FishTank

Welcome to the forum..... It would help if we had a price point. You could get opinions from $150 to over $1000. My recommendations at various price points...... Shimano SLX 7.X:1 and a SLX 7'2'' MH Fast > around $150 at A.L.F. Shimano Curado K 7.X:1 and a St. Croix Avid 7' MH Fast > around $400 Daiwa Steez SV TWS and a G. Loomis 7' 844C GLX> around $950 There are ton more choices. The three I picked will do the job of more than just jigs. I also wanted to show how rods and reels can easily go from one price point to another quickly. Good luck....

I would think you would be ok with senkos and light spinnerbaits but frogs, to me, is bait casting setup lure, usually with 12-15lb mono or 40-50lb braid and Heavy rod. My do all set up for spinning gear is a St. Croix Avid MH Fast with a Shimano Stradic FI and 6lb FC.

I wouldn't think so. I have the Steez SV TWS and it is a different reel than than one you asked but I didn't like it for deep cranks. It tends to flex a little when under load and with deep cranks. It just felt weird. If the A is anything like that I would pass especially on something that is 2+oz. My personal preference for deep cranks is either a Shimano Antares 12 or a Shimano Calcutta. You would think you would need something more stoat for such a big lure.

Armilo will be more like Abrazx (kind of). Regular Defier is something special for crankbaits. Armilo so far (first spool last year) has worked well for me with swimbaits and heavy jigs.

I like Abrazx but it would be one last choices for crankbaits. I like it for jigs and some softplastic. To me, it works best around structure and rocks. For crankbait fishing, I like Sunline Defier and Invizx for deep cranks. Not to jump on the band wagon about this...... I believe that mono and copolymer when lit with a match will burn but fluorocarbon will not. It's an easy way to tell if you bought some fake FC.... Just tested some Abrazx and CXX> CXX smoked and burned, Abrazx did not.

G. Loomis 783C GLX and a Shimano Core 101MG. It has done it all for me the last 15 years.

St. Croix Avid 6'8'' M Fast. You can use it for more than just light topwater.

Try rotating it back to open and take the spool out and then put the spool back in.

This may help.....

I use the 3/8oz, 1/2oz and sometime the 3/4oz versions. I like the Haze, Pink, and Clear Chart but all of them work. Two things.... One, they are not that durable and two, they are rock snag magnets. I loose one at least every other time I am out but they do catch fish. I try to fish near sand and small rock mixed water or muddy bottoms. They do ok around structure but not near rock.

Normally I would say the Curado K for just about everything but with the rod you have and I have only held this reel in my hand, the Tatula Elite Flip and Pitch would make for a nice combo with that rod.

Antares 70A (left handed JDM version). Amazing reel. It balance well with this rod and it just has that special feel to it. I have also tried a Steez SV TWS, Shimano Curado K and DC, 2012 Antares and a Bantam. I liked the Antares the best with this rod.

Good luck. Wait till you start looking at the Xcalibur One Knocker. I remember them going on clearance for a couple of bucks before being discontinued and now they go for $10-$20 a piece. Great lipless crank though. I lost my last one earlier this year, chrome blue.

Adding some more to your list.... The Hagane, the Bevy Vibration, the iLV, and the RTO. I also saw something about a "Virtual Series" of lipless cranks. They have a ton...

Santa Monkey delivered today. I am still waiting on some Megabass Vision 110's, 2 Magdraft Swimbaits, a Vatalion and a Sonic Side crankbait, a spool of 15lb Daiwa FC, 6 packs of Senko's and a St. Croix Mojo Yak Rod. Also, I already put away over half of my Siebert's order (I can't plug these guys enough, great jigs). I got lucky on the Quantum reels ($61 on the KVD Smoke and $90 on the Tour S3). One more rod before spring and the monkey is done for the year (not really).

Abrazx would be my choice but either one would be fine.

The Bantam would be a great reel> solid like a tank, smooth and cast well. It can be had close to $250. Check out Asian Portal Fishing on ebay or their site....

Cover all the time. I fish this rod pretty much every time I am out. It is my primary jig rod. I usually fish both Saturday and Sunday and usually tournament on one of those days so it sees tons of casts and fish. Including this guy last year....

I think it just depends on what you want to use it for. For soft plastic 6'6'' - 7' works fine. For jigs 7'2'' - 7'10'' (depending on weight of the lure and if I want to cast it or flip/pitch). I like a 7' rod for topwater and spinnerbaits. I can cast more accurately with a rod under 7' but it's marginally more accurate and the same goes for distance. Longer rods give you a slightly longer cast but if the rod loads well and the reel is a good caster, length is not so much a big deal. This all changes the above when you get into crankbait rods (moderate) or X-fast rods.

I found that the way I was storing them in a standard 3700 box was causing more damage than me fishing them. I have since started to use a Plano spinnerbait box. Problem solved. I haven't replaced a spinnerbait skirt in years.

I use to have several of the Lucky Craft RC baits but never did that well with them. I was told that they were produced outside of the regular LC baits and were considered a sort of knock off by the Lucky Craft Company. I didn't totally believe this at the time until BPS started carrying them under the Lucky E Strike name and even their own for a brief time. I have a couple of the originals that have the Lucky Craft name on the bottom and they are still made today under the Luck E Strike name... Here is an example below.

In general when an angler attaches his name to a product, my money goes a different direction, especially when it comes to reels and rods. On the other hand.... I just bought a Quantum KVD Smoke S3 and it seems pretty well made. We will see how it is come spring time.

I have had a package that was ordered and shipped USPS on 11/25. I have still have not received it. It has 17 scans though. It has been in Wilsonville OR, Portland OR, Gaithersburg MD, Washington DC, Cleveland OH, Akron OH and so on..... I live in Indianapolis, IN. Something just doesn't seem right...

I kind of thought the same thing at first but once I found the right reel to put with it and started to catch a few fish (big ones), it was just fishing pleasure with plenty of backbone. In a way, this rod is sort of deceptive with its power. The mid section of the rod is so light feeling that it may feel tip heavy but it's not. Hook sets are easily over done with this rod. I have lost a few fish by just over torquing it when they first hit. I would say the sweet spot with this rod is a 1/2oz jig with trailer but not much heavier than that. I have also fished the Megabass Dark Sleeper with this rod, both 1/2oz and 3/4oz and it is has been amazing. To take it to another level, you should try the 803S NRX. It feels like you could just snap it easily on some of the smallest bass but it will surprise you. Using live bait, I have caught some catfish when fishing for smallmouth that were in the 10lb range and it handle them easily.

I could use both but prefer left handed reels. I cast with my right and reel with my left, never switching hands. It just feels natural now. I do clean a couple of reels in the winter for a few buddies (just finished 4 of them), all right handed. I take them out and test them before giving them back if the water isn't frozen just to make sure they are in top shape. I have found that I can pitch and flip better with some right handed reels due to an old injury (broken hand and wrist) than I can with a left handed reel. I may add a right hander in the future.