Heavier Spinning Tackle for Bass?!?!

[Robert Hergan]

A friend of mine has recently gotten into bass fishing (via my teaching) and I regularly throw baitcasting combos. He is looking for a heavier spinning rod/reel combo to throw those heavier baits (because he's newer to fishing). Nothing going much over a 2-1/4 oz swimbait if even that. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for heavier spinning tackle for Bass. Thanks in advance!

- Rob

[Darren.]

11 minutes ago, Robert Hergan said:

A friend of mine has recently gotten into bass fishing (via my teaching) and I regularly throw baitcasting combos. He is looking for a heavier spinning rod/reel combo to throw those heavier baits (because he's newer to fishing). Nothing going much over a 2-1/4 oz swimbait if even that. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for heavier spinning tackle for Bass. Thanks in advance!

- Rob

Rob, have your friend read a bit of this article

about an FLW pro who uses nothing but spinning.

 

He goes way heavier than I do - fishes different

techniques.

 

https://www.flwfishing.com/tips/2014-04-22-going-big-with-a-spinning-rod

[bowhunter63]

I have used spinning more and more the past couple of years.Heavy jigs and Spinnerbaits I still use a baitcasters for control and speed.But small jigs wacky worm,Neko rigs ,Flukes I have 7 ft medium Xtra fast action.I can catch up to the lure quick and set the hook.Xtra fast took some getting used to but I really like it.

[fishnkamp]

Mu wife only fishes spinning rods and it does present a bit of a challenge to find rods with the perfect action for some of the heavier bait techniques. I have found several options for her. She fishes an Irod Genesis II IRG 713S for baits like texas rigged worms and jigs up to 5/8.  It has a nice quick tip and plenty of backbone to get a good hookset.  Her heavier duty rod is a Dobyns Sierra SA 705SF. That rod has a super tip and lots of muscle. She uses it for bigger heavier jigs, carolina rigs, and frogs. That specs for baits from 3/8 to 1 1/4.

 

If you are serious about a heavier bait than that I believe your best bet is to follow the lead of the saltwater inshore guys. Check out what they use for big baits with lots of weight. Check out Inshore rods from companies like Okuma, G Loomis, ST Croix etc.  Lots of those guys also throw big heavy jigs as well as large topwater stuff and they go with spinning gear most of the time. As for reels just upsize to 40 series reels instead of 25 and 30 ( 2500- 3000) size reels.

Walleye and musky guys sometimes use some heavier gear like that to.

[J Francho]

Walleye rods rarely dip into even the medium power.  Musky rods are too heavy, and spinning rods are almost non existent.  Inshore, specifically the St. Croix Avid inshore is where you'll find PLENTY of options .  I've set a few people up with rods from this series, and 4000-5000 size reels spooled with 40# braid, and they love them.

[Crestliner2008]

Maybe it's just because I'm just getting too old, but I actually prefer spinning to baitcasting. Unless I'm flipping or pitching to specific cover. 90% of my fishing can easily be handled with spinning equipment and there are so many good quality rods out there today, that it is probably more of a budget consideration than anything else. Rarely have I found a "bad" rod these days.

 

BPS or Cabelas brand rods should suffice nicely in the med-heavy range of actions. You can find some heavy action spinning rods, but those are usually used for catfishing or musky type baits. A good med-heavy fast action graphite rod should fill the bill nicely.

[fishwizzard]

Why go with such large reels if you are going to run braid?  It is to get more drag?  

 

I am fussy and cant stand spinning reels much past the 2000 size range, but I have been thinking of pickup up a MH spinning rod as a loaner when my friends want to come out for an afternoon.  Right now my heaviest spinning rod is a M/XF and it is not ideal for a lot of things.  

[J Francho]

More drag and more capacity.  40# braid is like 10# mono.  You also gain more IPT.  The larger reel also balances out the heavier rod better, too.  A 4000 is not much bigger than a 2500/3000 series.

[fishnkamp]

Exactly correct J Francho. The reasons to go with a 4000 or larger reel is to balance a 7 or 7 1/2 HVY power rod as well as to have a better drag and line capacity is just icing on the cake. An angler will get fatigued quickly using an unbalanced outfit.  The OP did not ask about bass fishing with finesse baits. All the manufacturers make great spinning rods that will handle a shakey head or a senco. If the OP was looking for a spinning rod that will fish a frog or a one ounce jig with a big bulky trailer than he needs to have a rod with the backbone that our typical baitcasting frog rod does. Picture the rod Scot Martin calls his "meat stick", it is a 7'11 flipping stick.  Heavy carolina rigs, or alabama rigs and big swimbaits require a rod most often produced in baitcasting only, since that is what the bass guys regularly use.

On the other hand, if you watch many of the saltwater fishing shows you will see lots of anglers chasing reds, snook, stripers and, even some of the big fish you would see caught in the gulf off an oil rig, being caught using large spinning reels. Penn makes a lot of this type gear as well.  Several of us have suggested looking into this type of gear because that that fit his needs.  

[J Francho]

25 minutes ago, fishnkamp said:

Picture the rod Scot Martin calls his "meat stick", it is a 7'11 flipping stick.  Heavy carolina rigs, or alabama rigs and big swimbaits require a rod most often produced in baitcasting only, since that is what the bass guys regularly use.

That's a really nice rod, the Mat Daddy:

https://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/mat-daddy-helios-review.html

 

Unfortunately not a spinner.  You can definitely find an 8' H with similar action in the off shore department.

Good stuff here!

[Human torpedo]

I love my baitcasters.  But their main advantage to me is deep diving crankbaits or spinnerbaits.  They put a lot of strain on the reel and the angler.  Most of what I fish can be done with spinning reels.