New Rod/Reel Advice

[Thalimar]

Hey all - I'm looking to add a new rod/reel combo to my arsenal but I'm kinda stuck on rod selection.  I've pretty much narrowed it down to an Abu Garcia Revo4 SX (6.61 more than likely) but I'm not sure what rod would best suit my current gear. I've never really worried about matching rods to lure types (tried to keep it general purpose) but since I recently purchased my first bass boat I've realized having each rod set up for a specific purpose is a huge plus.

 

What I have currently...

Abu Garcia Silver Max on a 6'6" Med Vengeance

Shimano Symetre 2500FL on a 7' MH Veritas 2.0

An old Okuma Avenger AV30a on a 6'6" Med Berkley Lightning Rod Shock

And a Shimano Symetre 1000FL on a 6" Light St Croix for all my ultralight needs

 

I use the Silver Max mainly for worming, the 2500FL I use for jigs and larger cranks and the Avenger is for lightweight top water jerks, cranks and spinners. I have a spare spool for the Avenger with 55lb or so braid that I use for frogging on a small walk in lake covered in lily pads. Not the ideal rod for it I know but the second spool makes for quick changes.

 

I don't really want to go too specialized but I'm sure there are gaps in my setups that the new combo could fill.

 

Thanks

[TylerT123]

I’d get either a dedicated crankbait or frog setup. With the crankbait combo, you could use it for treble hook lures and the frog setup for heavier applications.

[new2BC4bass]

First of all a big welcome to the forum. 

 

I had quite a few rods before I purchased a "technique" specific rod.  I preferred to go versatile.  Just because a rod says "Worm & Jig" on it doesn't mean it can't be used successfully for other techniques.  As luck would have it, my first dedicated rod was for crankbaits and my second for frogs.  I used a MF for treble lures for quite awhile.  Your Lightning Shock should do well with treble lures, but maybe you would like one about a foot longer to really put that lure out there to the next county over. 

 

What is your favorite technique?  Maybe you would like another rod for it with a different lure all set to go.  Maybe you would like a MH for larger worms and for fishing in heavier cover.

 

I personally like longer rods when it comes to casting rods.  I pretty much gave up on 6'6" rods until I got my Aetos 6'6" MLM.  What a pleasure to use.    Made me take another look at my shorter rods.

[Thalimar]

Thanks for the welcome.  

 

I’d say a Texas rigged senko is my go to around here. I do love the blowups when frogging but have yet to throw one since getting the boat as there isn’t a ton of cover on the lakes I fish. My main hangout is a fairly shallow lake so deep diving cranks aren’t really effective. Jerks, jigs, spinners and worms are the go to lures. 

 

Eventually I wouldn’t mind having dedicated setups and dwindling down to one spinning reel (aside from the ultralight) since they’re a pita in the rod locker but I’ll be sleeping on the couch if I spend too much after just buying the boat. 

 

I’ve yet to really find what works and doesn’t work for me fishing from the boat so something more versatile would probably be best. I’m thinking a 6’6”-7’ MH would be a good fit since I’ve already got a M setup. 

 

 

[new2BC4bass]

I agree a MH should be a good choice given you don't fish a lot of heavy cover.  Actually I fished a MF spinning rod with 30# braid in lily pads this year when I visited Florida.  I hadn't taken a casting reel with braid other than the one for my frog rod.  Had no problem.

 

I assume you aren't going to want to spend very much. I have no experience with the Daiwa Aird X, but ww2farmer on here has high praise for them.  I trust his opinion.  He compares it to $150-$200 rods.  fishnkamp is another trustworthy gentleman and he (along with a lot of others) recommend the Dobyns Fury at the $110 price point.

 

Personally I love my Tatula rods.  The originals, not the XTs.  Never paid more than $100 for one.  They list for about $150.  You missed the deal on jet.com.  They are sold out of the Tatula 6'10" MHF.  They were selling it for just under $93.  A steal.  I robbed them of one. 

 

Smalljaw67 on here has given me a lot of good advice.  He has a friend that fishes nothing but high end gear.  His friend bought a Berkley E-Motion for his son and was very impressed with the rod.  It is a rod you never read about.  I have read reviews where a couple guys complained of guide inserts popping out while others used their rod(s) a lot with absolutely no problems.  When I asked him about a low cost spinning rod (low cost, but not cheap) as a present for a brother-in-law, he recommended the Daiwa Procyon.

 

A $100 rod I like is the Fenwick HMG.  Daiwa has been doing very good with low cost rods and reels lately.  You might want to also look at the Fuego line.

 

EDIT:  Optics Planet has the 7'2" MHR Tatula for $119.49.  Pretty sure shipping is free.  Walmart has the Tatula 7' MR for $104.11....2 left.  This rod is rated 1/4-3/4 oz. which to me is MH territory.  I have both and have come to really like these rods.

[Thalimar]

Even though I have my boat now it’s still fun to hit the lily pad lake. If the shock can handle dragging 5lbers through the pads I imagine anything higher quality that I get will do as good or better.

 

I’d like to keep the rod in the $100 or less price point - I’ll check out your recommendations when I have some time to browse. I have heard good things about Fenwicks. Thanks for all the help

[BassFisher22]

If you have one lure that you always like to have ready to throw then get a dedicated rod for that. For the kind I would definitely recommend a Dobyns Fury. It’s an amazing rod that can be found on tackle warehouses 4th of July sale for around $90.