Hammer 4

Being that I have 5 Diawa reels, 1.. Tatula Fuego, 2.. 100's 1.. 150 1..200, and a Fuego 2500 spinning reel. I'd say Diawa, they are really smooth out of the box. Years ago when Shimano reels were all made in Japan, you couldn't give any reel but a Shimano. Times have changed, there are some really good reels on the market.

10 to 15 lb braid, and 6 to 8 lb fluro. Your choice.

Never thought about buying the Megabass jerkbaits...my Lucky Craft's have worked great over the years.

Very sorry to hear this Tom. My wife and I have dealt with cancer in the past, we sure Hope and pray that the medical team down there can do what is needed to give your Son a long healthy life, We will be praying for Tom and your family.

Tackle Warehouse

Maybe if you shared what you want to use it for, it may help with suggestions suited to your needs better. BTW, welcome to BR..

Tom did you mean to say..Irod IRG 754 C..? I could not find a 754 F model.

I would say your rod would work, however most, if not all who fish for Bass use a baitcasting reel. You have more leverage vs a spinning reel, but it would work. Keep in mind you would be chucking and winding a bunch, and the reel you have may take it's toll on you after spending a few hrs fishing. Try it, you have nothing to lose. BTW, Welcome to BR..

This^^^ I pay attention to both the min, and max lure weight of a rod, and throw the weight that it's rated for. I in most circumstances will not cast a lighter, nor a heavier bait, unless I'm in a pinch. Carrying 6 rods around bank fishing gets to be bit much..lol Use the right tool for the job.

If I may ask, what types of retrieves have you been using..? And ..are you getting any follows.?

The red/craw cranks also holds true here in almost all of our fisheries, especially the high pressured park lakes/ponds. I've had days when I could not get a strike on anything cept a red crank..

Frustrating isn't it..? Could be a couple of reasons why you are not getting bit,sometimes it's the size, shape, or retrieve. It's not completely necessary to match the hatch as they say. Fish can be caught on rainbow trout swimbaits, when there are no trout in the lake/river. Same goes for almost any type of bait. Example...bass are following your glide/swim bait, your retrieve is steady and when a bass follows that it figures that the bait will just take off, and it isn't inclined to chase it. OTH, when a bass is following, and suddenly the bait stops, and darts to one side or the other, then there's a better chance that it will strike, figuring the bait is wounded. This is especially true with jerkbaits, stop, the continue to reel, and the fish will back off, twitch your rod once or twice, and bam you get bit. So consider your presentation and retrieve. Bass are opportunistic feeders, you just have make it easier for them. If they are chasing baitballs, you want to get you bait Under the baitballs, with a bait that stands out, i.e. Shad, you could toss a fluke, but it looks just like all the other shad, add an underspin, or a flashing blade, and then they take notice, because it's different, and they key in on the flash of the blade. Hope that helps some.

Up to what weight..? As DVT said, make sure the rod will handle the weight of the lure, and the conditions your fishing in..My 7'2" H is rated up to 2 ozs..

Depends on what weight lures you intend to use. For me, up to 1/2oz, 7' mh, 3/4 and up I use a 7'2" H.

Set the tension so that there is very little to no side play, then set the brakes at a setting that will not overrun without using your thumb. Make some cast's, backing the brakes off until you get a small overrun. Then depending on your thumb technique, begin to loosen the spool tension ever so slightly. Make more cast's using your thumb. Once you can cast a decent distance w/o an overrun, try going down on the brake setting..Just takes practice.

I will use a 6'10", but prefer 7' to 8'. 7" is the shortest rod I currently have.

I change out line once a year, sooner if the condition warrants it. The reason being is that every time I fish, no matter where, time of year, ect it is, I'm hoping for a new PB Bass, hopefully a few lbs over DD..I just don't want to jeopardize having it come off due to a problem with my line.

O.K..Said this before. If you cast with your right hand, and are in fact right handed, why on earth would you want to switch hands to retrieve..? If I'm right hand dominate, I want to work the rod with that hand, the reeling part is easy compared to working your rod..is it not.? I've had bass breach to get to a lure, if I have to switch hands, I little to no chance to get the fish hooked.

If bass are spawning, and you have dinks/bucks, being small bass, there has to be a good sized female that laid eggs for that to happen. It's possible there are bigger bass, you or those you have talked to just haven't caught them yet. I've caught 7 lb trout on 4 lb mono, so you can catch them. As you fish more, you gain more knowledge...Keep at it. Oh and BTW, keep an eye out for used baits, sometimes you can get a great deal on not so cheap baits.

OP, yes, they will toss braid, and yes, for the $$$ they are pretty sensitive..I also have a Shimano slx rod, same size and power rating as one of my XT's, the slx feels heavy and not as sensitive as the XT imho.

The Diawa Tatula XT rods are very light, IIRC most are 99.99 to 119.00, if you wait for black Friday at TW, you can get them for much less. I have 3 of them, very nice rods.

Hate to say it to you northern folks..Was 85 here in so. cali the last 2 days, but that will change..

Make sure you check the line lay on the spool, some require adding a spacer or 2 depending on how the line lays, I had to add 1 spacer to mine. Great reel otherwise.

Here's a fairly good piece on how to fish glide baits, there are more on youtube. https://megabassusa.com/a-beginners-guide-to-glide-bait-fishing/ One thing Not to do is , stop then start reeling. If you stop, add a twitch or 2, then reel.

I had a Colt spinning rod 7' mf..I liked the action of it, and the sensitivity was fairly good. However, 8" of the tip broke off after fishing for 1 1/2 hrs. Sent it back to TW. got a refund and bought another brand. I had owned Dobyn's Champion rods years ago and loved them..I would look at the Diawa Tatula XT rods, very light, good action, I have 3 of them but they are baitcasting.