Questions about the setup that I purchased.

[anthonyb225]

Hiya! I'm fairly new to fishing and I had some concerns with the reel that I bought. I went to bass pro to purchase a rod and reel. I've only ever used what my friend and his dad got me for my birthday many years ago and the reel doesn't work well anymore. When I was there I was asking the employees for some guidance, but sadly nobody had the time to help me other than say "Yep, that's a good one"... I enjoy large mouth bass fishing, white bass fishing and bluegill fishing. I've only ever been fresh water fishing. I have a Penn Fierce II 3000 reel with Berkley Solutions 8lb Monofilament and a Ugly Stik GX2 that is 6'6" with medium action...

 

I tend to use spinner lures like rooster tails, and some crank baits, but I've been thinking about giving live minnows and Senko worms a try. Is this setup okay for what I'm fishing for or is it over kill? I get completely overwhelmed when trying to research what rod, reel, and line to use.. Any info would be awesome!

[matbellon3]

Should work fine.

[hwright38]

The reel is a pretty good one. Should last practically forever, and is beefy enough for things like bass/walleye/medium sized channel cats/etc. 

I myself am not a fan of Ugly Stiks for anything other than catfish, carp, or for trolling. They're ok, but their main "claim to fame" so to speak, is being neigh indestructible. However, a Geo Metros last forever too, but no one would say they're a nice car. Sure a BMW or a Lambo are going to be much more fragile, but if you take care of them, they'll last too.

 

I'm not saying to return the rod necessarily. If you're new to fishing, you literally won't know what you're missing. For white bass and bluegill Ugly Stiks are fine, no need for sensitivity or anything. For largemouth you'll eventually want something a bit nicer (for just a little more, the Abu Garcia Vengeance or the Shimano Sensalite will be more suited for largemouth. I'd recommend going even a tiny bit more and getting an Abu Garcia Vendetta for $70. I've had one for the better part of a decade and it's been awesome). 

Overall you should be fine. The first thing I would upgrade would be the rod, but you don't really need anything more at the moment. Good brands to buy from are Abu Garcia, Shimano, and Daiwa (the "big three" of bass fishing) add Dobyns and St. Croix for rods. Quantum, Pflueger and one-3 make some good stuff, but not as good. Zebco (yes you pedants, I know zebco and Quantum are the same) and Shakespeare make cheaper budget stuff (<$50). Everything else don't worry about right now. 

[anthonyb225]

2 hours ago, hwright38 said:

Abu Garcia Vendetta

Awesome, thank you for the info! So what kind of power would you suggest for the type of lures and fishing that I'm doing? Medium power still or should I lean towards a light?

 

And does power and action mean the same thing when referring to a fishing rod? The current rod that I have only tells me the power.

[Spoons1]

As hwright said you should be fine and eventually the rod will be the first thing you upgrade. Berkeley lightning rods are great and cheap at $40 at retail(cheaper if you look around) if you're that concerned with the rod and want a cheap, quick replacement. The penn will last you forever. I dont see anything really overkill here especially if you are also putting livebait on it. 

[roadwarrior]

 

[hwright38]

16 hours ago, anthonyb225 said:

And does power and action mean the same thing when referring to a fishing rod? The current rod that I have only tells me the power.

Power is the Medium, Medium Heavy, etc. The apex of the curve in the rod when you bend it is the action. The faster the action, the further towards the tip the bend will be. For being new to fishing, action isn't something to get super hung up on. For bass fishing, a medium power, fast action rod is right where you want to be if you only have one rod to do everything (kind of like a "jack of all trades, master of none"). 

 

To add: If a rod doesn't specify action, and you bought it in a big retailer (cabelas, BPS, etc), it's probably a fast. Ugly Stiks are, imo, closer to a moderate-fast. That won't make that big of a difference though.