Need help with rod selection!

[jmerch87]

Hi guys,

I fish for medium sized largemouth in a friend’s farm pond from the banks. I mainly use minnows under a bobber or Texas rigged 5” weightless senkos if I don’t have minnows.

Currently, I use a basic 6’0” M Ugly Stick with a 2500 Daiwa Fuego reel and 10# yozuri hybrid line.

This setup works really well for the most part but I’m having trouble casting as far as I’d like, and when I get a bite way out I don’t feel like I have enough leverage/backbone to get a strong hookset even when I start with the rod low and have all the slack taken up. Bites at close/medium distances are no issue.

I’m thinking of taking off the reel and putting it on a new rod to help with my distance issues. So…

Should I increase the rod length, power, or both?

I’m assuming bumping up to a 6’6” or 7’ would help cast farther. As far as power- moving to a MH makes me think more backbone would help with father hooksets, but wouldn’t that actually hurt casting distance since the rod won’t load as much as a M rod?

Which option would best solve my problems:

 

6’6” M

6’6” MH

7’ M

7’ MH

 

Thanks in advance for any input!

[GetFishorDieTryin]

It sounds like you pretty much have a good basic understanding of what you need.  Most MHs have tips that are a little too stiff IMO, there are some I know of that would be ideal, but the price point is up there. I would look for a stout 7" M Fast (1/4-5/8) that can handle weight in the upper end of the suggested range, because 5" senkos are pretty heavy and some M power rods just dont have enough power to set a hook at range IMO.  7" will give you more distance and help you pick up more line.  Switching you're line to braid would give you more power too, as braid doesn't stretch like mono or FC lines.  

If you tell us what kind of budget youre working with then it would be easier to recommend a specific rod.

[ironbjorn]

I would honestly get a 6'6" or 7' M/F Daiwa Aird-X and slap the Fuego on there. Ugly Stik, pond, minnows, Senko. You're frugal, and that's perfectly ok. Those things work. For this I would 100% get this rod in the same scenario. It performs like $100 anyways.

[MN Fisher]

^ Ditto on the Aird-X - performs well above it's price point...still have 2 in my arsenal.

[Kirtley Howe]

As I posted elsewhere, I got an Arid-X on Thursday. Got to try it out last night. As others have said, it performs well above the purchase price. I think it compares favorably with a lot of rods that are in the $100-$150 range. 

[Darth-Baiter]

you described my early days.  i just fished with an UL rod with a 1000 series reel.  had a blast, but weak hooksets.

 

i switched to Braid and it was GAME ON!!  i would go with a longer rod if you have open areas to cast.  

[jmerch87]

Thanks for all the advice guys! I think I’ll give the 6’6” M Arid-x a try and maybe try braid as a main line for further casts.

[jejenkyns]

17 hours ago, jmerch87 said:

Hi guys,

I fish for medium sized largemouth in a friend’s farm pond from the banks. I mainly use minnows under a bobber or Texas rigged 5” weightless senkos if I don’t have minnows.

Currently, I use a basic 6’0” M Ugly Stick with a 2500 Daiwa Fuego reel and 10# yozuri hybrid line.

This setup works really well for the most part but I’m having trouble casting as far as I’d like, and when I get a bite way out I don’t feel like I have enough leverage/backbone to get a strong hookset even when I start with the rod low and have all the slack taken up. Bites at close/medium distances are no issue.

I’m thinking of taking off the reel and putting it on a new rod to help with my distance issues. So…

Should I increase the rod length, power, or both?

I’m assuming bumping up to a 6’6” or 7’ would help cast farther. As far as power- moving to a MH makes me think more backbone would help with father hooksets, but wouldn’t that actually hurt casting distance since the rod won’t load as much as a M rod?

Which option would best solve my problems:

 

6’6” M

6’6” MH

7’ M

7’ MH

 

Thanks in advance for any input!

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart and I tried out alot of rods going down this very rabbit hole before finding the perfect rod for me for this technique.

 

I settled on the Steez AGS "The Sensor". The tip is a little stiffer than most MF rods out there and this really helps with hooksets, but it isn't as stiff as a MHF and so casts much better. It's a very unique rod and throws many techniques and weights very well. The XF tip gives way to a more F or even MF taper at higher loads.

 

The Tatula Elite 7'0" MMH I've been told is essentially the same rod at a lower price point.

 

Whatever your budget is I'd highly suggest going out to your local tackle shop and trying out one of the aforementioned rods if only to get a feel for the overall taper and characteristics, which you might be able to find in whatever price point you are looking at: essentially, a faster tip that is softer than a MH but a little stiffer than a M. Some MH's have pretty soft tips, some M's can be pretty stiff. I had a Medium powered 13 fishing rod with a pretty stiff tip at one time, very inexpensive, great hooksets, ok distance caster.

 

Generally speaking, all things being equal, a longer rod with cast farther than a shorter one, but in practice things are almost never equal. Rod taper and rebound characteristics also factor in. I have many shorter rods (down to 6'3") and some of the shorter rods will cast almost as well as a 7ft rod. I've found that 6'8" or thereabouts is a great compromise between distance, accuracy and maneuverability if you find yourself in tight quarters alot, say from bank with trees around. But if you are mostly free of obstacles then 7'0" will likely be a better length for distance.

 

On the other hand, there are many ways to turn this screw: the rod I was using most before this was actually a 6'8" LXF (more of a ML IMO). It was a much lighter rod but casted a weightless senko great because of the taper and power. The drawback was I had to get through much more rod to set the hook, but I rarely missed a hookset with that rod because it had a solid backbone down there somewhere. It wasn't ideal, but it launched that senko a mile.

 

Not to repeat myself, but go check out that Tatula rod, get a feel for the tip and if it doesn't fit your budget then see what you can find that is closest to that. 

 

 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

On 8/13/2023 at 9:37 AM, jejenkyns said:

The Tatula Elite 7'0" MMH I've been told is essentially the same rod at a lower price point.

 

Whatever your budget is I'd highly suggest going out to your local tackle shop and trying out one of the aforementioned rods if only to get a feel for the overall taper and characteristics, which you might be able to find in whatever price point you are looking at: essentially, a faster tip that is softer than a MH but a little stiffer than a M. Some MH's have pretty soft tips, some M's can be pretty stiff. I had a Medium powered 13 fishing rod with a pretty stiff tip at one time, very inexpensive, great hooksets, ok distance caster.

Thats hilarious.  The Tatula was the MH I was referring to and 13s 7'1 M F is what I was the cheapest M power that came to mind that would work well.  

[Allen Der]

On 8/13/2023 at 7:40 AM, jmerch87 said:

Thanks for all the advice guys! I think I’ll give the 6’6” M Arid-x a try and maybe try braid as a main line for further casts.

I might be too late, but I've directly compared the 6'6 M spinnng Aird-X to the Fenwick Eagle and the fenwick wins in a landslide.  best wacky rod I've ever used

[jmerch87]

On 8/12/2023 at 8:05 PM, ironbjorn said:

I would honestly get a 6'6" or 7' M/F Daiwa Aird-X and slap the Fuego on there. Ugly Stik, pond, minnows, Senko. You're frugal, and that's perfectly ok. Those things work. For this I would 100% get this rod in the same scenario. It performs like $100 anyways.

Thanks to all who gave advice. ironbjorn I ultimately went with your recommendation and got the Aird-X in 6’6” and attached my Fuego reel to it. Switched my mainline to 15# Power Pro braid, added a fluoro leader, and it did everything I needed it to do with improved casting distance and much better hook sets at max range. I let my wife use it for a bit and she noticed a huge improvement as well. Now she wants an identical setup for herself next year ??