Cody0707

I am wanting to by 2 new setups. I have a budget of $400 for both. I would like them to be able to fish everything except for the finesse fishing that I will be doing with a spinning setup. Which rods do you recommend? Which reels do you recommend? Pound test for each setup? If possible I would like to keep it on the lower side of the budget so I can upgrade my spinning setup as well.

Went out to fish a little bit before work. I got there about 2:00 pm. Nice breeze and overcast sky. I was there to practice throwing my baitcasting setup. I had the setup rigged with 12lb mono line and the drag was set at 3lbs. I fished with a Senko, tried a jerk bait but it was to light for the baitcast setup, and then threw a white spinner bait. Nothing was biting on the senko no mater were I put it. I then started to fish with the spinner bait, trying to get it as close to the tree limbs as possible. I cast out past where I was thinking fish would be and then reel it past the structure I was fishing. On my last cast I threw my bait about 20ft from where I was. The tree I was fishing was about 5ft from where I was. I was 5ft in on my retrieve when the spinner bait was hit hard. I set the hook and the fight was on. The fish was pulling out drag and headed for the same tree structure I was going to swim the bait by. I had no choice and tightened the drag. Fought the fish a little longer then snap. The top of my rod broke. I got the fish to the dock as quick as possible after that. A few pictures and a weight then back in the water. The fish weighed 2lbs. I am guessing the rod was just a combination of cheap and old. Time to start shopping for a new rod and reel. I had a great time.

I took a few pictures of the reel so you guys can see what all I can do an possibly make some more recommendations. I will be buying a new setup at the end of the month. Just want to get as much time in before I step up to a better setup. I just need to start leaving the spinning setup at the house or truck.

I was throwing 3/8 oz lures and up to 1/2 oz. I just watched the setup for a baitcaster video a second time. I don't know how i missed it the first time but I never set the magnetic resistant. I had it a I believe full and then just set the cast control knob. Next time I will have to remember to put the magnetic resistant to nothing then set the cast control knob to where it should be. Followed by putting the magnetic resistant back to half once I have the cast control knob to where it should be. Guess I will have to keep at it.

Went fishing today and strictly used the Shakespeare Axiom baitcasting setup I have. I have it rigged with 12# mono. I got the hang of casting the setup using a kind of sweeping motion on my right side. I would still get a few bird nests doing this but for the most part I was pretty successful. When I cast using an overhead cast I got a bird’s nest just about every time. I didn’t even attempt to cast off to my right side but a few times and those cast only went about 10’. Is there something I am missing when casting overhead? All in all I had a good day. I ended up catching 4 fish and ponds and lakes I had never been to. I only had 1 nest that was so bad I had to cut the line to get it out. I did not have anywhere near the accuracy of what I have with my spinning setup. Hopefully this will improve with time along with being able to cast the setup anyway I need to in order to put the bait in the strike zone.

How many of you have tried a baitcast setup and just did not find it enjoyable enough to change from your spinning reels? Were you able to get it down with very few birdsnest or did you get fed up with it while trying to learn? Any other reason for staying with a spinning reel?

What # line?

I have a Shakespeare Axiom rod/reel combo. I want to get to know how to really use this rod so once I get to know how to throw a baitcaster I can upgrade to a better rod and reel setup. This is the only baitcaster I have. It is a 6'6"M rod. The ratio on the reel is 6.3:1. I am wanting to put a line on here that will allow me to get a good hang of how to throw a baitcaster without giving me many problems. I would be throwing mainly spinnerbaits on this setup until I get use to it then maybe trying some lighter bait. Which type of line do you recommend in this scenario?

Currently I have a 6'MH Ugly Stick with a Shimano Syncopate 2500FE. This setup has 10lbs braid. This is the only rod I use. I grew up fishing spincast reels. I also have a 6'6"MH Shakespeare Axiom rod with a matching Axiom baitcast reel. The setup has 20lbs braid. After having a look around on this site it looks like I have some cheap and improperly setup rigs. I use to fish growing up and just recently got back into it. 90% of my fishing lately have been throwing a weightless senko. I have a budget of $200. I am thinking I should put mono line on the baitcaster and start learning how to use it. I would like to use the $200 on a good spincast rod and reel for throwing plastics. What do you think?

If you could only own one rod, reel, and line combo what would it be? To make this interesting lets break it down by cost. Less than $100 $100>$250 $250>$500 Sky is the limit

I grew up fishing. I mainly fished saltwater growing up and enjoyed it more than freashwater. I joined the army and stopped fishing. Here I am 10 years later and I am getting back into fishing again. I look forward to reading lots on this forum.