St. Croix Victory spinning rods - recommended reels/line to use ?

[WaskaCrank12]

Hello -

I have recently purchased two gently used St. Croix Victory spinning rods (7'1" M-F --"Finesse" and a 7'3" ML- XF --"Max-Light-Weight").

I you have either (or both) of these rods:

-- What reels are you using ? What reels would you recommend ?

-- What line are you using ? What line would you recommend ?

Any other thoughts (techniques you use these rods for) would be welcome.

Thank you ! 

[Choporoz]

How do you feel about tying leaders?

 

What sorts of baits do you plan to use?

 

What kind of water will you be fishing?  Lakes, rivers?  Rocks, weeds? Lily pads? Mud?  

[WaskaCrank12]

Hello @Choporoz - thank you for the questions -

-I have tied a few leaders, braid to floro, yet most often I have used straight braid (I am only going into my third year of boat/bass fishing so I am learning/trying new things all the time) - I am open to trying leaders more often if they work well with the rods/guides on these rods

-I purchased the rods so I could have a good range of lure/bait weights to throw (1/16 to 5/8 across the two rods) - I would be looking at using the rods with a variety of baits across that range - from hair jigs to soft plastics/swimbaits to square bills (I am still learning what rods pair best with specific baits and techniques)  

-I will be fishing primarily in two natural lakes (one about 9,000 acres, one about half of that size) - lots of weeds/grass here in MN - yet also a fair amount of deeper open water

Thank you in advance for your time and expertise !

[WRB]

What size spinning reel do you use?

The Victory MF rod bottoms out lifting 3 lbs dead weight* or maximum drag force.

The MLXF a little over 2 lbs. dead weight or drag force.

No reason to use braid over 10 lbs. Fins Spin5 10lb is .004D, 25 is .006D both are very good braid.

I have the 7’1” Victory rod listed and use 15 lb Spin5 braid w/ 7 lb Sniper FC leader (009D) for 5” Senko’s wacky rigged. Braid floats on the surface a good strike indicator for Senko’s. I would use straight FC or Mono where fish with sparse  cover but the braid reduced line twist back seating and can’t untwist straight FC or Mono as a back seater.

Also use 10 lb Spin5 w/ 5 lb Maxium UG (.008D) leader for slip shot and drop shot. FC leader tends to sink and drag on the bottom whereas mono doesn’t improving strike detection plus stronger knot  and abrasion strength.

Braid cuts through aquatic vegetation and good for where you fish.

Tom

[J Francho]

Any 2500 size or similar will do. I have a few Shimano CI4, an old Stradic, and some others that all work fine. 

[Choporoz]

For spinning reels, I have at least six different brands, and could recommend any of them.  Depending on your budget, you probably cannot go wrong with a Shimano.  Stradic is my favorite, but they have good reels at all price points.  Look at sizes that start with 2 or 25 and see how they feel for you.  1xx seem very small to me, and 3x's are generally on the larger end for bass fishing. 

   I like braid (8-15#) with leader for most applications, but you can try 8-12# mono or flouro to see whether you are OK with the twist.  It can be manageable...or it can be painful.  I do use straight braid at times, also.

  Aside from minimizing line twist problems, braid has the added benefit of being more visible which is particularly important in many finesse presentations.