LongTime

Thank you. Reel Mechanic -- much of your shorthand went over my head. But when it comes to Crawdads, I'm not referring to live bait but the artificials. I'm in OC. Sounds like you're in SD. If you ever want to acquaint a newbie with real bass fishing just let me know.

Hi all, Instead of asking "what to get for my needs?", I'm asking backwards: "here's what I have, is it good together?" "And if so, what is it good at?" I'm a newbie to baitcasting. And to "real" bass fishing. I've caught bass, trout and panfish for years with spinning tackle. Some on worms (live); some on spinners; way back when on Hula Poppers, etc. My ex brother in law killed the bass with jigs and plastic worms, and swears by baitcasters with a stiffer tip so he can feel bass mouth his plastics. (I haven't seen him in ten years, though, so he's not around to advise me or teach me). With my micro spinning set ups, and a super soft, whippy pole, I could not feel the fish nearly as well. Plus I thought it would be fun to learn something different. So I bought an auction item at a charity event -- my first baitcasting combo. Unfortunately, my local sporting goods fishing department guy told me that he thinks the reel and pole are not designed to go together. Before I go to the trouble of selling the pole on Ebay, I thought I'd ask if he was right. Here's the set-up: Reel: Shimano Curado 200 DHSV Rod: Shimano Carbomax, 6'6", MH, Fast action. (seems very stiff). Do these work well together? If so, what will this set up be good at? I don't have a boat, and intend to use my new set up for walking around shallow, man-made lakes in SoCal, with green water, trying a variety of lures: everything from frogs, to crawdads, to rat-l traps, large spinnners, maybe even the Castaic artifical trout. Also would like to learn plastic worms and grubs better. In short, every thing but the smaller spinners and flashers I use with my micro set ups. I will need to cast far, and while not rocky, the terrain is usually weedy and reedy. Any and all input is appreciated. Thanks.