Joe Pengelly Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 Hello! My names Joseph and I am 15 years old. I have been fishing for most of my life but recently this past year I have really gotten into bass fishing. I have decided that I would like to get my own rod and reel set up instead of using my dads. So I was wondering what rod would be best for the type of fishing I do. I fish ponds and creeks, mainly using worms, creature baits, crawls, and crackbaits. I have decided that I want to get the Abu Garcia Black Max Low Profile BMAX3 reel, but if anyone has a better reel for around the same price tag let me know. Thanks. have a great day / night! Quote
Caliyak Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 31 minutes ago, Joe Pengelly said: Hello! My names Joseph and I am 15 years old. I have been fishing for most of my life but recently this past year I have really gotten into bass fishing. I have decided that I would like to get my own rod and reel set up instead of using my dads. So I was wondering what rod would be best for the type of fishing I do. I fish ponds and creeks, mainly using worms, creature baits, crawls, and crackbaits. I have decided that I want to get the Abu Garcia Black Max Low Profile BMAX3 reel, but if anyone has a better reel for around the same price tag let me know. Thanks. have a great day / night! That reel is all you need to start. Get the Berkley Lightning Shock mh rod for $30 bucks or so. Great starter set up. 1 Quote
adrenalizd Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 Check out pawn shops. I grabbed a St. Croix Mojo Bass and Abu Ambassadeur 4600 for $30 for the pair. They were in like new shape too. Quote
BrackishBassin Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 I got the Black Max combo as my first baitcaster. If you like to throw plastics that much, my suggestion would be to go with a Med power rod. I have trouble throwing weightless plastics with my MH and the Black Max reel. Quote
Super User new2BC4bass Posted October 13, 2016 Super User Posted October 13, 2016 59 minutes ago, BrackishBassin said: I got the Black Max combo as my first baitcaster. If you like to throw plastics that much, my suggestion would be to go with a Med power rod. I have trouble throwing weightless plastics with my MH and the Black Max reel. A Medium power Fast action would also be my suggestion. 1 Quote
Advantage Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 What size/weight of crankbaits? With the soft plastics you're throwing and if the cranks are 1/2oz and higher I'd say to go with a MH rod but if the cranks are small lightweight ones and if you're using light weights on your soft plastics then a medium rod will work best. Reel wise I'd check into the Lew's...they have several models that range from $50-100 and they're very good reels for the price range. Quote
Super User Darren. Posted October 13, 2016 Super User Posted October 13, 2016 Welcome aboard, Joseph! Quote
Super User WIGuide Posted October 13, 2016 Super User Posted October 13, 2016 It really depends on if you're throwing weighted soft plastics or weightless. If you fish weightless a lot more, I'd be looking at a Medium power fast action rod, if you fish more weighted, you might want to go for a medium heavy power fast action rod. With either of these, when you throw crankbaits, you'll want to back off on the drag considerably. Also, welcome to Bass Resource! Quote
RB 77 Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 14 hours ago, Caliyak said: That reel is all you need to start. Get the Berkley Lightning Shock mh rod for $30 bucks or so. Great starter set up. I agree for a first time set up that would fit the bill perfectly. I would go with a medium heavy power/ fast action rod around 7' long. 1 hour ago, stk44 said: crawls and crackbaits? Craws and crankbaits perhaps? 9 hours ago, roadwarrior said: I would also suggest reading through this thread thoroughly. This is an excellent recommendation for any novice angler. Most of the pinned threads are really... Quote
stk44 Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 21 minutes ago, RB 77 said: I agree for a first time set up that would fit the bill perfectly. I would go with a medium heavy power/ fast action rod around 7' long. Craws and crankbaits perhaps? I would also suggest reading through this thread thoroughly. This is an excellent recommendation for any novice angler. Most of the pinned threads are really... LOL yeah I'm following, I just though it was funny. Quote
RB 77 Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 12 minutes ago, stk44 said: LOL yeah I'm following, I just though it was funny. I know, I know. Haha. I saw your post count and figured as much, but thought I would throw it out there in case the youngster himself was reading just in case there was some confusion on the name of the baits and not the actual spelling. Regardless, it sounds like the young man is on the right track to getting the proper gear he needs to throw the types of lures he likes to fish, which include a bunch of my favorites as well. Quote
stk44 Posted October 13, 2016 Posted October 13, 2016 Yeah. He is way ahead of me when I was 15. Quote
Super User new2BC4bass Posted October 13, 2016 Super User Posted October 13, 2016 A MH rod in the creeks I fished in my youth would have been almost worthless. Ponds were also small, but I suppose I could have used a MH rod in them. However, the flimsy rods I used back then didn't seem to cause any problems with hooking and landing fish. Of course back then almost all my fishing was live bait I could catch or dig up. Artificial lures were too expensive for this country boy. I have to assume the lures the OP uses fishing creeks are going to be on the small side as any fish will most likely also be very small. At least that was the case for me. The most prevalent fish in the ponds were bullheads....maybe some sunnies and bluegills. Bass? Not likely. Quote
Super User fishnkamp Posted October 13, 2016 Super User Posted October 13, 2016 I know Joe said he is interested in getting his first baitcaster and that is fine, but I have always leaned toward a medium action spinning outfit, matched up with a good quality size 2500 or 3000 reel, as the best " all purpose" rod. I find this to be especially true when crawling around smaller creeks, rivers, and ponds. Joe if you have one then ignore my suggestion. A medium spinning rod around 6'6" can throw everything from unweighted plastics all the way to a bass jigs , small to midsized crankbaits or spinnerbaits and minnow baits like Rapalas if needed. I would suggest a Pflueger President reel and something like the Berkley Lightning Shock rod. That would cost him only a little more than a BlackMax combo. If you have your own spinning rod then by all means the BlackMax will serve you well. The BlackMax combo will be best suited to baits that weigh from 1/4 to 5/8. The Berkley 6'6" medium Lightning Shock rod will throw baits from 1/8 to 3/4. I would go with a spinning rod first then my second rod would be a 6'6" to 7" MH baitcaster. Quote
Joe Pengelly Posted October 15, 2016 Author Posted October 15, 2016 On 10/13/2016 at 3:38 PM, fishnkamp said: I know Joe said he is interested in getting his first baitcaster and that is fine, but I have always leaned toward a medium action spinning outfit, matched up with a good quality size 2500 or 3000 reel, as the best " all purpose" rod. I find this to be especially true when crawling around smaller creeks, rivers, and ponds. Joe if you have one then ignore my suggestion. A medium spinning rod around 6'6" can throw everything from unweighted plastics all the way to a bass jigs , small to midsized crankbaits or spinnerbaits and minnow baits like Rapalas if needed. I would suggest a Pflueger President reel and something like the Berkley Lightning Shock rod. That would cost him only a little more than a BlackMax combo. If you have your own spinning rod then by all means the BlackMax will serve you well. The BlackMax combo will be best suited to baits that weigh from 1/4 to 5/8. The Berkley 6'6" medium Lightning Shock rod will throw baits from 1/8 to 3/4. I would go with a spinning rod first then my second rod would be a 6'6" to 7" MH baitcaster. By the way thank you and all the people who have replied. I already have my spinning rod set up, but like I said I would like to have my own baitcaster just so if anything happens to it I won't feel bad because I know that it was mine and not someone elses. I think I might go with the Medium / Fast action because I was looking around and I was trying to decide between a Medium Fast or Medium Heavy. Thanks so much guys! On 10/13/2016 at 7:28 AM, Darren. said: Welcome aboard, Joseph! Thanks for the warm welcoming! Quote
Mark888 Posted October 15, 2016 Posted October 15, 2016 Get the most expensive combo you can afford - as well as do your research. Most of the time you get for what you pay. Look around for a 7ft medium spinning rod and a 2500 to 3000 size spinning reel (Diana revros is fairly cheap and nice). If your looking at a baitcaster look for a 7ft medium heavy fast action rod and pair it up with either a 6:3.1 all the way to a 7:3.1 baitcaster - have fun! 1 Quote
Super User Sam Posted October 16, 2016 Super User Posted October 16, 2016 Joe, there are too many variables to be considered when selecting your rod so you will have to have many rods in your arsenal as you get into bass fishing. The first step is to determine your height. if you are short then a 6'6" rod can be great. If you are tall then you can go 7" and over if you wish. If you are skipping the baits under cover or flipping and pitching a shorter rod is best. If you are humming your bait five-miles than a longer rod will be best. So anything goes as long as you have confidence in your setup. You will have to figure out which rods and their weights are best for you depending on how your fishing situations change. Just remember to "balance" the bait's weight, rod and reel on every rod. Check out the bait and line weight parameters that are stamped on each rod to make sure the rod can handle your line and bait's weight for maximum performance. Now get a rod and a reel and 500-pounds of baits and hit the water! Quote
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