Smally set up

[mike bat]

So I've really been trying to learn about smallmouth .. I have been catching them in many different local rivers .. However I'm still dialing in my set up .. At season open I got a cheap spinning rod ,, I wanted to bring my son to the river .. Right away we started catching them .. The pics are my boy !! Anyway after one week of use from me the rod was doa ... So cabbellas gave me a in store credit for the price of the crap rod .. I just bit the bullet and payed the difference for a mojo bass 71 med fast spinning rod and wow what a difference . I couldn't be happier with this rod .. That being said I need a reel for said rod . Currently I have a 20 dollar Diawa reel lol .. But after much reading reviews I went ahead and ordered a Diawa ballistic 3000 .. I can't wait to feel this set up when I finally put it together .. As for line I'm running 6 lb braid with a 8lb flour leader 4 ft .. I've been fishing 4 inch senkos and tubes . It's been a great year so far , couldn't be happier with my son really wanting to fish every day , we really enjoy our trips to the river .. It's really awsome !! 

Let me know what u guys are using for spinning set up , line , baits 

[Bluebasser86]

Great looking fish! Looks like he's really into it. Do yourself a favor and buy the components to put together some Ned rigs, you can thank me later. 

[Turkey sandwich]

Nice! Looks like he had a blast!  To piggyback Bluebasser, I'd also suggest the basics for fishing tubes and grubs.  

[Crestliner2008]

Great job and your son looks like he's in his glory!

[WIGuide]

Nice fish and it looks like you guys are on the right track! If i were you when you get the new reel I'd bump up the braid to 20 or 30 lb test. 20 has the mono equivalent diameter of 6 lb test and 30 has the equivalent diameter of 8 lb test. Using line diameters that are closer to one another will make your leader knot easier to tie. Also, it sounds like your fishing from the bank so if you use the heavier braid, you will be able to break off on snags and only lose your leader or part of it instead of your main line. 

Something you might want to try is a dropshot. If the current isn't to heavy they can be deadly for smallies. 

[Steveo-1969]

Sounds like you are going to really enjoy your Mojo rod/Ballistic reel.  I use 10# braid/8# fluoro leader on my spinning rod and love it.  IMO you don't need to go any higher than 10# braid. And great pics of your son! Mine is older but just got into fishing about 4 years ago and is now my favorite fishing partner.

Your post wasn't real clear, are you and your son sharing the same rod?

[mike bat]

no he has his own setup .. But his birthday is on the 24th .. I'm getting him the mojo wacky rod .. It's 6ft8 med extra fast .. I think it will be perfect for him ..then I'll try and find him a cheaper reel for that rod but a better reel than what he has .. But the mojo rods are a great value for 100 bucks .. Built on a avid blank .. Just have to get passed that d**n purple blank lol

[Turkey sandwich]

Pfleuger President's and Shimano Sedonas are great value spinning reels around $50 and they last.  

[Steveo-1969]

1 hour ago, mike bat said:

no he has his own setup .. But his birthday is on the 24th .. I'm getting him the mojo wacky rod .. It's 6ft8 med extra fast .. I think it will be perfect for him ..then I'll try and find him a cheaper reel for that rod but a better reel than what he has .. But the mojo rods are a great value for 100 bucks .. Built on a avid blank .. Just have to get passed that d**n purple blank lol

Gotcha. I bought my son a crappy spinning combo when he started out but once he showed he was going to keep fishing he got a better rod.  Can't go wrong with the Pflueger President spinning reel IMO.

[mike bat]

no he has his own setup .. But his birthday is on the 24th .. I'm getting him the mojo wacky rod .. It's 6ft8 med extra fast .. I think it will be perfect for him ..then I'll try and find him a cheaper reel for that rod but a better reel than what he has .. But the mojo rods are a great value for 100 bucks .. Built on a avid blank .. Just have to get passed that d**n purple blank lol

Yeah Ima try and get him a better reel .. But right now I think the rod is a better investment .. 

[mike bat]

My smally rod is complete .. I have the mojo bass 7f1 med fast rod and mounted to that is a Diawa ballistic 3000 .. For line I'm running 10 lb suffex 832 neon green braid with a 4 ft flour leader 8 lb seaugers red label .. I'm using a Albright knot to connect braid to leader .. Made a few casts last night omg it is sweet !!!! Also got my son mojo 6f8 med xfast rod !! He won't get the rod till the 22 !! 

[frosty]

Congrats on the new setup. Looks like you guys will have a blast fishing together. Don't take it for granted, most of my favorite memories of my dad was when we were fishing together. It will be with him his whole life, and your relationship with him will be better because of it. As far as the reel, I'll second (or third?) the Pfleuger president. I have the limited edition and it's a very nice reel for the money. I would suggest the limited version if for nothing else it has 2016 inscribed on it so everytime your son uses it he will remember these moments fishing with dad. Boy it's getting dusty in here... 

[fishnkamp]

If you are looking for another setup besides the Mojo series, Powell makes some really nice rods and so does Dobyns.  I run some of both. I used to run some of the St Croix  until I found these others.  The Inferno is real nice rod series. Take a look at the Inferno 6103. It is a workhorse. As for a reel the President from Pflueger is terrific. Between my wife and I, we use 6 of them and they only cost $60.  For a bit more look at the Okuma RTX-30S. It is super lite weight and cost about $80.

["hamma"]

As reels go the more you spend the more you get. All the reels mentioned are good reels and I have no problem with any of them., BUT, I am a shimano fan thru and thru, I just recently bought a mojo bass finesse/dropshot rod and paired with a old reel I had hanging around. I love the rod but will be getting either a shimano saros or stradic for it. Reason being?,... they both offer the areowrap system which lays the line on the spool in such a manner that it casts further. These are both $150 or more, but worth it. Now many companies have good high end reels, but I swear by shimano, they also offer cheaper spinning reels that are quality too, but they dont have the areowrap I seek for longer casts on the clearwater lakes. The old reel on my mojo rod now? is a shimano speedmaster from the 1990's and it still works fine, thats why I'm partial to shimano, they last.