New Rods

[Sundance]

Iv been using the same uglystick for the last 6 years for all my fishing and its time for some more technique specific rods and reels. I would like two have to rods to cover my fishing with in line and safety pin style spinners crank baits and plastics(mostly senko style baits and swimbaits). What power/action rods would cover these lures the best and what reels and gear ratios would work best for each rod?

[roadwarrior]

Welcome aboard!

Hope this helps:

http://www.bassresou...ction- defined/

[Sundance]

thanks tha helped alot. iv decided on a 7' med/fast spinning rod for spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and plastics but im having trouble finding a med or med-hvy spinning rod with a moderate action for cranks.

[Northern Strain]

Baitcaster... maybe it is time to learn

[Sundance]

well i guess im learnin how to use a baitcaster lol thanks for the help

[ChiCityBasser]

All Star has a 7'M/MF spinning rod in its line up it's the ASR845S and the E21 Carrot Stix CLTXPG701M-MF-S is another spinning rod. I think the ASR can be found on ebay for around $100 and the Carrot Stix rod is $149. Myself I'm using a Cabelas Prodigy PDS704-2 which is a M/F but has worked well for me this season and it's $100 but during the sales they are normally $70.

[Grey Wolf]

You will not find a good spinning rod/combo for cranks. Just doesn't work. Shimano, Lew's, Abu Garcia, and Quantum have some good bait casting reels for under $100. Cabela's and Bass Pro brand reels are also decent and you can get them a little cheaper than the big name companies, and thats not a bad way to go if you are looking for your first bait caster. You can normally get good sales on Cabela's and Bass Pro brand gear, and you won't have a lot of money tied up into a fancy reel if you find out you don't like it. The first bait caster I bought was a Cabelas Tournament ZH. Its an $80 reel and I got it on sale for $40. That bait caster got me hooked on bait casters for good! Once you learn to use a bait caster you will love it! If you get a 6:3:1 or 6:4:1 gear ratio that will cover all applications you are looking to cover (cranks, spinners, swimbaits) and will pretty much handle what ever else you are looking to throw.

As far as a good over all spinning rod goes, I have a Carrot Stix Wild 7ft medium action rod that is a great all purpose rod. It has a strong back bone but yet has a very sensitive tip. It retails for $99.99 most places. I have several buddies who fish their Senko's on St. Croix Mojo Bass spinning rods and they really seem to like those rods. Again, that rod normally retails for $100 even. Shimano, Abu Garcia, Lew's, Carrot Stix and Quantum have good rods for under $100, and like I said with the bait casters, there is nothing wrong with checking out Cabela's and Bass Pro brand rods either. You will see a huge difference in all of these rods compared to Ugly Sticks. Its going to be a night and day difference!

If you are looking for a good website to compare gear check out *** . com. They will have everything but the Cabela's and Bass Pro brand gear. They have a great selection! Good luck on picking out your new gear!

Your first sentence in your reply is plain silly. Hope noboby listens to you.

[0119]

Dont feel you gotta get into casting gear to find good stuff. 50 years of fishing and Im just discovering that spinning can do more than most internet experts feel it can do. If you want to look for a more parabolic bend in your spinning rod for cranks, you'd do good to look away from "bass" or technique specific rods. Lots of walleye and saltwater spinning rods will serve your purpose.

[deep]

Dont feel you gotta get into casting gear to find good stuff. 50 years of fishing and Im just discovering that spinning can do more than most internet experts feel it can do. If you want to look for a more parabolic bend in your spinning rod for cranks, you'd do good to look away from "bass" or technique specific rods. Lots of walleye and saltwater spinning rods will serve your purpose.

Yes sir. If a guy can fish 8" hudds on spinning gear, a puny little crankbait should pose no problems. Don't believe me? Ask Fish Chris

[MyKeyBe]

Yes sir. If a guy can fish 8" hudds on spinning gear, a puny little crankbait should pose no problems. Don't believe me? Ask Fish Chris

or Randall or SirSnook or LBH... I am pretty sure even RW is a pretty big spinning guy

I had 3 spinning reels break trying to fish deep diving cranks. I stripped gear out of them and lost bearings. You find me a spinning reel that can handle baits like 5xd's, 6xd's, DT20's D20's or DD22's and I will delete my post and take back my comment. Its one thing to throw a 3-5 foot diver on spinning gear or tiny walleye crank baits that have a very tight wobble to them. But if you are going to spend a day on the lake casting big crank baits, spinning gear doesn't cut it.

Buy better gear. If people can catch fish in the salt with them...

[Mike L]

Sundance...

0119 said..."You'd do good to look away from "bass" or technique specific rods" [Don't know how to copy a previous post on this thing]

Look at the 7' med/fast Shimano Teramar Inshore series rod. It's rated at 8-17 / 3/8-1oz.

Before I started to upgrade some of my equipement, I used that rod with a 3000 series reel for 3 yrs for top water and crank's and it worked great for me. It has enough backbone and loads up great.

MIke

[0119]

Funny a bass sized crankbait can destroy a spinning rod and reel. I catch tarpon, jacks, reds, black drum snook ,flathead catfish, blues, stripers,alligator gar, peacock bass and sharks on bass sized spinning gear for years and none of those fish can do what a rapala balsa bait did to your gear. Its to each his own. Why do the internet experts always have to tell people they dont have the right gear and have to buy something else. Baits dont eat up gear operator error does. Reels dont fight fish the rod does.

[BasskingKeith]

Funny a bass sized crankbait can destroy a spinning rod and reel. I catch tarpon, jacks, reds, black drum snook ,flathead catfish, blues, stripers,alligator gar, peacock bass and sharks on bass sized spinning gear for years and none of those fish can do what a rapala balsa bait did to your gear. Its to each his own. Why do the internet experts always have to tell people they dont have the right gear and have to buy something else. Baits dont eat up gear operator error does. Reels dont fight fish the rod does.

haha Well said...

[ChiCityBasser]

Guess it comes down to the right gear for the right job. I watch guys on WFN fish spinning gear and catch all types of fish as someone in this post mentioned without a problem. A size 10 spinning reel isn't meant to handle a DD22 but I'm just guessing as I've never tried it myself.

[new2BC4bass]

Sundance...

0119 said..."You'd do good to look away from "bass" or technique specific rods" [Don't know how to copy a previous post on this thing]

Look at the 7' med/fast Shimano Teramar Inshore series rod. It's rated at 8-17 / 3/8-1oz.

Before I started to upgrade some of my equipement, I used that rod with a 3000 series reel for 3 yrs for top water and crank's and it worked great for me. It has enough backbone and loads up great.

MIke

Mike, look on the lower right corner of each post. Click on the "Quote" of the desired post to open a reply that includes their comments.

.

[new2BC4bass]

I fished with spinning gear for 34 years before quitting (24 years ago). Never considered myself handicapped in any way. A few years ago I started fishing with a relative while visiting in Florida. We used spinning gear exclusively. It wasn't until I decided to start fishing locally again that I decided to try baitcasting gear becase I didn't like the long reach to the line with my reel hand. Didn't consider the weight difference.

However, once I tried the new (to me) breed of baitcasting gear.there was no looking back. I love using it even though I still don't have the accuracy I had with spinning gear. Most of that is because I don't get out nearly as much as I use to. I still use spinning gear on occasion, and in fact just bought another reel recently.

You've already been given the names of several people who should be able to recommend the right rods for your use. I see no reason for not using spinning gear if that is what you prefer. Spinning gear is used with success to catch everything from panfish to some pretty large saltwater fish.

Use what you like.

[J Francho]

Crankbaits were probably the last thing I switched to casting gear. Any 1500 to 3000 series reel should be fine. the rod is going to be a little harder to find. The All Star recommended above should be a good bet. I used Team All Stars for years before upgrading, and they are a good rod.

The whole spinning vs. baitcasting debate gets over complicated. The main difference: spinning handles lighter line and light baits with ease, whereas baitcasting is more suitable for heavier lines and baits. Yes, there are spinning reels that can handle 20 lb. mono, I know, but you can do it with a baitcaster in a smaller package. My dad did all his fishing with two basic rigs, a heavy spinner and a light spinner. If one didn't handle a certain lure he was using, the other would.

[Northern Strain]

The whole spinning vs. baitcasting debate gets over complicated. The main difference: spinning handles lighter line and light baits with ease, whereas baitcasting is more suitable for heavier lines and baits. Yes, there are spinning reels that can handle 20 lb. mono, I know, but you can do it with a baitcaster in a smaller package.

x2, However in Bass fishing simply limiting yourself to spinning gear, and rejecting casting gear all together, is like living without electricity, people don't have to have it, but it makes life so much easier. With casting gear, you can fish forever without it, but a good baitcaster sure makes many fishing techniques much easier and effective.

[J Francho]

It really depends on what you do. I know guys that don't do anything but throw senkos and flukes. Yeah, I know....a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while too.

[Northern Strain]

I think in bass fishing, especially after you get some experience, to continue to improve and be successful you must be able to adapt. By this I mean you need to be open to change, whether that is learning a new technique, throwing a different lure, or even using the right rod and reel for the given situation. It is important in bass fishing that you don't just fish with what you are comfortable or what worked yesterday or last month or last year, because the fish are always changing. To be the best bass fisherman you can be you will want to be willing to change with the bass and keep an open mind every day on the water. This post has gotten a little of topic, but what I am trying to say is don't just limit your self to spinning gear, maybe you never do pick up a baitcaster, but at least keep an open mind about it because it is a very handy tool. (Only using spinning gear is like trying to fix a car with only a wrench.)

[SirSnookalot]

The problems in using a larger spinning reel is weight. A spinner big enough to use 20lb mono is going to average around 20 oz, like an 8000 series reel, there are exceptions like my Soron 60 which weighs about 15, still heavy. A reel that size will produce coiling with mono line, hot water or kvd L& L are temporary fixes. I soak my mono then troll it out before each outing, if simply drift fishing with bait not as much caution is needed as in the case of constant casting. Needless to say I do not use these reels are for bass fishing.

Without giving too much thought as to how many people use spinning exclusively, 2 come to mind. Both Fish Chris and Rolo are excellent anglers that have posted pics of some really nice fish, they use nothing but spinning. True they may not employ every technique but when you catch the kind of fish they do, I see no reason to change. I haven't used a b/c for any kind of fishing where I'm constantly casting for better than 40 years, with no plans of ever owning one. I can't think of anything I can't do with a spinning rod.

[Northern Strain]

I know the previous focus had been on baitcaster vs. spinning gear for crankbaits, However I think that a baitcaster out performs spinning gear in heavy cover especially when fishing plastics, jigs, and frogs. This is because a baitcasting reel is built like a winch and can easily crank fish out of thick cover. I also think that it is easier to make a precise cast into cover with a baitcaster than with a spinning reel. Also a casting rod, having its guides on top of the rod gives you a lot more lift power to pull that fish out of cover because the entire spine of the rod is doing the lifting rather than individual guides. I completely agree that spinning gear can perform the same tasks as casting gear, however there are definitely times when casting gear outperforms spinning gear and vise verse there are times spinning gear outperforms casting gear. Both have their time and place. I will admit for the casual fisherman who fishes once a month in the spring and summer, spinning gear is probably the most versatile option.

[J Francho]

I use the rod, not the reel to move fish out of cover.

[Northern Strain]

Me too... As I said casting rod gives you more lift. It also helps that a baitcasting reel gives some power to winch a fish out, the reel plays some role in getting that fish out of cover, but yes the rod is more important.