new rod and reel

[WallStreetAmigo]

Hi All,

I’m very new to fishing and am looking for some advice. I started bass fishing about a month ago and got immediately hooked when I caught a 4 pounder from shore my first time out. Now I have the feeling this is going to get expensive and eat up all of my free time. I am very interested in learning as much as possible to be consistently good at it.

This forum is an unbelievable resource for newbies like me. I have learned a lot just by reading the questions and answers here.

I want to buy a new rod and reel combo, but would like some advice on what I should get based on my situation. I will give you an idea of where, how, and what lures I fish to give you a framework to work with.

I split my time between shore fishing and fishing from an inflatable boat (no motor). The lakes I fish are shallow and clear with lots of underwater weeds and, when shore fishing, lots of topwater weeds and lily pads. I have tried many different types of lures, but I keep coming back to a Rapala Skitter Pop, a spinnerbait, and a crankbait, all of which my kids gave me for my birthday.

I need a new rod and reel combo, and the issue is being able to cast lighter lures a good distance, while having a strong enough rod to handle 2 to 5 pound bass who immediately weave through the weeds when hooked. Any input on rod, reel, and even selecting the right line to use to maximize casting distance and still being able to bring in lunker sized bass would be greatly appreciated. If you need further info, let me know.

[skeeter944]

i would go with a 6'6'' medium action graphite spinning rod with 10-12lb flourocarbon line,like bass pro shops xps flourocarbon line. if you can use a baitcaster,i would get a bass pro shops tourney special combo in 6'6'' medium action, here it is
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catal...rTarget=browse
also,welcome to the forum! if you have any kind of question,feel free to pm me at anytime.

[ToPwAt'R GuY]

I would go anywhere from a 6'6" medium action rod to a 7' medium hard rod. I like a fast tip on my rods. As far as reels go, I usually go with a spinning reel for finnese fishing with light lures. Anytime Im in heavy cover or am casting bigger baits I will go with a baitcaster. If you ask about line on this forum youll get a lot of answers. Just try a few different brands and its really preferance. I usually use power pro, suffix, and stren.

[Rebbasser]

Welcome to the forum!

It really depends on the type of rod an reel you want to use. Most guys starting out go with a spinning rod/reel:



of which there are quite a few good combos out there. Most places that sell tackle have combos, which matches a rod and reel. I'd go with a 6' or 6'6" medium action rod. I'd get a combo rather than buying them separate so you get a balanced outfit. There are a lot of good brands like Quantum, Shimano, or Diawa just to name a few. Rather than get into specific recommendations I'd go someplace that sells them and pick up a few and see which one feels right to you. If you go with a spinning rod I would get some 8 lb test line to go with it. Mono would be my choice-flurocarbon is great line but can be a little tricky to use on a spinning reel. It is a lot stiffer than mono and can cause problems flying off the reel in a big tangle. My preference for line is Tirlene XL, but Stren, and P-line to name a few are good lines. Stay away frm the $1.99 1000 yard spools of line-go with quality. The one exception to the inexpensive spools is Trilene Big Game, which is a good line. You can get a good, workable combo for $50 and up.

If you want to go with a baitcaster:



There are a lot of good ones out there as well. They are a little more expensive but I find I can fish heavier cover, heavier baits, and heavier lines with them. There is a learning curve with these rods-the line can birdnest on you-the line gets all snarled up on the reel-but there are ways to reduce them and we ALL get them, so don't let that scare you. A good all-around length and stiffness is a 6'6" medium heavy rod. you can find combos of these, too but most baitcasters for fresh water will work fine on most rods. Once again, go someplace and handle the rods/reels and find the one that feels right to you. For line I'd go with 12 lb mono. There are a number of options with lines but I won't overload you with that .

I'll warn you-it can get expensive and can eat up all your free time and you will love every minute of it!

For somebody just getting started here is a great source of info:

bassresource.com/beginner/beginner.html

but it will probably generate as many questions as it answers, so ask away! The only dumb question is the one that isn't asked .

[WallStreetAmigo]

Thanks Skeeter, I appreciate the input. One thing I forgot to mention is that I have been using a Quantum PG370M 7' Medium Action Rod (although the tip busted off yesterday thanks to my kids...) along with a Quantum SX40F Spinning Reel. This setup was working relatively well for me, other than the inability to cast as far as I would like (maybe some of this has to do with the line I'm using and the practice makes perfect thing, who knows). The reel itself is pretty good IMO and since I am thinking of buying myself a new rod and reel, I would like to buy my wife a rod and let her use the Quantum reel. Any suggestions on the type of rod I should get her? She likes relatively short fishing rods as she feels more comfortable with them and she uses the same tackle I do.

I hope I'm not being too much of a pest here.....

[WallStreetAmigo]

wow, a whole bunch of replys while I was asking my second question....thanks everyone.

[Rebbasser]

A pest? Shoot, we love this stuff!

Since she likes the shorter rod a 6' medium action ought to fit the bill nicely.

Regarding cast distances-two things usually cause that: the line is too heavy for the rod/reel or not enough line on the reel.

Take a look at the rod-most have a line rating giving you a range of line tests it will handle, usually 4-12 lbs. Heavier test than that will be too big to cast easily.

Not enough line on the reel-you want to fill the spool to within about 1/8 of an inch from the lip of the spool. The less line on the reel the more resistance on the cast, but you don't want to put too much on the reel either-that can cause some major tangle headaches.

[WallStreetAmigo]

Good to hear you love this stuff, because wait until you get a load of me....

Thanks Rebbasser, no matter how much info I have read (and trust me, I have read tons), I have never put two and two together that less line on the spool would create more resistance...probably tremendously obvious to most, but that's why I'm here. I know now that I have way too little line on my spool and also have used 12 - 14 line at the suggestion of a friend, which is the top end of the recommended line for the rod/reel I was using.

Any day where I wake up, am able to get out of bed, and learn something new is a good day, and I have learned lots from this forum over the last few days.

[Rebbasser]

All part of the experience, amigo-I've been fishing for almost 40 years, and the day I quit learning is the day I hang up my rods .

[flfireman]

Reb let me know when you are gonna do that. I'll drive to Texas and help. Just think, I can take any that you don't have hanging room for.

[Rebbasser]

I will, but don't hold your breath, hose holder !

[skeeter944]

lmao!!!! oh,BTW,welcome to the forum amigo!

[flbassman]

Welcome aboard! B.C is beautiful. You anywhere near revelstoke?

[WallStreetAmigo]

Originally Posted by flbassman

Welcome aboard! B.C is beautiful. You anywhere near revelstoke?

Revelstoke is about 5 - 6 hours away. I am in the southeast corner of bc, a few miles away from both the Alberta and United States borders.

[WallStreetAmigo]

And there are about a million great fishing lakes within an hour in any direction, including one lake that holds up to 10 pound LM Bass and doesn't receive a lot of fishing pressure (no motors allowed on the lake at all and it is a looooooooooong row, let me tell you...I couldn't lift my arms above my head for a couple of days and even my earlobes were tired after that one!). That's one lake where I almost always catch two or three good sized bass casting from shore. It's crazy though, very clear water, no deeper than 10 feet anywhere I've seen on the lake (haven't covered all of it yet, or I would probably be in a wheelchair right now plus there are no topo maps available for it so you have no idea what it is like), and usually about 4-6 feet deep, and weed cover on the bottom. The big bass hang out 10 to 20 feet out from shore under the weeds and love my Rapala Skitter Pop....they can't get enough of it.

[WallStreetAmigo]

Thanks everyone for your help. I take it that a good 6'6" or 7' medium action rod/reel combination makes sense for the type of lures I use. One more thing: If I am going to get my wife a 6' rod and put my quantum reel on it, is there anything I need to watch for when I pick out the rod? Also, since I will use her rod when she is not around (now you see why I REALLY want to get her one........) if I get her a 6' medium action fast tip, should I get myself something like a 7' medium heavy rod for myself so I have two different rods rather than two medium ones (I hope this makes sense to you guys). If I do something like this, which rod should I use for which type of lures/bait. Any ideas would be helpful. If I make a good choice, I end up with two good rod/reel combos that will save me time tying on lures. Thanks again all.

[skeeter944]

yeah,get the 7' mh,and i would get a 6'6'' medium spinning rod for your wife. go with a tourney special from bass pro shops or the berkely lightning rod.

[Vabass22]

One very important thing is a stiff tip. This will give you less flex on the cast, making it longer, and more accurate. You could get a very light diameter line, like 15lb braid, to complement a mh action spinning rod, and that would probably let you get out there.

Welcome to the baord, and GET OUT THERE AND FISH!

[WallStreetAmigo]

Originally Posted by Vabass22

One very important thing is a stiff tip. This will give you less flex on the cast, making it longer, and more accurate. You could get a very light diameter line, like 15lb braid, to complement a mh action spinning rod, and that would probably let you get out there.

Welcome to the baord, and GET OUT THERE AND FISH!

My biggest problem is when I'm standing in the store checking out rods, I do not know how to judge how stiff the tip is and get an idea of what it will be like when I actually cast it out there. I am using another rod right now and I notice on both casting and hooksetting that it is much more flexible and less sensitive to strikes.

Any ideas?

[Rebbasser]

WSA, here is a link that will help explain it:

http://allstarrods.com/how_choose_rod.htm

The downside is that every rod manufacture uses different specs, but this will give you an idea. When looking at rods test a couple with different ratings. Hold the rod and put the tip on the ground. GENTLY apply pressure to see how the rod bends. You can really tell the difference if you test 2 at a time, say a M and MH action.

[Vabass22]

If you put the tip of the rod on the floor, and start bending up, this will give you an idea of the stiffness of a tip. Hard to explain, but don't try and bend it iwth your hands, the store owners get mad, and you could break a rod. Anothr trick is to put the rod tip on someones adams apple, and let them talk to you. The more vibrations you hear when they talk, the more sensitive the rod.

[FishinWrestler]

I justr started to really get into bass fishing and i went with a 7" medium shamino convergence bait caster and a abu C3 4600 and i love the combo

[WallStreetAmigo]

Thanks all for the great tips. I went and looked at rods again today and felt like I could actually make an intelligent buying decision. A special thanks to Rebbasser and Vabass22 for the tips on testing rods. I ended up getting a 7' Shimano medium rod (a fairly stiff tip according to my test comparisons), put my Quantum reel on it with 20lb braided line (another experiment), and went fishing. It worked very, very well. My casts were almost twice as far as before and I FELT more in control of the lures on the retrieve. I only caught one bass but the setup just felt better. Does that make sense??

Anyway thanks all, I appreciate the insights.

[Rebbasser]

Perfect sense, WSA. The rod/reel combo you want to use is the one that feels right. If it feels right you have more confidence, and confidence is the name of the game.