Finally gave in.

Bought me a fairy wand. Hate to do it, but in these deep, very clear water lakes I guess it's gotta happen. Picked up an IM8 7' Quantam rod and a Shimano 2500 Sedona. Loaded her up with 30# power pro and a 10' leader of 15# invisx. Dang...I sound like a Scott Martin fishing show. By the way Dicks in Cedar Park had the rod on sale for $33.97 and price matched Tackle Warehouse price on the reel at $49.97. Probably not the best rig for under a hundo, but it's what I got. Now let the line twist and backlash process begin! LOL. Anyone ever used either one of these rod/reel?

I have that reel on a kistler. I beat snakes away from boat with it and occasionally crappie fish with it.

Your gonna have issues with that heavy of braid. 10-20lb is best for where your at I would suggest 10lb braid to 8lb leader power pro supper slick is pretty nice on the spinning rods

I prefer to cover water quickly as much as the next guy but I do love a bite on the spinning gear. I love the feel, the sound and the fight. All fish feel good and the good fish feel awesome.

Yep

Downsize to 10 lb fluoro, maybe 12 at most and get more bites. Set drag appropriately and it will still bring em in.

So you just being a wiseazz or does that reel suck? I didn't want to spend a ton on the first one just in case I hate it. Which I do, in general, but it's a must down here.

Looks like a trip to Academy is in my near future! (Dang, and I did such a good job of loading the line of without any twist!)

I have that reel and it’s fine for what you are doing
Agree with downsizing your leader to 10lb.

I have a Shimano 2500 along with several other Shimano spinning reels. I have been using these reels for many years and catching fish when the bite is tough with lighter line. It's all I use on the rivers and have caught many bass 3-4 lbs with 6-8lb mono. Key is set drag proper, good knots, and down sized sharp hooks. On Toledo and Rayburn I only use spinning for wacky worm fishing or crappie.

Reel is fine, I just never fish with it.

That's a good starter combo but heed Jakes advice. Now you gotta make yourself use it, Nov. is a great time for dropshotting. Take your new fairy wand and leave the other ones at the house.

Have used Sedona’s for several years, great reel for the price range. I typically use 10-lb mono for lake fishing with drag cranked all the way down and ‘back reel” as needed for larger fish - no problems.

Cool. I never jump with both feet in on any new technique. Try it. See if I like it. See mainly if I am successful with it. I didn't start out with Loomis bait cast rods. But eventually decided they were worth the money.

Issue with line solved. Took of the 30# and put on fresh 20# power pro slick with a 10# flouro leader.



K.O. I hear ya, but i'm gonna hate it...for a while. Same thing when I tried to learn to fish a jig. I hated it. Until...

Randy, if I recall correctly, you weren't gonna let me in your boat with a fairy wand... but you relented at the last minute! But that was your previous boat. I'm glad you've seen the light with the spinning rod in your NEW, IMPROVED ride!

I've since acquired two GLX spinning rods that are really sweet and ultra-sensitivo.

Yeah. Jake is spot on about the braid. I use 20 lb max and LOVE the PowerPro Super Slick or P-Line Teflon Coated is awesome too. It does make a difference. Casts a little further and no noise. I adjust my fluorocarbon based on water clarity. Sometimes down to 8 lb if water is super clear.

A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do Herb! Just takes some of us longer than others. You need to get out and take a ride in the new one. Before I sell it and get me a new Eyra!

If your right handed don’t reel, with reel up turning handle backwards. Reeling with left hand is Easiest for me doesn’t feel right reeling spinning reel with right hand.

You’ll be fine with the 30 lb braid, but will probably want to lower your leader to 8-10 lb test. Fish Belton and Travis and have done just fine with that.

If you like the reel, I have two you can buy cheap. Great reels by the way

I use 30. I like the diameter of the braid close to the same as my floro leader.

The slick braid didnt work for me, it frays, tangles and is too thin and slick for leader to floro for me.

For the guys that fish with 10 and 20lb braid, Do yall not have a problem with the line digging into the reel after catching a fish/getting hung? (Serious question, I haven't went that light on my bass setups). I used 20lb on my heavy cover jig poles for crappie, but usually used the 30lb on my bass setups.

No not usually but it has happened. I Use a 20’ leader or longer of 8# line. My problem is usually caused by the knot. It really has to be tiny or it will get caught in the braid on the spool or won’t go thru my micro guides cleanly. I went out with J. Biggs a few years ago and he told me that it would become my favorite rod and he was right. I rarely drop shot but I use that rod every time that I go out. Had to buy a second for when my line breaks off too short to keep using.

I drop shot all the time, the rod is always on the deck. I tried the light braid but didnt like it, the small diameter causes issues for me and wind effected it too much. I go with 40-50# braid (currently using suffix 832, even went with high-vis this time) and I have a 20-24' leader of 8# flouro. the only issue I eve have is the weight breaking loose, and for some reason it it always the smaller fish that end up shaking the weight off.

If you enjoy catching fish then you will probably like the throwing a drop shot, otherwise you probably wasted your money

30# braid is fine, any smaller will give you troubles. But definitely go down on the leader. 8-10lb is what you want

I’ve never had a problem with smaller braid or slick braids. Sure, after time they wear out and I replace them. It casts so far and no noise.

Drop the leader size to 12lb, tie on a Ned rig head with a TRD bait and whack'em!

I do have that problem. Didn't think about going up to 30# line to correct it. Good tip, thanks.

It will definitely fix it. I went from 30 to 20 and have since gone back to 30

Well [censored]. I took off the 30# braid and put on 20# braid with a 10# flouro leader. WTH?? I hate fairy wands to begin with. What's the consensus on line size with all the "wind" backlash? Fake news or not??

You’re fine. Just go fishing with that setup & see how it works for you. If problems, try upsizing braid. Keep it simple & don’t overthink.

caught a 10lb bass on a 6ft Berkley wand, 8lb mono, and a shimano spinning reel. you are missing out on catching a lot bass if you don't use this rig.

try it. if you have enouh weight the wind issues dont surface

UPDATE:

Took out the new fairy wand to Lake Travis yesterday from 7:30 to about noon. Also decided to work on using a jerk bait more in the colder weather. So I only took out two rods out of the rod box and used them all day. 14 fish. 12 on the limp wrist er and 2 on the jerk bait. Luckily the wind was non existent so it made using the new rod and reel pretty easy. Caught 10 of the 12 on a small swim bait either up pretty shallow on points or on docks near the points. Other 2 were on shaky head with a baby brush hog. As typical for Travis, most were small. Several Guadalupe bass. Biggest about 2.5 off a dock. The jerk bait bite was a cool surprise. Probably could have caught more but wanted to get in some practice on the other. Not very good on my directional casting or skipping. All in all, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.


Side note: Wife was out of town, so put the boat up at lunch and managed to get in 18 holes as well! Dang...life is good!