My next setup...what to get?

[JWall14]

I currently have a tourney special 6’6 MH casting paired with an abu Garcia silver max and will get a dybins fury 7’ ML spinning paired with a Shimano NASCI. I fish from the bank for largemouth and wade rivers and creeks for smallmouth. I am in high school so my budget is under 200 for rod, reel, and line. What should I get next? Should I get a better MH? 

 

I plan on ending up with about 5 setups to cover basically everything. Thanks!

[Joshua van Wyk]

Are you looking for a baitcasting combo or all spinners?

 

[Scott F]

What are you looking to do that you can't do with what you have? What is your biggest need right now? Are you going to buy it now and just stare at it all winter?

[JWall14]

Scott- I would like to be able to get into treble lures like jerkbaits or cranks as I have never caught a fish on either and I know they can be deadly. I would also like to punch with a jig or punch rig as it’s hard to set the hook on a jig with a 6’6” MH baitcaster. And yes I would most likely stare at it all winter so I have time and am in no rush. 

 

Josh- I would take either but only spinning for finesse. I am not the kinda guy to only use spinnng.

 

Also any recommendations on line would be great! Thanks!

[Joshua van Wyk]

13 minutes ago, JWall14 said:

Scott- I would like to be able to get into treble lures like jerkbaits or cranks as I have never caught a fish on either and I know they can be deadly. I would also like to punch with a jig or punch rig as it’s hard to set the hook on a jig with a 6’6” MH baitcaster.

 

Josh- I would take either but only spinning for finesse. I am not the kinda guy to only use spinnng.

 

Also any recommendations on line would be great! Thanks!

If you've never caught a fish on a treble hook bait I wouldn't recommend buying a combo specifically for that technique. I'd recommend using the rod and reel you have now and practice with treble baits until you are confident in them and can justify buying a combo.

[Matt_3479]

Well if your planning on getting 5 combo’s you should narrow down what you think you need first. What your 6’6 will cover and get a more specific rod for this one. A jig rod, a flipping rod, frog rod, crank rod, dropshot rod it’s endless. Sure you can get 1 rod to cover a few bases but still need to narrow it down to a few techniques 

[JWall14]

Josh- good idea it’s a bit too late for cranks by me but I could get into a jerkbait bite...

 

matt- I am not exactly sure and I would like around 5 rods to do just about everything. I don’t want a designated rod for only one technique or anything like that. I am not sure which action, height, and power to get and in what order. I am tall (6’4) so I can handle long rods. 

 

Thanks!

[Matt_3479]

1 hour ago, JWall14 said:

Josh- good idea it’s a bit too late for cranks by me but I could get into a jerkbait bite...

 

matt- I am not exactly sure and I would like around 5 rods to do just about everything. I don’t want a designated rod for only one technique or anything like that. I am not sure which action, height, and power to get and in what order. I am tall (6’4) so I can handle long rods. 

 

Thanks!

Well you can double down on a few things but you want to narrow it down on which style of fishing you want to focus on next.

 

- crankbaits, topwater rod can be double down (treble hooks, spooks, and such) 

- flipping stick, frog rod, heavy jig rod can be thrown on one rod (not ideal but will work)

- jig rod, bottom contact rod

- senko, drop shot, shakey head, flukes and such 

[JWall14]

I would probably get these in order:

 

1. treble hooks

2. flipping

3. bottom rod

4. finesse (my spinning can cover this for the time being)

 

Also @Scott F what line would you recomend on the spinning combo I listed above for smallmouth?

[Scott F]

I don't use technique specific rods for anything. I use the same rod for treble hook lures that I use for single hook lures. I have no idea what a bottom rod is or what that means. I use 10lb braid on all my spinning rods. It gives maximum casting distance, maximum depth on baits and is plenty strong but it's not so strong that you can't break it if you have to.

[JWall14]

Good call. I was debating between braid or fluoro. I believe it means a rod for Texas rigs and other similar techniques. Do you go straight braid or with a leader?

 

Thanks!

[Scott F]

1 hour ago, JWall14 said:

Good call. I was debating between braid or fluoro. I believe it means a rod for Texas rigs and other similar techniques. Do you go straight braid or with a leader?

 

Thanks!

Where I fish, abrasion is not an issue even in the rocky rivers I prefer. That, and I don't like having to tie extra knots, or have those knots go through my guides so I never use a leader.  I don't need a special rod for bottom dragging techniques, my other rods will do the job just fine.