Problem Casting With New Rod

[Joey Kronholm]

So I'm new to fishing with baitcasters. I bought my first casting rod and reel at bass pro this weekend. It's an Abu Garcia Revo STX 7.1:1 on a st Croix mono bass jig n worm (6'6 mhf). For the time being this is my go to rod for all situations. I primarily use soft plastics, but I throw a variety of things. My problem is it's so hard to load up the rod to get a good accurate cast. I had a medium power rod but I broke it and when I exchanged it they suggested the medium heavy power. I was very comfortable and accurate with the medium but now this medium heavy is giving me a really hard time casting just about anything. Am I going to eventually get used to it or should I switch back to the medium?

[Catch and Grease]

Are you making sure to use lures inside the rods weight limits?

[F14A-B]

Go back to a med. the action may be different also... Use what you like, not what a sales person thinks, now that you have tried it, exchange back!

Good luck

[geo g]

In south Florida the vegetation is so heavy that I use med. heavy, or heavy, almost all the time.  Once hooked you need to get their head up right away so you don't get rapped in the junk.  You may not need that stiff a rod in your lakes.  Where are you fishing? 

[Mccallister25]

As C&R stated, make sure your lure weights are in line with your rods rating. Also check to make sure the brakes on the reel are adjusted correctly. If your throwing a bunch of baits of different weights on one setup, you'll probably have to adjust accordingly to different lures.

[Catch and Grease]

As C&R stated, make sure your lure weights are in line with your rods rating. Also check to make sure the brakes on the reel are adjusted correctly. If your throwing a bunch of baits of different weights on one setup, you'll probably have to adjust accordingly to different lures.

*C&G* lol

[Mccallister25]

*C&G* lol

Haha. I stand corrected. Sorry about that man. When you spend as much time as I do reading about fishing and constantly seeing "catch and release" everywhere, it's like muscle memory. You do it without even thinking.

[Loop_Dad]

Joey, I agree with both points mentioned above in power selection: 1. Lure rating --- what (weight) are you throwing? 2. Environment ---Are you fishing in heavy vegetation? If not, you might get away with medium. My personal standard is MH. M is too wimpy for my taste.

[flyingmonkie]

There are other factors that influence casting success, too.  What type of line are you using?

 

You said you're new to baitcasting, so I'll ask the obvious question: are you sure you have it setup properly? 

[David D.]

I know with my STX I had to back off of both the magnetic and centrifugal brakes to get any decent casting distance out of it. Once you are comfortable casting without getting backlashes try to back it down to 2 centrifugal brakes.

[Joey Kronholm]

Yes I'm going sure I have it set up properly, it may even be on the lighter side (the lure falls faster than normal) I fish with a lot of 1/4 3/8 1/2 oz stuff. I'm using 12# invisx floro.

[gar-tracker]

Any time you go with a heavier tip you sacrifice casting performance. Most of my heavy stuff is used for pitching and flipping, however like mentioned above fishing in Florida a stout rod on most plastics is preferred.

 

First master the bait caster then experiment with rods.

[Deleted account]

So I'm new to fishing with baitcasters. I bought my first casting rod and reel at bass pro this weekend. It's an Abu Garcia Revo STX 7.1:1 on a st Croix mono bass jig n worm (6'6 mhf). For the time being this is my go to rod for all situations. I primarily use soft plastics, but I throw a variety of things. My problem is it's so hard to load up the rod to get a good accurate cast. I had a medium power rod but I broke it and when I exchanged it they suggested the medium heavy power. I was very comfortable and accurate with the medium but now this medium heavy is giving me a really hard time casting just about anything. Am I going to eventually get used to it or should I switch back to the medium?

 

Sounds like the lures you are trying to cast are too light (or the rod is to heavy depending on your perspective). Additionally, at the risk of offending St Croix fan boys, The Mojo is just not a great stick, and 6'6" MH is probably the one rod I would outlaw if I could. Your mileage may vary. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

St Croix rods tend to fish a little heavier power wise than similarly rated competitors. A Med St Croix is pretty stout, but then <3/8 is spinning tackle territory for me.

[new2BC4bass]

The 6'6" MHF Mojo Jig N Worm rod is rated 3/8-1 oz.  I don't have any St. Croix rods, but aren't they considered to be under-rated for power?  It is very possible that your 1/4 and 3/8 oz. weights aren't quite heavy enough to load the rod properly.  If the rod doesn't load properly you will never get any distance.  I'd suggest a 7'MF HMG for those weights.

 

Most Falcon rods run 1/4-3/4 oz. for their MHF rods.  One of these would also be a good choice.  I'm fairly sure a search of MHF rods would turn up a few more that are listed for that weight range for MHF models.

 

Also welcome to the forum. 

 

EDIT:  I see Mike posted while I was typing....confirming that St. Croix rotes are under-rated for power.

[SoFlaBassAddict]

Any time you go with a heavier tip you sacrifice casting performance. Most of my heavy stuff is used for pitching and flipping, however like mentioned above fishing in Florida a stout rod on most plastics is preferred.

First master the bait caster then experiment with rods.

X2

Hard to really add much more than that.

Sounds like you're fairly new to casting gear. I'm sure you'll get accustomed to the rod in no time. Just make sure you're not trying to toss a lure that is too light to load up the rod.

[Joey Kronholm]

Seems a lot of people are turning me away from the mojo bass mhf, so if I were to have one rod to do it all for now, what would you suggest? For a 100-250$ budget

[Deleted account]

Seems a lot of people are turning me away from the mojo bass mhf, so if I were to have one rod to do it all for now, what would you suggest? For a 100-250$ budget

 

If you were happy with your last rod, match that. I find a 6'6" Med/Fast, and a 7' MH Fast covers 90% of what I need to do. Also as you're finding out labels don't always help much, they can be all over the place. I'd suggest actually playing with the rods you are considering.

[tcbass]

Sounds like the lures you are trying to cast are too light (or the rod is to heavy depending on your perspective). Additionally, at the risk of offending St Croix fan boys, The Mojo is just not a great stick, and 6'6" MH is probably the one rod I would outlaw if I could. Your mileage may vary. 

 

 

Why would you outlaw a 6'6" MH?

 

 

 

 

I have two Mojo bass rods. The Frog one is Heavy and it's like a broomstick. I'm selling it. The second, a MH is I liked alot until I got my new Cabelas Tournament ZX rods. Now I'll probably never use it again. The Cabelas ZX rods are awesome. I realized the Mojo bass rod had way too short of a butt and the Cabelas rods all feel a weight lower then they actually are.

 

 

 

 

The Cabelas Tournament ZX rods are awesome for $100 and really great when they go on sale for $69. The Cabelas Tournament ZX Platinum rods are supposed to be better and are on sale for $139 right now.