rod/reel setups for a specific purpose

[WallStreetAmigo]

If you could have three rod/reel combos what would they be? What would you use each one for (ie. topwaters, spinnerbaits, jigs, etc)? and what line would you use for each? ------- Please keep in mind that I have never used a baitcaster (I want to learn but am confused about them and scared of backlashes). I would look at a baitcaster though.

I know there are tons of threads out there about rod/reel combos, but I already have a medium/fast 7'0" Shimano rod and spinning reel and am looking to add two other rods that I can pre-rig before a fishing trip. A couple of things about me and my fishing exploits:

1) Money is not a huge consideration (hold off on $1000 rod/reel combos though cause a divorce would clean me out).

2) I love fishing topwaters and dropshotting, and I'm okay with a spinnerbait. I really need to learn to fish jigs and plastics better, and I have very limited experience with crankbaits too.

3) The lakes up here are ultra clear with pockets of thick weeds and lily pads.

4) I fish from shore 90% of the time (that may be remedied soon if I buy a boat - I will be asking you all about that too when the time comes!)

I hope this helps and look forward to your advice. I know there are other threads on this type of subject, but what else would you guys do with yourselves between fishing trips if newbies like me weren't seeking your wisdom???

[Rosemeyer]

well I guess my answer would be my 2 favorite setups which I love to fish with........they both have braided test I am very much in love with the strength but my next setup will have flourocarbon but anyways I absolutely love the bass pro shop rods they are very good priced and are great quality I have a 7' er Medium Heavy for my spinner bait rod and a 6'6" for about anything else mostly jigging though.........dont be intimidated by baitcasters you are bound to get some backlashes when starting (believe me I thought it was hopeless at first) but almost all of them can be picked out, start out with cheaper mono to learn with because you wont want to cut off a significant amount of braided that would get very expensive, but now being and avid fisherman I rarely ever stray away from my baitcasters they are just a lot of fun to use.........anyways I have just recently bought the Quantum energy all I can say is amazing for the price very smooth and the drag is by far sufficient the external braking system is great and easy to set I would recommend it to anyone I have this on my 7' rod..........My first baitcaster and the one I have on my 6'6" is the pfleuger presidential 10 bearings I frown on the internal braking but ultra smooth casts and for the price its hard to beat, the drag is a drag (haha) it really doesnt deliver on that but it allows for a good hookset and its an altogether nice reel everything has its ups and downs maybe I am just a bit particular........My next reel will be an abu Garcia Revo u should definently look into one I hear that in that price range nothing beats it and the drag that reel puts up is next to unbelievable.......

[zooker]

baitcasters definatly tend to be more lure speific than others..

i use 9 standard sticks always in the boat. all but 2 of mine are 7 foot + but this is personal choice..

i think the most exspensive stick i got is a fenwick techna av $150

i have a pile of decent reels from extremes to the quantum tour pt burner.
you do not have to be like a pro and have matching rods and reels.. i use some old but reliable quatum mag gear reels - i got 8- 2 pfluger trions, a lone ambassador torno reel. 2 team diawa-advantages-. two extremes,two quantum xmpt reels, a single quantum tour pt burner -there WONT be another one- 2 spinning reels a mitchell 300xg and a quantum pti 30...
yes i know i have 3 reels over $200.. but i have a bunch under $100..

in hind site if i had bought the 7.1 extreme first i would not have shelled out the $330 for the quantum tour burner reel..

i use just 3 combo's with braid the rest with mono...floro is WAY overrated..

these are my stanard 9 rod set ups


#1 i use 30 pound braid on my texas rig rod -7 foot mh fenwick techna av- the reel is a pfluger lefty..

#2 i use 60 pound braid on my frog rod -7' 3" heavy fenwick hmx frog-with an extreme lefty reel.

#3 i use 60 pound braid on a 7'6'' x-heavy fenwick hmg with a team diawa lefty reel..

#4 i use 12 pound mono on a 7' mh lews speed stick. a 5.1 quatum mag gear -some times the torno-right hand

#5 i use 8 pound mono on a 7 foot medium fenwick gt rod paired with a 5.1 quantum mag gear-some times a diawa 6.1 procaster-right hand

#6 i use 15 pound mono on a 7 foot heavy fenwick hmx rod paired with a quantum tour burner.-sometimes an extreme-right hand.

#7 i use 12 pound mono on a 7 foot medium fenwick avart rod paired with a quantum pti spinning reel-sometimes a mitchell 300xg.

#8 the ol ball and chain..15 pound mono on a 7 foot heavy fenwick hmg rod-lizard dragger- paired with a quantum xm pt-some times a quantum mag gear.right hand

#9 the runt! 12 pound mono on a 6'3'' -busted-mh fenwick hmg short handled rod. paired with a quantum xmpt -some times a fplueger- lefty reel..

zooker

[Rebbasser]

Good question, WSA!

If I had to choose 3 I would want to cover the bases so:

A 6-6 medium heavy rod spooled with 50 lb Powerpro(12 lb mono diameter) for worms and jigs.

A 7' heavy action rod for C-rig and flipping/pitching also with braid.

A 6-6 M action spooled with P-line Floroclear for spinnerbaits, cranks, and topwaters.

Depending on the water clarity if it is real clear I'd add a fluorocarbon leader on the 6-6 MH rod and the same on the C-rig.

Braid is real sensitive which is one of the main reasons I use it for worms and jigs. Plus, no stretch makes for a solid hookset.

On the flip side mono does stretch, so on baits they hit hard like a crank or spinnerbait the stretch acts as a shock absorber.

[Bender]

Opposed to Zooker I really like floro. I just had to choose a few rods since I was traveling, too bad in the end it turns out I can't fish. Here they are anyway:
#1 Fenwick HMG Medium with Shimano Chronarch Mg with Fireline 14 lb. Crystal - mainly jerkbaits, some cranks. So light I can use it all day.
#2 BPS Extreme 7'4" exposed handle, Calcutta 50 with Halo 6 lb. for shaky head
#3 St. Croix Premier 7' Medium spinning, Shimano Sedona 4000, 10 lb. mono - cranks.
#4 BPS UltraLight 5'6", Sedona 750 FB, 6 lb. XPS floro. overall my favorite. Normally I use 1/2 a Senko on this one.

If I were fishing down south then everything would change to using the 7' Ultra heavy AllStar BigBoy stick with 65 lb. braid. i guess it depends on what and where you are fishing.

[WallStreetAmigo]

Awesome answers everyone (sorry for the delay in replying, we had our fifth child this morning so I've been pretty busy.......)

I truly appreciate the feedback. You have given me a lot to think about and a lot to research. I will keep you updated on what I find out, and quite possibly ask for more hands on info on specific products (I like to know what fishermen have experienced with a product, not what Harvard marketing graduates tell me)

Hey zook, I bet you that one day I have that many rods set up too. Major fishing addiction + lots of free dollars to spend on gear eventually = new boat/many rods/reels/ and king kong sized bait monkey. The only wildcard in the equation is that I'm married, which curtails almost all fun/expensive activities, at least to some degree.

[WallStreetAmigo]

P.S. Don't tell my wife I said that...........

[zooker]

Originally Posted by WallStreetAmigo

Hey zook, I bet you that one day I have that many rods set up too. Major fishing addiction + lots of free dollars to spend on gear eventually = new boat/many rods/reels/ and king kong sized bait monkey. The only wildcard in the equation is that I'm married, which curtails almost all fun/expensive activities, at least to some degree.

remember my bird hatchin friend. i am not married..i buy what i want..

fith kid ? the hell happen? ya trip and fall??

zooker

[WallStreetAmigo]

Originally Posted by zooker

remember my bird hatchin friend. i am not married..i buy what i want..

fith kid ? the hell happen? ya trip and fall??

zooker

lol.........i just hope the fish are as successful at spawning as we are..........

[hackattack]

Originally Posted by WallStreetAmigo

lol.........i just hope the fish are as successful at spawning as we are..........

now thats funny!

[Rebbasser]

Yes it is!!!

[Rosemeyer]

congrats on the fifth WallStreet.....

[WallStreetAmigo]

Originally Posted by Rosemeyer

congrats on the fifth WallStreet.....

Thanks Rosemeyer.

[islandbass]

Since you asked for three, I will give you the 3 that I normally bring with me on my shorebound outings (I don't have a boat).

You are good to go with your medium action spinning rig. It should be able to handle your cranks and drop shotting and topwaters.

I would add:

Medium Heavy Casting rod and reel - This ought to handle your jigs and pigs, single hook applications such as T-rigs, weighted or not, Senkos and such, etc. This rod also pitches like a dream.

The rod I have to cover this is a Shimano Crucial MH 6'10" rod mated to my Curado D

Medium Action casting rod - This rod will allow you to do what your current spinning rig does but from a casting perspective and hopefully will replace substitute it it for that nitch of crankbaits, topwaters, spinnerbaits, etc.

I use a Lamiglas Competitor 6'6" rod and mate it to a number of reels, including a Cardiff, Curado BSF, or Trion. The cardiff has a 5.x gear ratio that suits me well for cranks.

A new spinning rod you can acquire would be the one to toss the lures that your baitcaster might give you grief. A Medium to Medium Light (I prefer the latter, especially since you already have a medium spinning rod) action rod that is suited for drop shotting and finesse fishing will round out your arsenal.

I use a 7'0 Lamiglas Drop Shot special rod mated to a size 20 rapala Sxi6spinning reel, spooled with 6" fc line. This is such a sweet rig!

Anyway, since the constraint was three rods, this is it. I have not filled in the flipping/superheavy cover put of my arsenal because I don't have the opportunity to fish such an environment yet.

The reason I recommended two casting rigs is because you will come to realize as I did that a baitcast reel is so advantageous that you are cheating and selling yourself short if you don't utilize them. I know that some people fish exclusively with a spinning or casting reel, but both are tools and have their place.

As for being afraid, you should not be, especially with modern casting reels. They are far easier to learn with and I guarantee you that you will kick yourself in the fanny and ask yourself why you waited so long before using one. Any guy who can handle 5 kids without losing too much hair can definitely handle a casting reel. Congrats on your new addition.

[BASSITUP]

the abu garcia revo reels are hard to beat. i have a revo s and a revo sx and they are simply awsome. im stuck on abu reels for life.

[Guttboy]

Wall Street! Congrats!!!!!! Skimiming over the vast ammt of information here and there are some GREAT suggestions here. I am going with Rebbasser and Flyrod this weekend fishing and will be trying some different rod/reel combos. My gracious wife will probably put up with me purchasing 2 more rod/reel combos but will hit the ceiling if I spend a ton of cash...LOL...seeing that we are building a new house fishing poles/reels are lower on her priority list than mine!

What did you get?

Regards

[FlyRod]

Originally Posted by Guttboy

Wall Street! Congrats!!!!!! I am going with Rebbasser and Flyrod this weekend fishing and will be trying some different rod/reel combos.
Regards

G'boy,

Hast thou chatted up the Meteorological Officer lately?
We'll have to monitor the radar and make a decision at the last moment whether to go or abort. Be sure commo is operational circa 0330 hrs. Allow one hour to get to wherever we're meeting. Watch out for Bambi & Associates on IH10.
In any event, I've got your tackle all rigged and will see that you have it regardless of whether I go or not.
You actually will the FIRST person to have use of one of my Chronarch50MGs...consider yourself honored!
(Well, I DID let Reb sniff one once. The rascal tried to eat it!)

Remember the Five-Paragraph Field Order...SMEALCS
Situation
Mission
Execution
Admin/Logistics
Command/Signal

FR

[Guttboy]

LOL Flyrod!

Thanks for the 0230 weather glance! I think the storms will die down in the AM. I cant wait to try out the gear! I am very excited but will hit the sack now and pray for no thunderstorms in the AM!

Cyall soon!

Mike

[WallStreetAmigo]

Since everyone was so good about giving advice in this thread, I thought I would let you know what my current selection of rods are and what I am planning to use them for. I am also looking for help in choosing two new spinning reels for my spinning setups and could use some advice around what size reels to look for and what line would be best to use. As usual, your input is always appreciated.

7' Shimano Medium Spinning rod - plan on using for crankbaits, topwaters, and dropshotting. I need a new spinning reel on this one and would appreciate tips on good spinning reels to look at and what type/size line to spool it with.

7' Shimano Medium Heavy Spinning rod - plan on using this for spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, soft plastics, etc when the baitcaster backlashes...lol. I really love the feel of this rod and the backbone too. It needs a new reel too.

6' Quantum Medium Light Spinning rod - always set up for a drop shot and also used for light spinners/lures.

7' Cabelas Medium Heavy Baitcaster w/ an Abu Garcia 5600 - plan on using this for my frogs, buzzbaits, and spinnerbaits. Planning on spooling with power pro braid, but would definitely like input on line size.

6'6" G Loomis Baitcaster w/ a Prodigy reel - plan on using it for jigs, pitching, senkos and other soft plastics/t-rigs. Again, powerpro is my favourite braid, but line size is a bit confusing with the baitcasters.

You guys were all right about baitcasters. I have gotten the hang of it rather quickly and that baitcasting 101 site that Reb always posts is AWESOME. Took me no time at all to get the hang of it with a few minor backlashes. Thanks all!

[BigBassin144]

I owuld have ot say the only three I own at the moment:
1. Daiwa Procaster SE/Cabela's Fish Eagle II (7' ML)
2. Daiwa Megaforce/Custom Flippin' Stick (7'6" H)
3. Abu Garcia Cardinal 100/Custom Spinning (6'6" ??)

I would really like to get more rods and reels as I learn new and more techniques.

BB