Gear for mostly top water cranks and spinners

[E-H]

I spend a good bit of the summer fishing in a private mile long lake in the Adirondacks.  All smalleys in it.  They range from 7” to 3 lbs or slightly bigger. Boat fishing to shore.  Some weeds but not too many. 
 

Just picked up an avid x 6” 6’ ml/f rod and am going to get a vanford 2000 soon. 
 

Is this going to be a good setup for avg of 12” or so fish?   Been mostly fishing spinners 1/8 and rapala minnow.  Can get 100 in a good day. Lots of fun.  Want to use sensors some too and some deeper diving to 8ft rapala minnows. 
 

Previously using a 5’ 6” ultra light with syncopate 1000 but can’t get quite enough distance and the 3/4 lb fish  give a bit of trouble.

 

First time getting better gear.

 

Hoping it’s a big difference.

 

I can return the rod if it’s not a good choice.

[E-H]

"Senkos"

[jimmyjoe]

   I have the 7' Avid-X ML/F with a Shimano Stradic Ci4+ and 6 lb. Stren Original for line. It has pulled in some 29-32" pike and lots of LMB. Good rod.          jj

[E-H]

Thanks for the reply.   

 

I am wondering about the topwater fishing with that combo.  I researched forever and came up with the axid x at a little shorter length since I am used to the ultra-light and am pumped about the vanford 2000. 

 

Sounds like ml/f should do the trick for a 4lb smb, if you are pulling in pike with a similar setup.

 

When you are spending a bit of cash on the gear you want to get it right the first time.

 

You have instilled some confidence in my rod selection for this type of fishing.  Thanks!

[waymont]

A 6'6" ML St Croix is the perfect rod for what you want to throw with it.

You should buy some 1/8 and 1/4oz bitsy bug jigs, with a 2" curly tail grub on it. You will clean up!

[jbsoonerfan]

16 minutes ago, waymont said:

A 6'6" ML St Croix is the perfect rod for what you want to throw with it.

You should buy some 1/8 and 1/4oz bitsy bug jigs, with a 2" curly tail grub on it. You will clean up!

I agree, he might catch 200 a day.

[E-H]

?  I may have to give those things a try.   The most fun for me last trip was the original rapala minnow on the surface.  A couple twitches and BAM. Sometimes they hit it the second it hit the water.   Good times. 

 

Looking forward to trying different things and using my upgraded gear. 
 

Thanks for the advice!

[kayaking_kev]

My 1st year of fishing I used a $10 zebco 202 ML spincast combo on a skinny river full of smallies and would occasionally throw a rapala floating minnow and catch an occasionally 3 lb. smallie with it, so I'm sure that setup will do you good. It will handle a 4 lber with your drag set accordingly. I would consider using mono line, at least as a leader for it's stretch with those smallies, have fun.

[E-H]

Yep.  I use Trilene x smooth 6 lb mono. 

[Deleted account]

I would get one setup with braid/leader. 10 lb braid and mono leader to match the lure/presentation in addition to your straight mono one, and be done with it. That will cover just about anything you may want to throw. My first lure was a blue back #9 original rap that I found (and had to climb up) in a tree. Good memories. I'm toying with the idea of getting a vacation place up that way.

[michaelb]

It seems like a great set up for finesse but I am not the one to ask, since I don't have anything nearly that nice. But I do know the Adirondacks. For your lake, are we talking cold and crystal clear, and deep, with a rocky shoreline lined by downed trees? I am sure it is beautiful and the fishing sounds great. You are fishing the shoreline, which makes sense, and catching tons of fish. But I would think the larger smallies are hanging out on the deeper drops.

 

You mention senkos which is a great idea. This seems like a perfect situation to try wacky rigged senkos and let them drop. But there may be a practical limit to how deep you can fish that way (I find weightless senkos work to around 10-12 feet) and to go deeper than that, you may need to try something else, like a jig or drop shot. Your ML rig should be good for these techniques too, at least to me (if jigs worked, smart folks here are going to recommend upgrading to something MH next).

[E-H]

Lake has trees as cover on the edges and some small rock cliffs. It is true the bigger ones are down deep but the fun part is when they come up for the hatch at night.

 

Lake goes to 40 ft at the deepest spot.

 

 

As far as braid I don’t think I will go that direction because of the micro guides in the avid x.  Plus I am a simpleton. Lol. 

[E-H]

So with my st. croix avid x 6'6" ML/F I was pretty sold on the vanford 2000 but after researching many like the daiwa line too.   Heard a few negatives on the vanford, but who knows if that is from the competition...

 

I am really looking for a smooth casting combo that will be mostly good for topwater minnow, and some 8' crankbaits too and some 1/8 spinners.

 

So reel wise I want little line twists etc...I have a few cheaper smaller rod/reel combos 5'6' and 1000,  I really have to cast them hard to get the distance I want and have some issues with the line on those.

 

 

 

The daiwa tatula lt 2000 is the reel I was referring to above.

[E-H]

“8’ deep crank baits”

[jimmyjoe]

 

On 2/16/2021 at 10:50 AM, E-H said:

As far as braid I don’t think I will go that direction

 

   So it sounds like you'll be going with monofilament.

   The 2000 and the 2500 are the same price, but the 2500 offers more drag area and greater spool lip diameter. The drag area MAY come in handy with smallmouth, and the greater lip diameter helps with line management and line memory in regards to nylon line. Yes, there is a 1 oz. weight difference, but I (personally) think the advantages of the 2500 FAR outweigh the weight difference.

   Just my 1/50th of a dollar.                        jj

[WRB]

If the bass are aggressive try using single hook lures to reduce unhooking treble hook issues.

1/4 Inexpensive spinnerbait or buzzbait works good. 

1/8 oz to 3/16 oz shaky head jig/work and good to catch high numbers without treble hooks.

Tom

[E-H]

Thanks for all the suggestions.  Appreciate it.  I am still leaning toward the shimano vanford but I will consider the 2500 instead of the 2000.  It is still incredibly light - and would probably match well with the axid-x rod.

 

I typically only fish this one lake and the bass avg about 9-10 inches.  They have gone up in size throughout the years and the 3-4lbers are becoming more prevalent.

 

The bass can be aggressive but I usually only have issues with 1 or 2 out of several hundred on the treble hooks.  I was hitting them on the rapala original minnow late summer almost all day on the surface.  

 

I want more distance as they come up in the middle of the lake toward evening and start jumping at the hatch.  If I can cast an extra 50-100 feet with my new setup, I should be able to reach where they are on on the prowl.  It's so much fun as the bigger ones start scanning the surface. 

 

Is it Spring yet?  C'mon better weather....50 here in PA in 2 days...

 

 

[PhishLI]

2 hours ago, E-H said:

Thanks for all the suggestions.  Appreciate it.  I am still leaning toward the shimano vanford but I will consider the 2500 instead of the 2000.  It is still incredibly light - and would probably match well with the axid-x rod.

When I hear plastic mainline is a must my impulse is to recommend the Tatula LT3000-CXH. It's the shallow spool version, but it still holds plenty of line, and the large spool diameter is the difference maker. I've had no line management issues using line from 6lb fluoro to 8lb copoly. Casting distance, if I need it, is also great with the larger diameter spool. Plus it has an AR switch if that matters to you. It does to me. I swap mine between 6'6"M and 7'M Tatula rods depending on where I'm fishing. It's worth a hard look, especially if you've had line twist issues with smaller reels.

[Spankey]

16 hours ago, E-H said:

“8’ deep crank baits”

Running depth ?. All good we understand. 

[new2BC4bass]

The new 6'6" ML should give you more distance.  Maybe quite a bit.  However, if distance is what you are looking for, then you should look for a 7'3" thru 7'6" ML.  The longer rod will give you the best distance with everything else being equal.

 

Having said that, I've always preferred shorter spinning rods just because that is what I used growing up.  Now if I could just afford the 7'6" Daiwa that runs over $500 I might change my mind. 

[E-H]

20 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

The new 6'6" ML should give you more distance.  Maybe quite a bit.  However, if distance is what you are looking for, then you should look for a 7'3" thru 7'6" ML.  The longer rod will give you the best distance with everything else being equal.

 

Having said that, I've always preferred shorter spinning rods just because that is what I used growing up.  Now if I could just afford the 7'6" Daiwa that runs over $500 I might change my mind. 

The St. Croix Avid X just arrived today!  So light and seems like a good length for me (on the shorter side of height).   I am in a 15 ft modded jon boat with a casting deck so there is some room, but didn't want it to push it on the length with 2 people in the boat. 

 

Plus I am used to the 5' 6" rods, so this is a good transition.  The upgraded vanford reel should help quite a bit too - with a 2000 or 2500 instead of the 1000 medium/lower quality reels I had been using.

[new2BC4bass]

  Great.  Should skip like a champ...if the snow has blown off the ice. 

 

I am usually fishing 7' rods with my brother-in-law in a 14' dinghy (in Florida).  Two years ago I shipped an OG Tatula 7'4" HF down for use as a frog rod.  A 5' rod would be too long if I had to cast it pointed towards his end of the boat. 

[E-H]

11 hours ago, PhishLI said:

When I hear plastic mainline is a must my impulse is to recommend the Tatula LT3000-CXH. It's the shallow spool version, but it still holds plenty of line, and the large spool diameter is the difference maker. I've had no line management issues using line from 6lb fluoro to 8lb copoly. Casting distance, if I need it, is also great with the larger diameter spool. Plus it has an AR switch if that matters to you. It does to me. I swap mine between 6'6"M and 7'M Tatula rods depending on where I'm fishing. It's worth a hard look, especially if you've had line twist issues with smaller reels.

I am keeping my line to 6lb mono so it might be a little overkill for me as most of the fish or about a foot.  But the 2500 could be pretty sweet with the ml/f 6' 6" avid x.

I see the 2500 is rated starting at 8lb though too like the 3000.

[PhishLI]

53 minutes ago, E-H said:

I see the 2500 is rated starting at 8lb though too like the 3000.

That line rating starting at 8lb is meaningless. Some guys use 4000 size reels to further reduce management problems with plastic mainline. I'd use 2lb mono on my 3000 without a second thought and reap the benefits of the larger diameter spool.

[E-H]

3 minutes ago, PhishLI said:

That line rating starting at 8lb is meaningless. Some guys use 4000 size reels to further reduce management problems with plastic mainline. I'd use 2lb mono on my 3000 without a second thought and reap the benefits of the larger diameter spool.

Ok.   Good to know.  Thanks.  The reels or so light these days, I guess it really doesn't matter.  I just wanted to make sure I have a balanced rod/reel combo.

 

Thanks again!