OK.....I have to admit that I am relatively new to bass fishing (2 years) and up until this winter owned 1 baitcaster- BPS PQ paired up with a 6'6 medium heavy Abu Vendetta using 20 lb Spiderwire EZ braid and 1 spinning rod-Quantum Antix 40/5:2:1 gear ratio with a 6'0" Quantum Bill Dance medium using 15 lb spiderwire EZ braid (cheap walmart combo).  I caught a crapload of bass with these 2 rods and used everything from 1 oz jigs to 1/8 oz baby crankbaits with anything in between. I mostly smallmouth fish and get several unwanted pickerel but rarely have the opportunity to catch largemouth because there just aren't many largemouth lakes in my area.  I have to say I don't lose many fish or have many breakoffs with these 2 setups.   So this winter I venture into the underground world of REAL bass fishing and see that I am very under equipped.  In fact I would campare it to my other addiction (golf) as to having a 3 wood, 9 iron and putter.  It will get you from tee to green but not as efficient as a full set of clubs. So the adventure began.  I have spent months trying to get the best deals and setups for this coming season and this is what it looks like.  Proabably alot of redundency in setups but this is what I got- (2) Fluegar President/Cabela tourney trail spinning rod combos- 6'6 medium & 7'0 medium heavy.  6'6 has 10 lb Berkely fireline and the 7' has 14 lb fireline.  Lews speed spool 6.4:1 ratio on 7' Abu Veritas medium action with 12 lb Yo -Zuri hybrid, Pfluegar President Baitcaster 5.2:1 Gear ratio on 7' fast action Cabelas tourney trail with 40 lb power pro( might be wrong gear ratio with this setup???),  and a Daiwa T3 Ballistic 6.3:1paired up with a 6'6" medium Fenwick Silverhawk with 20 lb powerpro which by the way is the best casting set up I have ever had.  This is a whole other dimension in smoothness and distance.  These are my wrenches.  Tell me where I went wrong!! 

Your tool box is shaping up nicely!  All sounds good but the 5.2:1 on 7' fast action may be a slight mismatch.  That slow of a reel is usually reserved for crankin' and you may want a slower action for that.  Maybe switch reels on this rod with the Veritas for a better matchup?  Of course you'd have to match your line accordingly.

 

FL

Your tool box is shaping up nicely!  All sounds good but the 5.2:1 on 7' fast action may be a slight mismatch.  That slow of a reel is usually reserved for crankin' and you may want a slower action for that.  Maybe switch reels on this rod with the Veritas for a better matchup?  Of course you'd have to match your line accordingly.

 

FL

That is great advice!  I'll switch line the line out from the President to the Lews and put the Lews on the 7' fast action and the President on the Veritas.