Weightless Finesse Setup (Baitcaster)?

[mrcimon]

Looking to get a weightless finesse setup.  

 

Curently thinking of pairing a:

 

Curado 70

St. Croix Legend Medium XF 6'10"

 

I'm open to suggestions and not locked into any specific brand.  I do like St. Croix rods and Shimano, but I have a few other brand for some setups.  My budget is max is currently equipped.  

 

Edit: I'll prob be pairing it with 8lb Braid. My goal is max distance as I shore fish.  

 

[NathanDLTH]

If your goal is weightless plastics/finesse at the most a medium, I’d even consider a medium light. Reel is a solid choice, however I don’t think 8lb braid on a baitcaster is a good idea. Braid especially on a baitcaster has a tendency to dig into itself. I’d do 15-30 lb braid then tie a leader on. 

[jbrew73]

If you are comfortable with a longer rod consider something 7’+. I personally like 6’10”-7’ but I’ve found I can cast weightless trick worms better on longer rods.  If the shore is clear of obstructions go longer, trees and overhanging limbs go shorter.

[Stephen B]

Nathan and Jbrew bring up good points. I would consider going with a ML from St Croix for your application and consider a longer rod which aids in longer casts.

[islandbass]

As mentioned already I second the use of a higher # braid. Remember for its strength braid is very thin in diameter. I recommend a quality 30# braid. And guess what, it is the diameter you sought, of 8# test. 

20# braid is hit and miss. Some anglers can handle it and most can’t. They’ll experience line dig up the yung yang because they don’t know how to deal with it nor have they taken the time to learn how to minimize it. 

So I can’t stress or recommend enough that you use 30# braid. You still might encounter line dig, but it will be less often. 

This is just my opinion, but if your cover allows you to get away with it, I’d be daring and go medium light in power. If not medium is okay. 

Be sure to post pics of your finesse set up. 

[Further North]

I wound up with a 6'10" Avid X MLXF and an Abu Garcia LTX for what you are looking to throw.

 

...I've also got a couple other rigs (both local custom builds) that work well for this, one of which has the Curado 70 reel on it.  Works great.

[Trivette]

Daiwa Tatula SV TWC reel and  Tatula 7' med power rod......

[burrows]

On 9/16/2018 at 12:32 PM, mrcimon said:

Looking to get a weightless finesse setup.  

 

Curently thinking of pairing a:

 

Curado 70

St. Croix Legend Medium XF 6'10"

 

 

I think you’re on target. now you just have to pull the trigger.

[Jrob78]

St. Croix rods generally fish fairly heavy. I would go with a different rod, something in a ML or a M with a really soft tip. If your rod is too stiff you won't be able to cast light baits well.

[JustJames]

I hate to say it but curado 70 might not be your best reel for the job, but that dpends how familiar between you and the reel. Don't get me wrong the curado 70 is a nice reel and can cast a mile even light lure but for user friendlier I would op for magnetic reel especially those Daiwa with SV spool.

For rod, it depends how light you wanna go for. Trick worm and Senko 4-5" are weight above 1/4oz so any M rod with 1/4oz lure weight should be able to cast those just fine. If smaller than that like finesse worm or any 4-6" worm you might have to go down to ML or any rod with 1/8oz lure weight. The softer the tip, the easier and further you can cast, but you loose somewhat ability to control fish and ability to apply good hookset.

if you are not settle in bait caster, ML or M spinning setup would handle this type of application a lot easier.

[TOXIC]

I'm gonna preach it again.....Why braid and baitcaster for "finesse"????  I use the best tool for the job and for "finesse" that is a spinning rod and straight mono.  Buy hey, that's just me.  If I'm throwing braid, I'm not finessing a dang thing, leader or not (no leader for me).  I have yet to find a reason to finesse on a baitcaster.  

[Dens228]

My combination is a St. Croix BassX MH/Moderate, it has a bit of the whippy tip which gives me a good cast with weightless plastics, I've paired it with a Lew's BB-1.   I really like the combination 

[burrows]

9 hours ago, Jrob78 said:

St. Croix rods generally fish fairly heavy. I would go with a different rod, something in a ML or a M with a really soft tip. If your rod is too stiff you won't be able to cast light baits well.

St croix rods don’t fish fairly heavy in my opinion their rods have a very forgiving tip medium fast is fine. 

[jimmyjoe]

3 hours ago, Burrows said:

St croix rods don’t fish fairly heavy in my opinion their rods have a very forgiving tip medium fast is fine. 

   I've been using St. Croix since somewhere around '90 to '93. They've all fished "heavy" (or "strong") for the rating, from ultralights up through medium/fast. Never saw a freshwater rod from them that had a "forgiving tip". Have they come out with something different recently? Please clue me in on it. I'd sure like to see it, as I have uses for a rod with that kind of tip.   jj

[burrows]

Retracted 

Edited September 18, 2018 by Burrows

[burrows]

11 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

   I've been using St. Croix since somewhere around '90 to '93. They've all fished "heavy" (or "strong") for the rating, from ultralights up through medium/fast. Never saw a freshwater rod from them that had a "forgiving tip". Have they come out with something different recently? Please clue me in on it. I'd sure like to see it, as I have uses for a rod with that kind of tip.   jj

How long you have been using these rods to me is not of any importance to me. You could have been fishing theses rods since 88 I really don’t care and I apologize for being so blunt but I do believe I’m entitled to my own opinion. You have your opinion and I have mine and that’s the bottom line I think you’re wrong and you believe I’m wrong we’re both entitled to our own opinion and I don’t believe st croix rods are rated any heavier than they rated and specially don’t believe they have a stiff tip IMO 

[jimmyjoe]

24 minutes ago, Burrows said:

How long you have been using these rods to me is not of any importance to me. You could have been fishing theses rods since 88 I really don’t care and I apologize for being so blunt but I do believe I’m entitled to my own opinion. You have your opinion and I have mine and that’s the bottom line I think you’re wrong and you believe I’m wrong we’re both entitled to our own opinion and I don’t believe st croix rods are rated any heavier than they rated and specially don’t believe they have a stiff tip IMO 

    You weren't "blunt", and there's no need to apologize. I was hoping you had a line on something I haven't seen yet. But now I see that you're talking about St. Croix in general, as I was. And you're right; you have your opinion and I have mine. I'm sorry if  I stepped on your toes. I'm interested in finding out the real truth about the gear. I'm not interested in insulting someone, or making them angry. Nothing good ever comes from that.    jj

[Jrob78]

St Croix has always fished heavier than most other brands, at least in the SCIV and SCV lines, which is what the OP said, even though he only specified "Legend".  High modulus graphite also generally fishes faster than lower mod graphite.

[bunz559]

I've had a bad taste of light weightless lures on baitcasters. I ordered an Aldebaran and Expride medium light with the worst experience ever. This fairly expensive setup did not do me well at all. Started out with light braid, as advised, do not do this as it digs itself in. I switched to 10lb line and still didn't have much luck. Casting distance was terrible. I have better luck throwing weightless Senkos on a medium heavy setup. I even changed the bearings on the Aldebaran to see if it helped. Anything short of 1/4oz I just turn to a spinning rod now.  

[burrows]

15 hours ago, Jrob78 said:

St. Croix rods generally fish fairly heavy. I would go with a different rod, something in a ML or a M with a really soft tip. If your rod is too stiff you won't be able to cast light baits well.

So what your saying is if he get a medium he’s actually getting a medium heavy? That’s Ridiculous OP said he’s getting a medium and I think that for his intended purpose that will work.

 

[J Francho]

I own around 30 Saint Croixs, and they do run a bit heavier than many other brands.  Their M/XF and ML/XF tapers are what you want for lighter baits.

[jimmyjoe]

18 minutes ago, Burrows said:

So what your saying is if he get a medium he’s actually getting a medium heavy? That’s Ridiculous OP said he’s getting a medium and I think that for his intended purpose that will work.

 

   One: That's not what jrob said.  That's something that you're introducing into the conversation. Two: a comment such as, "That's ridiculous" does no good, does not advance anyone's knowledge or understanding. Three: a medium might be what the OP needs, and it might not. He wants information or he wouldn't have posted here. Four: He (or I, or anyone else for that fact) will get many varying points of view here. That's fine. That's how we learn about new things. The  OP can sort out what he considers valuable and what he doesn't consider valuable. Five: The reason behind critical thinking is to find out whether you're going in the wrong direction or not. New information can be surprising, welcome, even something that can turn your head around. It helps you. That's the kind of comment people look for: something that helps them.   jj

[Jrob78]

1 hour ago, Burrows said:

So what your saying is if he get a medium he’s actually getting a medium heavy? That’s Ridiculous OP said he’s getting a medium and I think that for his intended purpose that will work.

 

St. Croix does run heavy, as many others have agreed. I was really just letting op know that so he doesn't buy a rod that is too stiff. A M XF might work great for that but I would probably go with a ML for casting weightless finesse worms. Pretty simple, he can do whatever he wants though.

[CrankFate]

On 9/18/2018 at 6:42 AM, TOXIC said:

I'm gonna preach it again.....Why braid and baitcaster for "finesse"????  I use the best tool for the job and for "finesse" that is a spinning rod and straight mono.  Buy hey, that's just me.  If I'm throwing braid, I'm not finessing a dang thing, leader or not (no leader for me).  I have yet to find a reason to finesse on a baitcaster.  

This is true. A spinner can’t be beat here. But I swore off spinners years ago. And recommend that for everyone. As far as the braid goes, I rarely fish anything thicker than 15lb test braid on a baitcaster and go all the way down to 6lb. IMO, once you get used to braid, it fishes better than mono, co or fluoro on a baitcaster. I just never understand why people say it can’t be casted. The real problem is tying with it when it’s windy out. Super thin braid is impossible to tie if there’s any wind.

[mrcimon]

Thanks all for the recommendations and help.  I've made a choice, and I will take pictures and post when I receive the product!