Poolshark

Both solid reels. As said above the I series citica and curado are almost identical except for the bearings. They both perform well in fresh water the curado will hold up better in the salt. The citica line does not offer the 70 series. Which is my favorite sized reel in the shimano line. Worth a look. If I were fishing fresh water and I wanted a 200 sized reel, I'd no hesitation in opting for the citica.

They are both good rods. They are both light, balanced, perform well + they both have cool looking blanks. I like the mojo bass for the quality finish and cork handles (personal preference). I've been using st croix for 14 years and have never had an issue with them. The newer version of the mojo bass fishes right up there with my avids and legend tournament and doesn't skip a beat. That being said, the warranty is five years on the mojo vs the lifetime on the other two. I'm not sure if there are differences in blank quality/build or if the warranty is shorter because of the cosmetics/guides/gloss etc. I've used the Ike frog, jig and spinning rod. i own the Ike series cranking rods. Great for the money. My favorite is the lipless special, it is designed for ripping baits in grass and med to large plugs but is also a phenomenal square bill rod. I have noticed less consistency in build quality with the Abu rods in general. Namely crookedly lined guides. The grips are comfortable and it has a custom like dual paint job. In all honesty, minus the handles, these rods look similar on my rod rack. In short, they will both be good performing rods and cosmetically they have a similar appeal. Both will meet your needs equally well. I am just a sucker for st croix craftsmanship

Where and how I plan on fishing pretty much dictates this. But for most of my personal fishing a 7 1/2 ft heavy fast casting 7 to 7 1/2 med/heavy fast casting 7 to 7 1/2 med/heavy moderate casting 7 ft med/fast spinning rod

To me.... It doesn't matter. I own some rods with micros, without micros and some in the middle of the size spectrum. Some of the "micro" guide rods that I own seem to have no performance benefit than the same rod with standard guides. Case in point, the falcon Bucoo series and bps carbon lite. I see no difference between the two. But someone else might I guess. The two of my favorite rods just so happen to lay somewhere in the middle. the st croix legend tournament and the mojo series. With all that being said, I'm focused on buying rods with high quality guides. And thats it

Casting equipment is fine. I use a 71 mhf mojo casting with a lews tourney pro reel for 5" senkos, and a 7 mxf spinning rod for anything lighter. I have no problems casting with either setup. One thing I've found is using a rubber o ring and mosquito hook has made my hook up ratio almost flawless. It really doesn't matter what I'm throwing them on

This is a personal preference, but since your asking, I'll take a shot at it for you. personally I would prefer and add a mod action rod for crankbaits and a good medium fast spinning rod. But if these are all you had I would use them as such... the bps extreme: spinnerbaits,lipless cranks, buzzbaits. This rod has enough tip and slightly more moderate fast than the others. Good spinnerbait rod. the g loomis 803: plastics, senkos and small worms and jigs, extra fast tip, perfect for this. the st croix: small frogs, buzz toads, bigger worm and jigs. the Scott Martin: for your swimbaits. A good flipping rod otherwise id throw the curado on the st croix the lews on the g loomis I'd put bb2 on the Scott Martin IF you want to throw swimbaits. I'd buy a new reel for the bps extreme.

Btw. The rod will be fine with a rinse down. But you CAN use a light duty saltwater rod for bass fishing as well.

I use the curado I series, e series and b series in the salt and have no issues. I have had them stripped down and greased to prevent corrosion. I also use the Calcutta d and b series which I prefer. All of these reels have held up well. Good luck on whatever you get.

I'd prefer a reel with more power. But the curado b is a good reel and will hold up to it. just keep it maintained

Pro Q / carbon lite

Mojo bass 71mf or 71 mhf- curado 70 I or lews tp g loomis e6x Mbr843 - lews tournament mb st croix avid 7 mf - lews tournament mb or citica The list goes on....

I live in Florida so I'd need one rod for flipping and at least one rod for fishing trebles in grassy shallow water. 76 mhf to hf- Worms, jigs, frogs, buzz toads, flipping, Carolina rigging, finesse swim baits and big spinnerbaits. 76 glass composite mhmf mmf- squarebills, lipless baits, medium sized plugs, smaller spinnerbaits, buzz baits chatterbaits. 7 mf spinning- all of my finesse plastic techniques and lures >3/16 of an ounce including small top waters and 1/8 ounce lipless baits.

As an avid bass angler, familiar with loomis and curado, you might already know the answer to your own question. But... If you want new.. Casting combo- Lews Mach combo 7 mhf.... Or I had an absolute blast last spring with an Abu Garcia Silvermax/ lighting rod combo I put together at Walmart on vacation. ran me around a hundred dollars and I caught my personal best. Go figure... I would use this setup again without hesitation. Spinning setup- shimano sellus/Sedona combo. if you want used... Go to your local pawn shop or shop the flea market on this forum

It really depends on what you think looks good. I like cork handles so I think the mojo bass or any g loomis with a curado I looks good. but that's just me. Some people like foam. Some people like the blackout look. Whatever floats your boat I guess. As far as money is concerned or how to balance out the combo. A good reaction bait rod need not cost you an arm and a leg. Any of the rods I mentioned are pretty fairly priced and will work great. id make sure to research and get a good workhorse reel that will cast well and hold up over time. everyone has their favorites but I have had best luck with the curados/calcuttas. But my tatulas and bb1 are proving themselves. I shy away from graphite framed reels myself in favor of one peiced aluminum frames. The 150 to 200 price range in reels seems to deliver the best return for my dollar. Good luck

crankbait rods can be tailored to what type of cranking you will be doing. I own a 73 mm Abu Garcia "Ike"series glass rod for squarebills, med divers and lipless baits. This rod is a great rod. It launches baits a mile, has a nice backbone and jelly like tip. It is rated as med, but it really fishes in between a medium and medium heavy. It's a great all around small to medium crankbait rod. It goes for $129 For bigger, deeper diving crankbaits I own a 7'8 mhm mojo glass rod. It goes for $140. As for reels, the bb1, tatula and curado are always solid choices. Hope that helps.

The new mojo bass rods with the sv111 blanks are decent rods. Much lighter and more balanced than the previous version. I currently own two of the 7'1 mhf, and he 71mf. I think that for the price, you are getting a good rod.

If the okuma is a crankbait rod, You could look into getting a medium heavy fast action rod to fish your jigs and worms etc. A 7 to 7 1/2 ft mhf is my bread and butter rod. Aside from that, you have everything you need and more.

I'm a right handed person whom uses lefty reels mostly. Maybe it's because I used a spinning setup for years initially. It was hard for me to adjust to controlling the rod with my non dominant hand. For the techniques wich require a lot of rod action and hook setting its lefty reels. For spinnerbaits and crankbait fishing, I have combos with righty reels. Using both helps lessen fatigue.

What are some of the rods that you you have?

Out of the rods you mentioned, I own a veritas. It's a 71/2 ft mhf action rod. It's rated for 3/8 to 1 1/4 ounce weight and is my favorite jig rod. It can be used for t rigs, senkos, small swimbaits, frogs, jigs, big spinnerbaits and light flipping. It's light, balanced casts far and pretty versatile. It's currently my favorite rod. For the second rod you mentioned I'd get a mh or m moderate. I'd use that for anything with a treble hook. I recently purchased a 73 mm Abu Garcia Ike delay series. This rod has a nice backbone and a very soft tip. It works well for lipless crankbaits, squarebills, spooks, chatterbaits, small spinnerbaits and med diving plugs. If I had only two casting rods, these would be it. I could do most of my bass fishing. a couple of other great rods in your price range are the st croix mojo and the bass pro carbon lite Hope that helps. Btw, welcome to the forum!!

18 rods and 11 reels. Whatever floats your boat. I bring different rods to different lakes. And usually take no more than 3 to 5 combos with me. I'm a pseudo minimalist. Lol

Just keep practicing and keep your breaks set correctly. It also helps to keep the lure weights within the rods rating. A medium rod might help.

Casting lures at 1/2 ounce shouldn't result in backlash. Try adjusting your brakes and casting technique. As far as lures buried in grass goes, try going with a lighter bait and a faster retrieve. How deep is the grass you are fishing? I tend to match the weight I'm using to the depth im fishing. Also, when fishing shallow grass, I benefit greatly from a higher retrieve/higher gear ratio reel. Say 6:3:1 to 7:31 ratio. Also, weedless lures help. Spinnerbaits, Texas rigs, buzz toads, spinnerbaits, zoom flukes and rattle traps. The shallower the water the lighter the weight lure. I think a medium heavy weight rod is perfect for fish for fishing grass. Bass tend to dig themselves in when hooked. The medium light though is a rod I would avoid in the grass. Especially shallow grass... Unless you are using ultra light lures. As far as as a combo is concerned. The carbon lite/ pro qualifier combo starts at 159. That is a killer combo for the price. Get a higher speed reel for the shallow grass.

I use my flats tackle for bass all of the time. Especially for throwing plastics and poppers. I tend to use the lightest gear I can get away with my self. But if it works for you, and you enjoy using it, than why not?

I have too many rods and people might disagree with me on this, which is fine... But I think the most versatile rod that I own the bass pro extreme 7 ft med/heavy fast action. It's not my lightest rod but I take this one with me hiking and kayaking. when I can only really take one or two rods and does almost anything I want it to. it has more tip and slightly more moderate action than my higher end worm rods. I can easily throw frogs, t rigs, senkos, spinnerbaits, square bills and lipless cranks with it. If I found a lighter rod, with its extract taper and power I could do 90 percent of my fishing with it. Its rated 3/8 to 1 ounce but it throws 1/4 to 1 1/4 just comfortably.