Rods and reels for swimbaits

[Nanunanu]

I'm going to try swimbaits for the first time and really have no clue what type of rod and reel I would want. These are all soft plastics. Mostly Savage lures. The lb and RTF bluegills and lb and RTF bait fish. I want to stay between the $100 to $200 price range for the rod. Reel somewhere around the 100-150.

 

One rod would be for 1/2 - 1 1/4 oz. Some will have an exposed hook and some will be weedless with an underbelly hook. So if I needed two rods here please let me know. 

 

The other rod would be for a heavier soft plastic 3 - 3 1/2 oz. Exposed & weedless versions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Buyer beware. I have come across so many rods on tackle Warehouse that the details are not even close. One of the Dobbins rods I forget which one says from a 1/2 oz to 2 oz. It's actually 1 oz to 5 oz I think. They're even off on the tip and power on a lot of the rods.

 

 

[bigspirit]

I would imagine a jig rod would be fine for the smaller things you mentioned. For the larger baits with single hooks I’ve heard many good things about the daiwa dx and they’re around $100. 

[softwateronly]

2 minutes ago, bigspirit said:

I would imagine a jig rod would be fine for the smaller things you mentioned. For the larger baits with single hooks I’ve heard many good things about the daiwa dx and they’re around $100. 

Agree ^

 

One thing I noticed about specific swimbait rods is they tend to overrate their ability to throw and set  the high end.  If you want to throw 3-4oz single hook, I'd look into rods that top out around 5-6oz.  Dobyns, Irod, Okuma, and Diawa DX get a lot of love on this site for what you're looking for at that price point.

 

scott

[WRB]

First you don’t need a specific swimbait rod-reel for smaller swimbaits 1/2-1 1/2 oz. your standard HF bass rod-reel works.

For swimbaits 2-4 oz top hook or treble you can get by nicely using a 7’9” Irod IRG794SB.

I prefer 300 size round reels with 5.8 ratio that holds enough line to make long casts without impacting the IPT.

A good choice in your price point is Shimano Cardiff 300 or 301A. Line 25 lb Armillo, 165 yd spool fills this reel.

Tom

[bigspirit]

5 hours ago, WRB said:

First you don’t need a specific swimbait rod-reel for smaller swimbaits 1/2-1 1/2 oz. your standard HF bass rod-reel works.

For swimbaits 2-4 oz top hook or treble you can get by nicely using a 7’9” Irod IRG794SB.

I prefer 300 size round reels with 5.8 ratio that holds enough line to make long casts without impacting the IPT.

A good choice in your price point is Shimano Cardiff 300 or 301A. Line 25 lb Armillo, 165 yd spool fills this reel.

Tom

Tom, how is the stretch on that Armillo? 

[Nanunanu]

Okay thanks everyone. I'll look into these rods

[lunkerboss923]

Dobyns 735C is a great rod for an S-Waver 120. 

[WRB]

1 hour ago, bigspirit said:

Tom, how is the stretch on that Armillo? 

Stretch....25 lb will take 8 lbs of force to begin to stretch it or all the force a Swimbait rod can apply. 

Armillo is excellent casting line with high knot strength and small diameter; 25 lb is .016D.

Tom

[Mike L]

Check out the Phenix X Series of rods. 
They’re on the high end of your limit 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[bigspirit]

On 3/18/2022 at 10:46 PM, WRB said:

Stretch....25 lb will take 8 lbs of force to begin to stretch it or all the force a Swimbait rod can apply. 

Armillo is excellent casting line with high knot strength and small diameter; 25 lb is .016D.

Tom

One more question, this stuff looks very dark in color. Almost gray/black? Is it not just clear?

[WRB]

Light grey amber on the spool clear in the water.

Tom

[bigspirit]

9 hours ago, WRB said:

Light grey amber on the spool clear in the water.

Tom

Great. Placing an order and going to pull the trigger on a spool of 25lb. Looking forward to giving it a go from all your recommendations