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What type of combo do I buy?

By Mark Hutchinson of www.threeguysfishing.com

There you are. Standing in the local tackle shop looking at the wall of rods and reels that surround you wondering, “what the heck am I going to buy?” If you’re anything like me, you likely started out with relatively inexpensive gear and just picked it based on if it looked good and felt good.

Over the years, I’ve come to learn that there are very specific functions for each type of rod and reel and you should definitely choose one based on your fishing style, technique and species you plan on fishing for. Most importantly, don’t buy a cheap rig! I’m not saying to re mortgage your house or spend your retirement savings, but you should pretty much cross anything off your list that’s going to cost less than $75 combined for the rod and reel unless it’s just a smokin’ sale!

Matching the right rod and reel to the lure or fishing technique, and knowing what line type and size works best can seem daunting at first, but hopefully I can help to give a bit of guidance here so that your fishing exploits are more enjoyable and you see better results! First let’s start off with the basic difference between spinning and baitcasting combos.

Spinning Combos

Spinning reels are easy to operate and are good for beginners. Some manufactures allow the handle may be changed to accommodate either a left or right-handed person. Spinning combos are usually more flexible or whip-like than baitcasting tackle. This limberness is one of the things that spinning combos excellent for casting light lures or bait, much more so than a baitcaster. The other thing that helps the spinning equipment cast light lures far is the design of the reel. The line is allowed to peel off the spool on a cast, unimpeded by either the nose cone of spincast reel or the friction of a turning baitcast reel’s spool.

The line capacity of spinning reels is much higher than that of spincast reels so fishing for salmon or trout is possible. Most good quality reels have a much smoother drag too, something that is required for finesse fishing and for long running fish. If you enjoy fishing for trout, walleye, or smallmouth bass, this is the combo for you! However, the qualities that make spinning great for finesse fishing also somewhat limit where it can be used. Another key factor to look for is a solidly constructed reel body.  There should be no loose or flimsy parts, and all moving parts should be smooth in performance and have no back play at all.

Baitcast Combos

The baitcast reel is different in the way the spool operates. With the spinning setup, the spool is fixed. With this design, the bail revolves around the spool when retrieving which puts the line back on. Baitcast spools, on the other hand, are not fixed. This is most notable during the cast. When you cast, the lure pulls the line, causing the spool to spin. When the lure hits the water, it stops pulling line. If you aren’t paying attention, or haven’t mastered the technique, the spool will keep spinning resulting in a wonderful small explosion of line. This “birds nest” is technically known as “backlash” and takes some time to master preventing this. There are many different breaking systems available and they can be adjusted as you become more proficient of a baitcaster. More on baitcasting can be found in my “How to baitcast” article.

Baitcasting is fantastic anytime heavy cover is going to be targeted. It can handle heavy line, lures, and fish and can really horse the bait through some nasty cabbage. Baitcast equipment is NOT meant for light lures and in fact won’t even cast them all that well. Anything under ¼ ounce in my opinion should be left for your spinning combo. Baitcasting tackle is the go to tackle when big fish and big lures meet thick, nasty cover. Also, because you control the cast with your thumb, pinpoint accuracy is possible. Once you’ve mastered the technique of baitcasting, it's possible to drop a lure in a 6-inch circle at 50 feet, with hardly a ripple on the water. That kind of accuracy and "touch" is rarely possible with your spinning gear.

Rod Selection

 
Now that we have a rough idea of the differences between the reels, let’s have a quick peek at the rods. Most of the better rods are 100% graphite, or a combination of graphite and fiberglass. This will be a personal choice item. The main factor is to get a good quality, sensitive rod. Rod length is a personnel preference and the old school was not to use a rod longer than you were tall, but the longer the rod the further you can cast and the less effort is needed to reach that target.

Most new graphite rods are light in weight and are balanced at the reel seat. That means you can set the rod handle on your finger with the reel attached and the rod should balance equally from tip to the end of the handle. The rods will have weight markings near the handle of light, medium light, medium, medium heavy, heavy, etc. and also suggested lure and line sizes also. You’ll want to make sure that you match the specs of the rod with the spec of the reel. If you purchase a “pre selected” combo, this matching will already have been done for you.

Let’s say that we’re going walleye fishing and we’ll be using ¼ ounce jig heads with minnow for bait.
Let's start with the rod. As I said before, rod length is your choice, but for the purpose of this combination we will use a 6-1/2-foot rod. A medium light or medium would be a good choice and you need to use a rod that shows a lure range of 1/8- to 3/8-ounce for a 1/4-ounce bait. The rod will also give you a line weight to use, typically 8- to 14- or 10- to 17-pound for medium light to medium action rods.
Next we need a good three or more ball bearing reel with a braking system. The reels also have a suggested line size on them and you should stick to those also. For this combo I would use a medium size spinning reel with a line size and lure weight that matches the rod used.

If I were fishing in heavy cover for largemouth bass in the summertime, I would use a heavy action baitcasting combo with 60 pound braided line. This might sound a bit extreme, but when fishing cover like this, you’re going to want to be able to get your lure through it without breaking off all the time. Also, when those fish hit, you want to get them out of that cover as quickly as possible so they don’t wrap you up around a stump!

Hopefully this article has helped a little bit with how to select a combo that’s right for you. If you have any specific questions or would like some suggestions on picking out a combo, please feel free to drop me a line at contact@threeguysfishing.com