Wanting to get set up with a bait casting rod, need recommendations for weight/action

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ronan on December 30, 2013 at 3:35pm

Hey there,

Topwater you will want a fast tip or fast action.  Not sure if you want medium action though.  If you are going to be fishing anything with any sort of cover and have to pull fish out of grass, pads or weeds a medium rod may not be strong enough.  At the very least go with a medium-heavy rod.  Frog rods as an example are heavy rods at a minimum from my experience.  This doesn’t mean you can’t fish lighter rods but just something to think about.

I started with Veritas rods and they are a good value.  They had great sensitivity but I did blow through the eyes.
 :(
 
Thankfully Bass Pro had a great warranty program and I simply swapped them out for brand new and eventually was able to work full credit for them and upgraded my Veritas rods.  I simply got tired of having to go all the way back to Bass Pro to replace my rods because my Veritas eyes were going to blow out.

At the same price point I am REALLY curious about the new Duckett Ghost rods that are about to come out.  I fish almost entirely Duckett White Ice rods and really interesting to see what the Ghost Rods will be like at the Veritas price point.

As far as doing as much as you can with one rod . . . My Duckett White Ice 7’ 6” Medium Heavy/ Fast Action I find is my go to rod.  I use it for any number of things and is the most adaptable of my set ups.  Really thick cover, flipping or big topwater hits and I am moving up to my big boom stick White Ice rods.  Now that is fairly pricey for a first bait casting rod I can understand.  However, it looks like they are making a Duckett Ghost 7’3” Medium/Heavy with Fast action and at $99 retail and 20 year warranty . . . I don’t know how you can argue with that. They also make a 7’6” with those same specs but it is called a “cranking” rod. So I am not sure if the grip is going to be different or what will make it different than this “casting” model.

Good luck.
:)

Permalink Reply by Tag Watson on December 30, 2013 at 7:52pm

Hi Darren,

Welcome to the dark side.  Be fully prepared for a great challenge, a lot of fun and a fair amount of addiction potentially (inevitably).  Certain times of the year, it will become increasingly difficult to concentrate at work during the ideal moon phases and weather conditions, because you know the fishing would be lights out if you were on the water.  Be patient, learn as much as you can (pump Jordan for information, he's a stud) and enjoy the journey!

I have not used the Veritas rods but I have heard good things about their quality/value.  You may be interested to know that Lamiglas (Woodland, Washington) is coming out with a brand new series of rods in the $100 price point for 2014 - the Excel II Bass Series.  High performance rods with quality construction and components at a very affordable price point.  I will be working at the Lamiglas booth during the weekend at the Puyallup Sportsman's Show next month.  If you have an opportunity to stop by the booth, I would love to take you through the lineup of their spinning and casting rods, qualify your needs, answer any questions you have, and see if there are any models that will be perfect for your desired applications.  I thoroughly enjoy helping anglers that are getting into the sport.  Look forward to chatting if you make it by.

Happy New Year!

Tag

 

Permalink Reply by Ronan on December 31, 2013 at 7:24am

I may have to check that show out.
:)
 
Tag Watson said:

Hi Darren,

Welcome to the dark side.  Be fully prepared for a great challenge, a lot of fun and a fair amount of addiction potentially (inevitably).  Certain times of the year, it will become increasingly difficult to concentrate at work during the ideal moon phases and weather conditions, because you know the fishing would be lights out if you were on the water.  Be patient, learn as much as you can (pump Jordan for information, he's a stud) and enjoy the journey!

I have not used the Veritas rods but I have heard good things about their quality/value.  You may be interested to know that Lamiglas (Woodland, Washington) is coming out with a brand new series of rods in the $100 price point for 2014 - the Excel II Bass Series.  High performance rods with quality construction and components at a very affordable price point.  I will be working at the Lamiglas booth during the weekend at the Puyallup Sportsman's Show next month.  If you have an opportunity to stop by the booth, I would love to take you through the lineup of their spinning and casting rods, qualify your needs, answer any questions you have, and see if there are any models that will be perfect for your desired applications.  I thoroughly enjoy helping anglers that are getting into the sport.  Look forward to chatting if you make it by.

Happy New Year!

Tag

 

Permalink Reply by Darren Thomas on December 31, 2013 at 8:09am

Thanks guys for the input so far. I might have to check that show out as well. Why do I always find sports/hobbies that want to drain your entire savings? I guess those are the fun ones. :)

Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on December 31, 2013 at 6:00pm

I really think if you are going to get a bait caster that does more especially if you want one for largemouth you will be better off getting a medium heavy fast action rod. I would also recommend getting something over 7 feet. In a pinch with a medium heavy rod you can fish more Techniques such as Texas rigs, jigs, 5" senkos, 3/8 oz + spinner baits and in a pinch wouldn't be ideal but would suffice for buzz frogs or maybe even hollow frogs. I will be doing seminars at the same Sportsmen Show one of the seminars about keeping it simple for our small lake largemouth where I will be going over rods reels techniques without overloading newcomers. I will also be available to answer any questions that you may have and be at the daiwa booth showing off the new Daiwa Tatula line of baitcasters.

Permalink Reply by Darren Thomas on December 31, 2013 at 6:16pm

Thanks guys for all the advice. Jordan also mentioned that medium heavy might be a good option. Sounds like medium heavy fast action is a popular suggestion. I'm curious about the reasons for choosing specific lengths. What are the main reasons to go longer/shorter?

I'll definitely try and make the show to meet you guys and learn. Sounds like a good time. I'm having nearly as much fun buying tackle/gear as I have been fishing. Dangerous.

Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on December 31, 2013 at 7:57pm

You need a longer rod for hook setting power, casting accuracy and casting distance, also gives you more leverage when fighting a fish. My favorite all around rod is either a medium heavy 7 foot 1 inch or a 7 foot 5 inch and I would probably lean more toward the 7 foot 5 inch rod. The taper of the rods are kind of important you want something with enough tip flex to cast 1/4 oz but not too much tip to make your tip to "collapse" when trying to cast something around 3/4 oz and pitch something around 1/2 oz. The other thing is your gonna want a real that will easily cast these size lures as well without too much effort.

Permalink Reply by Dan Rice on January 1, 2014 at 11:53am

Darren, you have tremendous advice here. From your original post, I too would go with a 7' Medium Heavy, Fast Action rod at the least, for what you've described.

For topwater, a Medium power is a better fit, but for an all-around rod, the Medium Heavy will excel on most other techniques. You'll be just fine with topwater lures and you'll be able to get into jigs and soft plastics as the rod will have more backbone for hook setting power.

I've used several models of Veritas rods - not bad at all. Good price, fairly durable and lightweight. Like Tag said, I would take a look at the new Excel II rods by Lamiglas. More specifically, the 705C or the 735C. It depends on what length you would be most comfortable with. If you can go through the rods with Tag, then you probably have the best help available! Coupled with information from Ron Hobbs Jr., I'd say you would be set.

Happy New Year!

Permalink Reply by Darren Thomas on January 1, 2014 at 12:24pm

Hi guys, I took a peek at the Abu Garcia and Lew's reels. I liked both but ended up finding a good deal on a Lew's BB1 Speed Spool. I went with the 6.4:1. I reel left handed so it can be tough to find the right fit and even harder used. I'll probably be looking for a frogging setup come spring as well and will likely be looking for bargain gear used or new.

Great advice and thanks for answering my questions. I've been dying to take the boat out to mess around with my fish finder but chores are keeping me down. I have much to learn but looks like there is a lot of good people with experience willing to help.

Darren

Permalink Reply by Colby Pearson on January 1, 2014 at 4:50pm

In my opinion, one of the best all around baitcasting rod is a 7'-7'3'' Medium Heavy, typically marketed as a 3 power rod, with a fast tip. Dobyns, Powell, Irod etc... All have rod model #'s that coincide with the Length & Power, for example the rod I previously mentioned would be a 703c or 733c, this is a good tip for future rod selections. You will also want to pay close attention to what the rod is constructed from- Graphite or Fiberglass, and the tapers, ranging from extra fast to slow/parabolic. For most conventional bass fishing endeavors such as soft plastics, jigs etc... You will be best suited with a fast or extra fast action rod, but when throwing reaction baits, most prefer a slower tapered rod which helps hold treble hooks in place- not ripping them out. On a good medium heavy casting rod you can throw a wide variety of baits, essentially a little bit of everything from senkos, spinnerbaits, plastics, light pitching, chatterbaits, finesse jigs, football jigs, and so forth, you can even get away with hard reaction baits but later down the road you would be better suited getting a dedicated rod for treble hook baits. A medium action casting rod in my honest opinion is too light for the majority of those baits, although can work for topwaters.

You mentioned you may be getting a frog rod soon, for frogging I would look for a 7'3''-7'6'' rod,  what type of frog you plan to throw will make a difference also. If you will be throwing a hollow body frog, such as a spro bronzeye around cover, I would highly recommend a 5 power rod, which is typically a Mag-Heavy with a fast tip. For smaller frogs, and soft plastic buzz style frogs you can get away with a slightly shorter rod, in a 3 or 4 power- medium heavy or heavy. Frog fishing is typically done with braid so ensure that you get a rod that has guides capable of heavy use with superlines.

I would also encourage you to spend a little more money on casting setups, a good casting combo can cast upwards of 2x more than a spinning rod/reel that I would consider good. Especially in the reel department, get yourself a good quality casting reel and your initial baitcasting experience will be less frustrating, you will want to upgrade most casting reels if you go cheap to start, I promise. I highly recommend most of shimanos products and if you can find a used Bantam Curado, or Curado E series, preferably an E6 or E7 (E is the series, the # is the gear ratio) that would be ideal, they are exceptional reels to start with, very user friendly and quality. You can find them from 100-200$ depending on condition, I would suggest starting here, then broadening your horizons to compare deals. The Citica E is a good reel also, but I still would really prefer people start out with a Curado, some might disagree with me though. 

If I was to recommend a hand full of casting rods to start looking into for your future bass fishing these are them:

Crankbait/Ripbait rod: Treble hook baits- 6'6-7' Medium action graphite rod with a fast taper, Medium Heavy with a slower taper, or possibly fiberglass. 

Jig,Pitching/Flipping,Frog rod- 7'3-7'6 Heavy to mag- heavy with a fast or x-fast taper.

Spinnerbait, Vibrating Jig, Buzzbait rod- 7'-7'3 Medium heavy-Heavy fast taper

All around rod: plastics, small jigs etc..- 7'-7'3 Medium heavy x-fast

And lastly possibly a swimbait/A-rig rod- 7'6''-8' 4-6 power for starts, essentially to throw baits 1-5oz, if that is something that interests you. You can throw smaller swimbaits such as hollow bellies on your jig rod, all around rod, or spinnerbait rod if needed, this is a dedicated big bait or A rig rod.

As far as good rod companies I prefer Irod, Dobyns, Powell, G-loomis etc.. I personally am not a big fan of the veritas rods, also if you do purchase a veritas, check the tip to make sure that it isnt sharp on the bottom, I've seen those tips cut line before.

Hope this helps some! Again, just my personal preferances.

Permalink Reply by Joel Alinen on January 1, 2014 at 9:28pm

Someone's looking to take Parnickys title...what you got Parnsworth;-)

Permalink Reply by Darren Thomas on January 2, 2014 at 8:40am

Wow! That there is a lot of reading. I'm learning a lot though.