I have a 7'2 medium heavy rod with a daiwa exceler 6.3 baitcaster on it. I'm just wondering thoughts on what the next setup would be? I'm only into my second true year of bass fishing, I currently use that setup for everything, from real heavy swim baits to lighter stuff. any help or advice would be appreciated,
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I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but here's what I have:
1. Med-Heavy 7'6" rod for heavyer-ish stuff. Carolina rigs, cover, big spinnerbaits, etc. 30-lb Power-pro braid and usually a flourocarbon leader of some sort.
2. Med 6'6" rod for general purpose stuff. Jigs, cranks, soft jerkbaits, normal spinnerbaits, etc. 20-lb Power Pro. This is the one that I use the most.
3. Weird one. 8'6" medium salmon/steelhead rod that was on clearance somewhere
I can cast a mile with it, but it doesn't have the backbone of the Med-Heavy rod. I use it for chucking big spoons and spinners along with hard jerkbaits. Works pretty well for slip-sinker rigs for catfish. Also with 20-lb power pro.
My recommendation would be a shorter medium rod. Fast reel. If it's a pretty stiff rod, probably go with mono if you'll be tossing cranks. A lighter rod (both strength and weight) won't wear you out as fast as your current setup.
Matt
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Poles are like shoes, hiking running etc...
Pick your pole or poles and reels and line by how and what you fish with (lures) Cranks use a longer rod and softer rod that gets a good bind in it..
drop shotting use a spinning rod, jigs a stiffer rod and heaver line..
Most fish are lost from too stiff a rod, once a rod goes straight you get slack in the line..
But get good rods and reels or as good as your $$$$ will go..
And go to a store that the people know what they are talking about, if you fish for trout or bass ..
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I would go with a 7' MH rod. You'll be able to throw just about anything you want with it. Jigs, senkos, topwater, you name it you can throw it. That length and power is the most versatile there is for casting rods.
The power should be similar to a 843 in the Loomis stuff for a reference point.
Just my opinion...
Good luck!
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I have started tournament fishing and the one thing that I have observed is that there is a rod and reel combo for any situation. The reason pros have so many different rods on their boat is they have each rod specifically tuned for different baits. Your first rod sounds fairly straight forward and the low gear ratio on the real (or lower) is usually used for cranks and spinner baits to slow down the retrieve. The real question is how do you like to fish.
Recently I have really begun to enjoy throwing a fluke. So I use a 6.6' or 7.0' med/heavy with high ratio reel and a lighter flouro line. This allows me to throw the fluke which is lighter, the heaver rod gives more "twitchability" in the strikezone and the high ratio reel gets the bait back to the boat quicker for faster recast.
So you see, how you fish is a determining factor on what equipment you get. So answering the question; How do you like to fish? would really help in giving more input.
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I like to throw lots of soft plastics, craw imitations, big worms, lizards, and lots of swim baits in the 4-7 inch range.
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Depending on what you want to do. But A 7' MH is going to do about the same as the 7'2 mh you currently use. You could get you a 7'8-8' Heavy or MH for flippin pitchin and swimbait stuff and use the 7'2 for your carolina and texas rigging. Get you a 7:1:1 ratio reel for it. Another good option which is my new favorite is a decent crankbait setup with a 4or5 ratio reel. The new Powell Deisel is a pretty sweet little setup for the money. Im sure you probably already have a few spinning setups if not get an extra so you can drop shot, shackyhead, weightless plastics smaller baits or jerkbaits and team your line up for the different applications accordingly, then you don't have to continually retie for new stuff. I would definitely want a heavy, mh, and crankin stick for my three main setups for sure. Then just build after that and fine tune for each approach. That 8' heavy would be good for pikin/musky as well.
I would also add it's not totally necessary, but if you can, spend a little and buy the best quality you can afford.
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I have a 6'6" G Loomis rod with a Shimano Curado reel. Best outfit I've ever had my hands on (at any price)
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Disclaimer-I believe a lot of the multiple rigs for multiple styles/baits is a marketing home run. We're being convinced we need a different rod and reel for every day of the week.
I'll buy into it somewhat, but I'm also pretty realistic that a talented angler really only needs a handful of rods to take care of 99% of the fishing we have in Utah. But, hey it's fun to buy new gear.
So, given that and the info you shared, I'd go for a Crankbait rig. I really like the Shimano Compre Crankbait rod for the money and pair it with a slower retrieve Shimano Curado reel and you'll be cranking in style.
Good luck. Or you can break the bank with a new loomis nrx and sweet highend reel. I don't think you'll hook any more fish but you'll have more fun doing it.
I've got all of the above and can't catch fish any better than with my old slimer rods, but I feel more like a bass fisherman running with the bait casting gear.
I've convinced my self that fish could really care less. :-)
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What is the action on your current rod? Where do you mainly like to fish bass?
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