What to upgrade?

[Itheral]

I have around a $200-250 budget that I'd like to use on upgrading some of my gear, was hoping for input on which things should/could be changed out for the most benefit. My current equipment is

6'10" Daiwa Tatula MH-F - Daiwa HD200 6.3:1 -- Overall very happy with this

6'6" Berkley LR Shock M-MF - Pinnacle Performa X 6.2:1 -- Rod works well enough for cranks and stuff I generally use it for; Reel is a bit finicky maybe, but decent

Abu Veritas 2.0 6'9" MH-F  - Daiwa Tatula 100 Type-R 8.1:1 -- Like both well enough I guess

6'6" Abu Garcia Veritas M-F - Shimano Sahara 2500 -- Rod does not balance very well with the reel, reel itself has been great

6'6" Browning Vectra IM8 M-F - Shimano Solstace 2500 -- Rod seems great considering its age; Solstace has seen better days, and obv not even a mid-tier reel

 

Open to any suggestions about both which things to do first, and any ideas about specific rods/reels to replace them with. Mostly open to Brands, but I greatly prefer a foregrip (or at least better than exposed threads like the Veritas) on spinning rods.

[fishnkamp]

Just looking at your combos and your comments, I would probably look at these options.  

I fish a Solstace and like mine, but if yours is cranky then consider moving the Sahara over onto the Browning rod, the weight is about the same so the feel should stay the same. Now lets lighten up the Veritas combo.  I would consider an Okuma RTX30 which is a great composite bodied high gear ratio reel.   They can be purchased on line for around $80 on Amazon. It only weighs 6.6 ounces but is tough as nails.  My other option would be a Pflueger President 6930.  They run around $50. It too weighs less than your two current spinning reels and Presidents are great dependable reels.

 

Here is what I see when I look at your baitcasting combos. Correct me if I am wrong.

The Daiwa Tatula rod is rated at 1/4 to 1 ounce and 10 to 20 pound line. That should work bottom contact baits really well, like texas rigs and jigs.

 

The 6'9 Veritas should be a bit stiffer and cover some of the same baits as the Tatula but should be better with heavier weights like the 3/4 to 1 ounce range. Abu rods run a bit on the heavier side in their actions.  You should be able to throw some frogs with that rod. My first frog rod was a 7 foot MH Veritas rod. This rig will handle carolina rigs well also.

 

Here is my thoughts on your next option.  I would look at a Dobyns Fury rod. Gary builds a rod that fishes much more like a rod costing twice as much.  I would get a Fury FR705cb. It is a very light, well balanced 7 foot MH cranking rod designed to fish crankbaits, spinnerbaits, traps, topwaters and even jerkbaits. This rod is designed to handle almost everything your other two rods are not good for.  It runs $110 and is available from Tackle Warehouse and other locations.

 

I would pair it up with a Daiwa Tatula CT 6.3-1 and if you email me at fishnkamp@comcast.net I will share with you a source to purchase it for $100 shipped to your house.  I went a tad over your budget, between $10 to $30 depending on the spinning reel you choose.  Still that is not bad and you could make the spinning reel upgrade a bit later when you could add that bit of extra cash.

 

The difference in sensitivity and distance you will get from the 705CB and the Tatula CT will excite you.  My friend Kris just sold off some Veritas, Lightning rod shocks and lightning rods and has been upgrading most of his arsenal to Dobyns Fury rods. He now owns a 705CB, a 765 Flip( a 7 1/2 foot long flipping stick), a 734C,an all around workhorse of a rod, and a 703 spinning rod. They all fish great, cast fantastic and he can not wait to use them in this new tournament season.  My arsenal includes some Dobyns Champion series rods( a good bit more expensive series).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[new2BC4bass]

I like fishnkamp's suggestion.  I always put off getting a dedicated crankbait rod and used my MF rods.  They work, but now that I have a couple dedicated rods for cranks I look forward to fishing cranks more often.  It isn't as versatile a rod, but if you can find an Aetos 6'6" MLM casting rod, it is a blast to fish. (Rated 1/4-1/2 oz.)  I had gotten to where I didn't like fishing my casting rods of that length, but this rod brings a smile to my face.  It was a $180 rod I got for $75 shipped when FFO was selling them off.  Wish I'd bought two.

[Fishes in trees]

Upgrade probably isn't the correct phrase.  You might wan to acquire some "technique specific" rigs.

Can't go wrong with a Ned rig. . .    can't go wrong with a dedicated frog rod . . . can't go wrong with a medium to top quality jig rod. . .one of my plans is to upgrade my A-rig gear this year.

 

If there is lots of overhanging cover where you fish, or docks, a dedicated skipping rod is a good idea.  I was never confident in throwing wacky senkos until I kept one rigged up all the time.  I vacillate between thinking bait casting gear or spinning gear is best for senkos.  Currently I throw them on a 7' Fenwick HMG MH -xf spinning rig and a braid/fluorocarbon leader .   Point being that once you tweak a rig to fish a certain technique you are more confident in it - you will fish it more - and more than likely catch more fish.