Blade Bait Rod, Reel and Line

[NYBasser]

I just purchased a 6'7" M Casting rod and currently own a 6'6" MH Casting rod, a Curado 50E (6.4:1) and a Curado 70HG (7.6:1?). Wondering which rod and reel are better to use with 1/2 oz blades. Also am trying to decide between 10lb braid and 10lb fluoro. What do you guys prefer when fishing blades? Thanks. 

[fishnkamp]

Okay I would want a bit of a soft tip but not too soft so if the 6'7"M has a fast tip then I would use it. If it is a medium action moderate taper then it would be a rod I would use for things like small to mid size cranks and traps.  Let us know what the rods specs are on both.  We know the length and action but what are they in taper, for example a moderate will bend evenly from the tip to maybe as far down as half way.  A fast taper may bend from tip down a third of the way and a extra fast may only bend from the tip down to say the second or third guide. Consider it about 10 percent of the rod. Too stiff a rod like a extra fast may make it hard to get a good hook set you won't have the "give" needed for a fast moving fish.  Too soft a taper like a moderate may not have enough backbone to get the hook set, these are great for lures with trebles though since they provide  bit of a delay and help protect the hooks from pulling out.

For line I use a lot of copolymer lines on some of my reels, Power Pro braid on others. For spinnerbaits I like a little softer braid and have settled happily on Berkley Fireline Original or now Fused (as they are the same) in 14 pound test.  Just as with all braids, spool a 1/2 of a spool of decent mono on first. The braid will lay well on it and it will not allow the braid to slip on the spool. Also doing this means a spool of braid will fill two reels.  If I want the benefits of Florocarbon line then I add a floro leader.  In fact I use a leader of P Line CXX 10 pound moss green a lot. This Fireline/leader is how almostr all of my spinning reels are setup also.

The Curado 50E would be on the 6'7"M. 

[Team9nine]

I have some similar thoughts to fishnkamp, but a little different. I prefer a fast or even x-fast action rod for blade baits. M or MH would just depend upon the specific rods characteristics. You need some backbone with a 1/2-oz blade, especially in deeper water with hooksetting. On length, you have what you have, but I actually prefer something in the 6'9"-7'0" range. The reel would be irrelevant to me in that the two you mention are both high speed, plenty fast enough for pumping blade baits. As for line, I've always preferred straight fluoro for blade baits, either 10# or 12# test. I could see an advantage to braid if fishing really deep, say greater than 25' or so, but actually prefer the larger diameter and drag that fluoro has for anything shallower.

-T9

[tholmes]

I use a 7' M Abu Vendetta with 10lb. Big Game mono. It's been working just fine. It's the same set-up that I use for shallow to medium cranks and spinnerbaits. 

Tom

[fishballer06]

Blade baits is a loose term and can mean a few different things (spinnerbait, Silver Buddy style lures, and Fish Head spins). 

 

I fish my spinnerbaits on a MH-MF or MH-F action rod, around 7'. At least 14lb. FC or 40lb. braid. 

Silver buddy type blade baits I prefer to use on spinning gear. 2500 size reel, 7' M-F rod. I'll use 7-8lb. FC for this. 

Fish head spins I throw on casting gear, generally a slower ratio because I prefer a slower reels honestly (5:1 or 6:1). I use a 7' SC Avid M-F. For heavier fish heads in deeper water, I'll use a Zodias 7'2 MH-F rod. 

[atcoha]

spinnerbaits/chatterbaits + 7' mh-f 12lb copoly=catch fish

[NYBasser]

Sorry for any confusion. Was referring to silver buddy style 1/2 oz blades. The 6'6" MH is XtraFast action and the 6'7" M is Fast action. Thanks for the responses.