Early 2016 Rod/Reel Arsenal

[Evan K]

Thought I'd post pictures of the collection. I've been fishing for bass and a number of other fish all my life, but only took up bass fishing seriously last year. 

Photo quality is kind of lacking as I have terrible lighting in my office, but here it is!

First up is a 1st generation 7'-1" medium heavy power fast action 13.Fishing O.men Black. It's paired with a 6.8:1 Lews LFS Speed Spool reel, spooled with 50 lb. P-Line TCB braid. I use this rod for almost anything in the MH range. Covers pretty much everything 1/2 oz. and larger for me other than crankbaits.

 

Next up is a 6'-10" medium power fast action 13.Fishing O.men Black. I have a 6.8:1 Lews Tournament MB reel on it, spooled with 30 lb. P-Line TCB braid. This is my all-around go-to rod for pretty much anything 1/4 to 5/8 oz. I'll use a leader with it occasionally if I feel the situation warrants. I'm a little mixed on the rod, it's a great one for sensitivity and weight but is a bit softer than I usually like in a fast action. It's still a great rod though.

 

Next is my crankbait/jerkbait setup. It's a 7' medium power moderate action 13.Fishing O.men Black. It's paired with a 5.6:1 Lews Tournament MB reel, spooled with 10 lb. Saguaro Tatsu Fluorocarbon. I got the Tatsu during Tackle Warehouse's 25 day sale, otherwise I probably would not be able to splurge on that kind of line. The Tatsu replaced 12 lb. P-Line CXX which was just overkill for this setup, and had atrocious memory which made casting small, light cranks and jerkbaits very difficult. I like this setup and it'll handle all the crankbaits I throw, Rapala DT16s to small squarebills.

 

Those are my baitcasting rigs. I also have 3 spinning rigs, only one of which that I use very often.

First is a 7' medium power fast action St. Croix Premier rod. On it is a Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier reel, 3000 size. It's spooled with 15 lb. P-Line TCB braid. This was the first decent rig I owned, purchased early last year, and I used it a lot. Since I got a ML spinning rig and a couple more baitcasters I don't use it much any more. I'm thinking about either selling it or keeping it as a backup, since it's a two piece rod and therefore easily transportable. It's a great setup.

 

 

The next rig is my newest one and my most expensive to date (gulp), but it is incredibly nice and I am super happy with it. It's a real joy to fish with.

It's a 7'-1" medium light power extra fast action Powell Max 3D rod. Paired with it is a Shimano ci4+ 2500, spooled with 6 lb. P-Line Fluoroclear copolymer line. The reel is my first high end Shimano (I owned a couple $15 Wal Mart ones when I was younger) and boy is it sweet. It's so solidly and attractively built, works so smoothly that it is pure joy to use. This setup is a lot of fun to throw finesse stuff with, especially small 1/4 oz and smaller jigs. I plan to use it for dropshot, small jerkbaits, finesse jigs, ned rigs, weightless wacky rigs, and pretty much any small finesse lures.

 

Last is a setup that I don't use too often for bass, but I do some so I decided to include it. It's a 6' ultra light power fast action St. Croix Premier, paired with a Pfleuger President 2500 size and spooled with 4 lb. P-Line Fluoroclear copolymer. This is my panfish rod, but it's also tons of fun to fight a small largemouth on too! I used this a lot more before I had my ML setup as well. The rod sure took me by surprise though. It's labeled a fast action but feels like a wet noodle. It is super whippy and takes some getting used to after using my bass rods, but it will lob a lightweight lure pretty far. I've always liked fishing with light tackle and will probably always have a UL setup around.

 

Now I just have a rod and reel that aren't paired up yet. Need to find mates for both. Rod is a 7'-6" heavy power extra fast action Lucky Craft Carolina Rig rod, purchased during Tackle Warehouse's 25 days sale. This is a fantastic rod. The workmanship is just superb and it is extremely attractive. Can't say how well made it is because I haven't fished it yet, but I am really looking forward to it. At $50 each I wish I'd bought half a dozen Lucky Craft rods. This one will probably be my frogging/punching/big carolina rig rod. I got it hoping I could throw some swimbaits with it, but the monofilament line recommended for swimbaits doesn't work so well with the other applications I have in mind, so I may just wait and get a swimbait rod later. I'm thinking about pairing it with a Lews BB2 or Shimano Cardiff, not sure yet. I'd also like to use this for some saltwater applications as well.

 

Last is my new reel, purchased from a fellow forum member used in great shape. It's a Daiwa T3 MX 7.1:1. I plan to spool it up with 15 lb. Fluorocarbon and use it for jigs. I'm shopping around for a rod for it- thinking about a Daiwa Zillion or a Daiwa Tatula, to go with the Daiwa aesthetic. It's my first JDM reel which is exciting for me.

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I'm looking to round out my arsenal and finally have a total of 8-9 combos eventually, but I feel I'm off to a decent start. I really liked my O.men Black rods and still do but am starting to branch out a bit. Thinking about trying Dobyns sometimes soon, probably a Fury or Savvy. As far as reels I am starting to like higher end Daiwas and Shimanos, but I still love my Lews reels to death and will likely be getting more of them.

Thanks for reading!

[SwampLife]

I dont understand why cant you say 1.3. O.Men any more...bass resource was the reason I purchased both of mine...can some one explain.??

 

BTW arsenal looks nice man!!

[trick worms]

sweet arsenal?

[new2BC4bass]

That company spammed the site so they are now banned.

[Evan K]

2 hours ago, SwampLife said:

I dont understand why cant you say 1.3. O.Men any more...bass resource was the reason I purchased both of mine...can some one explain.??

 

BTW arsenal looks nice man!!

I don't want to get into it here because I don't want my post to be deleted or what have you. I just wanted to show my collection and see what people think.