Transition From M to MH Power Rod

[Greg728]

I've been fishing my entire life and always used spinning gear but just switched to my first baitcaster setup. I know there are already a hundred threads of people just switching to BC's but they seem to revolve around getting the reel mechanics down. That's not the purpose of this thread. I spent about two hours today casting with my new setup and the biggest thing for me to transition to wasn't the baitcaster reel but my rod.

 

I've fished light to medium power spinning gear my entire life for freshwater fishing with 6'6" rods being the biggest I used. The sensitivity of the rod and being able to feel every little thing is something I love and the length of my past rods were easy for me to fish since most of my fishing is done from the bank. With this new setup I can't feel my bait as well and it just doesn't feel balanced in my hand when I'm retrieving.

 

Here is the setup I used today:

 

7' MH Fenwick HMG Casting

Lews Tournament MP Speed Spool 7.5.1

12lb Berkley Mono

3/8 oz Strike King Spinnerbait

 

I think I had the right balance with gear and tackle but I just couldn't "feel" much and the taller/heavier rod felt foreign to me. I know the obvious answer is because the MH is a heavier power than what I'm used to, but my question is do you get used to it? It feels clunky and unbalanced in my hands when I retrieve and I couldn't feel the blades of my bait. I caught a 2 pounder and barely felt him hit my bait when with my M power spinning rod I would have felt it more. I heard a MH casting setup is the most versatile in bass fishing but I guess my concern is I'm missing something that everyone else "gets".

 

Could my rod just suck? I have this same rod in M spinning and love it so I went with the same one but in MH 7' casting and it feels totally different. Not sure if this is something I'll get accustomed to or what.

 

Any feedback would be appreciated! 

[MN Fisher]

It takes a little getting use to, but ya...spinnerbaits aren't going to give you the same feed-back on an MH as they do on an M. I will say that even on my 'cheap' Aird-X, I DO feel the blade vibration of my chatterbaits on the MH, it's just not as strong as on my Aird-X M rod.

[jimmyjoe]

   Try braid. Compare it to the feel you experience right now.  That should help you isolate the cause of the problem.  

 

     jj

  

[Grim_Reaver]

This pretty interesting. I myself have never payed attention to the difference and I found the transition pretty seamless when I first made it. As for MH being the most versatile, that's an argument for another day lol.

[WRB]

It's has more to do with the action then power. You didn't feel the spinnerbait blades turning with your spinning rod you felt or watched the rod tip bouncing becuase it was a slower action rod. You would get the same feedback using a crankbait moderate action baitcasting rod. 

The MH fast baitcasting rod will have better feedback when using bottom contact lures.

If you want to improve feedback run the line over your index finger tip while retreiving the lure....any lure.

Tom

[Greg728]

8 minutes ago, WRB said:

It's has more to do with the action then power. You didn't feel the spinnerbait blades turning with your spinning rod you felt or watched the rod tip bouncing becuase it was a slower action rod. You would get the same feedback using a crankbait moderate action baitcasting rod. 

The MH fast baitcasting rod will have better feedback when using bottom contact lures.

If you want to improve feedback run the line over your index finger tip while retreiving the lure....any lure.

Tom

I didn't think of that at all.. that does make sense. I think my concern is my rod feels a lot more like a broomstick than what I was expecting. Maybe I'll get used to it. Have you experienced that before where you're unsure of gear at first and then it grows on you? 

 

With everything shut down right now I can't just walk into Cabela's so I bought something online that had good reviews in my price range. 

[PhishLI]

2 hours ago, Greg728 said:

 

I think I had the right balance with gear and tackle but I just couldn't "feel" much

I agree with jimmyjoe. Braid.

 

I recently helped one of my "spinning only" pals make the transition. He picked up the SLX XT MH combo. Set it up with 12lb Big Game to get him going. After an afternoon lesson he was doing great, but complained about the same thing you are. Two days later the setup was strung up with 30lb braid and that solved it for him. He throws a chatterbait and spinner bait a lot, and got the feedback he was expecting with braid.

[Greg728]

4 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

I agree with jimmyjoe. Braid.

 

I recently helped one of my "spinning only" pals make the transition. He picked up the SLX XT MH combo. Set it up with 12lb Big Game to get him going. After an afternoon lesson he was doing great, but complained about the same thing you are. Two days later the setup was strung up with 30lb braid and that solved it for him. He throws a chatterbait and spinner bait a lot, and got the feedback he was expecting with braid.

Thanks! I was originally thinking braid but I talked myself out of it when I saw the majority of people tell other BC newbies to start with mono until they get comfortable with the bc reel. Is it really that much worse with backlashes? And do you use a leader on your braid?

[PhishLI]

15 minutes ago, Greg728 said:

Thanks! I was originally thinking braid but I talked myself out of it when I saw the majority of people tell other BC newbies to start with mono until they get comfortable with the bc reel. Is it really that much worse with backlashes? And do you use a leader on your braid?

Yes, when getting yourself accustomed to a BC setup it's smart to use an inexpensive line like mono. Stick with it for a minute until you're trained up. I started with braid and never had a fatal backlash during that period, and I was using 20 lb.Typical backlashes with braid can usually be picked out, but the bad ones sometimes can't be. Bad backlashes with plastic lines that can be picked out often kink the line and you'll need to re-spool or risk a break off away from the knot. Bad backlashes with braid that can be picked out don't usually harm the braid at all.

 

I rarely use leaders on braid and my catch rate is pretty high, but I'm primarily fishing very shallow weedy lakes. Bass set up on ambush points and hit moving lures without inspecting them. There's no time. But even when throwing slow moving bottom baits line type doesn't seem to matter much. I've seen no difference using different lines and I use them all. BTW, the guy that I just trained on a BC uses straight 30lb braid on his spinning gear. He throws flukes all the time, deadsticking and twitching them, and he does great. The bass around here don't seem to care about braid at all.

[WRB]

Braid IMO isn't a good choice for spinnerbaits or crankbaits using a fast action MH. You may lower your strike to hook set ratio.

Tom

[jimmyjoe]

5 hours ago, WRB said:

Braid IMO isn't a good choice for spinnerbaits or crankbaits using a fast action MH. You may lower your strike to hook set ratio.

Tom

 

   This is correct. The advice to use braid is only a method to isolate the source of your problem.

   Once you're aware of the characteristics of your rod and the characteristics of your line, you'll need to make decisions regarding what you feel with your hands and the results you see when a fish strikes. 

   Everyone has slightly different priorities.           jj

[garroyo130]

8 hours ago, Greg728 said:

I think my concern is my rod feels a lot more like a broomstick than what I was expecting.

When i first moved into baitcasters and used a MH All Star, it felt like a broomstick to me too. I soon realized that the lure weight I was using was too light for the rod. That being said 3/8 is not a small spinnerbait. 

[Greg728]

2 hours ago, garroyo130 said:

When i first moved into baitcasters and used a MH All Star, it felt like a broomstick to me too. I soon realized that the lure weight I was using was too light for the rod. That being said 3/8 is not a small spinnerbait. 

I thought about my spinnerbait being too small and bumping it up to 1/2 oz to see if that would make a difference. 

[J Francho]

3 minutes ago, Greg728 said:

I thought about my spinnerbait being too small and bumping it up to 1/2 oz to see if that would make a difference. 

1/2 oz. or better for MH gear.  An M power would suit a 3/8 oz. spinnerbait better.

[Bird]

Guess that depends on the rod.

 

I have meds with higher lure weight ratings than some of my MH rods.......prefer MH rods that start with 1/4 oz for various reasons. 

[dodgeguy]

11 hours ago, Greg728 said:

Thanks! I was originally thinking braid but I talked myself out of it when I saw the majority of people tell other BC newbies to start with mono until they get comfortable with the bc reel. Is it really that much worse with backlashes? And do you use a leader on your braid?

Braid is easier to remove a backlash.its gets less backlashes.

[J Francho]

I've terminally backlashed all types of line

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

44 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I've terminally backlashed all types of line

Being an experienced angler means more than catching, right??