Can I please get help with my spinning setup?

[Andy95]

I have a St. Croix Triumph 6'6" medium power fast action rod. It is 2 pieces. Model # TRS66MF2. Lure 1/4 - 5/8oz. The reel is a Shimano Nasci C3000HG. I don't know much of anything about fishing and went ahead and spooled it with 12lb seaguar fluorocarbon invizx. I'm not sure if that was a horrible idea but from what I read online it seems to be. So should I remove this line and get some type of braid and use the 12lb fluorocarbon as a leader or start over with 10-20lb braid and 8lb fluoro?

 

I plan on sticking to texas & wacky rigged 5 inch senkos and 3/16oz drop shot rigs with 4 1/2 inch robo worms for a while until i become more expierenced. I'm honestly not even sure if my rod and reel are appropriate for that task. This is just what I bought. There was just so much options at the store and online I got kinda overwhelmed with it all. 

 

I'm in Arizona and I wanted to fish for Largemouth. Any advice is appreciated thanks.

 

 

 

 

[optimator]

I'd fish it and see if you like it. If so, great. If not, change it up. 

[Pandemic326]

Your setup is absolutely fine for what you want to do. Personally i prefer one piece rods but grew up only using two piece. The 12lb Fluoro is fine. I personally wouldn’t go heavier than that. If you find your boy casting as far as you want you could drop down to 10lb or 8lb line. I wouldn’t go lighter than 8. Flouro is nearly invisible and sinks so Texas rigs and drop shots are perfect. For a first setup a medium fast action rod is a great all around rod. Very versatile for different weights and techniques. St Croix makes great stuff. I have a mojo bass rod and love it. 6’ 6” is a great size for accuracy over distance. Shimano is like the Cadillac of fishing reels so no worries there. Your first starter setup is way above my first $35 combo from Walmart. Have fun with the setup and experiment with different techniques and lures. Then you’ll be sucked in like the rest of us and have 20 setups just because. Good fishing!

[JustJames]

If you have other use for FC and you have the way to get the line out on to other spool with out twisted then go ahead, take it out. 
12lb Invizx is about the same as #8 Copolymer, you might be okay for awhile since you have 3000 size spool. After the line started give you trouble then use that as expensive backing line. Now remember you would need almost 2/3 of backing if you using 10-15lb braid.

[mrpao]

U can also use a line conditioner like the KVD conditioner.

It will soften the line up some.

Personally I don't like going above 8 or 10 pound test on my spinning reels when it comes to fluro or mono. There's just too much memory.

[Andy95]

Thanks guys for the help. I'm glad y'all seem to think I'll be alright at least for a while. I just wanted to make sure the line or equipment matched okay enough to at least begin. Should the line give me problems I'll switch it out to braid and leaders. I'll definitely order some of the conditioner and spray it on. Thanks for the advice again guys. Helps a ton.

[islandbass]

I don’t know about 12# fc on a spinning reel even if it is invisx, but there is only one way to find out. Good luck and report back with the results of using 12# fc. 

[Vilas15]

If you have some issues drop down to 8 lb mono or fluoro and it should be much better. You can use braid too but don't feel like its the only option.

[Andy95]

  On 7/8/2020 at 1:31 AM, Vilas15 said:

If you have some issues drop down to 8 lb mono or fluoro and it should be much better. You can use braid too but don't feel like its the only option.

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Yes, I would prefer to just use one type of line because the various knots and all seem kinda difficult to me since I'm just starting. I'd likely go to 8lb fluoro or mono before I made a complete switch to braid and leaders. I just came in with the mindset of heavy line means good. 

[Vilas15]

  On 7/8/2020 at 1:40 AM, Andy95 said:

Yes, I would prefer to just use one type of line because the various knots and all seem kinda difficult to me since I'm just starting. I'd likely go to 8lb fluoro or mono before I made a complete switch to braid and leaders. I just came in with the mindset of heavy line means good. 

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Its a balancing act. Heavier line means less likely to break off, better abrasion resistance but the trade off is less casting distance, less manageability (more line twist).

[plawren53202]

Maybe I'm in the minority but I hated fluoro on my spinning setups. In particular I put 12# fluoro on my M/F Dobyns Fury and Shimano Sahara size 2500 reel, and I couldn't get it back off of there fast enough. The fluoro seemed like it always wanted to just spring off the reel no matter how much I soaked it in KVD line conditioner.

 

I went from that to Sufix 832 braid (20#) with a Sufix Advance 8 lb. leader and I couldn't be happier. OP, I would suggest going with a Sufix Advance or other copolymer leader especially if you are new to fishing. Copolymer to me is the best of both worlds, soft and forgiving like mono but much less stretch and better sensitivity. In particular if you are new to fishing, copolymer is going to be much more forgiving for knots. Even as someone who has been fishing for years, I am admittedly not the most careful knot tyer and when I use fluoro I have knots breaking all the time, I'm sure from my poor knot habits.

[islandbass]

  On 7/8/2020 at 3:47 AM, plawren53202 said:

Maybe I'm in the minority but I hated fluoro on my spinning setups. In particular I put 12# fluoro on my M/F Dobyns Fury and Shimano Sahara size 2500 reel, and I couldn't get it back off of there fast enough. The fluoro seemed like it always wanted to just spring off the reel no matter how much I soaked it in KVD line conditioner.

 

I went from that to Sufix 832 braid (20#) with a Sufix Advance 8 lb. leader and I couldn't be happier. OP, I would suggest going with a Sufix Advance or other copolymer leader especially if you are new to fishing. Copolymer to me is the best of both worlds, soft and forgiving like mono but much less stretch and better sensitivity. In particular if you are new to fishing, copolymer is going to be much more forgiving for knots. Even as someone who has been fishing for years, I am admittedly not the most careful knot tyer and when I use fluoro I have knots breaking all the time, I'm sure from my poor knot habits.

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That is a natural trait for fc on bass sized reels and wirey the fc, the more it is likely to do what you described. 
 

The highest I’d personally go is 8# and it has to be a more supple fc like invisx. 
 

Things might have changed in fc formulation such that what you and I experienced may no longer be true. It is why I recommended to the OP to try what he has and share his findings with the group.  But if I were a gambler, I’d bet ... lol. 

[jimmyjoe]

  On 7/8/2020 at 3:47 AM, plawren53202 said:

Maybe I'm in the minority but I hated fluoro on my spinning setups.

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   You are not in the minority!         jj

[MN Fisher]

  On 7/8/2020 at 3:47 AM, plawren53202 said:

Maybe I'm in the minority but I hated fluoro on my spinning setups.

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  On 7/8/2020 at 2:28 PM, jimmyjoe said:

 

   You are not in the minority!         jj

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I just hate FC all around. I compromise by using Yo-Zuri Hybrid - 4# on my Pres-20 UL rig, 10# on my Trion-35 MH/M spinning crank rig. KVD on any rig that doesn't have braid.

[Fishingmickey]

Plawren is spot on. Heavier Fluoro ( 10# or over) on spinning reels sucks for me too. I had a lot of line slap ( lines slaps against the rod between the reel and first guide) and it likes to keep coming off of the reel after the lure hits the water. Yes, you can hand feather it and prevent this from happening then hand close the bail.  Going with a coploy or mono would be better IMHO. Braid with leader means you need to get good with your knot tying and it provides another possible failure point. You have a excellent spinning combo BTW. Yozuri hybrid tests way above it's rated test. Not sure about Sufix Advance. Sufix has great reviews. Berkley XL or Big game is a good cheap mono. 

Good luck!

FM

[Pogues2300]

I tried straight fluoro on spinning once. Then after it started jumping off the spool i switched to 10lb suffix 832 to a fluoro leader and haven't looked back. 

[WRB]

Everything is OK with the selection rod/reel/line except the lb test/ diameter of the line.

.008 to .010 dia is ideal, .011 is pushing it regarding memory and management using a spinning reel. 

I would wind the line back on the filler spool by hand leaving about 1/3-1/2 on the reel spool. If you like InvizX use 8 lb test. Join the 12 to 8 lb using a blood knot.

Use line conditioner on FC line.

Tom

PS, save the 1/2 spools,  12 lbs for leader and new 8 lb for replacement line.

[Andy95]

I was able to get out today and use my stuff for the first time. I stayed for about 5 hours and got two obvious bites. The first was a largemouth it was about 9ft away from me and managed to shake loose and the second bite I was to slow on the reaction and missed. This was on the 4 1/2 morning dawn roboworm and 3/16oz drop shot rig. I didn't get any reaction with the senkos today. Even though I didn't catch anything it was a lot of fun.

 

Now the line.... it was slapping a few times against the rod and first line loop. My casts varied from 18 to 25ish yards. I wasn't using an real strength to cast mainly my wrist. If I didn't close the bail as soon as I hit the water some line would come off and sometimes tangle around the reel. 

[JustJames]

  On 7/9/2020 at 12:49 AM, Andy95 said:

Now the line.... it was slapping a few times against the rod and first line loop. My casts varied from 18 to 25ish yards. I wasn't using an real strength to cast mainly my wrist. If I didn't close the bail as soon as I hit the water some line would come off and sometimes tangle around the reel. 

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That is pretty normal for new line especially with FC since line still have memory of being in bigger spool. Every once awhile I would cast as far as possible and start reel in slowly with finger pressure. Let the lure hang about 4-5 feet to spin the twisted out.

Hey at least you get a bite or you know you get a bite lol. I don’t normally use FC with spinning reel, all of mine have braid to leader. Just keep using the line until it beyond fixable and turn that into backing line.

As a side note, drop shot can create line twisted like no tomorrow once you start reel in fast. You might consider using swivel to help with that.

[Fishin' Fool]

I fought learning line to line connections for the longest time but if i were you I'd use cheap mono or co-poly backing, tied to 12 to 16 pound braid tied to a 7 to 8 foot fluorocarbon leader.