Rod question...

[BassFeverJohn]

Hey guys,


I am pretty dirt poor, as I have been out of work for sometime. I currently am using an ultra light setup for everything, soft plastics, cranks, spinner.jigs. I know this is far from ideal, and I am sure I am missing some great opportunities for nice bass.

My question is this: I was thinking about a medium action bait casting rod in the 5-6 foot range. Will this do ok for spinners, jigs, and cranks?

[BigBassin144]

It will work better. Is there any reason for such a short rod? If not, a 6'6" or 7' rod would be even better. A M or MH power rod should cover most of the techniques you listed above. You'll probably want to a fast action rod for everything except crankbaits and possibly spinnerbaits, but spinnrbaits can be fished on a F action rod fine.

If you let us know you're budget, we can probably help you decide on a good rod in that price range.

BB

[Jim80]

I gotta go with BB a 6-6 to 7 foot m/h rod would cover most of your fishing needs .

Off the top of my head there are the Cherrywood rod, lighting rods and a few others that won't break the bank


Jim

[Bassboss]

Yup! I also agree with biggins! If you can get a longer rod, than defiantly get it! 6'6" or 7'. Under 50 bucks, I'd go with a Berkly Amp. They're light, and seems like they would be pretty sensitive, never used one though, they seem real nice for the price though! I'd match it up with an Abu Garcia black or Silver Maxx, or a Daiwa Exceller if you've got the cash! Also you may wanna check out the Bill Dance Select Series. It's a good reel, and a decent rod for under 70 bucks a combo!

Match it up with some 10, or 12lb CXX and yer all set!

[AUFred]

I fished for years with Berkley Lightning Rods. For a budget rod they are pretty good. I prefer 6' & 6'-6" just for accuracy & tight spaces & storage.

[keithdog]

Last year I bought a Shimano Convergence rod at Gander Mountain. They run about $50.00. I can tell you from my experience with this rod, it's one of the better rods in it's price range. I'd have to also agree with Bassboss on the Garcia Black Maxx. I've never used one, but I have several Garcia casting reels and you can't go wrong with Garcia.

[walkeraviator]

bought a Black Max reel on a Black Max 6'6" MH rod at Wal-Mart for 59.99 back in the spring and it works better than expected for what i paid for it.

But again... I was taught to fish by my Dad and spent my entire life up until teh last few years fishing EVERY technique i knew on a 5'6" M fast tip pistol grip rod without a single problem...

[BassFeverJohn]

Wow, I got a lot to think about now...

I tend to use shorter rods. I am not really sure. I own a really short pool stick too. Just my thing I guess, but I am willing to take good advice. My budget is not much. $60.00 would be the top end. Not much I know. It has to get the rod and reel, so I was thinking a combo. I know I am not looking at something KVD, or Ike would be using, I just would like something decent.

Do you guys think a spinning rig would suit me better than a caster? I like to make a lot of low angled casts under tight structure, like docks and such, when available. Spinning gear is what I am used to, only ever had one caster, a long time ago, and never really utilized it much. However, only having two rods I thought it might be good to have one of each.

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by BassFeverJohn

Wow, I got a lot to think about now...

I tend to use shorter rods. I am not really sure. I own a really short pool stick too. Just my thing I guess, but I am willing to take good advice. My budget is not much. $60.00 would be the top end. Not much I know. It has to get the rod and reel, so I was thinking a combo. I know I am not looking at something KVD, or Ike would be using, I just would like something decent.

Do you guys think a spinning rig would suit me better than a caster? I like to make a lot of low angled casts under tight structure, like docks and such, when available. Spinning gear is what I am used to, only ever had one caster, a long time ago, and never really utilized it much. However, only having two rods I thought it might be good to have one of each.

Hmm... I'd say your best bet is to save up 10 bucks more and get a Bill Dance combo, or a Silver Maxx/Lightning rod for 80 bucks w/ 10$ mail in rebate.

I do however thing that you could get better quality from a spinning reel from that price point. Abu Garcia cardinal, and a the best rod from berkly you can get (cherry wood, lighting rod, amp, etc.).

[tim4081]

bassboss is right about getting a better quality reel if you go the spinning route. check out cabelas....they have a much broader assortment of spinning combos than BPS does.

[Backwater Charlie]

There was a good sale a while back at BPS. BPS extreme reels were $59 and BPS tourney special rods were $20... that's a $130 combo for $80! Would have been perfect for what you were needing. Since you like to pitch docks I think the shorter rod thing makes since. My dad is the same, all he uses are 5'6 Pistol-Grips.

Other than the BPS Tourney Special/BPS Extreme combo for $80, IMO, there's no good baitcasters to buy. Stick with your Spinning reels. A Pflueger Trion 35- or 40-size with an "Amp" or "Cherrywood" rod from Berkley, 6' Medium power.

8lb or 10lb mono at most.

[BassFeverJohn]

Well we don't have a Cabellas in this state, and the only BPS in the area, ironicall just down the street from me, closed years ago.

We have GM, Dicks, Sports Authority, and good ole' Wally World. For quality gear my preference is Dicks, but Sports Authority has good stuff too. I have never been to Gander Mountain, it's clear across the county, but if you guys think it's good, and has good prices I will swing over there. I really want a caster for flipping, but I will look at some spinning rigs. I suppose I could get a lower end caster as a stop gap till I find more work. Do you guys think a low cost, but not dirt cheap combo would be ok for 6mo-year?

[Bubba_Bruiser]

If you can make it to Gander, they have some nice set ups under their house brand, and the are reasonable priced. I bought a 6'6" IM 6 Med Fast spinning rod over there last year and I have been very pleased with it. Don't get outside your comfort zone with the long rods though. Get what is comfortable to you. I like the long rods for the distance and hooksets on out there, but I like to stay under 6'6" for accuracy and bank beating.

[MississippiBoy]

Yes, you should be ok for a while with "cheap" gear, just not too cheap. I have 2 Abu Garcia Black Max combos that I've been using for two years now. No problems so far, other than one reel getting dirty and needing to be cleaned and oiled. But that'll happen with expensive stuff, too.

[keithdog]

Check on ebay. You might find a heck of a deal there.

[Jim80]

For the most part your gear will only end up being what you make it be . You could also check wally world I know the one near me has lighting rods on clearance for like 25 bucks and those are hard to beat at that price . Put that with one of the pinnacle lp100's that they sell and you have a solid combo that go's for 65. bucks one that I have used for about 3 seasons with no problems


Jim

[BassFeverJohn]

Originally Posted by Jim80

For the most part your gear will only end up being what you make it be . You could also check wally world I know the one near me has lighting rods on clearance for like 25 bucks and those are hard to beat at that price . Put that with one of the pinnacle lp100's that they sell and you have a solid combo that go's for 65. bucks one that I have used for about 3 seasons with no problems


Jim

Thanks for the heads up! I am going by there in a bit to pick up some weights they didn't put in my bag yesterday.

[Jim80]

Originally Posted by BassFeverJohn

Thanks for the heads up! I am going by there ina bit to pick up some weights the didn't put in my bag yesterday.

Check out the pinnacle solene as well it's 10 bucks more but it is a better reel with a bearing more and a click drag .

jim

[George_T]

Check your local Craigs list i have found some good deals on there in the past. Just be careful on there as there is a lot of ppl scamming, If the ppl dont want to meet you face to face then leave it alone.
And i have picked up some good deals at Wally world

[BassFeverJohn]

I wanna thank you guys for really coming out for me here.

I made a purchase today at Dick's. I asked my GF to go to Sports Authority with me today and while we were there looking at some combos she reminded me that she has an employee discount at Dick's. I was like, YAY!

So we went on over to Dicks and I picked out a Pflueger combo that was on sale for $49.99. With her discount that is just under $38. I couldn't pass it up. There were three combos to choose from. A nice ugly stick, the Pflueger, and a Quantum. The ugly stick was $5 less than the other two, but I was not jazzed about the reel, and I like a cork handle, and it had black foam. It was also heavier and stiffer than the other two. The other two were almost identical looking, same colors. I checked out and immediately drove to a nearby lake, strung her up and tried her out. I have not used a bait caster in something like 17 years. I am a bit rusty. First cast I tried slinging it like a spinning reel, and BAM, lure hit the water before I could react and I had a huge backlash!

After sorting that out I spent about an hour playing around with different lures, but only had one bite and didn't hook 'em.

When I got home and started the job of working the line off so I could restring it with fresh line I realized I had bought the Quantum, not the Pflueger. I am a bit disappointed by this. The reel on that one had two more bearings and looked a bit nicer. I have no idea how that got by me.

I plan to go in tomorrow and exchange them. But before I do this I though I would run it by you guys and see what your advice would be.

The rod is a Quantum Tenacity AP IM7. It is a one piece 6'6" medium action.

The reel is a Quantum Tenacity AP TEN300CX. It has four bearings and a 6.2:1 ratio.

I believe the retail price was $79, so it was a nice price break plus the discount.

I am on the fence here, I have always wanted an ugly stick for the no breaking thing, and the Pflueger was really nice. What do you guys think?

[66KingFisher]

I know all about bein dirt poor, so i've learned to do some serious bargain shopping for everything we need. Many times I can't afford something new, but I can find it in good used condition for pennies on the dollar many times if you know where to shop......Ebay and Craigslist is ok if you don't mind the whole internet shopping thing, but I'm not crazy about using it......I do watch local Pawn shops, Flea markets and garage sales regularly......You'd be surprised what kinds of deals you can find.....not always, but if your not in a hurry its a good place to make a good find on whatever you might be in the market for.

[islandbass]

Go for the one that feels best in your hands. So between now and when you go back, try to get a feel for the quantum and then when you get to the store, hold the other model. Chances are that one of them is going to feel better.

Since this is going to pretty much be your "all arounder" I would be inclined to choose the one closest to a medium heavy power and fast action if they both feel pretty good.

If not then medium ought to be okay for now.

At your stage in the game, I wouldn't worry about bearing counts in the reel. Many times at this price point, they are there and clearly advertised to catch anglers like a senko catches a bass.

If these two combos are in the same ballpark pricewise, the performance of their reels is very likely going to be similar. It behooves company A to offer just as much if not more in a combo and Price X than company B. If not neither would be competitive.

Leave out the ugly stick. If durability is your concern, this can be countered by taking excellent care of your rod (quantum or pflueger) so as to not even let it be an issue. This is no knock on the ugly stick.

[walkeraviator]

Get rid of the Tenacity...I bought the Tenacity combo from Dicks two years ago. The reel has a tendency for the release to re-engage mid cast, making an awful racket and droppin the bait right in front of you...splat...(this will become my flippin/pitchin reel when i re-line again)

To top it off, the rod only lasted 6 months before snapping overhead mid cast on a crankbait...it was a 6'6" MH rod... i now use the handle as a short practice piece, and something to put the reels on when i clean em and reline em every spring...

and ditto on craigslist... i got a BPS pro qualifier on an XPS 6'6" MH rod for $40 (closer to $140 if you bought em new)

[BassFeverJohn]

Originally Posted by islandbass

Go for the one that feels best in your hands. So between now and when you go back, try to get a feel for the quantum and then when you get to the store, hold the other model. Chances are that one of them is going to feel better.

Since this is going to pretty much be your "all arounder" I would be inclined to choose the one closest to a medium heavy power and fast action if they both feel pretty good.

If not then medium ought to be okay for now.

At your stage in the game, I wouldn't worry about bearing counts in the reel. Many times at this price point, they are there and clearly advertised to catch anglers like a senko catches a bass.

If these two combos are in the same ballpark pricewise, the performance of their reels is very likely going to be similar. It behooves company A to offer just as much if not more in a combo and Price X than company B. If not neither would be competitive.

Leave out the ugly stick. If durability is your concern, this can be countered by taking excellent care of your rod (quantum or pflueger) so as to not even let it be an issue. This is no knock on the ugly stick.

Wow, I completely understand your point here. I am a photographer, and in my trade the big *gott'cha* tactic is mega-pixels.

Having never really used high end equipment outside of ocean fishing, where I use my dad's Penn stuff, I really don't know any better. And, to be quite honest, I have never really thought about it until recently. In fact, until last year when I bought my UL gear, I had never given any more thought to a rod and reel than price, feel, and how cool it looked. I was usually going for; Cheap, comfortable, and sweet looking. I don't really care about looks so much anymore, I do care about comfort, which is why I like cork, and price is still a big concern, but instead of the cheapest, I am looking for the best I can do for what I have. I will have to admit, I chose the one I did, ironically not the one I bought, because it felt the best out of the three, and the reel had the better, for my perception anyway, feature set than the others. I am giving serious thought to just keeping the Quantum, but I need to just give it some thought. I don't want to rush it. I know it is not like a big deal to people that have really high quality gear, but for me it is something that has to get me through my financial slump, and I don't know how long that could be.

Curious though, why did you say to just rule out the Ugly Stick, is it because of the reel, or that I said it was my least favorite in feel?

[AUFred]

Most of today's baitcasters are serviceable. You may need to crank everything down until you train your thumb again. Remember to adjust it when you change lures to where you can push the release and have a steady controlled lure drop. With a little practice you will be able to use whichever you end up with.