My First bait caster

[grub_man]

trwoh,

 

What part of OH are you in?

 

Welcome to the fun world of fishing and casting reels!  There is no need to break the bank on a casting reel to start out.  As mentioned something like the Abu Garcia Black Max can be very good starting point.  They are much nicer than they were 20 years ago or so when I started into casting reels.  $100 or so can get you a solid reel that will last you for years with a little maintenance.  This spring I picked up a Revo X to be paired with a rod I built on a 7' 1/4-3/4oz. MH power Fast action rod.  The Revo X fits the bill nicely for what I was looking for.

 

On my lakes over in the eastern part of OH, this (7' 1/4-3/4oz.) is about as powerful of a rod as I need for most applications.  This type of rod is a general purpose bass rod designed to throw single hook lures (spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, weedless bass jigs, Texas rigged worms) with about 3/16-1/2oz. of lead.  It is a very versatile type of rod, and pretty much every company makes one.

 

Fishing on foot means that you may be a bit more rough on your gear than fishing out of a boat (though gear can be abused in any setting).  If you want something slightly more durable, look at standard modulus rods (typically ~$100 give or take).  The rod will be sensitive enough to work with the lure weights mentioned above in most situations.  If you want to stretch your budget a bit look for a mid-modulus rod (typically ~$150 give or take).  These rods a bit lighter and a bit more sensitive.  In my opinion the mid modulus stuff is the sweet spot in rod blanks, where you get a light sensitive blank that won't break the bank.  Ignore the high end stuff for now.  I use high modulus rods with 1/8 oz. or less of lead when it is tougher to feel what is going on down below.

 

You made mention of MM rods.  The MM is short hand for Medium Power Moderate Action.  These rods are designed so that the start to flex deeper into the rod blank and are designed for treble hook lures.  As you start to flex the tip of a rod a fast action rod will generally start deflecting somewhere in the upper 1/3 of rod.  A moderate action will start to flex in the upper 1/2 of the rod.  A Slow action will start flexing all of the way back at the handle.  All rods can be force to flex all of the way to the handle, action just refers to where they start to flex under light loads and gives the angler a bit of info about what to expect in how the rod will perform in certain tasks.  The moderate action rod reacts and responds a bit slower which makes it tougher for a fish to throw slack into the line which can help them mover the lure around to dislodge the treble hooks.  Starting out, you can get by fishing your treble hook lures on your spinning rod and try not to horse the fish in.  As you start building up your rod collection and maybe spend more time in a boat, then it will be time to look at a dedicated treble hook rod.  My preference is fiberglass in the right action and power here, a MH power Moderate to Moderate Fast action.

[trwoh]

32 minutes ago, grub_man said:

trwoh,

 

What part of OH are you in?

 

 

I live in Worthington.  I mostly pond hop around that area but most of them are private so it makes it difficult.