My First Baitcaster Combo

[nebkan]

Been reading on here for awhile now trying to answer my questions without actually asking them.  Have fished random bait casters throughout my life, but never paid much attention.  Im looking for a good all around combo to start out with.  Reading the forum I think Ive narrowed it down to a Medium Heavy Rod with fast action and then a good solid reel.  I have Shimano spinners and would be open them, but I have read a lot about Lew's and really like their price point.  The rods Ive looked into are the Veritas, St Croix, and Tatula.  I would like to keep my budget at no more than 250-275.  Any suggestions on a good pair?  Thanks!

[new2BC4bass]

The 6'10" MHF Tatula from Sportsman's Outfitters for $110 and a Lew's Tournament MB or Diawa Tatula CT off ebay would be an excellent all-around combo and still leave enough money for line and a few lures.

 

Someone will be along to suggest a Dobyns Fury or Powell Inferno or the new St. Croix Mojo.  All will fit you budget, but I've never used any of these three.

 

EDIT:  If you don't mind used, you can get some very good deals....especially on reels.  A T3 1016 recently sold for $115 shipped in the Flea Market.  I think these were around $400 new.  The 3D MagForce braking system is great on these reels.  There is a like new Lew's Tournament Pro, TP1H 6.4:1 for $115 shipped on another site.  This is one sweet deal even if it is the older model.

[nebkan]

I went into Cabela's today and messed their Lew's reels,  is the Tournament MB one of their better reels and what ratio will it off/do I need?

[CTBassin860]

My main rod is St.Croix Mojo Bass and a Daiwa Tatula CT. 260$ well spent.280$ if you spool it with fresh PP.

[new2BC4bass]

6 minutes ago, nebkan said:

I went into Cabela's today and messed their Lew's reels,  is the Tournament MB one of their better reels and what ratio will it off/do I need?

The MB is a seriously nice reel for less than $110 off ebay.  I'm getting so I like faster reels, so mine is the 7.5:1 ratio.  I think Lew's sells 6 reels from $199.99 up and another 5 from $159.99.  The MB lists for $139.99 so it isn't one of their top tier reels.  Still an extremely nice one for the price.

[long island basser]

I own 4 different lews baitcasting reels and am happy with them all.

The MB which is the least expensive of my 4 is also my most liked.

All my reels are atleast a 7.1:1 gear ratio or higher, I can't stand slow reels. Just my preference.

[nebkan]

I think Ill look for a MB on eBay to purchase then.  Most of them are priced at 139.99 just like the store. Smarter to get the 8.3:1?  Now to find the rod to pair it with.  Definitely going to get a medium heavy, so what would you recommend I string it with?

[fishnkamp]

I fish with 12 baitcasters in the rod locker. Many are dedicated duty setups. The most versatile rod of all of them is my Powell max3d 683CEF. You can look iis review up on Tackletour. They have changed the rod series a bit, but that rod is available in the Inferno series  for $100 and the Max3d series for $160.  I have spoken with the owner of Powell and he has told me they are virtually the same rod as I own.  If you would prefer a longer rod the the Max3d 723CEF would be a great rod to consider.

 

The next rod I would suggest is a Dobyns Fury FR 734C for $110 or a Sierra SA 734C for $180.

I have owned 3 Veritas rods, I have sold two off.  Be careful these rods fish heavier than they rate.  St Croix's are popular and I have owned a few. I have sold them off as well, as I began using the Dobyns, Powells and Irods.  I have heard good things about the Daiwas but never fished one.

 

Between my wife and I we fish several Powells, 3 Irods and 3 Dobyns.  

 

 

[nebkan]

25 minutes ago, fishnkamp said:

I fish with 12 baitcasters in the rod locker. Many are dedicated duty setups. The most versatile rod of all of them is my Powell max3d 683CEF. You can look iis review up on Tackletour. They have changed the rod series a bit, but that rod is available in the Inferno series  for $100 and the Max3d series for $160.  I have spoken with the owner of Powell and he has told me they are virtually the same rod as I own.  If you would prefer a longer rod the the Max3d 723CEF would be a great rod to consider.

 

The next rod I would suggest is a Dobyns Fury FR 734C for $110 or a Sierra SA 734C for $180.

I have owned 3 Veritas rods, I have sold two off.  Be careful these rods fish heavier than they rate.  St Croix's are popular and I have owned a few. I have sold them off as well, as I began using the Dobyns, Powells and Irods.  I have heard good things about the Daiwas but never fished one.

 

Between my wife and I we fish several Powells, 3 Irods and 3 Dobyns.  

 

 

Ive actually read quite a bit about the Dobyns Fury.  I just may get that and pair it with the Lews MB.  What would be a good line?

[fishnkamp]

Line is a personal preference thing for sure. However many will suggest fluorocarbon or braid lines. I fish those lines on many of my setups, but I do not recommend you learn with Fluoro.  There are other lines I like to fish, like P Line CXX, a copolymer line I fish quite often. These are good lines for someone with lots of experience dealing with lines that hold memory.  They will drive you nuts with backlashes.

 

So I recommend simple inexpensive but quality mono like Stren Original or Berkley Big Game in say 12 pound test. We are talking $8 for a 300 yard spool.  This is not a waste, once you get comfortable fishing your new rig I would pull off 1/2 the line on the reel and you can then add 1/2 a reel of like 30 pound braid, if you would like to. Suffix 832 and Power Pro Spectra are both very nice braids to fish with.  Once you get a few weeks of fishing send me a pm and lets disacuss what you like and what you may think you would like to do.  

 

In the meantime, let me suggest a few things. First read the lure rating of the rod you get.  If we are talking about the Fury FR734C  then we are talking about a rod that can handle a bait as light as 1/4 and as heavy as 1 ounce. If I was standing in front of you helping you to learn to cast, I would tie on a bait that fell in the middle of that range. So maybe a 3/8 ounce or 1/2 ounce jig with a trailer like a 4 inch pit boss, or a Strike King Rage Craw.  Then I would have throw a 1/2 ounce spinnerbait.  Last I would have you throw  both a 1/2 and 3/4 ounce Rattle Trap or whichever brand you prefer. Strike King Red Eye Shads work very well also.  Here is what i am getting at, I want you to use a bait heavy enough to make the rod work for you.  If you learn to throw different style baits and different weights of the same bait you will know exactly how to retune the reel a little and you will be able to fish baits over the entire range of the rod.  Besides the lures I mentioned are all part of what I consider the basics of bass fishing.

 

I never suggest buying tons of new gear to a anyone. I just suggest getting a few of each lure to cover top, middle and bottom.  Baits like "swim jigs" can be fished like a fish imitation or like a bottom crawler depending on the trailer.  If you add a 5 inch grub as the trailer it can represent a bluegill, sunfish, perch or minnow.  Add a craw trailer, drag it on the bottom and it looks totally different.

[Turkey sandwich]

I'm going to be one of the guys that suggests braid because of it's lack of memory, and it's resilience while dealing with backlashes.  Also, a good, consistent casting reel will make casting much, much more manageable.  

[22hertz]

You just missed the sale on the Cabelas ZX Tournament rods for $70. Awesome rods for the money.

 

When I was rod shopping I fondled every rod I could find over the course of a month. I finally narrowed it down to the Falcon Bucoo, Duckett Ghost and Cabelas Tournament ZX. The ZX was a no brainer for the price, warranty and feel/action.

I found many popular rods didn't feel good to me so IMO its important to go look for yourself.

 

Make sure to match the lure weight of the rod to the weight you plan to use. My 2 rods are rated 1/4-5/8 oz but they still load up enough to sling 1/8 spinners (which I assume weigh a little more than 1/8oz). I also prefer longer rods in the >7' range.

 

For reels you should determine how much line you need the reel to hold. Smaller reels are lighter and palm better but hold less line. Those reels should have a lighter spool allowing lighter baits to be cast. Something you will be casting all day should be as light as possible and ergonomic in your hand.

 

The Shimano Curado 70 would be a good choice if you can deal with the lower line capacity. A standard Curado 200I is a good all around reel. Check the auction site and comparison shop for better prices.

[adrenalnjunky]

I just set up a Tatula CT-R on a Dobyn's fury 703C. Value shopped a website's 20% off sale for the rod, and ebay for the CT-R - total rig ran about $208. Compared to my Abu MH/F rods, the Dobyns feels like it has a bit more give in the tip, but it still has the backbone a MH should have. 

 

I was torn between the Lew's Tourney MB, the Tatula, and the Abu Revo SX.  So far, I'm liking the Tatula a lot.

 

One thing that sold me on the Dobyn's is lifetime warranty, and their $50 over-the-counter replacement program through a local dealer.  By the time you ship a rod back to a manufacturer for warranty, and possibly had to cover the postage back, you've spent near that $50 anyway.