I live near the New River and I want to buy a spinning rod and reel for smallmouth fishing. What length rod and action would you suggest? What # test and size reel would you match with that?

Thanks

Don't worry, Roadwarrior will show up soon and help you with the brown bass rig, he's the man for small mouths.

Ronnie

I prefer a 6'6" med action or MH action with a fast tip.  I'm partial to Shimano spinning reels and like 8lb line for smallie fishing.  All my non braided line reels are spooled with Super Silver Thread.

Use a 6'-6'6'' rod in M-MH. I have always used the Shimano 2000 Stradic. It is what you like to use that is important. Silver Thread in green #8 is perfect. I use BPS Excel in #6-#8 and love it. It just works for me. Make sure you purchase a fast to X-fast action rod. You won't be sorry. Good luck.

I use a 6' med weight berkley cherrywood rod with a Quantum PTI 20 spinning reel loaded with 10lb Trilene. Work great for smallies. It's my favorite setup for tubes and senkos. The rod isn't an expensive one but I am of the belief that price does'nt matter. I have owned $200 rods and $20 rods. They both catch fish. It's what is comfortable in your hand. I use the same setup in med/heavy for crank baits.

Rob

I'll chime in with a general response, and a more specific one.

I would generically say 6'6" M-MH depending on actualy stiffness.

More specifically I would whole heartedly reccomend what rod suits your style from the GLoomis Bronzeback series. They are amazing rods (Especially considering Loomis' reputation with the type specific rod series') I persoanlly have the SMR882S-SP. Now, seeing that model number tells us that this rod is 88 inches long...or 7'4", which to most is a loonnnggg rod, which it is, but Im a pretty big feller and prefer long rods. This rod is amazing to say the least, soft, sensitive, responsive tip, but the backbone in the butt section to not worry about horsin' the big ones form the deep is need be.

If you like a shorter rod, I would reccomend the SMR752S-SP 6'3" medium power...perfect for just about everything smallie related except deep cranks.

Hope this helped,

D. Yoder

(IndianaKid)

Whether you prefer a 6 1/2' or 7' rod really doesn't make any difference. What is important in general is a Medium Power/ Fast Action rating for single hook presentations. If you are planning to use this rod primarly with treble hook lures (topwater, jerkbaits and crankbaits) I recommend a Medium Power/ Moderate Action rod or fast action with a soft tip.

My main smallmouth rig is a G.Loomis PR844S/ Stella 2500FB/ Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultra Soft #6.

It depends on the water you'll be fishing. When floating smaller rivers I like 6' rods such as the Loomis SJR721 and SJR722, but when fishing more open water I prefer longer rods such as my 7' ML legend elite. A good compromise might be 6'-6" medium power/fast action rod like the Loomis SJR782 or perhaps a St. Croix AS66MLF. I've heard Roadwarrior mention fishing on the Tennessee which is much larger than our local rivers where a short rod is much more versatile.

I have the St. Croix AS66MLF, too. This was my first rod dedicated to smallmouth fishing. I don't use it much on the big river just because we tend to catch a lot of big drum and catfish, but if if that is not typical on your river, the Avid is a nice rod to fish.