So my uncle just gave me two of his old rods he doesn’t use anymore. He gave me a 6’6 medium casting and a 6’6 medium heavy casting both fast actions. What I’m asking is what should I use each rod for what type of lure and what reel I should put on it and what the gear ratio should be. Currently I have a 7’0 medium heavy with a 6.8:1 bait cast reel. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Several options here... this is what I would do.

 

Academy is currently running a crazy sale on reels. Get online and grab 2 Daiwa Fuego in 7 speed (I think they are $50 each, as far as reels go, you won't find better at that price). Move your current 6 speed reel to the medium rod. Of the 2 MH that you own, pick the one you think is the most sensitive and designate it as your bottom contact rod.

 

M/F rod with 6 speed reel - add 10-12lb mono and use for cranks, and lighter moving baits and topwater. 

 

MH/F less sensitive  - add 10-15lb mono (depending on cover) and use for heavier moving baits like spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, and heavier topwater. 

 

MH/F more sensitive- add good floro (invizx or sniper) 15-18lb (depending on cover) - bottom contact, t-rig or lighter jigs. Personally I would go 30-40lb braid here but not knowing your water, cover, or how you like to fish ill stick to suggesting FC. 

 

One more thing, if you are not confident in your ability to cast baitcasters with very few backlashes, stick with 15lb mono on the bottom contact rod until you are. Backlashes tend to destroy FC and its not cheap. 

 

 

Grab a couple of Tatula 80's.  If those are too exoensive, get a pair of fuego ct's.

1 hour ago, Lead Head said:

Several options here... this is what I would do.

 

Academy is currently running a crazy sale on reels. Get online and grab 2 Daiwa Fuego in 7 speed (I think they are $50 each, as far as reels go, you won't find better at that price). Move your current 6 speed reel to the medium rod. Of the 2 MH that you own, pick the one you think is the most sensitive and designate it as your bottom contact rod.

 

M/F rod with 6 speed reel - add 10-12lb mono and use for cranks, and lighter moving baits and topwater. 

 

MH/F less sensitive  - add 10-15lb mono (depending on cover) and use for heavier moving baits like spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, and heavier topwater. 

 

MH/F more sensitive- add good floro (invizx or sniper) 15-18lb (depending on cover) - bottom contact, t-rig or lighter jigs. Personally I would go 30-40lb braid here but not knowing your water, cover, or how you like to fish ill stick to suggesting FC. 

 

One more thing, if you are not confident in your ability to cast baitcasters with very few backlashes, stick with 15lb mono on the bottom contact rod until you are. Backlashes tend to destroy FC and its not cheap. 

 

 

Thanks for the really good answer. I can cast a bait caster decently but sometimes I still get backlashes. Current in my 6 speed reel I have 30 pound on it but I will change it out for some mono. I’m also thinking about getting another setup in addition to those reels. If you wouldn’t mind could you recommend some good rod and reel gear ratio and power for a more specialized setup. I know that’s probably a lot but I didn’t know how else to put it. 
 

I just checked academy’s website and the cheapest fuego I found was $80. I wouldn’t mind spending at or around $100.

1 hour ago, KP Duty said:

Grab a couple of Tatula 80's.  If those are too exoensive, get a pair of fuego ct's.

I’ll check those out. Thanks

How about identifying the rods by make and model.

Hand me downs may not be worth the effort,

Tom

Not knowing your budget, and not knowing much about combos in general since I build my own rods, I can't really give you good advice here. I will say that most members here give positive feedback on the Shimano SLX combo, as well as most comparatively priced Lews combos. 

 

Those Fuego reels are still great at $80, I think they have been running around $120 here recently. A Fuego CT is the exact same reel as a Tatula CT only it doesn't have a T-wing and uses bushings instead of bearings in the handle knobs. The magforce Z breaking on these reels is very easy to dial in and user-friendly. 

 

If you will give some more details as to what you want this specialized setup for and what your budget is you will probably get enough recommendations to make your head spin. Include details on everything from cover and water clarity you usually fish, to if you're on the bank or in a boat. 

3 hours ago, Lead Head said:

Not knowing your budget, and not knowing much about combos in general since I build my own rods, I can't really give you good advice here. I will say that most members here give positive feedback on the Shimano SLX combo, as well as most comparatively priced Lews combos. 

 

Those Fuego reels are still great at $80, I think they have been running around $120 here recently. A Fuego CT is the exact same reel as a Tatula CT only it doesn't have a T-wing and uses bushings instead of bearings in the handle knobs. The magforce Z breaking on these reels is very easy to dial in and user-friendly. 

 

If you will give some more details as to what you want this specialized setup for and what your budget is you will probably get enough recommendations to make your head spin. Include details on everything from cover and water clarity you usually fish, to if you're on the bank or in a boat. 

I will probably be buying those fuegos soon. For this setup I’m not really sure what I would want to use it for. There’s so many different options I’m really overthinking it. I was thinking maybe like a crank bait rod or if you have a recommendation for a setup to use. I don’t want to buy a combo I would want to buy the rod and reel separately. I normally fish in stained water with about a foot of visibility and normally fishing from the bank. Sometimes I’m in a small jon  boat though. 

11 hours ago, Lead Head said:

Academy is currently running a crazy sale on reels. Get online and grab 2 Daiwa Fuego in 7 speed (I think they are $50 each, as far as reels go, you won't find better at that price).

 

Funny how I think. At $50 each I was ready to buy 2 of them immediately. Once I saw they are $80 I had no need for even 1.