Next all-purpose setup??

[wareagle83]

Hey guys.  I was looking through some of my rods and reels tonight.  Getting antsy for the upcoming fishing season, haha.  I'm planning on  soon buying a nice all-purpose rod and reel for bass fishing.  I've read that a 6'6 Medium blank with a fast action would be about right for the most all purpose setup.  Anyone have any thoughts on what rod and reel to get.  I'm on a budget and not looking to spend a ton of money.  I see some combos for around 100 to 150 bucks. Are these even worth the dough.  It will probably come from Cabelas as I have a store about 70 miles from my house. Thanks

[David P]

Baitcasting or Spinning, and what types of baits are you planning on throwing with it...  

[wareagle83]

Sorry. It will be baitcasting and I would be using it for just about everything.  Spinnerbaits, Softplastics, Traps and cranks, you name it.  I already have a 6'6 med/hvy rod now but don't know it's exact action.  It isn't listed but I am thinking that most are fast action??

[Jake P]

Im willing to bet money that its a MH/F. A 6'6 MH/F rod is a perfect "all around rod". I took a look at Cabelas website and saw an Abu Garcia Promax and Cabelas Fish Eagle 2 rod/reel combo for 129$. I know of a few people on here that use the Promax and love it just as much as there Revo S. I've also heard alot of good things about Cabelas brand stuff. If your going to stick with that rod and just want a reel then take a look at the Abu Garcia Promax like i mentioned or if you can spend a little more and go into the 100$ range i personally recommend the Abu Garcia Revo S. I know some other fellas will chime in soon and recommend a Shimano Citica, they are from what i hear great reels and they have a rebate still going on i believe that will knock the price down to 90$. Im not sure what your budget is but those are some things to look at. Good luck

[wareagle83]

The rod I have right now is probably just like you said a fast action rod.  I have heard roadwarrior say in many posts that softplastic fishing requires a rod with a firmer tip.  Does that mean that a fast action rod isn't well suited to soft plastics and jigs?

[roadwarrior]

Fast action and a firm tip is exactly what you want for soft plastics and jigs. I think you are covered there. For your next rig I would suggest Medium Power/ Moderate Action or a rod with a soft tip for treble hook lures.

Here is a combination on sale for $139 after rebate:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/pod-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20285&rid=&indexId=cat20285&navAction=push&masterpathid=&navCount=1&parentType=index&parentId=cat20285&id=0052451

8-)

[tyrius.]

I agree with RW.  You should be looking for a crankbait rod.  M or MH power and moderate action.

I fish with 4 setups.  1 MH/fast baitcast for worms, jigs, etc.  1 M/mod baitcast for treble hook lures.  1 M/fast spinning for weightless soft plastics.  1 ML/mod for light treble hook lures (J-7 rapala's and stuff like that).  They are all 6'6" rods.

This basically covers pretty much everything except for HEAVY cover and swimbait fishing.  I could definately specialize even further, but I fish from the bank and 4 setups is already about more than enough.

[Joel W]

Fast action and a firm tip is exactly what you want for soft plastics and jigs. I think you are covered there. For your next rig I would suggest Medium Power/ Moderate Action or a rod with a soft tip for treble hook lures.

Here is a combination on sale for $139 after rebate:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/pod-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20285&rid=&indexId=cat20285&navAction=push&masterpathid=&navCount=1&parentType=index&parentId=cat20285&id=0052451

8-)

Great choice.  When I finally got a specialized setup for Crankbaits it was like a whole new world opened up. For one thing, the medium action tip really absorbed a lot of the excess vibration from crankbaits that just wore my wrist out.

[wareagle83]

Thanks RoadWarrior and all others.  I thought about it this morning and came to the conclusion that just like you said, I already have a worm/jig rod covered.  I think now I'll invest like you said in a treble hook/ crank rod with a medium action.  Thanks guys, these forums are great.  By the way RoadWarrior.  I see yall are heading to Guntersville.  If you can, see if you can get up river towards Scottsboro, about 20 minutes from Guntersville.  Great fishing there around my hometown in the backwaters and creek arms.