Trying to modernize my setups - thoughts?

[adrenalnjunky]

Hey all, I know this is one of those threads that will probably have answers all over the place, but I'm looking for a general consensus. 

 

Haven't been actively fishing in 20+ years, so most of my gear was late 80's vintage.

My "vintage" gear (All reels have been completely gone through, even updated with new bearings, or added some bearings here and there)

Reels:

'87 Shimano Bantam Mag 10X 4.7:1 ratio???

'89 Shimano Bantam TX100 Mag 5.0:1 ratio

'79 Abu Ambassadeur 5000D (Direct drive model) - standard 3.6:1 ratio

'79 Abu Ambassadeur "Striper Special" 5500 - 4.7:1 ratio

 

Rods:

(2) Lew's Graphite speed stick (5' 6" Medium/Medium) - these are pistol gripped, and match a modern 6' rod from the reel seat forward.

(2) Lew's Fiberglass rods (6' - but same as above - more like a 6' 6" modern rod) Feel like Medium/Medium as well

 

Then I have a few newer pieces:

Picked up a new Abu OrraSX combo for a steal the other day - 6.4:1 reel, 7' MH/F rod setup

Grabbed a G Loomis Mossyback 803 rod at an estate sale ($20!) - 6'8" MH/XF

 

And last night ordered a Daiwa Tatula CT-R in 7.3:1 (Because there isn't a "Best reel for around $100" thread on this board that doesn't end up with a ton of positive feedback on the new Tats.)

 

I'm trying to not blow just tons of cash on all of this (yeh, right?)  But I'm primarily fishing second-spot out of a 16' boat, and space is a premium - 2-3 rods is about all I have room to add.  (And sometimes the 3rd rod is my kiddo's spincaster)

 

My plans:

Keep the Shimanos on the older Lew's graphite rods for crankbaits and slow-rolling spinnerbaits

Run the Orra setup as is for an all-rounder - spinnerbait, medium crankbait, texas rigged,brush hogs, etc

Tatula on the Loomis - texas rigged/plastics/jigs/lipless cranks

 

How far off am I here?

 

 

 

[Fishin' Fool]

The only thing that has changed is the fishing industry. Now you have to have a rod and reel for every method. If your old stuff works I wouldn't hesitate to fish it and add a new rod/reel in each season or as you can afford. Welcome back!

[fishnkamp]

That setup will work fine, you already own them and they will work well for your intended purpose.

You should really like the new Tatula CT.

 

I would add just one more combo to your arsenal.  You may already have this covered but  would have 1 good medium spinning rod in the 6'6 to 7' range.  i personally like having a medium light and a medium but I am fishing out of my own boat and can have 20 rods. The 6'9 or so rod would allow you to fish many lures like grubs, tubes, shakeyhead jig and worm ( think of a Charlie Brewer slider head and a 4 inch do nothing worm)combos, drop shot rigs and even Senco style worms.  These are all basics of bass fishing.  In the olden days ( and yes I am an old fart too) we would hav been fishing a 6 foot version of this rod.  Welcome back in the hobby and enjoy it.

[adrenalnjunky]

12 minutes ago, fishnkamp said:

That setup will work fine, you already own them and they will work well for your intended purpose.

You should really like the new Tatula CT.

 

I would add just one more combo to your arsenal.  You may already have this covered but  would have 1 good medium spinning rod in the 6'6 to 7' range.  i personally like having a medium light and a medium but I am fishing out of my own boat and can have 20 rods. The 6'9 or so rod would allow you to fish many lures like grubs, tubes, shakeyhead jig and worm ( think of a Charlie Brewer slider head and a 4 inch do nothing worm)combos, drop shot rigs and even Senco style worms.  These are all basics of bass fishing.  In the olden days ( and yes I am an old fart too) we would hav been fishing a 6 foot version of this rod.  Welcome back in the hobby and enjoy it.

Yeah  - I've been giving a spinner a thought, never really fished one before.  Good news is my father in law keeps one parked in the boat, so I'll give it a try.

[fishnkamp]

Look at throwing the following lures. They are a mainstay of bass basics.  I do not suggest buying $1000 worth of gear only a bag or two of each lure.

 

Start with throwing 5 inch grubs like the Kalin 5 inch lunker grubs.  The bluegill and watermelon/red flake work really well in either clear or off color water. You could rig them either on a light jig head or texas rig them with a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce weight.  I really like the Bass Pro Shops Perfect Finesse Worm jig heads.

 

Make sure to add some Sencos, the 4  and 6 inch Sencos can be fished on just a light hook, texas rigs or wacky rigged.

These worms are deadly when other baits fail to work.

 

A lot of fish that I have landed over the last several years have come on a paddle tail swimbait. The ones I like are Reaction Innovation Little Dippers and Skinny Dippers. I use white trash and houdini the mos,t but the money shot green, blue pearls shad, sungill and many more of the colors work.  I would pick 1 pack of 2 very different colors.  White trash would be one, then a shad pattern or bluegill pattern would be a good way to go.  They make special hooks that are belly weighted and have a screw on the front to hold the bait in place.

 

Tubes are still deadly, regardless of how you rig them.

 

Lastly I recommend fishing some Z Man Ned Rigs rigged on Z Man ShroomZ jig heads.  I use two colors most. One is PB&J and new money.

 

Try using a few of these baits to up your fishing success. My wife never goes fishing without a grub and a Skinny Dipper rigged and ready.  All of these baits are rigged and at least 3 are found onmy deck before I put the boat back on the trailer.  We rely on them heavily.  

[Fishes in trees]

The only reason to upgrade is if there is something about the old gear that you don't like.  I used to fish Calcutta reels almost exclusively.  I liked how the round reels worked, I liked how they set up on the rod, everything about them.  However, over the last5 or 6 years they started seeming more and more heavy to me.  I started by replacing one reel, a Calcutta 200 TEGT with a Chronarch 50.   Difference between night and day, the combo felt much more responsive in my hands and I stopped getting tennis elbow from pitching for hours.

I've replaced many of my Calcutta reels with 50 sized Chronarchs and Curados now, mostly for feel baits.   I still use the 200 TEGT on my square bill rig and one of my spinner bait rigs, and my lipless crank rig.  In these situations I'm generally using two hands to cast and there isn't as much effort and strain on one elbow.

 

Point of this rant is don't upgrade just to upgrade.   You've got decent gear.  If you're going to upgrade, have a reason and a purpose for each decision.  JMO

[adrenalnjunky]

1 hour ago, Fishes in trees said:

The only reason to upgrade is if there is something about the old gear that you don't like.  I used to fish Calcutta reels almost exclusively.  I liked how the round reels worked, I liked how they set up on the rod, everything about them.  However, over the last5 or 6 years they started seeming more and more heavy to me.  I started by replacing one reel, a Calcutta 200 TEGT with a Chronarch 50.   Difference between night and day, the combo felt much more responsive in my hands and I stopped getting tennis elbow from pitching for hours.

I've replaced many of my Calcutta reels with 50 sized Chronarchs and Curados now, mostly for feel baits.   I still use the 200 TEGT on my square bill rig and one of my spinner bait rigs, and my lipless crank rig.  In these situations I'm generally using two hands to cast and there isn't as much effort and strain on one elbow.

 

Point of this rant is don't upgrade just to upgrade.   You've got decent gear.  If you're going to upgrade, have a reason and a purpose for each decision.  JMO

Completely understand - thanks for the input. 

 

As my dad used to be fond of saying: "All the pretty tackle in the stores is guaranteed to catch...a fisherman."

 

[smalljaw67]

As an older angler who still has old equipment I can give you some of what I found. The first is the newer rods are far superior to most older rods, even rods that are less expensive tend to be much lighter and make for easier fishing. Even the glass rods today aren't as bad as the old ones, most of the set ups I now use, rod AND reel, are lighter than just one of your reels by itself, it is that stark of a difference. Now weight isn't the only thing to consider but being 20 years older it will go a long way in letting you stay on the water longer and have more fun, I never worried about weight until I began using lighter weight rods and reels, my shoulders and back thank me for it all the time. I do still stay close old school ways in that I prefer shorter rods in general, other than a flipping stick, my longest rod is 7'2" and most run 6'6" to 7' with a few 6'3" models and a 6'. Since you haven't kept up  a good solid mid grade rod and reel will be light years ahead of what you have, and even though those older reels are heavy, putting one of those Bantams on a 7' Medium heavy, moderate rod will give you a nice all purpose cranking set up. The Tatula on that 803 Mossyback will be a nice set up for light Texas rigs and 1/4oz to 3/8oz jigs and all you would need is either a medium power spinning rod and reel or a MH-F casting set up. As others pointed out, you don't need to spend a bunch but I can admit that I too once called guys out for being "weight weenies" only to begin fishing light weight rods and reels and become one of those guys myself. The reason I did is it made such a difference with my fishing that words can't describe it, I wasn't missing jig fish anymore as I was feeling the bottom and bites better than ever, my casting accuracy and distance improved by leaps and bounds yet I wasn't giving any extra effort, and my wrist, elbows, and shoulders along with my back actually felt better at the end of a day. So to summarize, you don't need to scrap what you have, but adding in some newer models may help your enjoyment either by being less demanding on your body or helping improve your catch rates or both, so sprinkle in something new every now and again but do so slowly as it can hurt your wallet which is the only thing I find it does hurt.

[adrenalnjunky]

Little update - I got that Tatula CT-R today.  Threw it on the Loomis rod and had it dialed in rock solid with about a half dozen casts with a .5oz weight.  This thing is amazing feeling, and the XF action rod felt nice, but.... 

 

Bad News - when I sat the 6' 8" Loomis rod next to the new 7' Abu rod I picked up - I realized the Loomis is about 4" shorter than it should be.  Yep - apparently part of the reason I picked it up so cheap, is that 4" of the tip was snapped off clean at guide #8.  I did a little research, and it appears I'm missing one guide and the tip. 

[TX-Deluxe]

5 minutes ago, adrenalnjunky said:

Little update - I got that Tatula CT-R today.  Threw it on the Loomis rod and had it dialed in rock solid with about a half dozen casts with a .5oz weight.  This thing is amazing feeling, and the XF action rod felt nice, but.... 

 

Bad News - when I sat the 6' 8" Loomis rod next to the new 7' Abu rod I picked up - I realized the Loomis is about 4" shorter than it should be.  Yep - apparently part of the reason I picked it up so cheap, is that 4" of the tip was snapped off clean at guide #8.  I did a little research, and it appears I'm missing one guide and the tip. 

Doh!

 

I love my CT-R