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View Full Version : Rod and line suggestions....



SnakePlissken
10-19-2013, 01:06 PM
I went and bought myself a couple of setups last night and I'm looking for line and rod suggestions. I bought two Shimano Sahara 4000's and two Berkley Cherrywood rods.

One rod is A 6'6" Med action and the other is a 6' Med/Heavy. I'm not sure about the 6' rod and I think a second 6'6" or even 7' would be better. I like the feel of the 6'6" a little better but that 6' will hold heavier line and has a stiff backbone. Since these are for inshore/nearshore fishing which rod would you fellas go with to match the Shimano 4000?

On the line part? Mono, braided or Floro? I've read great things on the Ande backcountry line and the Nanofil line. I'm thinking of 12 or 14 lb test on these rods/reel combos (with a 20 lb floro leader). Does that sound about right for these rods/reels?

BeastMan
10-19-2013, 01:38 PM
First off, let me say that a bunch of it is personal preference. For inshore fishing any medium action rod will do. I like the 6'6 rods that have some sensitivity to them. I feel like I cast more accurately and can set the hook better. Some people like shorter rods that are more stiff. As far as line, 12-14 is good. I'm going to respool with 15 braided before the spring but you really dont need that strong a line for inshore unless you just want to. Most of our setups now have a good mono 15lb test. My dad prefers some stretch. As far as a leader, I wouldn't pre-rig leaders unless you know exactly what type of fishing you are going to do. For instance, regular leaders under popping corks are 18-24 inches. When I fish some of the natural inshore reefs the water is 10-12 ft deep and a 6 ft leader can be great because the fish hide deeper down in the rocks. Then sometimes I rig 1ft leaders with split shots on the upper end when I want to fish a sandy bottom but let my bait up off the bottom a bit. Long story short is that I wouldn't rig the leaders yet but you can definitely buy the leader material. I just bought 25lb berkley vanish flouro leader line. That will handle most of what I need. I won't rig anything until right before I go out and have a game-plan. I'll probably buy some thicker leader material for bottom fishing for bull reds and drums but I honestly haven't thought about it yet.

BeastMan
10-19-2013, 03:03 PM
Just to add, inshore is so much about preference I'll give an example. 2 summers ago, I was on the American Legion pier in BSL. Every fisher on that pier had the 7 ft heavy action rods, huge reels, 50 lb test w/even thicker leaders. I had a 6'6 medium action rod, light/med reel, 12 lb mono test, and a 20 lb mono leader w/ a #2 khale hook. I was fishing the front of the pier in the shallower water trying to get some white trout and ground mullet. I landed the 2nd biggest fish on the pier that day (a bull black drum). The difference is that the guy with the heavy setups just horse them in. I felt what I had was heavy so I let him run and had to adjust my drag as the fight went on. The point being that inshore you can land big fish on lighter gear if you finesse it a bit. Don't stress gear too much. There is a wide range of completely acceptable gear.
195

SnakePlissken
10-19-2013, 04:01 PM
A slight correction first..I bought the Sedona 4000's. I love the reel and I know the Berkley rod isn't s expensive but it feels nice. I went ahead and swapped the 6' for a second 6'6 and I think I'll be happy with that.

I wouldn't pre-rig my rods as I have the stuff to rig them as the type of fishing I plan for that day. I was just saying what type of line I would use for leaders on reds and specks, etc.

Now that is a BIG drum!! WOW!!

I just need to get down the coast for some saltwater gear. Here in the Birmingham area it is 99% freshwater with all of the lakes and rivers around here. There's virtually no saltwater tackle per se around here.

Thanks for the advice. I may just go with some Ande backcountry mono and pic up a spool of 20 or 25lb floro for my leader material

BeastMan
10-19-2013, 04:20 PM
I feel your pain on only having freshwater tackle in the area. I get most of my tackle online, coast Walmart, or coast academy. With 15lb line, 25 lb leader, and medium rod/reels you'll be fine.

J-Dawg
10-21-2013, 12:28 PM
Obviously the line would depend on what you are fishing, but if I may interject, I've had terrible experiences with both Cherrywood rods I've owned. Both have snapped 10-15 inches from the tip. Like you, I generally like to bass fish with 6' and 6.5' med/heavy action rods. For a few bucks more, you can get the Berkely Lightning Rods, which IMO, have more comfortable handles and are more durable graphite than the composite of the Cherrywoods. Obviously it's no G-Loomis, but I've fished for bass fairly heavily on the two Lightning Rods since I got them in the spring and have had zero issues. They are night and day compared to the Cherrywood's, IMO.

I just can't justify buying 200 dollar G-Loomis rods and 200 buck reels. I fish with Abu Garcia Maxs' which run like 80 bucks. I have zoned in on these lightning rods for the time being, and I buy mid-grade flourocarbon.

Put it this way, these Lightning Rods blow an Abu Garcia $80 rod I have out the water, IMO. I just like the way they feel over the Abu, so I slapped my old, beat up piece of junk Shakespeare reel on it and stuck it in the shed in the event I ever need a back up rig for my back up rig.

As far as rod length... that's all personal preference. I use a 6'6" m/h for my soft plastic Texas Rig set-up. I have always felt the 6'6" gives me the optimal leverage for setting the hook as well as casting the relatively lighter soft plastics. I use the 6' m/h for everything else.... swim/crank baits, spinners, top water/frogs... I find the 6' more controllable. I really need to get a 3rd rig to take to have a swim, topwater, and soft plastic setup.

FISHDAWG
10-21-2013, 01:33 PM
cherrywood = pretty but an ugly old ugly-stick can't be beat for durability and performs really well ... I even have one for offshore work

Barking 13
10-21-2013, 01:52 PM
I don't have anything to add about saltwater stuff, but in adding to Jdawg's bass setups, I prefer 7' rods. I have a mish-mash of Falcon, Carrot, Duckett, and some lesser stuff like pinnacle, BPS, and Quantum.
Most of my reels are Revos (S's , SX's, and SC's), a couple Lews (New), couple of Pfleuger, and a couple round Abu 4600's. There are a couple 6'6" rods, but the majority are 7' except a 7'6" flippin stick. You must pay attention to power and action when selecting a rod for specific applications.

The reels are several different ratios for different applications, but around 5:1 is what I like best...

I talked about line choices in another post..

Like I said before, buy the BEST you can afford... in the off season or first of the year, you can really pick up some good deals on places like bassboatcentral.com on some quality used stuff that sponsored guys sell off when they get their new stuff. I'm not afraid to buy used stuff....