Hard Swimbaits

[Joel]

Haven't taken the plunge into the hard swimbait world yet, but I'm really starting to weaken. There are plenty of waters that I fish in the NYC reservoir system where they can be used on top, over weeds, along a weed bed, over a submerged point, etc. The problem is that I'm not sure where to start.

1st off, I need to limit myself to no more then 6 setups. For the majority of the season, I carry 2 spinning finesse setups, one for Drop Shotting, and one for 1/4 oz bullet tex-posed 4 inch tubes, Hula Grubs, or Grubs. And 5 Bait caster setups. Dedicated Deep Crankbaits, Spinnerbaits, 3/8-1/2 oz bullet wt tex-posed creature baits, & jigs.

Could my spinnerbait setup comfortably handle 4-6 inch Hard Swimbaits. The setup I use is a 7 ft M 8-17 lb test line 1/4-3/4 oz lure with a fast tip. Coupled with a Daiwa TDA Advantage 153 HST spooled with 30 lb Sufix Braid and a 12 lb mono leader. My weighted plastic setup is identical except that the rod is a MH. The only setup I use a snap on is my craning setup. All others are tied on lures.

At this point I really don't want to invest in a 8ft speciality rod setup. Fishing out of any one of my rowboats is literally a excersize in compromise and space limitations. Especially since I almost always fish with my partner or have a guest/friend with me.