I'm just now getting into bass fishing and I don't know too much about it compared to how much there is to know about it. I just bought an Abu veritas 7' heavy for throwing jigs into heavy cover and have a revo s on it. I'm looking for my second rod and don't know what I need next. So what rod and reel would be good to have and keep in mind I don't have alot of funding and I only want to have 3 or 4 rods total for right now. Thanks, James

I'd suggest a 7 foot M or MH rod for throwing crankbaits, spinnerbaits, moving baits, etc. with a similar reel.

Keep all your equipment basicly the same brands,(rods & reels). This is for the feel of fishing as I call it. Move through the choices that you are wanting to try next. This is the order I put them in: Worm rod, Carlonia rig rod, Shakey rod, Crank rod and Spinnerbait rod. Some of these rods can double on some of the baits you throw.

One of my friends told me that my revo s was a little too high geared for my crankbaits and spinnerbaits and such what is a good lower geared reel for that? Preferably Abu Garcia. And could anyone describe to me the different actions of rods needed for different baits? For example what action is good for a Carolina rig? ( and I know that not all brands are the same on their actions) I just need kind of a general idea and I think I could take it from there. Thanks for your posts by the way guys.

5:1:1

The Veritas you have will double as a good c-rig rod. If you want to stick with AbuGarcia, the 5500C3 is a good cranking reel because of high line capacity and low gear ratio. It's only 85 bucks and will last as long as you will with a level-wind replacement every few years.

Heavy actions for flipping/pitching jigs, soft plastics, carolina rigs, frogs, and swimbaits. MH action for moving baits like spinners, buzzbaits, heavy crankbaits or light plastics/jigs. M for small/medium sized crankbaits or moving lures. Anything less than M is for girls and trout fishermen.

go with a 7' MH...St. croix mojo.. its one of the best rods around for a 100 bucks.You can fish square bills, blades traps, c-rig;t-rig and weightless. Dont worry about slowing your reel down until you get into deep cranking... pair your new mojo with one of the new shimano caenans. Its 6:5 which is a great all around gear ratio for about 90 bucks.... you can speed up and slow down with the handle!

one question... being a brazos junkie, surprised you are going big? where do you fish most?

Lake granbury and the river mainly at the mouth of the lake. I'm tryin to branch out alot more though but it's hard when you don't have a boat. And I told my friend that about just reel ... Really slow. And he said he couldn't make it go slow enough. Maybe he's just an idiot I don't know. That's why I came to you guys. Where do you all fish mainly?

With a 6:3:1 reel it will pretty much cover anything you want to fish with.The longer that fish has to examine your bait the less likely you are to get bit.And your friend said he couldn't get the reel to go slow enough?Are ya'll fishing for catfish?

The rod & Reel combo you got will be great for jigs and worms and C-rigs. I like a fast retrieve for jigs and soft plastics because sometimes they take the bait and run toward you. You need to be able to catch up to them.

If you are throwing a weightless lure like a Senko or Fluke you may get a bite when you're not paying attention and by the time you realize it's a bite the fish has swam 10 feet with your line. This creates a big belly in the line that you need to reel up fast.

For crankbaits and other treble hooked baits I would stick with the same rod but go to a MH or even a Med depending on the individual rod. Some rod companies have a different action than others. When they mark a rod MH it may be a Heavy or it may be a Med. I like a 5:1 or so for large crankbaits and spinnerbaits on this rod.

For lipless cranks like a Rattletrap I go back to a 7:1 reel and a Med rod action. Since you are normally pulling these baits through the water pretty fast you want a rod with give to it so the fish can get the bait in their mouths good before you set the hook and pull it away from them.

You really only need three basic setups... That's why I keep 30 rods in my boat. LOL

Hope this helps,

Ken

For the money, you can't beat having the H2O 10 bearing Mettle reel paired with a MH casting Castaway. 108.00 total at Academy right now. I picked up two recently and have been really impressed so far. I mostly have have high dollar equipment and these perform just as well if not better. We'll see in the long run. Check them out!

Haha I think he was trying to be over critical to sound smarter about it. Or maybe he was just tryin to dog on my revo.

I have castaway and falcon rods. I like my ugly stick the best.

Abu Garcia Winch! Put it on a 7' Med or MH rod.