doesn't feel right.

Went to a 7ft medium fast. Same thing. Just feels too stiff and awkward. Can't cast accurately at all when not pitching.

Downsized to a 6'6" medium heavy. Felt a little better but still kind of stiff and can't make medium distance casts with much accuracy.

Usually use a 3/16 or 1/4 weight with a 5/0 hook and pretty large plasticplastics. 10 inch worms are standard.

Should I try something with a moderate fast tip? Maybe I can load up my casts a little better. Anyways just seeing whay you guys thought.

[flyfisher]

Not sure but i prefer my 6/8" MH/F rod for texas rigs myself.  For lighter and smaller weights like a shaky head i do like my 7'MF spinning rod.

[iabass8]

You may just be casting incorrectly. a 1/4oz weight and any large plastic/10in worm will load just about any M power rod just fine to cast. I throw 1/4oz weights and trick worms on MH rods w/o any issues. It may be the reel you are using as well and you just need to practice more with it. It could be as simple of fix as letting around 18 or so inches of line hand down below the rod tip to the bait while you cast. I actually let a little more line than that because I use rods over 7' for most jig and t-rig applications.That will load a road more as well.

[SwampLife]

What kind of reel and line are you using?

That's pretty a heavy set up with that size weight,plastics and hook.

I throw a 1/8 weight with 7ft medium perfect I can use a medium heavy but i am way more accurate and consistent with a medium fast..

If you are throwing a bigger bait like a 1/2 jig or spinner bait and then you pick up your Texas rig rod with a wayy lighter weight it may take a few cast to adjust.. Atleast for me it does.. My suggestion is practice throwing the weight u desire in the yard with a practice plug.. So you don't get frustrated when out on the boat...

[Tartan34]

I prefer a 6'8 MH/XF for my Texas rigs. I go with a 1/8 weight, a 4/0 superline hook and a magnum lizard. I can throw it a mile with accuracy when I make a smooth cast. When I try to go after it, I loose both....I equate it to my golf game with a driver. I also throw this setup with no weight at times.

[Zeeso]

What kind of reel and line are you using?

That's pretty a heavy set up with that size weight,plastics and hook.

I throw a 1/8 weight with 7ft medium perfect I can use a medium heavy but i am way more accurate and consistent with a medium fast..

If you are throwing a bigger bait like a 1/2 jig or spinner bait and then you pick up your Texas rig rod with a wayy lighter weight it may take a few cast to adjust.. Atleast for me it does.. My suggestion is practice throwing the weight u desire in the yard with a practice plug.. So you don't get frustrated when out on the boat...

Pro qualifier 12 lb mono.

I mean... I cans fish adequately enough with any of those three set ups. Its hard to explain though how it just doesn't feel right. Its not AS awkward when using the heavier worms. But if I throw a big tube or a creature bait on.. it gets a little weird. I guess I'm just looking for that ideal rod where I can switch out the baits on the rigs while maintaining my accuracy and feel. My rods aren't super high end. The three I use would be st croix triumph, bps extreme and a bps carbonlite. Maybe its the weight of the rods. Out of the three I like the carbonlite the best but that's the 6'6" and I do like to have those extra 6 inches. Perhaps a 7ft carbonlite is in my near future. .. hrmmm

[SwampLife]

You don't need super high end rods man.. In sure 95 percent of the people on this forum doesn't get paid to fish.. A 100 dollar rod is perfect for the weekend angler, unless your financial situation ables you to spend more.. But we all have bugets.. I only buy 100 - 120 dollar rods right now because that's what my situation ables me to do..:

With that being said.. I think it just takes a little practice.. Go with a medium fast.. And practice with it and you will become more accurate.. Don't get discouraged..if You make a bad cast, fish out as if u made a good one..

My dad used to set garbage can tops out in the yard for me with differnt size practice plugs to get more accurate.. And just like anything you do practice makes perfect

[iabass8]

Well depending on what kind of 10" worm you are using a 1/4oz weight + worm won't really push the limits of a M power rod if you are using it in sparse cover so that should be more than adequate. your reel may be set a little to tight but that's okay as long as you are gradually steeping back on the brakes a bit after a while which will help you achieve more distance. It shouldn't be the weight of the rods. Those aren't very heavy rods, especially the carbonlite. I think the extreme is probably the heaviest of the bunch but I've only held that in store once and I think I remember it being a lot heavier than I thought it would be.  I would suggest the 7' carbon lite as that should be more than ideal and if that doesn't work it's either your reel or the way you are casting the bait. May just take some practice but I'm sure you will get the hang of it. Good luck.

[ClackerBuzz]

what was the 'ideal' spinning set up ur trying to duplicate?

[aavery2]

A fast or xtra fast action is typically what is used for contact bait techniques.  If you choose to use a slower action you will lose sensitivity and sensitivity is the key when fishing contact baits.  A MH/F rod should have little to no problems casting a 1/4 oz weighted 10" worm as in your example.   Look at the weight rating of the rod, and recommended line size, stay in the sweet spot of these two specs and you should have no problems with the rod.

[fishking247]

Anything 1/4oz and under I use spinning tackle with 8 or 10lb mono. I see no reason to use casting tackle with anything under 3/8

[WRB]

Reading this post is confusing at best.

It would nice if rod makers had some standard to rate rods with that anglers could relate to.

Today's lighter weight rods are stiff in regards to loading up under lure weights and this creates problems with casting accuracy.

At one point in time a medium heavy fast action rod was known as a bass rod! This defined a rod that has multiple lure uses. West coast rod makers dropped the terms medium, medium heavy and heavy, instead adopted a power ratings like 3, 4 and 5. Actions are used to define how the loads up under lure weight; fast indicating the top 1/4 of the rods bends before the lower section bends, moderate fast the top 1/3 and moderate the top 1/2 like a cranking cranking for example. The higher end rods use inbetween powers like 3 1/2 and combined actions like fast/moderate fast or FMF for finer running specific application rods for example.

Casting a soft plastic Texas rigged worm with 3/16 to 1/4 bullet weight, heavy wire hook and big worms should be fairly easy with your 7' MHF rod if you slow down the casting motion to let the rod load up better. This is more exaggerated casting motion using more arm movement then wrist movement to compensate for the fast action rod. When you consider the worm and hook weighs nearly a 1/4 oz, you are in affect casting a 1/2 oz weight.

My worm/jig rod is a 4 power Fast action 6'10" simply because it suites my casting technique and fish 6" to 12" worms with 3/16-1/4 weight with 10-14 lb FC line, works good for me.

Tom

[Chris at Tech]

The rod is part of the equation but what about the reel? Are you adjusting the brakes and reel tension to suit the bait you're trying to fish?

[thehooligan]

I typically throw texas rigs on a medium heavy rod. Ill either use my 6'8 spinning cumara, 10lb braid, 8lb flouro leader, or my 6'8 cumara casting, curado 51e, 20lb braid, 10lb fouro leader.

 

Ill use a medium action rod if im in a pinch, but i typically use them for dropshot/flickshake.

[retiredbosn]

So I have been going back and forth between some of my rods trying to find that one rod that feels right and every rod I use just feels awkward.

Started with a 7ft medium heavy fast. Felt way to stiff. For pitching it works fine but casting doesn't feel right.

Went to a 7ft medium fast. Same thing. Just feels too stiff and awkward. Can't cast accurately at all when not pitching.

Downsized to a 6'6" medium heavy. Felt a little better but still kind of stiff and can't make medium distance casts with much accuracy.

Usually use a 3/16 or 1/4 weight with a 5/0 hook and pretty large plasticplastics. 10 inch worms are standard.

Should I try something with a moderate fast tip? Maybe I can load up my casts a little better. Anyways just seeing whay you guys thought.

What do u mean by feels weird? Does it feel unbalanced? Or are u loosing contact with the bait? Or not casting far enough/accurately?

[Skspacemonkey]

On 2013-05-21 at 8:23 PM, iabass8 said:

You may just be casting incorrectly. a 1/4oz weight and any large plastic/10in worm will load just about any M power rod just fine to cast. I throw 1/4oz weights and trick worms on MH rods w/o any issues. It may be the reel you are using as well and you just need to practice more with it. It could be as simple of fix as letting around 18 or so inches of line hand down below the rod tip to the bait while you cast. I actually let a little more line than that because I use rods over 7' for most jig and t-rig applications.That will load a road more as well.

What line do you use for jigs and Texas rigs?

[Catt]

In my opinion your problem is castings technique 

 

I cast a weightless trick worm with a medium heavy extra fast with both 

accuracy & distance.

[kingmotorboat]

4 minutes ago, Catt said:

In my opinion your problem is castings technique 

 

I cast a weightless trick worm with a medium heavy extra fast with both 

accuracy & distance.

Yea I can't do spinning even with finesse.

[new2BC4bass]

24 minutes ago, Catt said:

In my opinion your problem is castings technique 

 

I cast a weightless trick worm with a medium heavy extra fast with both 

accuracy & distance.

Let's hope that in the almost 5 years since the original post that the OP has improved his casting technique.  

 

 

[Human torpedo]

You may try a 6'6" medium power fast action.  I've used this setup a lot with lighter weights and ribbon tail worms.  they seem to be harder to cast than trick worms.

[Falkus]

Pro Qualifer is a good reel that I still have two of them. I am using 12 lbs line and could throw up to 30 yards without trying. Have you tried to play around with those ? Just make sure that you leave two UP and and four down 

 

Start it slow so that way you dont get a bird nest...then practice to increase your confidence. We ll have been there. 

 

(Example) 

 

 

How is your brake set up ?  I tend to leave mine at 3 or 2 depending on the reel/line Im using.