Home Forums Fishing Freshwater what casting rod should I buy?

Help me spend a little money--I won an auction for a Garcia Revo STX casting reel that I don't really need, but have always wanted to try out and compare with my Curado 100D. I need to pair it with a decent rod (~$80-120 or so).

Right now, I have a 6'6" medium power casting setup rigged with 12# line, a 6'6" light power spinning setup rigged with 6# line, and a couple ultralight spinning setups (one 6' graphite and one 5'6" fiberglass) with 4# line. Nearly all my fishing is off the banks around small lakes and reservoirs around Denver, CO. I fish for large and smallmouth bass, panfish, and trout. I recently got a belly boat to get more access.

Now the big question: what would help round out my rod collection for this type of fishing? I'm looking for advice/opinions on rod length, weight, action, etc. along with line weight and type. Thanks!

Kevin

Buy a Loomis MBR783 and don't look back. It is one of my favorites and very vesatile. You can find a used GL-3 for about what you are wanting to spend or save a couple of extra bucks and get the IMX. The GLX is way over priced in my opinion. I have only broken one Loomis fishing for bedded LM bass and just took it to nearest bait shop for replacement. They handed me a new rod off of the rack and out the door I went, no charge. Most all of my rods are now Loomis, the ones that aren't are either the kid's rods or have sentimental value.

CK

Trade the reel for a Shimano Stradic MG, then buy a 7' 1pc St. Croix Ultralight and spool it with 4#.

CK--It's funny you say that--I have an IMX 782/Curado 100D as my medium baitcasting setup.

horse1--I'm looking for something outside the 4# UL category since I have 2 UL setups already (though no baitcasting). Also, I want to try out the Revo, not trade it off (just yet...).

I'm wondering if I should go to a heavy setup to round it out. Problem is that doing bank fishing so much, I'm not sure how much use it would get. Maybe a medium action rod for worms and topwaters would be a good choice since my medium and light action rods are both fast action. Thoughts?

For that kind of money, buy a Shimano Crucial in the length and action you want.

One of my favorite rods is a Falcon LFC-3-166. It's a real sleeper in their line of b'casting rods. Mostly I use it for 1/8 - 3/16 oz bass jigs, but it's versatile enough to use w/ topwater poppers, weightless Zoom flukes & trick worms, smallish spinnerbaits, etc. Mine is paired w/ a Shimano Calais, which balances extremely well for me. That little 3 power rod will surprise you at what it'll do.

If you would prefer to try something a little different than what you have already, I would suggest a 7"6' MH rod by St. Croix, or Loomis and spool it up with 20lb braid and start pitching and flipping to cover from the banks. It took me a while to get used to fishing that way, but man does it work. I like my Ultralight rigs as well. St. Croix makes a 7" ML rod in the Triumph lineup that handles 6lb line like a dream and casts a mile, for $79.

FC363--I was kinda thinking the same thing. I never tried pitching/flipping before, and nothing I have is suited for much cover. I think I'll give that a try.

I mainly fish from the bank or from docks and there are alot of good areas you cant fish with light tackle. I use a texas rigged worm and flip or pitch to holes in cover or next to objects. You will get a response pretty quick if a fish is there. Used along with a light spinning reel and rod setup you can fish any spot along the bank instead of being limited to only certain areas. GOOD LUCK!

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