setups line help and uses

[mike_ohm]

Hey guys little back round. Used to do freshwater fishing when I was younger with my dad. Then I fished inshore saltwater in Florida during the summer for years. Been about 9 years since I touched a pole. Few months back went out and caught a lmb on my first cast. Since then the bug hit me and I’ve gone hard at it ever since. This is where my questions are starting. I picked up a 6’8 mojo bass with a ci4+ 2500. I currently have 20lb power pro and run seguar floro as leader. Been using this as an all purpose. Now Christmas came and the misses was very giving! She picked me up 7’1 mojo bass with a ci4+ 3000 which I was eyeing up and she also picked up a st croix bass tournament series that will be getting another ci4 2500 on it. I have always been a peer pro guy but now as I’m getting deep in the bass game I’m open to all kinds of different things and also will eventually start practicing some bait casting. But for now my questions is what line and what kind of baits would you throw on each setup??

St croix mojo bass 6’8 medium extra fast

 

St croix mojo bass 7’1 meadium heavy fast

 

St croix legend tournament bass 5’10 medium extra fast

 

 

Thanks everyone one for the input. Love this site learning a lot.

[PatrickKnight]

10lb braid to leader on the xf rods 15-20 lb braid to leader on the mh rod. I would throw everything under 3/16 on the xf rods and everything over on the mh rods.

[Sam]

Mike, to be truthful, there are so many ways to rig each setup that it is impossible to give you all of them. Or even one.

 

Of course, you will receive a lot of suggestions and I will give you some, but you need to figure out the line, baits and techniques you have the most confidence and then use them on each setup.

 

That is the fun part of bass fishing. Sometimes the setups are fantastic and other times they aren't. It is a matter of trial and error. And it changes by the hour and the day.

 

Now, for spinning rigs the pros are going to braid, more and more. Some with a leader and others tie direct to the bait. They are using 8 pound braid for plastics. Braid has excellent transmission properties and less line twist.  You can use some mono as a backing on your spinning reels to keep the braid from slipping.

 

As for techniques, you can try shaky head, drop shot, Texas rigs, MOJO, Ned Rig, Jika Rig, the Biffle Bug and any other technique you wish to try. Search these techniques on the Forum and on YouTube.

 

As for baits, trick worms, finesse worms, brush hogs, lizards, flukes, Senkos, YUM Dingers, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, crankbaits (Shad Raps are great for spinning rigs) frogs, toads, Z-Bombs in any color of your choice. Just understand that there are three basic colors depending on water clarity: watermelon for clear; green pumpkin for stained; and Junebug for stained and dirty water. Then there are the offshoots of these basic colors like watermelon candy, green pumpkin with black flake, grape, etc. You can drive yourself nuts with all of the available colors.

 

As for hooks, you may want to go with a jig head (1/8 ounce to 1/4 ounce) to use for your shaky head; a light weight hook for the drop shot; and any hook of your choice for the rest of the plastics' presentations.

 

For Texas Rigs, use a tungsten bullet weight. The lightest weight necessary to get the bait to the bottom.

 

For Senkos and YUM Dingers, learn how to rig them "wacky style" so you can catch multiple fish on them.

 

Now hang on. You will be getting some excellent suggestions for each rig from the guys and gals on the Forum.  Just remember to experiment until you find what you have the most confidence in using.

 

Good luck and the Bait Monkey loves you!

 

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

What @Sam said!! I’m in a similar situation. After three years back in the sport I am in the same predicament. Have been reading and watching vids on finesse fishing after obtaining a 6’8” ML/F rod and a 2500-series reel and have just about driven myself nuts just trying to choose a line or line/leader combination. At present I think the most popular choices for finesse fishing are (in no particular order):

 

1.   6 - 10# mono, copolymer, or fluorocarbon line which, for me, eliminates the need for a leader and I am not personally comfortable with the leader knot (whether Double Uni, Crazy Alberto, or even FG) going through these new-fangled micro guides.

 

2. 12 - 15# braid with leader (apparently the lighter braids may have issues with the line “digging in” on the reel although it’s unclear to me if the problem is as severe as on a bait-casting reel. I could be wrong based on what Sam has said ... although I am curious about that 14-ounce jig. LOL!!!  I hope someone clarifies this.

 

It seems the first choice makes the most sense for me since I seriously doubt I’ll be wrestling with any 10-pounders in the lakes of western Massachusetts, but the braid makes more sense if I want to maybe use some light jigs or T-rigs.

 

As for even choosing a brand, the choices are mind-boggling! I am considering Seaguar Finesse if I go with fluorocarbon; probably Silver Thread (have used P-Line Fluoroclear in 12# and found it not to be as supple as I would like though this might not be an issue with lighter weight line) if I go with copolymer; and Sufix Elite for mono since I already have some Sufix and do like it. I hear and read a lot about Tatsu and other premium (read ”costly”) lines, but can’t justify the expense.

 

I’ll be following this thread with great interest to see if it narrows down my options and there’s no rush - the temp this morning is a balmy -8 so I’m not getting the yak out just yet. I’m not sure if this rambling discourse helps, but it surely is an indication of what you are facing. Good luck and I’ll be very interested in seeing your final choices and why you made them.

[mike_ohm]

Thank you for all the comments so far. A couple things I had in mind of what I think I should do( let me know if I’m on the right path)

 

st croix mojo bass 6’8 medium extra fast.. I plan to keep throwing wacky and drop shot along with a lot of the finesse stuff. Like I said this combo is power pro 15-20 backed with mono with 8 pound floro

 

the 7’1 mojo mh fast - some plans I had where for cranking, spinnerbaits.

This includes some extra deep diving as well. This is where I didn’t know what line? Keep braid with leader and if so what leader especially for deep diving.

 

the 5’10 not all sure what techniques it is best suited for. I hear short rods are good for jerkbaits. Anything I should focus on?

 

Last thought at the moment. One of my favorite things to throw are red eye shad 1/2. What setup would you prefer to throw these on?

[Sam]

2 hours ago, mike_ohm said:

Thank you for all the comments so far. A couple things I had in mind of what I think I should do( let me know if I’m on the right path)

 

st croix mojo bass 6’8 medium extra fast.. I plan to keep throwing wacky and drop shot along with a lot of the finesse stuff. Like I said this combo is power pro 15-20 backed with mono with 8 pound floro

 

the 7’1 mojo mh fast - some plans I had where for cranking, spinnerbaits.

This includes some extra deep diving as well. This is where I didn’t know what line? Keep braid with leader and if so what leader especially for deep diving.

 

the 5’10 not all sure what techniques it is best suited for. I hear short rods are good for jerkbaits. Anything I should focus on?

 

Last thought at the moment. One of my favorite things to throw are red eye shad 1/2. What setup would you prefer to throw these on?

Thanks, Grumpy. Corrected the error.

 

Mike, please look at the line and bait paramaters on your rods and be sure to stay within them.

 

In fact, going half on the line test is the best application and reel performance.

 

In other words, if the line test is between 10 - 20 pounds, go with a 15-pound test.

 

Let us know what you guys do.