Preferred Spinning combo for finesse fishing?

[Springmillvol]

I'm curious what rod /reel combo as far as size and action the board prefers for fishing finesse type baits like drop shots, small senkos, etc. I'm not going to break the bank for a rig but was curious about the length and action that is preferred. Thank You very much for the feedback.

 

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

Finesse fishing is my favorite way to fish. I love fishing for spots and I enjoy the fun of the "pull" when using lighter tackle. I have several finesse spinning combos. My favorite is a St. Croix Mojo Bass 6'8" med. rod with fast action. I have a Stradic CI4+ 3000 series reel. I use 30 lb braid with a 8lb flouro leader. This works great for me. Really any quality med to med- light sensitive rod with a fast action combined with a 2500 to 3000 size quality spinning reel will work. I have similar setups with Shimano med to med-light rods using less expensive Shimano Sahara or Sedona 2500-3000 series reels. Don't rule out a finesse baitcaster outfit. I have a med-light 6 1/2' shimano baitcasting rod combined with a small Diawa baitcasting reel. I use 6 to 8 lb flouro and can throw really light finesse baits. A good magnetic drag on the reel is important. Finesse fishing is a lot of fun. Now I do use a little different set up for drop shot. I like a 7' med action with a fast tip rod and for me the reel isn't as important for drop shotting as in other finesse fishing. I use lower cost spinning reels of the same size range for drop shotting. I once watched a fishing show with Kevin Van Dam and he advocated using a 7' med action rod with fast tip for finesse fishing but he liked a little bigger reel with a big wide spool so there wasn't much spool drag to hinder casting. I have a couple of those outfits using the I belive discontinued Orra reels in a bigger size. I use 30lb braid and sometime 15lb flouro. They are great for casting bigger finesse baits such as full size Dingers a long way. Spring is coming, can't wait to get out and finesse fish!

 

[trbr81]

Im partial to the Ike Finnesse spinning rods - but of course now discontinued

i like 6'10-7'2" in medium light with a Stradic 2500 or 3000 series reel

The Cashion Core is also a really nice rod and available on tackle warehouse

 

[31airborne]

+1 on med-lite (I like a 6-9) paired with a 2500 series reel.

 

[Springmillvol]

Thank you guys !

 

[Pop-R]

I have a Joe Burns 7' medium I love for it paired with a Lews Mach 2

 

[on fish]

Abu garcia zenon 30 zenon 7ft med fast 30lb braid 6 to 8 pound flouro leader

 

[Sobe3531]

You mean fairy wands!?

Just kidding man... I love dropshot I use a 6'10 Med Lt ST Croix with a Daiwa Revros best reel i've had for the $50-60 range IMO
And I've always just used 8lb Fluorocarbon line

 

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

Sobe3531 - 2/2/2023 4:52 PM

You mean fairy wands!?

Just kidding man... I love dropshot I use a 6'10 Med Lt ST Croix with a Daiwa Revros best reel i've had for the $50-60 range IMO
And I've always just used 8lb Fluorocarbon line

LOL you comment about fairy wands brought back memories. Back in the early 80's the only fishing I knew was panfishing. I went to work for a guy who was a great bass fisherman and I started to learn. He was old school, all baitcasters on rods that looked like heavy duty pool sticks. At that time I began to read about this (for then) new style of baits called finesse baits. I got a pack or three of the zoom finesse worms in junebug and redbug. I got a med. spinning rod. For a long time when I fished with my friend he would make fun of my fairy wand and the "weeny" worms I was throwing. He made fun until he noticed that I caught a lot of fish. Wasn't long before he started fishing the "weeny" worms also. Another thing I decided early on was that I thought it was dumber than dirt to use a spinning rod in my right hand but use a baitcasting rod in my left hand. My right arm became sensitive to bites and my left hand was the reel cranking hand. Anyway when they came out with the first left hand retrieve baitcaster I got one and loved it. I didn't have to cast and quickly swap the rod to the other hand which felt less sensitive to me. My friend once again made fun of me until the trip when he pulled out a left hand retrieve baitcaster from his rod box. Of course I gave him a hard time about it. Those were the days. I remember in the mid 80's when the Chick got a lot of grass and the fishing was fantastic. You could go after work most any evening, run to a hump with grass on it and easily catch a bunch of fish. It lasted for a few years then either floods and / or spraying (depends on what you believe) killed the grass. I have great memories of many trips spent with my friend. He had a lot of patience with me and taught me how to bass fish.

 

[finbully]

You mean fairy wands!?

Just kidding man... I love dropshot I use a 6'10 Med Lt ST Croix with a Daiwa Revros best reel i've had for the $50-60 range IMO
And I've always just used 8lb Fluorocarbon line

We called spinning reels coffee grinders.

 

[rsimms]

This is one of the best light combos I've ever fished in my life, and I've fished a LOT!

75 Series Combo

The 75 Series Combo is a 7.5ft/1pc construction pole for true action and strength. Includes high modulus graphite (our secret recipe) for extreme strength, sensitivity, and castability. The 75 Series is perfectly balanced and has high quality, gold alloy guides (7+tip), and a Genuine...

www.bnmpoles.com

 

[occasionalfisher]

Sorry I didn't see this post earlier. I grew up fishing a spinning reel and I still love to use them today as part of my bass fishing. I have to say the newer Zodias rods made by Shimano are very good. I have a medium-light and a medium, plus a Dobyns Champion XP, a 13 fishing Omen medium-light and a Loomis "Shakeyhead" Mag-Medium rod.
The Dobyns is my favorite for shakeyheads, wacky worm and neko rig. The medium-light Zodias is a great little dropshot or ned rig rod, light enough to work the bait correctly, but plenty of backbone if you need it for a bigger fish. The medium Zodias is a little stiff for a medium, more of a medium heavy to me. The Loomis is sensitive, but it is a medium-heavy in how it feels, plus it is twice as heavy as any of the other rods despite being a 6-10. Most of my rods are 7 foot, with the Loomis being 6-10 and the Omen being 7-1. The Omen is not very sensitive, but it throws great, and for a moving bait, like a small crank, topwater or swimbait it is excellent.
I have two main spinning reels I use, a Daiwa Ballistic in the 2000 size and a Daiwa Tatula in the 2500 size. The Tatula is my workhorse and if I only take one with me to the lake, that reel will be it. The Ballistic is a great reel, but with it being the 2000 size it has a smaller spool and really is better for dropshot or other techniques that don't require very long casts.
I take two spinning reels with me a lot, and use them a lot in my fishing. My best day of fishing at Chick was with a spinning reel in my hand. I use the braid to floro leader and since I have started doing that my catch rates on spinning gear has easily tripled. I hated straight floro on a spinning reel, but with the braid I actually like to fish my spinning reels more than some of my baitcasters.

 

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

Occasionalfisher, I'm with you, since I started fishing braid to flouro on my spinning outfits I don't fish a baitcaster as much as before. If I have 30 lb braid and 15lb flouro like I use on my heavier spinning rods I can almost match the backbone of a baitcaster and it is so much easier to throw in the wind or if you need the bait to drop as vertical as possible as quickly as possible. Love my spinning set ups!

 

[SPOONMINNOW]

Late to the party but here goes:
5'6 or 6' light action rod - a must to prevent sunfish from using the rod as leverage to unhook itself.

15lb test braid. No leader of any kind. I prefer Kastking or Hercules for casting light lures long distances, feeling light strikes and setting the hook by letting the fish do most of the setting.

Daiwa and Zebco have decent spincast reels that are easy to cast and fight fish. Gear ratios are adequate to take in line fast. Spinning reels are also great for doing the above and both types of reels can be mounted on spinning rods.

This year so far I've caught over 300 fish of different species - including panfish - and that's only over a period of 5 days.
All were taken using light jigs and small soft plastics and the above rod, reels and line.