I am thinking of expanding my bass fishing to using 9" Sluggos with 4 oz jigheads in the canal. I would like to use a sturdy spinning reel with a smooth drag that I will spool with braid. I am looking to mate such a reel up to a 10' rod. Any suggestions on rod and reel combinations under $300 combined? I am leaning toward a Slammer 460/560 and a Tica rod but am open to any /all successful combos. Thanks

RoyM

My .02, get on Ebay and get a Nautil GV 7500, should go for around $90.

Shimano stradic 8000FH with a tica 10' UEAH rod but change the tip if your going to run braid.

I'd use a nautil 7500 on a Breakaway 1209... thats a great canal setup.

Did that kid come out yet? I found good fish this AM and you were sleeping.

Pie, shouldn't you be working?

And Eben, shouldn't you be pannicking?

I've got a Lami SB1213M which is great for throwing 4 ounce jigs, but it's a bit heavier than graphite.

-spence

Spence:
I am working.....now. I wasn't at 2;30 AM this morning and yes, if I were Eben, I would be panicking. I believe the baby was due Saturday.

He didn't mention anything about it last night, so perhaps today is the day :happy:

-spence

Rod, Breakaway LDFS 100H for around $190.

Reel, Penn 704Z for around $80.

$30 change, use it to buy 300 yards of 30# Fireline. That Penn won't handle spun braid but it likes Fireline.

The Penn power graph 7000 is a good spinning reel, check it out.
Diawa eliminator rods are pretty good, not to expensive and can handle big fish.

Mike P suggested a great outfit foir the money. Only thing I would change is i'd use heavier braid , like 60 LB test.

CSK, Mikecc, Eben, MikeP, Striperman, and Saltheart

Thanks for your much appreciated and valued suggestions. I too like the Breakaway LDFS 100H and Penn 704Z with Fireline . After throwing 1oz spoons and plastics for the last two years, I guess I'll have to "beef up" for the extra weight and hopefully larger bass. Thanks again

RoyM

Originally posted by Saltheart
Mike P suggested a great outfit foir the money. Only thing I would change is i'd use heavier braid , like 60 LB test.

Saltheart,I think Mike is right on 30# fireline breaks 50 # leader material.Flourocarbon or regular triplefish.Its bout the same diameter as some 50 -60 lb test braids.Ive been usin it for years along with the 20# Never any troubles an I always know what my limitations are.I tried some others an only had problems I'll never change again.

If I had to guess, I'd peg the actual break strength of 30# Fireline at well over 50 pounds.

I use 20# FL with 40# leader on my plugging/light jigging outfits and when I've hung, the leader always breaks first.

Someone did an actual straight pull break test on 14# Fireline, on another website, and found that it broke at 34#s of pull.

The other thing I do to try to make sure the leader breaks first is use a Palomar on the Fireline to the barrel, and a simple clinch on each end of the leader (unless I'm using a loop knot on a jig). One other thing I do is use a 4 turn clinch on the barrel end and a 3 turn clinch on the snap end, to try to make sure it breaks at the snap so I can re-use most of the leader.

I do a similar trick with the knots. Jig knot breaks first , leader knot next , running line (very seldom) next.

I don't doubt the 30 Lb fireline has sufficient breaking strength. What i have found is that the lines less than 50 LB in the case of spectron and less than 60-65 LB for others will develop weak spots where the line crosses and gets kinked on an overrun. This only happens with heavier jigs , like 3 to 5 OZ , not with say 2 OZ plugs , etc. It doesn't break on that overrun cast , it breaks later at the weak spot created by the kink.

So actually after reading closely , thats not a problem since this is a spinner set up.

Originally posted by Mike P


The other thing I do to try to make sure the leader breaks first is use a Palomar on the Fireline to the barrel, and a simple clinch on each end of the leader (unless I'm using a loop knot on a jig). One other thing I do is use a 4 turn clinch on the barrel end and a 3 turn clinch on the snap end, to try to make sure it breaks at the snap so I can re-use most of the leader.

Now Ditch I always liked ur posts as I see u as bein one of the most knowledgeable guys WHO SHARE on the boards.but
I never understood this type of logic. I would never tie a knot that I though would break sooner than another. I would rather bust my hump tryn break off than have to worry bout knots when fightin a good fish.Its gonna take all u got to git a fifty out of that current.the last thing I need is a three turn clinch slippin.I seen it happen before.I have 100 percent confidence in my knots.any thing less gets scrappped.Of course if my leader gets scraped up allitle on the first few casts It gets fished for a while longer before it gets changed.:rolleyes: so what do i really know.

Actually, fewer turns are less likely to slip the thicker the line is. Try snubbing a 5 turn improved clinch in 50# mono up tight. Then try it with a 3 turn and a 4 turn simple clinch and see how much tighter she snubs up ;) Don't accept a knot that isn't snubbed tight, or whose turns overlap.

Leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of tag end after you clip it.