Reel to Lure

[longhair]

I am trying to get a basic setup lures to have ready on 6 poles and am looking for what might work best.  I have 3 Baitcasters and 3 Spinning reels.  I know one baitcaster is going to have a spinner bait, and one spinning reel with a texas rigged worm.  What I am trying to figure out is what works best with what particular reel.  Should a crank bait be mainly on a baitcaster and not a spinning reel?  What about a jig & pig, baitcaster?  What about a carolina rig....bait or spin?  Since I have 6 rods I was figuring 3 vertical and 3 horizontal profiles.  Any suggestions, or rules to kinda live by on what reel to what lure?  Thanks!

[roadwarrior]

There are no rules, you will gravitate to certain rigs for various techniques over time. I prefer spinning tackle for soft plastics, but I suspect most guys that fish baitcasters at all use them with worms and Senkos. I prefer a baitcaster for all "moving" lures, but I fish some of the same plugs with a spinning combination at night.

The only "general rule" I have is light line (finesse) = spinning gear; heavy line (power fishing) = baitcasting equipment.

You might find this thread interesting:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1141187546

[longhair]

Thanks RW that will help out and the link was pretty interesting too.  It explained a lotespecially for rod selection.

[.ghoti.]

For me, and I think you'll discover this on your own as you experiment with your rigs, is that the rod has more to do with the application selection that the reel, or reel type. The exception to that is very light weight baits. Any baits 1/8oz and under are difficult to cast on baitcast gear, unless you have a very fine reel, and a very well educated thumb.

RW's "general" rule is a good place to start as you define your arsenal.

Spinning, in my world, is 10lb test, and less. 10 and over is baitcasting gear.

Here's another "general" rule to consider. Use a fast action rod for "feel" baits, like plastics and jigs; and use a moderate action rod for reaction baits, like cranks, spinners and jerks.

To address your specific questions:

Cranks can be either baitcast or spinning. Use a spinning rod for small, light baits. Use the baitcaster for heavier baits. More importantly, you'll want a rod with a moderate action. A rod with a fast action will cause you to miss hooksets, and can loosen the hook after the set. The fast rod just doesn't have enough give to be the best choice for cranking.

C-rigging can be done with either spinning or baitcasting. The rod you'll do best with for this application is a fast action rod with some length. A longer rod will cast that cumbersome rig much easier, and will pick up the slack faster to give you a better hook set.

For me, most plastics and jigs are a baitcast application. I use MH, fast action rods, fast reels, and 12+ lb test line. I tend to throw these things into cover, and light line is not a good option for fishing in the rough stuff. I use a spinning rod with either 8 or 10 for finesse plastics and small jigs. This is for open water and light cover or sparse weeds. I still want a fast action rod and a hi-speed reel.

One of the key concepts is balance. Match your line to your rods line weight rating. I try to stay in the middle of the rods rating. Ie, a medium power rod may have a line weight rating of 8-15lb test. 12 is right in the middle.

All the above is what works for me. I've been experimenting a long time, refining my rigs to the point that I have a whole bunch of rigs set up for specific applications. This is a big part of the fun.

Experiment, and have some fun doing it.

Cheers,

GK

[longhair]

The link that RW had explained a lot with the rod setup.  I think I have the basic idea down.  I was setting them up more or less correctly.  My only issue now I think is the type of rods that I have.  Most of them are Medium and medium action.  I only have 2 quality rods and that is the 7ft and 6ft baitcasters.  One is my spinnerbait rod (6ft) and the other is for c-rig (7ft) or jigging.  I think I have the idea though, light line, light bait, finess = spinning reel and spinnerbait, heavy bait, big cranks = baitcaster ........ which all come down to matching it all up with the correct type of rod for the situation.  Thanks for the help.