Medium or Medium Heavy Fast Action Rod for 1st Baitcaster

[TexasBass1975]

Hello Everyone,

I recently purchased my first baitcasting reel, and I am now thinking about what power rod with which to pair it.  Right now, being that we are in winter/prespawn, I am throwing a lot of crankbaits (lipless, shallow diving), spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits on either a medium or medium heavy spinning rod.  I feel like I could put a medium fast action rod to use right away throwing these moving baits, whereas I may have to wait a while for the bass to move shallow before having to throw jigs and heavier texas rigs into cover with a medium heavy rod.

 

I realize that I could use my medium power spinning rod to throw the moving baits and finesse fish, and use the medium heavy baitcaster for texas rigs and jigs.  It just seems like a medium power baitcaster has more options than a medium heavy, and I really want to learn to use a baitcaster.  

 

What do you guys think?

 

Thanks!

[jbsoonerfan]

MH

[ATA]

if you only going to have one, it must be MH for all around. 

[MN Fisher]

Medium-Heavy/Fast is the most versatile rod for casting. While it won't do everything, it does several things very well, and a larger number adequately.

[Deephaven]

I would buy 3 MH before even contemplating the M in a BC.  It is what is in my hands by far the most often.

[Revival]

I can almost guarantee you that most people here will recommend a MH, but I prefer a medium.  It fits my style and also the places I fish.  I consistently fish from the bank and a lot of open water.  

 

Years ago when I only carried one rod, I tried  MH and ended up returning it.  Purchased a medium and was extremely happy with it.

 

I think it comes down to your style and the places you fish.

[Hammer 4]

Not all brands of MH/F are the same. Some will have softer tips, action will vary too. Buying online is guess work, unless you happen to have a shop that carries that brand, ect

I'd suggest reading as much on here as you re: rods within your price range.

[ironbjorn]

Sierra 734c is one of the most versatile rods on the planet.

 

[roadwarrior]

Well, eventually you will want both M and MH, but I think Medium might

be a better fit for you to start with.  Think in terms of the baits/ lures you

use the most.  Give us a pricing point so we can suggest specific rods. If

$200 is within your budget, the new  St. Croix Victory series will be launched

in two weeks.  We're pretty excited about this new entry in the market.

 

https://stcroixrods.com/pages/victory?utm_source=BassResource&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=banner&utm_campaign=VictoryLaunch

[TexasBass1975]

Thank you all for the feedback this far.  I'm a bank fisherman, so a three rod setup is the eventual goal (MHF baitcaster, Medium baitcaster, Med or ML spinning).  I'm just trying to decide what baitcaster setup to get first.  On a budget, too, so nothing too expensive.  Just good enough to learn on and have fun.

[Catt]

2 hours ago, TexasBass1975 said:

On a budget, too, so nothing too expensive.  Just good enough to learn on and have fun

 

Since you didn't fill out your profile completely one can only assume you actually live in Texas.

 

If you want quality rod-n-reels look at Academy's H2O or Lew's. Both have excellent choices below $100. Lew's has 7 combos $200 & less.

[Bakablo1]

My first bait caster was a MH/F.... I would recommend that route. It's just very versatile (especially if u already have a M spinning setup) 

[BrianMDTX]

I have a M/F and MH/F (both Daiwa Aird-X’s) and a H/F (Fenwick HMX). If I’m fishing standard plastics with single hooks, it’s with the MH (the HF is for bigger swimbaits). Pretty much anything with a treble hook is on the M. But if I only had one, it’d be the MH. 

[Dens228]

MH is the best all around as far as versatility.

When I got back heavy into bass fishing my first four rods were all MH since you can pretty much do anything with it.  

My first non MH was a H/Fast for all the slop I fish. 

[jimanchower]

The "correct" answer is MH. If you want to hedge your bets a little bit you might check out a Dobyns MH, which is a 3 power in their lineup. If you really want to focus on moving baits in the 1/2 - 3/4oz range you could look at something like a 705c crankbait rod. Works well for shallow cranking, whopper ploppers, and chatterbaits.

[frogflogger]

Medium will let you cast better and more accurately. I've built rods for almost 60yrs. and think folks starting out will learn to cast more accurately with a med. power. It will work for moving baits, top water, jerk baits, etc. The MH designation is all over the map depending on the maker. Start out with a med. get proficient then go on to the heavier actions.

 

[geo g]

It all depends on where and how your fishing.  I like MH because I’m casting and flipping to heavy cover with plastics most of the time.  I use Medium only when cranking open water.

[Ben77]

Definitely start off with a medium fast action. Then you could always pick up a medium heavy fast action. Those two rods are the most versatile.

[Deephaven]

16 hours ago, TexasBass1975 said:

...I am throwing a lot of crankbaits (lipless, shallow diving), spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits

....and throw jigs and heavier texas rigs into cover 

Spinnerbait 3/8 or 1/2oz + trailer

Chatterbait 3/8 or 1/2oz + trailer

Jigs 3/8 or 1/2oz + trailer

Texas Rig 3/8 and up including trailer

 

For all of those, MH is your weapon of choice.  I don't understand how M is even an option.

[MickD]

Look at the lure weight recommendations on the rods and get the one that best matches the lures you will use most of the time.  If the rod is too powerful for the lures you want to cast it will feel like a broomstick and will make casting without a backlash much harder.  I expect for your first you will be better served by a medium power.  

 

The lure weight recommendation is the most accurate indicator of the power of factory rods, and as a beginner, you want your best chance of success.  That will come by best matching the lure weight recommendation.  By matching the lure weight to the rod will make the rod load properly on the cast.

 

If in doubt, go lower rather than higher in the interest of better casting. 

[jmd13818]

I also purchased a new baitcaster recently and had the same question initially, M or MH Fast.  I went with the MH Fast and am glad I did.  From what I've heard from a lot of guys on here, as well as a lot of reading, the MH is the most versatile of the powers.  I wanted to be very versatile since I only plan on having one casting rod/reel for the near future.

 

I spooled mine with 30lb braid to a 12lb fluorocarbon leader, trying to maximize what I can do with it.  I would've used 12lb fluoro as the mainline, but went with the braid because I want to fish topwater and frogs (in light slop/cover without the fluoro leader).  I figure I can fish lot of the lures you mentioned with a setup like this, including treble hook lures as long as I am careful with the hookset.

 

Also, there are a lot of great videos on YouTube regarding the brake setups on the baitcaster.  Debo's Fishing Channel helped me out a lot with understanding the brakes.

 

Jay

[Big Hands]

Generally speaking, I can understand that a medium power casting rod may be easier to learn with (depending on what you might be using of course) because they will be more forgiving for new (entry level) users to get used to baitcasting reels. A rod like the 705CB might be even easier to learn to cast with, but if you're not throwing crankbaits, once the bait is in the water, a faster action is going to be better to fish with. Once you get dialed in, in most cases, a medium heavy is probably the most versatile. 

 

If I was going to try to build an effective three rod quiver, I think it would end up being a medium power fast action spinning rod, a medium power moderate action crankbait rod like the 705CB, and a medium heavy fast action baitcast rig. If you have specialized circumstances, that could vary. If it was a two rod quiver, I would eliminate the crankbait rod and use the spinning rod for most of that. Of course, the less rods in the quiver, the more compromises one must make in their expectations of how their gear performs with the wide variety of baits they may wish to use. An example of that would be that using a spinning rod to throw crankbaits will introduce a lot of line twist if you use it a lot for that.

 

So, if the OP (as he has stated) is throwing a lot of crankbaits, a medium power moderate action rod like the 705CB would be best to start with for his particular circumstances. Based on the information he has provided, I think that would be my recommendation, followed by a MHF casting rod, then go from there. I would try to get something like the Dobyns Fury 705CB over the Colt 705CB, you won't regret spending the extra $40.

 

JMHO.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

It depends a lot on the brand and model. A St Croix MH is pretty stout by comparison for example. The size of the baits, cover and fish size matter as well. 

[huZZah]

On 3/1/2021 at 10:39 PM, TexasBass1975 said:

jigs.  It just seems like a medium power baitcaster has more options than a medium heavy

Personally I really prefer my MH casting rods over my M. The M feels so squishy I have more trouble with accuracy.  But my other M is a spinning rod and it’s no problem. ?‍♂️  People saying all rods are different are right. I recommend playing around with them in the store. Even just pretending you’ll feel the difference in M and MH where they flex. 

Pretending to cast that is. 

[Sir Shamsalot]

Personally I recommend MH/MF (aka a spinnerbait rod) to people new to the sport. Specifically the old Berkley Lightning Shock Rod with the cork handles for $45 from Walmart. It does everything extremely well, but isn't specialized too much.. You can crankbait, spinnerbait, chatterbait, fish light jigs, Texas rigged worms with lighter hooks, but most importantly they can decide if baitcasters are right for them. As hard as it is to believe, some people just hate baitcasters though today's casters are not the line eating monsters of yesteryear.