LionHeart

Tournament MB is a solid reel in 7 or 8 speed. You can also catch a Super Duty on sale for $99 quite often. Don't remember the weight but I'd stay away from the 8 speed Super Duty.

This can happen with flouro if you get a bad back lash that puts a kink in your line. One of the many reasons I stopped using flourocarbon. I'd also give your line guides a good look, especially the tip guide. If you get a line conditioner, I wouldn't recommend Reel Magic. Results were marginal at best.

I've switched everything I have to braid. I use a leader on most, for a few reasons.

I think I prefer Winn over all others, then it's kind of a toss up. Prefer the look of cork, but the feel of good quality EVA. Full vs split, don't too much care.

Why are you trying to bend them?

Lews Tournament MB is $109 new on EBay from Sportsman Outfitters. I own 3 of them and don't know what else you could ask from a >$200 reel.

I have a 7'4" mh/MF Bass X, and use it for spinner baits and chatter baits but it can do a lot of things well. May not be the best rod on paper but it is one of my favorite rods. So fun to use. I also have a Diawa Tatula in 7'2" heavy/fast and medheavy/ regular(basically fast action). Also great rods. You can get them from a few places on line for $110 shipped. Great rods as well. Seem to be excellent quality rods, especially at $110.

Handled them all in a tackle shop. I think the Magnum Bass would make one sweet jig rod. I wanted to buy it so bad because I've been wanting to try one for a while now. But alas, I am poor.

Don't feel bad. Lake Ray Roberts is 1 mile from my house, so naturally I fish there 90 percent of the time. If I catch more than 3 per trip, I'm doing well.

You can learn to pitch with just about any setup. A medium power rod would even work in my opinion, but may not be ideal of you pitch around timber our anything where a bass can get you wrapped around something if you don't turn his/her head. Or if you use a fairly large hook with your bait. Your reel will work fine also, but in my opinion a faster speed may be preferred, for a few reasons (to include what was mentioned in the video). I think the bottom line is, what you have will definitely work, but may not be ideal. Of course this is all preference and opinion. I don't think you should feel like you need to go out and get a different setup just to get into pitching but if you are already in the market, he gave some pretty good advice. The only thing I would change is rod length. I find a slightly shorter rod (7-7'2") to be easier to pitch with.

Thanks for the thorough reply. Just a heads up, 30 lb braid has a thinner diameter than 12 or 10 lb flouro, so while it may float, I expect it to run deeper while cranking. Never actually tried it so I may be wrong. I think we both fish differently, because I see no need for a leader while punching, and never 'flip.' I do pitch often, and nearly always use a leader.

What I have learned is that most flouro stretches just as much as mono. The differences is that flouro gets weaker, and doesn't return to it's original length after being stretched. I've also found that for launching 10xds, 10 and 12 lb flouro will snap on the back cast from the shock. I will be switching to braid for main line and mono for leaders on deep cranking setups. For >15 foot cranking, mono will work just fine although I think will be less sensitive, which I care about for cranking.

I go with 50 because it's easier to see the line move on the uncommon occurrence that I get a bite. Also, I think it digs into the spool less for certain presentations. For most of my fishing, I certainly don't need a line that can withstand 50 lbs of force. Last season I did the opposite, and just for the sake of trying something new, I figured I'd switch it up. The flouro I bought for backing is 600 yards for 10 bucks.

The only thing I'd say is 30 lb would be tougher to see while watching your line for strikes. I would imagine plenty of people do just fine with it though. You may notice the line will dig into the spool a little more than say, 50 lb test. Again, I would think plenty of people do fine with it. I plan to use 30 lb braid for my cranking setups this year and high vis yellow 50 lb for bottom contact baits. Pretty anxious to check it out.

Honestly I don't see much wrong with your setups. BTW, mono floats and flouro sinks. Unless you are using weightless worms, I don't think it matters enough to consider. Even then.....

I will be using all 3 on most of my setups this year. 10 lb flourocarbon for backing, 50 or 30 lb braid for main line, and 20 lb mono for leader line. BTW, anyone ever used Andes Mono? It is super cheap but gets great reviews from what I've read.

Oh bout' 40 or 50

Good Ole' drum fish.

Man you're making it tough for me to not get back out there. Nice job!

I'd go with a mod-fast med/heavy rod

Maybe rod length vs casting distance and casting weight. You could compare how a 6 foot rod is easier to cast but will give you less distance than a 9 foot rod that will cast further but will be more strenuous for the same weight lure. There is a simple formula for the force a lure exerts on the angler on a long vs short rod. Force(moment)=weight (of lure) × distance (length of rod). The force is typically measured inn inch pounds (think torque wrench) You could also use a formula for the difference in lure velocity. Don't remember the formula, but should be easy to google.

Welcome to the forum, and Texas! I live by Ray Roberts so I fish it on the weekends. Still trying to figure it out myself. One thing I do know is that it gets windy in the spring and early summer. As such I generally stick to the coves near Johnson's Branch. The wind is almost always out of the South and will heavily dictate where you fish. Never had much luck fishing north of the bridges on East Lone Oak and I have spent a lot of time trying. There is also a lot of barely submerged timber in that area, so be very careful. Most of my success has been fishing the coves on the west side of the lake or the southeast.

10 XD I use a 9 foot Lews David Fritts MH/MF. It is listed as moderate online but labeled as mod fast and can handle 3 oz lures easy. For 6xd and below I have been using a 7 foot medium moderate Pflueger Trion spinning rod. Really great action on that rod.

Using a 7'4" St. Croix Bass X MH/MF for Spinner baits and chatter baits 3/8-1/2. Absolutely love it.

If I knew a way to hide all that other stuff I would. Still, you don't make a bad point.