Shimano Rods

[jejenkyns]

Heyo!

 

Just looking for some suggestions on rods. I'm looking for something to do mostly jerkbaiting/topwaters but wouldn't mind if it could throw some lighter stuff like weightless flukes and senkos, possibly even ned's and light jigs.

 

I'm actually thinking about the new Curado rods, which I realize people won't have experience with, but the guys at TacticalBassin have stated before that the tapers are similar throughout the lines.

 

So, here is my question:

 

Do anyone have both the 6'10 med/lit+ and 6'10 MF in either the zodias or expride lines? How do the tapers differ and which would be more suitable to what I'm looking for?

 

Thanks!

 

 

casting rods btw.

[padon]

i have the 610 medium expride. great jerkbait rod. also use it for shallow cranks when im target casting.very good for lighter topwaters and even small light worms like a 1/8 trick worm. i like spinning for flukes and senkos. but if you want to texas rig them i wouldnt go lighter than the medium.

[Smalls]

1 hour ago, jejenkyns said:

jerkbaiting/topwaters but wouldn't mind if it could throw some lighter stuff like weightless flukes and senkos, possibly even ned's and light jigs.

That's at least 3 separate rods. 

[jejenkyns]

please explain. I wouldn't have posted here if I wasn't hoping you'd share your wisdom.... you haven't provided any thus far.

[CrashVector]

20 minutes ago, jejenkyns said:

please explain. I wouldn't have posted here if I wasn't hoping you'd share your wisdom.... you haven't provided any thus far.

 

Some people believe you need a different kind of specialized rod for every different kind of lure in your tackle box.

 

I use the same rod for swimbaits, jerkbaits, jigs, and even Texas rigged soft plastics with no problems.

 

Not saying it's the case here, but in every group/forum/etc there are going to be people on the far ends of the bell curve...the ones who think you need a $500 rod for 1/4oz spinner baits and a different $500 rod for 3/8oz spinner baits.

 

I have 15 or 16 rod and reel combos and already think it's too many being as I only actually use maybe 3 or 4 of em regularly.  Others will bring 20 with them when they go on a weekend warrior Saturday afternoon fishing trip.

 

People try too hard to emulate the pros in my opinion...gear snobs mostly.  Anything other than a $300+ st croix is garbage in their opinion...and you need at LEAST six of em.

 

You do NOT need three different rods for what you described.  Just get a medium/fast rod and you can do everything you listed with no problem.

 

[jbsoonerfan]

I'm pretty versed in Shimano rods. IMO, I would throw jerkbaits on a M and lighter stuff like neds and weightless flukes on a ML. However, if you wanted a one rod to do it all, I would go with a M as I think they can handle lighter weights pretty well. 

 

BTW, I have owned the Expride 6'6 M, Expride 6'10 M, Zodias 6'10 ML and the Intenza 6'9 M, as well as a Crucial 7' M 

 

I should have mentioned those were all casting rods. You didn't mention what you were looking at. In spinning rods I have owned the 6'8 ML Zodias, 7' M Crucial and 7' M Zodias. The 6'8 Zodias was awesome for 1/8 oz and the Crucial was awesome at 3/16

[Smalls]

22 minutes ago, jejenkyns said:

please explain. I wouldn't have posted here if I wasn't hoping you'd share your wisdom.... you haven't provided any thus far.

You're asking a single rod to do too many things, and be good at them all.

 

Some people can be snide about it all they want, different rods have different characteristics that make them excel at certain things.

 

I don't believe you need a $500 rod for every technique or situation, but I think you'd be better off with 2-3 $100 rods than you would be trying to make a single $200+ rod work for 3 completely different applications. 

[jbsoonerfan]

1 minute ago, Smalls said:

You're asking a single rod to do too many things, and be good at them all.

 

Some people can be snide about it all they want, different rods have different characteristics that make them excel at certain things.

 

I don't believe you need a $500 rod for every technique or situation, but I think you'd be better off with 2-3 $100 rods than you would be trying to make a single $200+ rod work for 3 completely different applications. 

As someone who carried up to 24 combos on my boat, I agree, you can get very specific. Is it necessary, not at all. I could probably find 5 combos and do everything I could possibly ever want to do. 

[CrashVector]

5 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

As someone who carried up to 24 combos on my boat, I agree, you can get very specific. Is it necessary, not at all. I could probably find 5 combos and do everything I could possibly ever want to do. 

 

Likewise.  As I said, I feel I have too many as it is, and have been considering selling some or giving them away because it's overkill.

 

Getting super-specific with rods/combos isn't necessary.  We are talking about a fish here...something with an IQ of like 4.

 

People make fishing WAY more complicated and expensive than it needs to be in my opinion.  It's a FISH.

 

My bass fishing workhorse is a 7' Abu Garcia veritas rod in h/f.

 

I use that rod for chatterbaits, Texas rigged powerbait pit bosses, a-rigs, and frogs.  It does them all very well, and there's no way you'd convince me I'd catch more fish if I had a different rod for each lure.

[jbsoonerfan]

2 minutes ago, CrashVector said:

 

Likewise.  As I said, I feel I have too many as it is, and have been considering selling some or giving them away because it's overkill.

 

Getting super-specific with rods/combos isn't necessary.  We are talking about a fish here...something with an IQ of like 4.

 

People make fishing WAY more complicated and expensive than it needs to be in my opinion.  It's a FISH.

It's like everything else in this world. We choose to make things more difficult than they need to be. I was an avid bowhunter and bought a new bow and accessories every year from 2006 - 2014. Nothing really changed with the technology and my hunting abilities certainly didn't change, but I had to have the latest and greatest. Been using the same bow since 2014, still does the job.

[Smalls]

6 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

As someone who carried up to 24 combos on my boat, I agree, you can get very specific. Is it necessary, not at all. I could probably find 5 combos and do everything I could possibly ever want to do. 

I'm a big gear nut. But I'm also a big believer in the law of diminishing returns.

Is a $500 rod better than my $150 rods? Absolutely. Is it $350 better? Eh, not to me.

 

Is my $140 reel better than that $30 Walmart reel? Yeah, and it'll last a good 10 years of service, and has a great warranty. The extra expense is worth the quality, without spending more than I should for features I don't need. 

[CrashVector]

2 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

It's like everything else in this world. We choose to make things more difficult than they need to be. I was an avid bowhunter and bought a new bow and accessories every year from 2006 - 2014. Nothing really changed with the technology and my hunting abilities certainly didn't change, but I had to have the latest and greatest. Been using the same bow since 2014, still does the job.

 

Well, I'm determined that today's purchases from TW will be my last rod and reel purchases for quite a while.

 

I got two new Abu Garcia Veritas PLX tournament edition rods (one casting, one spinning), and an Abu Garcia Revo SX reel.

 

That's enough combos for me for a few years.

[jimmyjoe]

   The biggest question that you're going to have to answer (and unfortunately, only you can) is one of sensitivity or feel. Some people use slack-line for Neds and Senkos, and watch the line. No real sensitivity needed. But some people use semi-slack techniques, and use touch far more than sight. For those people, going from a Ned to a Senko might (or might not) call for a different rod. And if you're talking about hard jerkbaits and not soft jerkbaits, then the rod for topwater-and-jerkbaits might be different .... I would use a little heavier power with a somewhat softer tip.

   BTW - I use MH/F or MH/MF for hard jerkbaits, and a M/MF for soft ones. I don't use a casting setup for Neds or Senkos, but that's just me. My choices are made to 1) get some distance and accuracy. I figure why use it if you can't put it where it needs to go, and 2) set the hook. I don't believe in playing the fish; I had enough of that for 10 years. Hook'em and haul'em.  ?   jj

  

[CrashVector]

2 minutes ago, Smalls said:

I'm a big gear nut. But I'm also a big believer in the law of diminishing returns.

Is a $500 rod better than my $150 rods? Absolutely. Is it $350 better? Eh, not to me.

 

Is my $140 reel better than that $30 Walmart reel? Yeah, and it'll last a good 10 years of service, and has a great warranty. The extra expense is worth the quality, without spending more than I should for features I don't need. 

 THIS we agree on 100%

 

I want the most sensitive rod I can get for under $300.  So far, I've not paid more than $180, and have no need to.

[jbsoonerfan]

I can tell you this. I probably have over $8,000 worth of rods/reels in my boat right now. None of them have made me a dollar in my life. However. our living room TV went out yesterday and we had to buy a new one and $800 was tough to come by at this time of year. I really should have got my priorities straight before spending what I did.

[Smalls]

27 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

I can tell you this. I probably have over $8,000 worth of rods/reels in my boat right now. None of them have made me a dollar in my life. However. our living room TV went out yesterday and we had to buy a new one and $800 was tough to come by at this time of year. I really should have got my priorities straight before spending what I did.

See, if my living room TV broke, I wouldn't even know for at least a week. If one of my rods went missing, I'd  notice that before the day ended.

 

It's a hobby, and all of it's expenses are equal to whatever level of interest you have in it. 

[JustJames]

You can use one rod for everything you listed, Yes but use it effectively, I doubt it.
Using too soft rod for jig and you would overloaded the rod tip and might not feel subtle bites. Using too stiff rod and your fluke or jerkbait might become pulling instead of jerking into natural action. And both rod might not be able to cast 1/16 Ned rig very well. When ppl talking about Ned they might think of 1/4-1/10oz head but to me Ned is strictly 1/16oz. 
The rod that I might actually used for most everything you listed except jig is Shimano Crucial Gen2 1/8-3/8oz. I have Zodias ML 6’10 as replacement, the rod is excel for fluke/Senko or jerkbait but too stiff for Ned and too soft for 1/4oz jig. Crucial M gen 3 might be okay for jig, topwater and Senko but not as good as jerkbait rod and definitely not for Ned. 

To me

Jig i always use one rod.

Fluke/jerkbait another rod

Senko and top water I don’t care as long as I can cast the lure well enough.

 

BTW the new Curado series might be able to compare to old Zodias. I would get ML if you are really into jerkbait and Fluke. M if you will throw more of 1/4oz jig Senko and topwater. None of these for Ned unless you are talking heavier than 1/16oz.

[Captain Phil]

Bass fishermen love buying stuff.  We all have a garage full of baits, rods, reels and stuff that we used at one time and never used again. Do you "need" $8,000 worth of tackle to catch bass?  No, but I'll bet someone who does got enjoyment out of every purchase.  You need two basic casting rods, one heavy for worm fishing and one with a little more flex for spinnerbaits and plugs.  6'-7' in length is about right for me.  I like a shorter rod for topwater and fluke fishing so I can work the bait better.  I also carry a 7 1/2'  Bass Pro collapsible flipping rod.  I own one spinning rod. It's a 6 1/2' graphite rod with a strong backbone that flexes about 1/3 from the top.  I believe everyone should eventually own one high quality fishing rod.  Shimano makes the best bass fishing rods in the world.  Zodias rods are a work of art. 

[Catt]

12 hours ago, jejenkyns said:

I'm actually thinking about the new Curado rods, which I realize people won't have experience with,

 

While I don't have experience with either the Zodias or the Expride.

 

I did a tackle review for another website of the Curado. At the time I was looking to replace a Crucial. The rod I reviewed was the full cork handle, not the EVA handle shown on Tackle Warehouse. 

 

The rod tested was a 6'10" Medium Heavy Fast, it preformed very well in every category but it wasn't a Crucial.

 

What I did replace the Crucial with was a Diawia Tatula TTU711MHXB, 7'1" Medium Heavy X-Fast. It has all the traits of a Crucial & an extremely overlooked line of rods. 

[WRB]

17 hours ago, jejenkyns said:

Heyo!

 

Just looking for some suggestions on rods. I'm looking for something to do mostly jerkbaiting/topwaters but wouldn't mind if it could throw some lighter stuff like weightless flukes and senkos, possibly even ned's and light jigs.

 

I'm actually thinking about the new Curado rods, which I realize people won't have experience with, but the guys at TacticalBassin have stated before that the tapers are similar throughout the lines.

 

So, here is my question:

 

Do anyone have both the 6'10 med/lit+ and 6'10 MF in either the zodias or expride lines? How do the tapers differ and which would be more suitable to what I'm looking for?

 

Thanks!

 

 

casting rods btw.

What you are looking is baitcasting finesse system BFS if you desire light weight lure casting using casting rods. The reels are your main focus the rods are specialty items a hybrid between spinning and casting rod blanks for lures 1/16 to 5/16 oz rating action between Moderate+ to Fast.

Loomis Popping rod PR844C is close or look at BFS rods.

Tom

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Definitely don't need 3 rods. A 6'10 M will do JB/topwater, weightless and light jigs really well.  

[QED]

I like the Shimano Poison Adrena series due to the carbon monocoque handle and the exceptionally light weight.  Although the PA series is the top of the US line, they have a couple of even higher end series in the JDM market, though those have cork handles.  To get a decent selection of PA casting rods, one might have to purchase them from one of the JDM vendors.  One of their BFS, ML, or M action rods could suit your purposes though it would likely have some compromises at one extreme of your cited use cases.

[Dumbbassanglr]

Yeah you’ll be fine with the 6’10” m Shimano or a loomis 842 mbr would probably be even better.

[zpelletier]

On 11/25/2021 at 11:49 PM, CrashVector said:

 

Likewise.  As I said, I feel I have too many as it is, and have been considering selling some or giving them away because it's overkill.

If you want to give some away I’m happy to volunteer haha 

 

I agree that you don’t NEED a bunch of different rods for each technique, but if you want to have a rod for each go for it. There’s no denying that certain types of rods are better suited for certain techniques. I have one casting rod (because I’m newer) and I do everything with it, but I know that there’s other rods that would be better suited for some of the techniques I prefer. 

[CrashVector]

3 hours ago, zpelletier said:

If you want to give some away I’m happy to volunteer haha 

 

I agree that you don’t NEED a bunch of different rods for each technique, but if you want to have a rod for each go for it. There’s no denying that certain types of rods are better suited for certain techniques. I have one casting rod (because I’m newer) and I do everything with it, but I know that there’s other rods that would be better suited for some of the techniques I prefer. 

 

For casting rods, I have H/F and M/F.  You can literally do ANY kind of bass fishing with just those two, and do it very well.

 

Zero need for H/MF, H/M, M/MF, or M/M unless you wanna be a hipster about it.