First spinning rod help

[Ksam1234]

So I only own casting rods and I’m looking to get my first spinning. Guys on the water today were crushing everyone and probbsly caught around 50-80 bass.. using ned rigs and drop shots, all slow fineness.  Wondering what rod would be good for these and his .. wondering rod length, taper, action etc. braid for these or fluoro? I’ll be fishing super clear water , can see 5 ft +.. looking for rod and reel. Budget is around 150-200$ for rod and 100-150 for reel .. would rather have a nice light sensitive rod to detect strikes on the finesse. Stuff 

[MN Fisher]

If I had that budget...

 

One of either of these rods

Dobyns Sierra 700SF

St. Croix Avid AVS70MLF (little over your top $, but not by much)

 

And I'd pick one of these reels

Abu Garcia Revo-S - either 10 or 20

Pflueger Supreme-XT 30

[islandbass]

I won't recommend rod brands because the whole thing is too subjective to be worth much.

 

However, I can tell you that for the typical finesse scenario, a medium light powered rod is the weapon of choice for the drop shot.  Some drop shot rods can handle a ned rig, when would be ideal, and some not so well. Typical lure weight rating is about 1/8 to 3/8 oz, give or take.  I prefer no more than a 7' rod for the length. Line of choice is 6# fluoro or mono. Now is not the time to be messin' around with braid main line and fluoro leader.  If mono, braid and fluoro are equal for finesse and you use fluoro, you lost nothing.  If they are not equal, you just might find more hits with fluoro over braid and now, you've gained a little edge.  Personal experience has allowed me to see more hits with fluoro over braid, and 6# mono also beat braid. Also, choose a limper fluoro if you can.  There are raves on Tatsu and our fellow anglers here have sold me on it, but I haven't gotten around to trying it. I can recommend SeaGuar's Invizx because I've used it and at 6# test, it is remarkably supple.

 

If you want to experience the true awesomeness of finesse, you have to "let your normal feelings" of bass fishing where we crave that powerful rod. You have to let that go, and it might be difficult.  Go medium light in the power. I can't emphasize this enough. 

 

I have and love my lamiglas certified pro 7' ML rod, dubbed the "drop shot special"  Let's just say it's not a fair fight when I'm using 6# fluoro.  Reel size, I like 2000, but 2500 is also good.

 

Gamakatsu drop shot or Owner mosquito hooks in size 2 and you're set.

 

Now go get 'em.

 

 

[Ksam1234]

42 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

If I had that budget...

 

One of either of these rods

Dobyns Sierra 700SF

St. Croix Avid AVS70MLF (little over your top $, but not by much)

 

And I'd pick one of these reels

Abu Garcia Revo-S - either 10 or 20

Pflueger Supreme-XT 30

What size reel to.  Idk the difference between a 2000 or 2500 .. I don’t want something huge and heavy but also need enough room for line 

[MN Fisher]

24 minutes ago, Ksam1234 said:

What size reel to.  Idk the difference between a 2000 or 2500 .. I don’t want something huge and heavy but also need enough room for line 

Sizes are the numbers at the end

Revo-S 10 (REVO2S10) weighs 7.4oz, holds 110 yds of 6# mono

Revo-S 20 (REVO2S20) weighs 7.5oz, holds 120 yds of 8# mono

Supreme-XT 30 (SUPXTSP30X) weighs 6.8oz, holds 145yds of 6# mono or 130yds of 8# mono.

 

My finesse rig is the Avocet RZ-2000, reel weighs 8.7oz, holds 190yds of 8#. I'm thinking of 'upgrading' to an Avocet RZT-1000, weight is 7oz, holds 110yds of 6# or 80yds of 8#. The RZT has twice the bearings of the RZ, but basically the same reel.

[islandbass]

The 2000 will generally be a little lighter and hold a little less line but not much less. Its other benefit is a lighter overall weight and ample line supply. 

 

The 2500 obviously holds more line if your conditions demand it. Therefore a slightly heavier overall weight with compensation for needed line capacity. 

 

Need more line? Go 2500. If not, 2000. I don’t use 1000 sized reels because my reels usually need to pull double duty for bass and salmon. Also, I think the smaller spool might have a smaller line recovery rate and they look too weird to me, lol. 

[Fishes in trees]

If you're not sure what kind of spinning rig to get, take a look at the guys using spinning gear where you are fishing and get gear like theirs.

If you want to ned rig like Ned does, go to Walmart and get one of the cheapest ML spinning combos, he prides himself on being "frugal".    For drop shot gear, there is lots of advice out there, pick one and go with it.

 

My advice on reels is to get the smaller 1000 size spinning reels, because they are lighter.  1000 size reels have all the line capacity you're going to need and they are stout enough.   I use a size 10 Pflueger President with 20 lb braid and 15 or 20 fluorocarbon leader on my 7' Fenwick HMG MH spinning pitching stick.  I keep the drag pretty tight and I haven't had any issues with a bass overpowering the reel.  Really, I'd like to see it happen, just to know how large a fish is too large for this gear.    If like a previous post you're using the reel to do double duty with salmon fishing, I'd probably go larger.

 

FYI, Loomis makes a 6'10" drop shot rod, configured for bait casting reels.  Slap a Calcutta 50 or a 50 size Chronarch and you've got a sweet, lightweight drop shot rig.

[roadwarrior]

6 1/2' or 7' M/F,  Shimano CI4+ (STCI4C1000HGFB) and Tatsu #6

 

http://fish.shimano.com/content/fish/northamerica/us/en/homepage/Shimano_Product_Page.P-STRADIC_CI4%2B.html

 

[TBAG]

My Ned rig setup is a Sierra 702S paired with a Stradic Ci4+ 2500.

[new2BC4bass]

6'10" MLF Villain 2.0 or Fantasista Regista (about $205 on ebay...a $500 rod) and Daiwa Tatula LT.

 

EDIT:  Could give Alex a call at ALX rods.  Really like the couple I have.

[LCG]

6'8-7'2 medium light - medium power, fast to extra fast action. 

 

I have good experience with fenwick hmg, St Croix mojo and avid, and BPS carbonlite 2.0.

 

 

[NYWayfarer]

My drop shot set up last year was a Lew's Carbon Fire 6'6" ML/F rod (DSG exclusive) and a Kastking Sharky III 2000 size reel with 6-8# line.

 

I went with a 7' M rod and a size 3000 reel after a fight with a 3 pound Channel Cat. I have since switched back as the ML rod and smaller reel are a better fit for the drop shot technique.

[Ksam1234]

3 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

6'10" MLF Villain 2.0 or Fantasista Regista (about $205 on ebay...a $500 rod) and Daiwa Tatula LT.

 

EDIT:  Could give Alex a call at ALX rods.  Really like the couple I have.

He was super helpful and told me to get the zolo trickster 

[dodgeguy]

17 hours ago, Ksam1234 said:

So I only own casting rods and I’m looking to get my first spinning. Guys on the water today were crushing everyone and probbsly caught around 50-80 bass.. using ned rigs and drop shots, all slow fineness.  Wondering what rod would be good for these and his .. wondering rod length, taper, action etc. braid for these or fluoro? I’ll be fishing super clear water , can see 5 ft +.. looking for rod and reel. Budget is around 150-200$ for rod and 100-150 for reel .. would rather have a nice light sensitive rod to detect strikes on the finesse. Stuff 

I fish Ned rigs on a baitcaster with 8lb test and 1/5 oz jigheads with a trd with no problem.