My new rod/reel combos: What do you think?

[billmac]

This is a followup on a post I made when I first joined.  After a long fishing hiatus, I have to re-gear.  This is what I've tentatively decided upon.

 

1 MH casting rod with casting reel. 

1 M casting rod with casting reel. 

1 M spinning rod with spinning reel. 

 

All rods would be 7 footers and all reels spooled with around 20 lb braid, and I'll keep various sizes of mono and fluoro for leaders.

 

I can always add more combos in the future, but budget constrains me to 3 right now.  I'm not a super heavy cover fisherman for the most part.  I'll be casting to structure and doing drop shotting and the like in deeper water.  Targets will mostly be smallmouth, pike, and walleye (and panfish).

 

I know you guys probably have a million variations on this according to your preferences, but what I want to know is if I'm making some kind of fundamental mistake that isn't obvious to me.

 

Thanks

[smr913]

I'd almost swap out the M casting rod for another MH but with a Moderate action. Or get one with extra fast and one with fast. The XF could be for bottom contact baits and the Fast or Mod for moving baits. Then you have the spinning setup for shakey head, drop shot, ned rig, etc. 

[craww]

Id go up to at least 30lb or preferably  40lb braid on the baitcasters for the larger diameter. Still plenty thin for favorably comparable casting distance vs mono, but it’ll behave itself much, much better. 

[new2BC4bass]

I don't know how experienced you are using braid, but if you don't have much with light braid on casting reels, then I would suggest 30# minimum and 40# as better.  20# is usable, but it can cause the line to dig in if you don't keep it spooled properly.  I picked up a used casting reel that had 30# on it.  Spent a good 15 minutes first time out with it removing tight spots.  Haven't had a problem with tight spots since then.

 

I used a MF rod quite awhile for treble lures until purchasing a dedicated rod for them.  I didn't use braid, tho.  No give to it.  I did try to use a rod with a bit more parabolic bend than some.  A Falcon Cara and Hurricane Redbone were my preferred rods and I still wouldn't hesitate to use either for treble hook lures.

 

I see craww posted while I was typing so we agree on the line. 

[billmac]

Points taken about the braid. 

[billmac]

Do most rods have the action and tip specs written on them?  The action is easy to find but I don't always see the tip.

[J Francho]

Action is the taper - Slow, moderate, fast, extra fast.

Power is stiffness - Light, medium, heavy, and the in betweens like MH or ML.

 

Yes, most decent rods have all the specs on the blank.

[Brad Reid]

On a M powered spinning rod, I can't even imagine using 20 lbs. braid on its reel.

 

10 lbs. straight braid or with a 6 to 8 lbs. fluoro leader would be so much better. You can't break 10 lbs. braid, fish can't either. But, it casts so much better.

 

If you don't use leaders, you could go down to 6 lbs. braid, I'd suggest Sufix Nanobraid. You still can't break it. It casts even farther. 

 

Agreed on braid for casting reels . . . at least 30 lbs. test.

 

Brad

[gilkeybr]

I would prefer a ML Spinning Rod to a Medium if I could only have 1.  Would be easier to throw neg rigs while still having the power to throw reasonably sized DS weights (1/4-3/8oz or more depending on your preference).

 

I also agree with what was said above which is to have your second casting rod have a more moderate action.  Will be better for moving baits.  I've only had it a short while but I recently got a Dobyns 704CB and it feels very versatile

[MassYak85]

7 hours ago, smr913 said:

I'd almost swap out the M casting rod for another MH but with a Moderate action. Or get one with extra fast and one with fast. The XF could be for bottom contact baits and the Fast or Mod for moving baits. Then you have the spinning setup for shakey head, drop shot, ned rig, etc. 

If it was me I'd so something similar to this. Make the M another MH but with a more moderate action so you can fish anything from spinnerbaits, cranks, bladed jigs, topwater, jerks etc...anything with trebles or any "moving" baits essentially. Then I'd make your other casting rod a H fast action for T-rigs, C-rigs, Jigs, frogs...anything that needs that extra "uumph" to set the hook. And then I agree with the M spinning setup. 

[AC870]

I might do one baitcaster and 2 spinning rods - a 7-0 MH caster, a 6-4 or 6-6 light spinning rod and a 7-0 MH spinning rod. 

But I like spinning rods. 

[billmac]

What about the tip for the spinning rod?

[Revival]

I fish from the bank and when I take 3 rods, they are the exact powers you are considering:

 

MH fast casting 

M fast casting

M fast spinning

 

For me, these rods are versatile and covers a variety of techniques.

 

Being that you want to drop shot, you could substitute the Medium spinning for a medium light.

 

[billmac]

I appreciate all the info.  Any compelling reason to use a shorter rod for any of the rigs?

[J Francho]

A 6-6.5' spinning rig is a nice rig for shore fishing.  It doesn't get in the way of tree limbs and shoreline brush.  I also like a shorter rod for vertical drop baits, and topwater/jerkbaits.  You have more control of a bait with a shorter rod.

[ResoKP]

If it was me:

 

1. 7' to 7'3" Heavy/Fast 8:1 ratio baitcaster (50# braid & add 15# fluoro leader when needed)

- jigs, texas, frog, pitching, "light" flip/punch

 

2. 7' to 7'3" Medium Heavy/Moderate 6:1 ratio baitcaster (12# co-poly)

- crankbait, spinnerbait, chatterbait, swimjigs, jerkbait, spooks, popper

 

3. 6'9" to 7' Medium Light/Extra Fast spinning (10# braid to 8# fluoro or #8 straight mono/fluoro/coploy)

- dropshot, ned, wacky rigged senko, lighter shakeyhead & tubes, finesse stuff

 

Pretty much as versatile as you can get with a 3 combo setup while being better tuned for each technique compared to the traditional 3 combo setup in OP.

 

JIMHO. DYODD. GLHF.

[billmac]

I few of you have recommended ML over M for the spinning outfit.  Can you tell me why?

 

If I went ML on the spinning rod, with 10 lb braid, could it double as my bank/wading rod for trout and bass with a 6lb leader?  I think I might have to go down to 6-6.5 in that case, as was suggested.

[ResoKP]

54 minutes ago, billmac said:

I few of you have recommended ML over M for the spinning outfit.  Can you tell me why?

 

If I went ML on the spinning rod, with 10 lb braid, could it double as my bank/wading rod for trout and bass with a 6lb leader?  I think I might have to go down to 6-6.5 in that case, as was suggested.

ML over M for finesse because ML is inherently more sensitive and can cast lighter lures farther and more accurately. And you're also typically dealing with smaller hooks, you don't want to rip it out of the fish's mouth.

 

You can go down to 6# leader if you want to be more finesse. Personally, I'd prefer a longer rod, especially for trout. However, if bass is priority, 6'10" ML/XF is somewhat of an industry standard when it comes to finesse. Some of the best 6'10" ML/XF rods come from St. Croix Legend Tournament Bass, Legend Elite, GLX 822dsr, NRX 822dsr, etc...

 

JIMHO. DYODD. GLHF.

[billmac]

I've waded rivers for trout and bass my whole life, using 4 and 6 lb mono on spinning and spincasting rigs on a regular size rod.  We aren't talking big fish here, a 2 pounder would be huge.

 

Just to clarify, I would use a heavier leader from the boat, drop shotting, etc.

[J Francho]

There's trout, and then there's trout.

 

[GreenPig]

On 5/6/2019 at 9:12 AM, billmac said:

This is a followup on a post I made when I first joined.  After a long fishing hiatus, I have to re-gear.  This is what I've tentatively decided upon.

 

1 MH casting rod with casting reel. 

1 M casting rod with casting reel. 

1 M spinning rod with spinning reel. 

 

All rods would be 7 footers and all reels spooled with around 20 lb braid, and I'll keep various sizes of mono and fluoro for leaders.

 

I can always add more combos in the future, but budget constrains me to 3 right now.  I'm not a super heavy cover fisherman for the most part.  I'll be casting to structure and doing drop shotting and the like in deeper water.  Targets will mostly be smallmouth, pike, and walleye (and panfish).

 

I know you guys probably have a million variations on this according to your preferences, but what I want to know is if I'm making some kind of fundamental mistake that isn't obvious to me.

 

Thanks

Welcome back. The knowledge on this is forum is immeasurable. On my spinning reels use 10lb braid to FC leader and on my baitcasters I start at 40lb braid. 

[Armtx77]

5 hours ago, billmac said:

I few of you have recommended ML over M for the spinning outfit.  Can you tell me why?

 

If I went ML on the spinning rod, with 10 lb braid, could it double as my bank/wading rod for trout and bass with a 6lb leader?  I think I might have to go down to 6-6.5 in that case, as was suggested.

Like you, I mostly bank fish and I run a 7' ML Fast tip (Fenwick) rod with 8lb Nanofil. I throw small stuff with it, 1/4oz and under. It also doubles as a great perch/bluegill/crappie rod, but its main purpose, is wading small rivers, throwing 1/16oz rooster tails and Keitech swimbaits, going after hybrid/Kentucky bass.

I find it to be one of the more enjoyable set ups I own.