What type of baits are you going to be casting? That's the first thing I would think about.

If your fishing crankbaits you want a good crankbait rod

Jig fishing may need a different type of rod

Same with spinnerbaits or topwater.

Do you like to fish ultralight baits or are you throwing big Muskee type baits.

Are you trolling crank baits or just casting them.

Or are you fishing worms and need a good rod that helps you detect light bits and vibrations.

But then if you are trying to pull big bass out of a flooded forest or brush piles you may want a rod with a fast tip and a lot of backbone. A short stiff rod for fishing at night in brush filled strip pits so you can horse the hogs out of cover at night.

What type of material do you need. Fiberglass is resllent but can't transmit vibrations as well as graphite rods. But a graphite rod will break much easier than a fiberglass rod.

I can tell you right now that the Shakespear Fiberglass rods are bruts but not very sensitive at all. I bought two uglysticks for trolling cranks behind the boat. They are tough and I don't need them to flex or transfer vibrations.

When when it comes to fishing a worm I want a good sensitive and yet strong graphite rod so that I can feel the worm crawling along the bottom and know if a fist just bit the worm or the worm just ran into a rock.

Also the length of the rod is important. A good 6' 6" rod or a 7 ft rod will help you cast the crank baits farther. Where a short light weight ultra light spinning rod made out of graphite is what I would want to use when casting 1/16" oz lead head jigs for crappie fishing.


Quote Originally Posted by fishin'fool View Post
Hey all,

I'm not a great fisherman but I enjoy it. However I'm trying to learn more to increase my success rate. I have a small collection of various spinning reel setups. I've tended to spend a little more money on the reels (I have 2x Pflueger Presidents and a Shimano Sedona) instead of more money on the rod. Maybe that's backwards but I figured the reel was slightly more important. For my 3 main spinning rods I'm using Shakespeare Ugly Stiks. Not sure what you all think about them here. But they seem indestructible and are cheap. However, I'm looking to get a decent baitcaster setup. Now I've never used a baitcaster. But I want to learn. My budget is about $150 for a rod + reel. What would you guys recommend?

I've been doing a lot of research on Bass Pro's website reading reviews and tomorrow I will be going to Sportsman's Warehouse here in Lexington to have a look at what they have. I'm leaning towards the Shimano Caenan reel. But as for a rod, I'm not sure...

Thanks in advance for any help!