My set up

[GrizzlyHeart]

So what kind of bass fishing/lures would you use on a 6ft 6 medium fast rod. I wanted a 7ft medium heavy fast action for top water.abu didn't sell there silver max with a left handed option for that setup.so I went with a 6ft 6 medium fast action. Honestly I mostly use Texas right soft plastics,but I wanted to be able to do some jigging,punch rigging,and top water.will I be able to do some of those things with this setup? What would you use a 6ft 6 medium fast for?

[bigturtle]

You can do anything you want with it, except heavy duty stuff like punching, if its your only rod. 

[GrizzlyHeart]

Why not punching? Just wondering why it wouldn't be good for that.is it the lure weight or the fact that when you punch your going through heavy grass mats. The 6'6 is my bigger rod. I have another light rod that I like using night crawlers on. My 6'6 I'd like to use for jigging,poppers,soft plastics t rigging,drop shotting,spinners,some frogs.and other things hopefully.any advice are certain types of fishing going to call for smaller version of tackle like a smaller frog for frogging? Or smaller crankbaits

[GrizzlyHeart]

Anyone else have the silver max? This is my first baitcaster. I was wondering for those that have it.while turning the tension knob out will it stop at some point or does that thing come right off.seems like it should have a point at which it stops you from unscrewing it.so it doesn't fall off. Seems like that would lessen the amount of tension that you can take away from the reel.alao the way the drag works is weird.i heard to set it where the line wasn't digging into itself,that's kind of hard on a baitcaster with braided line.how and where should my drag be set to. Give a baitcaster rookie some advice.please if you have a silver max answer that first question.

[bigturtle]

when you punch, your rod does not have enough power for the hookset and to drive the fish out of thick cover

[Mike L]

When punching through thick mat's it's all about power and leverage.

You won't get the maximum leverage you're gonna need from a 6' 6" rod, and a medium action rod regardless of who makes it won't have the power. 

 

Punching is the one presentation where you're going to need the right equipment to be successful.

 

Good Luck

 

 

 

Mike 

[Raul]

For punching you need a broom stick and honestly, you got a noodle so it ain't gonna cut it pal.

[GrizzlyHeart]

Thanks guys,not being able to punch isn't a biggie to me. Anyone got any answers for my reel questions?

[ThisEndUp]

On 8/25/2017 at 9:49 PM, GrizzlyHeart said:

Anyone else have the silver max? This is my first baitcaster. I was wondering for those that have it.while turning the tension knob out will it stop at some point or does that thing come right off.seems like it should have a point at which it stops you from unscrewing it.so it doesn't fall off. Seems like that would lessen the amount of tension that you can take away from the reel.alao the way the drag works is weird.i heard to set it where the line wasn't digging into itself,that's kind of hard on a baitcaster with braided line.how and where should my drag be set to. Give a baitcaster rookie some advice.please if you have a silver max answer that first question.

I don't have a silver max. What size braid are you using? If you are using braid with real thin diameter then that will cause digging. Braid is a lot thinner diameter than mono so I typically won't go below 30lb braid on my baitcasters.

[Boomstick]

On 8/26/2017 at 0:49 AM, GrizzlyHeart said:

Anyone else have the silver max? This is my first baitcaster. I was wondering for those that have it.while turning the tension knob out will it stop at some point or does that thing come right off.seems like it should have a point at which it stops you from unscrewing it.so it doesn't fall off. Seems like that would lessen the amount of tension that you can take away from the reel.alao the way the drag works is weird.i heard to set it where the line wasn't digging into itself,that's kind of hard on a baitcaster with braided line.how and where should my drag be set to. Give a baitcaster rookie some advice.please if you have a silver max answer that first question.

 

My oldest son has a black max, and I haven't tried to take the tension knob off, but the proper amount of tension is nowhere near the point it would come off so I don't know.

 

What I find with the black max anyway (and I'm sure the same applies to the silver max as well) is you want to tie up your rig and then set the tension knob to the point your line begins to fall at a moderate speed. If you let it fall too fast, it will begin to bird's nest no matter how well you cast. If you change your bait, do it again. Where with my Tatula SV, I loosen the tension knob until the spool begins to click and have no issues, you just can't do this with the black max. I do get some pretty good casts on the black max.

 

Also I would not recommend any lower than 30 or 40lb braid on a baitcaster, otherwise it might dig into itself. You will probably want to set your drag at 25% of the max rating on your rod, so it's probably rated for 8-15 lb line, so set your drag for 25% of 15 which is 3.75lbs.

[XpressJeff]

FWIW it should be said that heavier (30+) # braid is NOT required to keep it from digging in. I use 20 all the time with zero issue!

[Boomstick]

6 hours ago, XpressJeff said:

FWIW it should be said that heavier (30+) # braid is NOT required to keep it from digging in. I use 20 all the time with zero issue!

 

You also live where it's above 70 in bass fishing season too. Up north, it gets colder and you'll have issues.

[XpressJeff]

Moved here from Wisconsin Boom. gets pretty cold there and I've been using Power Pro green a couple weeks.