Any suggestions for the next stable addition?

[FISHmyst]

Hey All!

 

new to the site.

 

looking to make an addition to my stable of baitcasters (currently only one lol). Price range is flexible but shooting for 300-400ish. Was hoping I could list my rods/ reel combos then get some tips to compliment my current gear.

 

6'6" St. Croix premiere MF spinning rod with shimano reel, and 7' MF *** baitcaster with a lews reel.

 

I'm thinking of a 7'2" or 7'3" MH-F for jigs and maybe t-rigs? I really have had success fish with Senkos but I think my 7 footer might be plenty good for that. I'm looking for rod/ reel suggestions so the more the merrier!

[FISHmyst]

I was thinking of either the shimano zodais or the dobyns fury line. So like the warranty offered by gloomis but the guy at the local shop has been raving about zodais and the dobyns fury. No idea about what reel to get although I'm a big fan of my current lews.  I fish from shore and kayak equally. Mid Missouri. Lots of cover by summer. 

[fishnkamp]

The 6'6" spinning rod should handle all of your needs when it comes to grubs, tubes, shakey heads, and most finesse baits, like Ned Rigs, and weightless or lightly weighted plastics like creature baits and Sencos.  You can even throw belly weighted hooks and swimbaits like the Reaction Innovations Little Dippers and Skinny Dippers. Keitecks fall in that category also.  Someday you may want to add a rod like a 6'9" ML for the lighter baits, but you are good here right now. I consider this rod good for handling baits up to 3/8 of an ounce combined weight.

 

The 7 foot medium fast action rod should allow you to fish slightly heavier baits up to 5/8 if this is a true medium power with a fast action tip. Although not ideal, I would think you can get by throwing spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and some topwater baits on this rod. Hopefully it can handle baits like rattle traps, smaller crankbaits, and even baits like Pop R's.

 

If that rod can handle all of that, then I would look at a Dobyns Fury series model FR 735C,  That rod would be a terrific rod for heavier texas rigs, bigger jigs with bulkier trailers, carolina rigs and as an extra benefit it will serve as a great rod to throw hollow bodied frogs on. I use a Champion series 705 for that exact purpose.  I went with the 7 footer just because my rod locker could not fit the 7'3". This rod will run you $110, but it fishes much more like a $200 rod than a $100 one.

 

Another good option to consider would be an Irod Genesis II IRG754F  which is known as Fred's Magic Stick.   That is a very versatile rod as well. I have friends fishing with both the Dobyns Fury Fr735C rod and this Irod.   The Irod Genesis Ii rods will run around $150.

 

The last rod I would suggest would be from the Powell Rod Company.  Look at a Powell Max 3D model 764 CF Mag. It is a great rod as well. It will handle what you want. A Powell will run you around $160.

 

I know that most anglers do not have stores near them that carry all of these brands but I do.  Between my wife and I we fish 3 Irods, several Dobyns and two Powells. My friend Kris owns 3 Furys and is getting ready to pick up #4 soon.  He is changing all of his rods over to Dobyns Fury series rods.  

 

All of these rods are well made with good components and balance well.

 

MY choice for a reel is easy.  I would choose a Daiwa Tatula CT.  I personally fish with 12 baitcasters. I have been changing my entire lineup of reels from Shimano Curados and Chronarchs and a few Bass Pro Extreme reels to all Daiwa. So far I own 1 Daiwa Exceler, 4 Tatula Type R's and 2 Tatula CTs.  I would suggest you consider getting a Daiwa Tatula CT in a 7.3-1 gear ratio for this setup.  The techniques that we are fishing with this combo are ones we generally manipulate the lure with the rod, not the reel. So a faster reel speed helps get line in and make your next cast quickly. 

The Daiwa Tatula CT sells for $129 in most places. If you decide to go with one I have a source that will sell you the brand new reel and ship it to your door for $100.  You save $30 off the reel and the shipping is free.  That is where I purchased my two CTs from. 

[Turkey sandwich]

Welcome!  If you're punching mats or planning on cranking deep ledges, you'll want much different gear.  As for reels, most of mine are Chonarchs and I love them, but I've heard great things about the current Tatulas and for $100, that's a tough reel to beat for most applications.   For a jig/worm rod, a fast 7.1 or greater ratio will typically serve you best, for cranking, I prefer 6.4 or slower most of the time.  I think the above options for worm/jig rods are great - lots of companies offer really good sticks now for $150-200 that are super sensitive in either fast or X fast blanks (I tend to favor St Croix's Avid X, and Rage lines, but I also have a Fenwick Aetos in that price range that is a really nice rod and a Mojo that is yet to see the water).

 

However, I also think that if you're starting to expand your collection, you'll eventually want something for fishing Crankbaits that will let you cast a mile, give you a feel for bottom composition, and be soft enough to help you keep the fish pinned.  I also don't think you need to spend a lot of money for a good crankbait rod. On another thread @A-Jay posted a link to KVD series crankbait rods on sale for under $100.  Similarly, I just picked up a 7'6 MH Veritas Winch for $79 (Cabela's and tackle warehouse both have them on sale).  If you plan on fishing moving baits with treble hooks, either is a great deal, will expand your repertoire, and will save you money to put towards a good worm and jig rod.  

 

welcome to the money pit.

[yosef]

I had a custom rod built on a sc5 blank ran me about 280 shipped to my door and I put a core on there that the guy balanced the rod to. It's my go to 

[Fishingmickey]

Shimano Casitas 150 HG (119) & St Croix Mojo bass 7' MH (130). If you want a little nicer reel the Citica (149)or even more nicer the Curado 70 (199) at TW.

Fishingmickey

 

 

[Fishes in trees]

If I might suggest an alternate approach to this dilemma . . .. .What is your favorite way to fish?   Get the best rig that you can afford to fish that way.  Once that is accomplished, then what is your next favorite way to fish - get a rig that you like to fish that way. ..

 . . ..  and so on.

 

Me, I don't think I would have spent $100+ on a bubba drop shot rod unless I had my jig fishing and finesse fishing and crank fishing and spinnerbait fishing more or less covered.

 

If you want my opinion on what to get next, you can't go wrong on a Ned rig/Brewer Slider rig set up. . .. . unless you want to get into A-rigs or heavy duty frog fishing  . .. . .or serious crank bait distance casting. . .     The point is that you've got many options.   Figure out how you like to fish and go from there.

[FISHmyst]

Thank you all all for the suggestions! There is so much info out there it's easy to got caught in the reeds. I'm wading my way through tho! Ive been at the local tackle shop multiple times this week inspecting the shimano and dobyns rods. So far I'm leaning towards the shimano although it does not have a hookkeeper which is kind of annoying. Seems like it's a bit lighter than the comparable dobyns fury and it sure is asthetically pleasing.  Unfortunately they don't have any powell or irods for me to feel out. BPS might have a wider selection of rods but I prefer to support a small local business.

 

In terms of reels, I reelly like the feel of the diawa tatula CT, shimano casitas, and the lews tournament MB speed spool. Kind of a toss up at this point. Will have to decide soon but the number of quality options is making it difficult! What do you guys think about the difference in braking mechanics?

 

To keep things simple I started using primarily Texas rigged weightless plastic worms aka senko. Had great success with that on my spinner rod and as Ive gained confidence with my 7' MF baitcaster (easing off the magnetic brakes) I can now cast that same bait even further and with more accuracy. I think with the blend of sensitivity and power that rod will be perfect for senkos going forward. It might not be the absolute perfect setup for pros but for now it suffice as a decent versatile setup that will land me fish senko style. I like senkos because the tackle is simple, cheap, and the process is methodical albeit sometimes a bit slow. 

 

Recently I've tried using that 7' MF caster for skirted weedless jigs but have noticed it is not going to cut it long term for that application. Starting to learn the different feel between jig weight on the bottom, subsurface structure, vegetation and fish strikes. Although I've landed a few fish on my caster setup while jigging, I'm fairly certain it does not have the horse power to consistently get productive hooksets. With practice I'm sure I could get more proficient with jigging on that rod but I want to be able to swap casting setups at moments notice and have full confidence that I'm not losing fish due to gear related issues but rather my relative noobness. I can overcome the noob phase! I will!