Hi All!

 

I'm in the market for my first baitcaster. I've got 2 spinning reels and they're great but I've found that for spinnerbaits and some of my other favorite lures, a baitcasting rod and reel are the way to go.

 

For Christmas, I recieved a Cabelas gift card and my first thought was a new rod and reel!

 

I can't decide whether I want to split it down the middle, spend more on the reel or spend more on the rod.

 

What do you think?

Well, your price points are going to be requested by a lot of people so fill that in.  

 

If you want an all around BC rod then look into a MH/F model of the brand you like best.  Same goes for the reel, a 6.x:1 or 7.x:1 will be best for all around uses. 

The gift card is for $100 but I can spend $150 total.

Cant go wrong with this reel and then find any $50 7' MH rod

 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Lews174-Speed-Spool174-Baitcasting-Reels/1165497.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dlews%2Breel%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=lews+reel&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

 

I would definitely spend far more on a good quality reel the the rod. And the 6.4 is a pretty well rounded gear.

I've never heard of Lew's before now. Looks like a solid reel! I'd like to do more research on it.

 

Here's what I've picked so far...

 

Reel: http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=1159843&categoryId=0&parentCategoryId=0&subCategoryId=0&indexId=0&productVariantId=2806298&quantity=1&itemGUID=13ab6a88f36c581a11604bc34144de47&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104793480%3Bcat104760180%3Bcat104259780&destination=%2Fcheckout%2Fitem_added_to_cart.jsp%3Fresult%3Dsuccess%26categoryIds%3D104793480%7C104760180%7C104259780%26productId%3D1159843%26backToPreviousUrl%3D%252Fcatalog%252Fproduct.jsp%253FproductId%253D1159843%26WTz_l%3DChart

 

Rod: http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fishing/Fishing-Rods/Casting-Rods|/pc/104793480/c/104764680/sc/104823180/St-Croix-Triumph174-Casting-Rods/738311.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fcasting-rods%2F_%2FN-1102351%2B10000050%2FNe-10000050%2FNs-MAX_SALE_PRICE%257C1%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104793480%253Bcat104764680%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNU#productChart

^^^Not bad choices at all. Looks like a good buy on the reel which would allow you to get a better rod. Can you get to a Cabelas? The last step would be to put that exact reel on a rod and see how it feel in your hands.

Unfortunately, the closest Cabelas is about 2 hours away from me.