Newbie from central Ohio...WOW! Great site

[bigbassfan]

New to site but glad to have found it....ridiculous amounts of info here and have much to continue reading. If I may, I would appreciate some general thoughts on my current gear and any suggestions you may have.

Decided to ease into baitcasting a couple years ago and acquired a Shimano Citica 200D and St. Croix Premier 7ft M/F rod...thinking this would result in being able to fish a fairly wide range of techniques. However, the more I continued to read, it seems that there are "technique specific" rod/reel combos to consider. I fish from the banks but if I were to get another baitcasting combo to compliment this what should I consider? Can't afford to lug around 5-6 setups but 2-3 is manageable. Is my current combo a decent all-around setup? Thanks in advance for the input!

[BigBassin144]

Welcome to the Site. Good to have another Ohio angler on.

Here's the thing about technique specific gear. It's nice to have, but not a necessity. There are also two ways to think about technique specific gear. The way the rod manufacturers want you to, which is that their specially designed rods with technique names printed on them are what you need. And the way that I personally think about it: Having rods that suit the way you fish a technique and that are designated for that technique (whether they are manufacturer technique specific rods or not). That allows you switch lures easier without retying as much. It can also help you fish certain techniques better.

A couple rods I'd look into getting (the few I'm never without) would be a crankbait rod, and a rod slightly heavier than the 7' M/F.

If you fish crankbaits, a cranking stick will really help you out. A good 7' MH M or MF action rod will help you keep fish on crankbaits. My go-to cranking stick right now is a 7'6" MH glass rod, but a shorter glass or moderate action graphite rod will work great. Crankbait rods are usually designed as crankbait rods and are labelled as such my manufacturers.

I would also get a slightly more powerful rod to compliment the 7' M F (which is a good all around rod). A 7' MH F or 7' H F will work better for jigs, heavier texas rigs, frogs, etc. I ALWAYS have a rod in the 7'-7'4" MH to H power range with me. My current t-rig/Senko rods are a 7'3" MH F and a 7' MH XF rod. My current jig rod is a 7'8" H F.

There are a lot of good brands out there, but everyone has their opinion on which they like best. My preferred rod brand is Dobyns Rods. I also like Shimano's Rods. Powell also makes good rods although I haven't gotten a lot of on the water experience with one as I don't own one. Other good brands to consider are Daiwa, Falcon, St. Croix, G. Loomis, Abu Garcia.

The specific model rod will depend greatly on your budget.

BB