Line/Rod Combos...

[Deitz Dittrich]

Hello my FM friends, we have had a few posts on what rods and what lines to put on rods and I thought it would be a fun post to start when people are thinking of buying new stuff. In this post put what line weights and rod lengths and actions and what you use that rod for. I feel its important for each to use what they are most comfortable with, please know I don’t think that what I use everybody needs to use, this is just what works for me.

Finess rods. I have a few, All spinning

6’0 Med action rigged with 10 lb power pro.(this rod is used for fishing in weeds with jig worms primarily.)

6’8’ ML 8lb florocarbon, jig worms or dropshot, or light crankbaits.

7’2” ML 6lb Florocarbon , Dropshot rod.

I have more but are either double of the above listed, or not used as often.

Slop Rods All baitcasting

7’ MH 50lb Power Pro, Scum frog rod.

7’ MH 50lb Power Pro, Deitz Rig(I’ll explain some other time), Jig and Pig sometimes

7’6” Flipping stick, 65lb power pro, Jig and pig rod.

Again, multiple of these rods…

Application rods

Texas Rig Rod

7’ MH Spinning Rod 30lb PowerPro (used in heavy weeds and milfoil)

6’10” MH ex-fast tip Baitcasting rod 14lb P-line used more than the spinning rod by far.

Carolina rig/Stupid rig all baitcasting

7’MH 14lb P-line

6’10” MH 12lb p-line

7’ MH 50lb Power Pro

again multiple rods of each.

Spinnerbait/Crankbait

7”MH Composit rod (much slower tip) 10lb floro-for cranks

7’ MH composit rod 17lb p-line Spinnerbait rod

Dock rods

6’8” MH Spinning 20 lb power pro

7’ MH spinning 30 lb power pro

7’ MH baitcasting 30 lb power pro.

There you have it, I am am sure I left out something. But it’s a start.. please add on what you use.!

[SluggoMaster]

7'6" MH/H flipping rod with Curado SF and 50pound Super Braid for heavier jigs/cover

7' MH rod with Curado SF and 40 pound Super Braid for lighter cover, tight spots

7' MH/H rod with Abu Garcia 4600C4 6.3 and 50 pound Super Braid for frogging, buzzbaits, and misc topwater.

(1) 6'10" M St. Croix with Curado B5 and 14 pound flourocarbon or P-Line for spinnerbaits

(2) 7' MH rods with Curado B5 and 12-14 pound flourocarbon for spinnerbaits, and large crankbaits

(1) 7' M rod with Curado B5 and 12 pound flourocarbon for ligher crankbaits

7' MH spinning rod with Shimano Stradic (6.1 gear ratio) with 20 pound Power Pro for docks and other mystery baits.

[turn_in_poachers]

Deitz, Im going to take a stab in the dark here and say......... you like Power Pro? This post gives people a great idea on what to put on their reels for next year. Im switching to braid on both my casting outfits next year. So:

Jig & Pig

7' MH Kistler LTA, Daiwa TD Fuego(L), most likely 50lb PP.

The "All-Purpose rod"

6'6 MH Loomis IMX, Curado 201 SF, most likely 30lb PP.

The Finesse outfit

7'2 Crucial DS OR Powell 7' ML spinning rod, 6lb fluro.

I had 14lb mono on my IMX and 15lb PLine FC on my Kistler last year. I might still stick with the FC, but that 14lb mono is definitley gone. Lost a real nice spinnerbait with that mono breaking on me.

[delmuts]

i'm with deitz in that i like PP too!

7' M bionic blade,team diawa 103 with 20#PP,jigs,spinner baits

7' M bionic blade, team diawa 103 with 20# solar XT, buzz baits,spinners, some jigs.

7'2"( used to be 7'6" ?) flippin stick with amb. black max reel, with 80# PP.heavy jig in cover,frogs, and used for light buck tails for muskie action.

6'6" bionic blade spinning , shamano symetre 2000, 20 PP, and 10# solar XT. jerk baits, some floating plastics, and tubes.

6'6" BPS crankin stick, with BPS reel with 20 PP , big cranks, some spinnerbits, may change the line for this next year .

6' G-loomis ML spinning, shamno 1000 symetre, 4 & 6# solar XT, small cranks, and finesse plastics.

[Ralph Wiggum]

delmuts,

What do you think of those Bionic Blades rods? I was considering one, but it's tough to pull the trigger without handling one first.

[Ray Esboldt]

Here's the basics of what I carry. I do throw in some duplicates depending on where and what I think I might fish.

Spinning:

6'6" Medium action w/2000 (or is it 200?) series Shimano and 8 lb. mono; used for jigworms

7'0" Medium Light action w/2000 series Shimano and 8lb. mono; used for mini texas rigs, split shot rigs, or small minnow baits

6'0" Heavy action w/large spinning reel and 30lb. braid; used for dock fishing and misc. slop

Baitcasters:

6'6" Medium Heavy w/large faced baitcaster and 30lb. braid; used for jigs

7'0" Medium Heavy w/large faced baitcaster and 17lb. low stretch mono; used for Texas rigs

6'6" Medium Heavy w/large faced baitcaster and 14lb. mono; used for spinner baits and buzzers

6'6" Medium Heavy w/large faced baitcaster and 50lb. braid; used for slop applications

7'0" Heavy w/large faced baitcaster and 30lb. braid; used for carolina rigs, roller jigs, and flipping milfoil

7'0" Medium w/low profile baitcaster and 14lb. mono; used for topwaters, larger minnow baits, and lipless cranks

7'6" Medium fiberglass w/large faced baitcaster and 12lb. mono; used for crankbaits

That aresenal covers just about anything I fish, and it's all that will fit in my rod box.

[delmuts]

i love them ( we have 6 of them along with a BPS crankin stick!)

[delmuts]

ray! i was looking at my new BPS catalog. other years they offered a deal where if you bought two rods you would get a third free! i don't see that this year!! so before i was able to buy mine for $50 each! at $80 there are many good rods out there.( but yes!! i still love mine!)

[Ralph Wiggum]

I did see online that they had the Bionic Blades for $20 off.

[Ray Esboldt]

Del,

It was Ralph asking you about the BPS rods.

However, I have a few older BPS rods. I still think those rods are a great buy (so are Cabelas). They always use to be a little heavier than most rods, but that never bothered me using them for spinner baits and buzzers.

Loomis, St. Croix, custom made rods all are great. You can really purchase some great pieces of fishing hardware for $200. However, I really think some people (probably no one here) are kidding themselves when they think they will become a better fisherman by owning these rods. I've always told people, buy what you can afford and what is comfortable in your style of fishing. If you can afford a Loomis IMX, great. They are a pleasure to fish with. If you would rather buy 4 BPS rods for the same price as the Loomis, I think you're making a good move.

[delmuts]

sorry Ray !! i must of had "one of those moments" !! the newer ones are lighter, and have the cap screw for a counter weight.

[HawgTide]

I've scaled down this year becuase I had too many combos in the boat. This is what I'll have in the boat this year.

6'6" M F President w/ 14lb Mono for Crankbaits

6'10" MH XF Daiwa Viento w/ 40lb Power Pro for Pitchin Plastics

7' M XF Daiwa Fuego w/ 30lb Power Pro for Spinnerbaits

7' M F Shimano Castaic w/ 40lb Power Pro for Buzzbaits

7'6" MH XF Shimano Castaic w/ 50lb Power Pro for Flippin.

7' ML XF Spinning Rod President w/ 15lb Power Pro

7' M F Spinning Rod Quantum w/ 20lb Power Pro

I'll probably have a couple of spares in the box too, but I want to keep the deck at 7 or fewer combos.

I agree about getting what feels good to you. The top quality Gander Guide Series and Cabelas line is excellent. You don't need Loomis or Croix for sure. I think the gap between those brands and the $75 to $150 rods is very small and perhaps insignificant. I had a Loomis for two days and took it back to get 2 Guides Series Ultimates and still had $50 change. The GS rods were .10oz lighter and felt just as good to me.