Swimbait/umbrella Rig Rod

[Grubber]

I think he's talking about the Sportsman's Factory Outlet store next to/ in with the Lew's offices, nice store, it's over by the Kraft plant

[tse90]

Springfield has a Sportsman's Warehouse???????? I didn't know that.

Sorry should have specified. It's Sportsmans Factory Outlet. It's connected to the Lew's warehouse. Pretty nice local tackle store that beats going to Bass Pro...only problem is they aren't open on weekends.

[Sac River Jim]

i picked up a team lews TLCA72HF 7'2'' heavy mod action with micro guides last week. I love the rod so far and my next purchase will be a swim bait/rig model by this fall. I've got 5 Lews rods now and plan to upgrade to all Lews. Jim is very helpful to me and I really like the store. I did see a swim bait rod back in the hallway last week but it wasnt a Lew's but cant remember what it was thinking maybe a Diawa but it was 50% of the markdown price i'm thinking it was around 40 bucks. They had some combos set up too (used tournament and Team rods with new lews 10bb reels that retail for 100.00 dollars ) the tournament combo was around 150 and the team combo was 200.

[evilcatfish]

Perhaps consider one of the Okuma Big Bait Rods. They are considered economical and a good starting point for guys wanting to get in to bigger lures. Plus the Okuma warranty is great and the price:quality ratio is very good.

Also consider the new Daiwa DX rods as an option. I haven't fished one but the buzz is good

If seriously interested in bigger baits I suggest you check out Swimbait Underground as there is a wealth of knowledge over there

[Bill Babler]

Perhaps consider one of the Okuma Big Bait Rods. They are considered economical and a good starting point for guys wanting to get in to bigger lures. Plus the Okuma warranty is great and the price:quality ratio is very good.

Also consider the new Daiwa DX rods as an option. I haven't fished one but the buzz is good

If seriously interested in bigger baits I suggest you check out Swimbait Underground as there is a wealth of knowledge over there

Great advice thanks

[MOsmallies]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'm worried about the microguides in cold weather. Do they tend to freeze up any more so than normal sized guides? Or do I not need to be worried about that?

[cbass12]

The 7'10" H/XF BassPro Extreme casting rod is what I use. Good rod and it can be had for $69 certain times of the year when they go on sale.

[Champ188]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'm worried about the microguides in cold weather. Do they tend to freeze up any more so than normal sized guides? Or do I not need to be worried about that?

I use Duckett Micro Magic rods almost exclusively and I haven't noticed that the guides ice up any worse than regular ones. To me, the bigger problem is the level-wind reel guide icing up in cold weather.

As for A-rig rods, I bought two Castaway 7-6 heavy action rods from Academy for about $40 each. Mounted a couple of trusty old green Shimano Curado 200s on them, which have lots of line capacity. They serve my purpose very well, although that purpose these days is mostly sitting idle in the garage. Not a big fan of the A-rig unless I'm fishing a derby and am forced to throw it. I'd rather catch em on a stick bait if I can.

[J-Doc]

I don't think anyone "wants" to throw a 5-gallon bucket (a-rig) all day. I know I don't but I have. That's a good price on a Castaway rod by the way.

I looked up my rod last night. It's a 7'-11" St Croix Mojo bass with weight capacity up o 2oz. I believe it's the in-shore series. It's an incredible rod and it's a multi purpose rod for me. If just an a-rig rod only, $40-60 is all I would spend. It's only good during winter and certain times. When its good, you can't put it down. When its not, you quickly put it down. Lol!

[abkeenan]

I was kicking around the idea of having a dedicated big swimbait rod (2-3+ oz, 6-8" inchers) but I had just bought a BPS 7'10 MH Crankin' Stick and threw them on that and it handled them fine so I so no need to spend extra money on something I rarely throw or dabble in. The crankin' stick makes a good multi-purpose big bait rod. That being said this rod got lots of good reviews considering cost when I was looking around:

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Okuma_Guide_Select_Series_Big_Bait_Casting_Rods/descpage-OGSBBR.html

and this rod just came out from Daiwa at ICast 2014 for the budgeted big swimbait/a-rig weekend warrior:

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Daiwa_DX_Swimbait_Casting_Rods/descpage-DXB.html

I have never used either but they seem like a good practical fit for a-rigs and big swim baits without breaking the bank.