Hey All, 

My wife got me a new Daiwa Tatula 7.3:1 for Christmas and I'm needing some advice on how to pair it up with one of my rods.  I already have a Citica 200E 6.3:1 mounted on a 6'6" BPS Carbonlite (1/4 to 5/8oz, 8-17lb) M, Fast, spooled with 12lb Yozuri hybrid.  It's a fairly stiff rod, considering it's a M power.  I use this for nearly all fast moving baits (spinners, cranks, etc.) regardless of single or treble hooks.....i know, I know. 

 

I also have a 15 year old 6' Shimano Crucial rod that I haven't used in at least 10 years, but it's in perfect shape.  It's rated at 6-15lb, 1/8-1/2oz and has no power or action listed on it.  It just has the words Topwater, Spinnerbaits, Crankbaits on the rod.  It's a fairly thin rod and I'd be surprised to see it handle a 1/2 oz bait well, but who knows. 

 

Lastly, I have a 6'6" M/MF Shimano Clarus that I pulled from the BPS clearance bin last year.  It's rated at 1/4 to 3/4oz, and 8-17lb. 

 

So, I'm just not sure how to pair up what I have properly.  I mainly fish forest preserve and northern Wisconsin lakes by boat and land.  I very rarely use heavy jigs for the fishing that I do. I'd like to have a couple of technique-specific setups to avoid the constant bait changes with my current Citica setup.  I'm thinking maybe to use one for the fast moving baits, and one for topwater, buzzbaits, frogging.  But, I'm wondering if I should dedicate one of the reels to a worm rod.  I use 5" Senko's on a 1/8oz Gamakatsu like they're going out of style.  It's always my first choice of baits when exploring new waters and my go-to bait for general fishing.  I currently use spinning gear for my plastics and creatures, but maybe I should use one of my baitcasters instead???  I'm overanalyzing and am torn on how to move forward.  I also haven't ruled out buying another reel for the unused rod. 

 

So, with those two reels and three rods, what would you do and why?  And what type of line would you use on the setups? 

 

Thanks in advance.

 

I don't have much experince with this, but I'll take a shot and see how accurate I am. I'd put the new diawa reel on the carbonlite and use it for spinnerbaits and top waters. You may even try throwing a frog with it if you are not going into thick stuff if the rod is stiffer than a medium, but time will tell and the only way to find out is try. I would put the citica on the clarus and use it as a crankbait rod. The lower gear ratio will work better for cranks and mf action will also help with the trebels. I would keep using spinning gear for your worms as that's what I use and like for it. I would put mono on the citica for more stretch with the cranks and maybe braid on the diawa as it will be better should you try a frog. That said, I have mono on everything, but that is impacted by price and versatility. Congrats on the new reel!

Thanks, Freud.  I truly appreciate the input.  Anyone else have recommendations? 

Pair the new reel with the m/MF rod, 3 rd rod you listed.

Tom