JunkYard814

I use the St. Croix Mojo. I like it, but I'm not blown away by it.

Why did you buy four of them?

I sent you a PM with a link to a website that it would not allow me to post here. You will find that many people will have differing opinions to techniques, but I think what I just sent you is a great overview.

I think that's a good setup to start with. I first learned using 17lb mono throwing 1/2 to 3/4 ounce spinnerbaits and bigger cranks. Heavier lures are easier to cast. Don't be afraid to tie on a heavy sinker and just practice casting in the open water or even in your backyard. Casting reels are addicting. I only start using one about 3 years ago and now I have 5 different ones that I use regularly.

I own the Mojo, I like it, but it's my first rod I bought over $50 so I don't really have anything to compare too. I also just purchased a Powell Diesel that I plan on using this weekend too. I'll let you know how it is after this weekend. I'd be careful about that flexible budget. Two months ago I was in that exact price range you are and willing to go a little bit over. $20 opened up an entire new tier of rods, and then I figured well for another $20 more I could get something better. Ended up walking away with a St Croix Legend Tournament that I paid over $200 for.

I prefer the opposite. I like the longer rod to cast frogs greater distances, and the shorter flipping and pitching rods to work in tighter spaces.

Sounds like line twists are weakening the line.

I officially have a rod and reel for my finesse soft plastics. Now I just need to set it up with some line and I'm ready to go. The reel is a President in the 30 size. I was planning on lining it with either 6 or 8lb straight fluorocarbon so now I'm just looking for a brand. Will this size reel be able to handle FC of this diameter? If you could share your experiences with some of the brands and how they've fared on a reel this size, I would appreciate it greatly. I'd also prefer the line to be a lower stretch FC. I'm not interested using braid or mono as backing so please don't recommend that I only use a FC leader. Also, I am fully aware of Yo-zuri Hybrid, so I'd like to hear input on other brands. Your help is appreciated.

The guy set you up right for bass fishing if this is your only rod. You can pretty much do everything from spinnerbaits to crankbaits to soft plastics with that combo. Extremely light weight lures and finesse fishing tactics may be difficult on this set-up though. In the future if you are going to go with multiple combo's, that Chronarch can be used for a wide variety of presentations (I'm assuming he gave you the 6.3 to 1 gearing). Again that rod can be used for a lot of different presentations as well. Side note: One of the reasons I don't like shopping at BPS is that I feel a lot of the time their employees push their own products a little too much. By the time I walk into the store, I generally have what I want to buy down to two or three specific options, and every time I'm in there, they try to divert me to a Bass Pro Shops product.

Just checked the Cabela's website and it would appear the Veritas is on sale from $100 marked down to $80. The Fenwick Elitech Smallmouth series has been marked down to around $100. I've heard great things about that rod as well.

In my opinion, you are right on the fringe of building a really good combo. The better tier of baitcasters start between $100-$120, below that I feel that there's a pretty significant drop off. Conversely, I see no need to spend more than $100 on a freshwater spinning reel. Pflueger President has been my favorite spinning reel, however I hear quite a bit about the Shimano reels around that price range. Rods around $80, I'm not too sure about. I have yet to try out my new Powell Diesel, but I've heard some great things about it. Again, right around the $100 range you start to get into the pretty good equipment. Shimano Compre, St. Croix Mojo, St. Croix Premier and the Abu Garcia Veritas all have favorable reviews. You will probably find that many people set their bar at different levels, some lower than mine, and some much higher. This is where I set mine and where a majority of my equipment recommendations will come from.

If that is the orange Catalyst PT casting reel, I hope you get it working properly. I bought one a couple years ago and it's one of my favorite reels to use.

More inches per turn means you are going to need a greater amount of force to crank the reel one revolution. Basically a slower reel helps dissipate force needed to crank the reel the same amount of distance. There's a lot more physics to go behind it, but I'll admit that physics is not really a strong point of mine.

I use MH F Powell Diesel. I haven't had a problem with it yet. The only H rod I own is only used when I go fishing for blues.

Do you have it paired on a rod rated for the size of the lure your casting? I have a Tournament Speed Spool and I'm able to toss small frogs about 40-50 yards even with 60lb braid. I think I have two centrifugal breaks on (could be zero, I haven't checked since last season) and no magnetic breaks.

A lot of people use mono as backing to prevent the line from slipping. I've heard tape works as well, I guess its just personal preference. As far as tying a leader, I never do it because I find it takes too much time and I don't trust my not strength, but many people use either the Albright knot or the Blood knot

you can actually hook a baitcasting reel on a spinning rod?

This thread has me a little confused. Generally, I fish with all my breaks completely turned off and the spool tension knob only tight enough to allow my bait to fall without backlashing, and then I loosen as I need to gain casting distance. Are you saying that I should loosen the spool tension more and start utilizing more breaks? If its just a matter of preference, I'd rather do it the way I have been, but if there's a performance benefit, or I'm eliminating potential damage to my reels, then I definitely want to switch.

What he said.

Sometimes when I'm fishing I have a similar problem only to notice the line is wrapped around the tip or at the bottom of the reel. I'm left their scratching my head for a few minutes before I realize. I feel pretty foolish after

I've never used any of the max series or any Abu reel for that matter. Many people on here like them, so hopefully they will chime in. Personally, I found there to be a significant drop off once casting reels get below the $100 mark. Plus a nice casting reel makes fishing a lot more fun.

First off, welcome to the forum. If I were you, I would go with a lighter set-up and a MH set up. My light set up would be: Berkley Amp Medium XFast (around $25) paired with a Pflueger President (between $40-60) My heavier set up would be: Berkley Lightning rod MH Fast (around $40). That would leave you somewhere around $125 for a reel. If it's going to be a casting reel I would look at either a Shimano Citica or try to see if you can find a Lew's Tournament Pro in the $125 range. If it's going to be a spinning set-up, I would get another Pflueger President and split the remaining money upgrading the rods. I think those would be perfect starting set-ups. Not sure if you can get that at Academy, but that's what I would buy with that budget.

I just bought a St Croix Legend Tournament and paired it with a Pflueger President (kind of a large gab between rod and reel price) but I haven't gotten to fish it yet. I've heard a lot of good things about the St. Croix Avid though.

I love fishing crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits, but soft plastics are pretty much my go-to if all else isn't working. I use a few main ones: zoom fluke/super fluke (soft jerkbait), 4" or 5" senko (wacky rigged), and the Berkley gulp sinking minnow. If you learn to vary your retrieves, you can pretty much catch bass at any time of the year on soft plastics. Those are just a few I feel really confident in. Every time I'm in Cabela's, I usually pick a different bag of plastics to try out. The options are pretty much endless.

I have the 7' Mojo M /Mod rod for deep cranks and like it.