Finesse rod help?

[wandy]

I am looking for a finesse rod and reel. First the rod. It has to be able to toss brewer slider heads and cannot be pricey. Any suggestions?

[KoYak]

Wandy,

Since you did not mention a price range (Pricey has different meaning to different people), Let me go thru my some of my favorite stuff:


Money no Object - Rod: Kistler Helium Med action. Reel: Team Daiwa S 2500. Helium is a Great rod if you like something that's a little tip heavy. If not, Call Trey Kistler and have him make a rod to your specs. Super light, Super Sensitive! This will set you back $400 plus. Spool it with Power Pro 2/10 or 4/15 and you will be able to feel a Bass flare its gills around a your slider.

around $300 - Rod: St Croix Avid Series Med or ML Fast action. Reel: Daiwa Capricorn 2500. The Avid Series is not cheap but you get a lot of rod for your money. the 6ft 6in Med Avid is my favorite all-around smallmouth blank . I'm having a custom builder build a rod with this blank as my main smallmouth bass / Finesse fishing rod. I own 2 Capricorns I find them to be awesome reels.

Around $200 - Rod: Bass Pro Extreme series Med Action. Reel: Daiwa Ondine or Laguna 2500. Great rod for the money. Great balance with a Nice fast action without the tip being too limp. My favorite Extreme Series rod is 6ft 8in ML with the Split handle. Laguna and Ondine are less expensive versions of the Capricorn.

Around $100 - Rod:Rapala Long Cast Series Med action. Reel: Daiwa Regal Z. I think this would be a great value. Nice rod and Regal Series reel is not as smooth as $100 plus reels but it flat out works.

It's obvious that I like Daiwa spinning reels - Especially the 2500 for most finesse techniques. I just think that the wide spool design on Daiwas keep the line from twisting. This design will also help make longer casts. It looks like the new quantums and the Shimano S Concepts have the same type of spool. I've never tried it but the Pflueger President looks like it may have the same design spool and it would be a great buy at $60.

I'm also a big fan of the Fuji Concept Guide system. I've read the literature and I've done a side by side comparison of same model St Croix Avids with and without the Concept guides. I Think they make a difference with sensitivity and casting distance and accuracy. From what I know, Kistler Heliums do not use Fuji Concept guides. However, it looks like Trey uses guides tjhat look very similar to the Concept guides.

Good luck

Mike

[timinaz]

Wandy,


Around $200 - Rod: Bass Pro Extreme series Med Action. Reel: Daiwa Ondine or Laguna 2500. Great rod for the money. Great balance with a Nice fast action without the tip being too limp. My favorite Extreme Series rod is 6ft 8in ML with the Split handle. Laguna and Ondine are less expensive versions of the Capricorn.

I'm also a big fan of the Fuji Concept Guide system. I've read the literature and I've done a side by side comparison of same model St Croix Avids with and without the Concept guides. I Think they make a difference with sensitivity and casting distance and accuracy. From what I know, Kistler Heliums do not use Fuji Concept guides. However, it looks like Trey uses guides tjhat look very similar to the Concept guides.

Good luck

Mike

B is my choice. With careful shopping you can get the Diawa Capricorn for 99.00, match that with a Shimano Clarus CSS-70M for 69.00. Not a bad match for under 200.00. I just got this setup yesterday and tried it out fishing plastics. The rod sensitivity is average not quite as good as a St Croix/GLoomis/Kistler, but cheaper. I plan to upgrade the rod after I get my tax money this year...

[wandy]

BPS has a combo sale...a stradic fh with a BPS extreme xps for 129.00 I can upgrade rod later. What is the reel opinion? I was thinking of the 1000 size for lightweight slider heads.

Thanks

[timinaz]

BPS has a combo sale...a stradic fh with a BPS extreme xps for 129.00 I can upgrade rod later. What is the reel opinion? I was thinking of the 1000 size for lightweight slider heads.

Thanks

Not a bad reel at all, although you might want to do a search on certain types of line not to use with the Super Slow Oscillation...


I will see if the Tackle Tour Shootout between the Capricorn and the Stradic holds out. Time will tell...

[wandy]

I had not heard of any problems with the super slow oscillation and line. What happens? I was thinking of using pline cxx 6lb with this if i get it.

[KoYak]

Hey.

BPS Extreme and Stradic for $129.98! Sounds like a great deal. regarding the 1000 reel. There are pluses and minuses to smaller reels.

Pluses
1000 size has a slower rate of retrieve: For slider fishing this can be a big advantage. It will Assist in the Slider presentation of a slow, steady retrieve.

1000 Size is lighter.

Minus
1000 has smaller spool: Creates more coils in your line increasing the chances of tangles. the added coils also decreases casting distance. Need to use very limp lines on 1000 size reels. Smaller spools als means more line twists and line twists can lead to all sorts of problems.

I've been using a 2500 size daiwa for my slider/finesse bass fishing. I fill about half of the spool with mono backing. I then spool usable part with 4lb yozuri Hybrid or Power pro 2/10 or 4/15.

I think the STradic comes with an extra spool. if you go with the 2500 size, you can have a light line on one spool for Slider fishing and a heavier line to use for other stuff - crankbaits, spinner baits, senkos.I've used my Xtreme Med action for just about everything and it is a very capable rod.

Mike

[timinaz]

I had not heard of any problems with the super slow oscillation and line. What happens? I was thinking of using pline cxx 6lb with this if i get it.

I can't remember which board I saw a thread about problems with casting braided lines and the way the line was spooled. I'll try to find where I saw the thread.

[wandy]

Just ordered a 2pc 6'L bionic blade/daiwa td-bg2500 combo from BPS for 60$. Hope this will fill my finesse fishing need. It was on sale and i jumped.

[KoYak]

Wandy,

that is a heck of a deal! Great buy!
Mike

[Reno Reeler]

Wandy,

Don't you just love finding a great deal! Let us know how the combo performs.

[timinaz]

I had not heard of any problems with the super slow oscillation and line. What happens? I was thinking of using pline cxx 6lb with this if i get it.

Here is the first message I could find.
http://www.wmi.org/bassfish/bassboard/r ... T29543.htm

Unfortunatly the forums are down on http://www.japantackle.com site.

[swear by senkos]

If you use pretty light line that has very little memory, i smaller spool wont be a problem, i like smaller reels because they are nice and light.

[wandy]

Got the BPS bionic blade one piece (i had ordered a two but will keep the one) 6'L rod and tg2500 reel today. the reel is BIG and I will probably keep it for heavier weight fishing techniques...jerkbaits etc. I did order a daiwa ondine 2000size from cabelas for 49.99. A guy in my bass club said I got a helluva deal on the tg2500 as it is a newer version with the hardbodyz and is very similiar if not better than the capricorn.(he reps daiwa). So there you go. thanks for the input.