New rod/reel, not sure what to rig up

[kevin///mlee]

Hey guys,

First of all, please forgive my novice thread, but this is my first bait casting setup (received it as a gift) and I'm not sure what rigs would work best with it. Here's the setup:

Rod: G Loomis E6X 852C JWR (7'1" Medium Extra-Fast Jig/Worm)

Reel: Shimano Curado 201i

Line: 30lb PowerPro braid w/ a mono backing to prevent slippage. 10lb Fluoro leader. (any advice here would be great as well)

I understand that it's called a Jig/Worm rod for a reason, so obviously jigs and worms would be my first guess, but I haven't been able to find much info on how to rig up soft plastics for this type of rod (i.e. Carolina rig, weightless/wacky, dropshot/shaky head, Texas rig). What type of rig would be best suited for this setup?

Also, "Jig" seems pretty broad in a sense that there are many types of jigs like finesse jigs, punching jigs, etc. I currently only have 2 jigs and they are both the football head style. Would these be acceptable?

Finally, is there any other type of bait that I should or should not throw on this setup like square bills, lipless crank baits, spinner baits, frogs/spooks? Obviously some of these wouldn't be ideal.

Thanks for reading

[Darren.]

Wow, nice gift!  

Braid and leader sound fine, but don't be afraid
to experiment with the leader, either up or down in
pound test depending on the circumstances.

I think as far as "best", wacky, shaky head and TX
would suit it well. For jigs, I'd throw lighter ones.
Not sure you'd want to punch grass mats and such
with a M rod. For that you'd want to go heavier.

Treble hook baits might get ripped out of the fishes 
mouth with an XF tip. For that you'd want a more 
moderate to moderate fast tip that is more forgiving.

[kevin///mlee]

8 minutes ago, Darren. said:

Wow, nice gift!  

Braid and leader sound fine, but don't be afraid
to experiment with the leader, either up or down in
pound test depending on the circumstances.

I think as far as "best", wacky, shaky head and TX
would suit it well. For jigs, I'd throw lighter ones.
Not sure you'd want to punch grass mats and such
with a M rod. For that you'd want to go heavier.

Treble hook baits might get ripped out of the fishes 
mouth with an XF tip. For that you'd want a more 
moderate to moderate fast tip that is more forgiving.

Thanks for the response. Your comment about the treble hook baits makes a ton of sense and I agree about the pitching jigs, I'd want a heavier setup for that.

It kinda sounds like this setup would be good for a lot of "targeted" fishing. Would you recommend any search type rig I could throw on to find where the fish are holding before switching to the slower/targeted presentations? I know this is a technique specific rod but I want to use it as my all around rod since it's my only bait casting setup at the moment. My other setup is a drop shot spinning rod which isn't good for searching either. Thanks again!

[redbirdsfan44]

For your first set up I will tell you not to try and overwhelm yourself with making your rod specific to one technique. The rod you have will easily handle multiple bass fishing techniques. To answer your question about jigs it just depends on the weight of jig you are throwing. Being that it's a medium power rod 3/8-1/2oz jigs or smaller finesse jigs would be better suited. You don't have the power to flip jigs into heavy cover and horse a fish out with a medium rod so I would focus on hard bottom with lighter casting jigs. The braided line will allow you to throw lighter baits such as a weightless wacky rig. You can throw spinnerbaits with ease as well as Texas rigs. Just don't go too heavy with your baits, the rod should have the recommendations for lire weights and line stamped on it. Get comfortable using the baitcasting reel with baits you're comfortable with already before diving too deep into new lures and techniques 

[Darren.]

Just now, kevin///mlee said:

Thanks for the response. Your comment about the treble hook baits makes a ton of sense and I agree about the pitching jigs. It kinda sounds like this setup would be good for a lot of "targeted" fishing. Would you recommend any search type rig I could throw on to find where the fish are holding before switching to the slower/targeted presentations? I know this is a technique specific rod but I want to use it as my all around rod since it's my only bait casting setup at the moment. My other setup is a drop shot spinning rod which isn't good for searching either. Thanks again!

Hmmm. I'm not a real "search bait" kind of guy. 
Probably should be, but I don't tend to use any.

I might suggest smaller single hook swimbaits
like these in 3 or 4":

http://www.stormlures.com/storm/soft-baits/wildeye-live-series---saltwater/wildeyeandreg-swim-shad/WildEye+Swim+Shad.html

The "experts" will chime in on search baits soon,
I'm sure.

[redbirdsfan44]

19 minutes ago, kevin///mlee said:

Thanks for the response. Your comment about the treble hook baits makes a ton of sense and I agree about the pitching jigs, I'd want a heavier setup for that.

It kinda sounds like this setup would be good for a lot of "targeted" fishing. Would you recommend any search type rig I could throw on to find where the fish are holding before switching to the slower/targeted presentations? I know this is a technique specific rod but I want to use it as my all around rod since it's my only bait casting setup at the moment. My other setup is a drop shot spinning rod which isn't good for searching either. Thanks again!

You can easily throw lipless cranks or square bills as search baits. Don't get caught up in techniques loomis stamps on the rod. You could ask 10 guys what rod(length/power) they prefer for one specific technique and chances are you will get 10 different answers. 

[lakeannaangler]

What you have is a nice all around setup that can throw almost everything with the exception being heavy cover techniques and crankbaits

[burrows]

Wow nice set up I also have the curado 201i on a MF rod and its my square bill rod I also throw small spinner baits and poppers.