So I’ve been fishing maybe 10–20 times total in my life, but I’ve recently gotten more interested in the hobby. That led me to realize that the gear I already had was outdated and that I needed a new setup. This is what I just ordered. Feel free to applaud, criticize, or maybe even judge me for not getting the Shimano Curado for $100 more (I’ve noticed that’s a common debate in this price range for reels, lol).
I’m mostly gonna fish for bass, since I’ve been told that’s what my lake mostly contains. Any advice is appreciated. I got two lines because I wanted a fluoro leader on a braided line. Maybe a bit overkill for just bass? Idk, but you might. 🤷♂️
P.S.: All the prices are in Canadian dollars. Convert to USD if needed. I thought this tackle shop had some pretty solid deals.
Posted by Scout9ner
11 Comments
Seems like a good set up. Dont worry too much about the reel it will take getting used to anyways but what you got is one of the very heavy recommendations for starter tier of casting reels so it should t give you any trouble. I got a SLX as my first one and have loved it.
Fuego is great. I’d switch the ugly stik with A Tatula rod if you have the cash.. would make a great combo.
Your fluoro is heavy, I don’t think you need that heavy. 20lb is more than enough. For senkos a lot lighter is better. 12 is great. Maybe 15 if you’re not in clear water
Look for some senko/octopus hooks for your senkos. They’re cheap
Nice try, update us in a year.
Any reason to not get a spinning rod? If you’ve only been fishing a handful of times, I think you’d have done better spending more on a nicer spinning rod and could’ve cut some costs by getting a mid spinning reel. A Dobyns Fury + Daiwa Regal is almost the same price as what you picked and would probably cater more to 99% of people than a baitcaster would.
Amazon has dobyns maverick rods for around 50-60 and they are pretty good rods for the price. I run a MK705CB with an slx dc and it’s really the only combo I use
It’s a solid start. It’ll do what you want it to haha
The medium heavy and the 25lb line is a bit overkill, but I’m totally cool with the overkill line with the finesse fishing you’re going to do with all that. You don’t need to cast wacky rigs and such all that far, so it won’t affect you too much.
The medium heavy rod is where I’d hesitate. It’s great if you’re casting into some heavy weeds or you start using it for bigger fish where you really need some power to set the hook. And you’ll be able to drag a big bass out of the lake even if it wrapped you up in 10 lbs of weeds.
BUT, the rod won’t bend as much when you’re catching fish. The fight won’t be as much fun as it would be on a medium. The other issue is that there are some lures you won’t be able to work as well, like a topwater spook, for instance. That won’t affect your wacky rig much, so you’re all good there.
I have never had a baitcaster before, so I’ll let other people comment there. I’m assuming you know how to use one before you got it. I sure don’t 😅😅
There are better hooks you can get for the wacky rigs, but those will work well enough, and they’re useful in other ways.
I really like my Shimano reels. That doesn’teed Daiwas aren’t also good.
I think your reel/rod spending ratio is good.
Put the extra $$$ into a reel. Ugly Sticks work just fine.
I bought a Shimano GLF rod on clearance and a much more expensive Fenwick.
I returned the Fenwick.
10 bucks for a bag of Senkos is insane.
Fuego is totally cool, too bad you went with an ugly stick tho, feedback isn’t great and shimano and daiwa have options in that range.
Braid to leader is totally cool, I would use 10-15lb for the leader tho, I don’t go to 20+ unless I’m fishing super thick vegetation or if I suspect pike in the waters as well. For your connection knot I’d recommend using an FG knot, it can be tricky to learn initially but YouTube has good tutorials.
If you’re intending on using the nail weights to neko rig your worms I’d recommend getting vmc wacky weedless or neko hooks in #1 or 1/0
Extra wide gap hooks aren’t good for sinkos . Offset worm hook will have a far better hookup ratio. Ewg fouls up with that style bait
Same as my first baitcasting reel, i love it so far. Get a big roll of cheap mono and practice casting in the yard. helped out a lot.