I have a St. Croix Mojo Bass Spinning Rod 7' 1" Med Hvy; I'm a newb concerned about my rigging.

[Rolf Marsh]

I'm a newb to bass fishing; that said, I like St. Croix rods, I don't expect to enter any contests, just doing it for fun.  I have been reading this forum and notice that most members use braided line like Sufix 832.

 

My rod has suggestions for line weight, etc... of 8-14#.  I put on Sufix 832 15# with FC leader using Segar 12# Blue Label
 

I put on 15# low-vis for Finesse fishing with Wacky Rigs, Chatterbaits w/ Yamamoto Zako swimbaits, etc., all still water fishing, (too old for rivers).

 

MY QUESTION IS: is there a better way for me to rig this for what I want to do?

[papajoe222]

Sounds good to me.  You don't want to go much lighter with the leader for bladed jigs, though you could go lighter for wacky rigs. I'm not a big fan of braid to fluoro leader, so mine may not be the most reliable answer.

[MN Fisher]

Like Papa said - you should be fine with that.

 

Realize that the line suggestion is just that...a suggestion. You can go heavier, and when using braid, a lot of us do.

I've got braid on two of my spinning rigs - 20# 832 on one that's 'suggested' 6#-15# and 20# Smackdown on the other that's 'suggested' as 4#-10#

 

I wouldn't use the leader for chatterbaits....nor spinnerbaits, but yes with wacky, shaky, finesse jigs, etc.

[Rolf Marsh]

Thank you both for the suggestions;  coming from fly fishing, I have never NOT used a leader, so this is going to be very interesting... the fact that Sufix 832 sinks very slowly might be a problem when not using a leader with chatterbaits... With two spools I could use the same reel and rod and switch when needed.  Now, I just have to find a place that sells spools, which I don't is going to be a problem.

[Rolf Marsh]

Found spare spool on eBay... I'm set for next season...

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[MN Fisher]

11 minutes ago, Rolf Marsh said:

Now, I just have to find a place that sells spools, which I don't is going to be a problem.

Mikes has a good selection - can search for it by part number or reel model

https://www.mikesreelrepair.com/

[Friggs]

Even though you got your answers, I thought I would share my two spinning setups. I have a St Croix Mojo Bass 6' 8" medium XF spinning rod. I originally bought it for fishing Ned rigs. But it doesn't do to well with them. St Croix call it their Wacky Stick. And that is what I use it for. Basically it is my Senko rod. For Wacky Rigs. Weightless Texas Rigs. And weighted Texas Rigs. I don't use a lot of weight with my weighted rigs due to the waters I fish I don't need them to be heavy. So it works great. I have my spinning reel, Daiwa Legalis 2500 setup with Suffix 832 15 braid and run Seaguar fluorocarbon leaders. Anywhere from 8-12 pounds depending on where I am fishing.

 

Since it didn't do the job for my Ned Rigs and lighter stuff I got a St Croix Triumph 7' ML Fast. It does great for my Ned Rigs, Mepp's spinners, and Rapala original floaters that are pretty light. I have a Daiwa Regal 2000 setup with Daiwa J Braid in 10 pound. I normally run 8 pound Seaguar flouro leader. But sometimes go down to 6 pound. It works great for what I use it for.

 

I love both of these setups. Work very well for the tasks I use them for.

 

I wish you much success in you future fishing., Tight lines.

 

Bill

[Rolf Marsh]

Friggs:  thanks for the post...  all 5 of my rods are St. Croix,  along with Diawa reels, loaded with Sufix 832 lines....  I'm still very much a novice bass fisherman, so I'm really looking forward to this coming Spring to be able to practice Finesse fishing on the still waters.  Washington State has many fishable lakes in my area, going to try most of them next season.

 

 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Thats pretty much perfect.  15# 832 is a strong line and casts noticeably better then 20#.  Most PE lines float.  The drawback to suffix is its water absorption.   

[Darth-Baiter]

i'm close.  i use 20 suffix, and my performance hasnt suffered because of my line.  i tell my line, "its not you, its me..."  all the time.

 

i used 10lb flouro leader.  mostly dropshotting.  

[WRB]

22 hours ago, Rolf Marsh said:

Friggs:  thanks for the post...  all 5 of my rods are St. Croix,  along with Diawa reels, loaded with Sufix 832 lines....  I'm still very much a novice bass fisherman, so I'm really looking forward to this coming Spring to be able to practice Finesse fishing on the still waters.  Washington State has many fishable lakes in my area, going to try most of them next season.

 

 

Thought you had 1 SC Mojo MH rod and 2 spools for 1 reels.

What are the other 4 SC rods?

MH spinning rod may be too stiff for finesse bass fishing imo, especially using braid.

Tom