garyw Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 ok, i'm gonna try a casting reel. is this a good place to start? LEW'S lazer MG speed spool LS1SHMG LEW'S American hero im6 speed stick. not sure which one. gonna purchase in a coupla weeks. what line should i start with? had one YEARS ago.......cheap...............dismal failure. read old post and see,s everyone(almost) likes the lew's thanks p.s. fishing for bass.
rps Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 If you are fishing Table Rock or Bull Shoals or Beaver, I suggest 10 or 12 pound YoZuri. Less stretch than mono, better knot than fluorocarbon. Easier to learn baitcasting with a non braid. My 2 cents. eyedabassman 1
abkeenan Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Gary, You are on the right path. I don't know your budget so it is going to be hard to recommend a rod without knowing that info. Also, is this going to be your only rod or are you going to use it specifically for say...cranks, topwater, spinnerbaits, jigs, texas rigs...etc.? If this is going to be your only rod I would get something in the 6'6"-7' range. Most likely I myself would go with a 7' MH rod. Lew's just got into the rod market a few years ago so they might be a little green yet. They very well may be awesome rods but I have no experience to base that off of and I would trust a rod maker such as Falcon that's been around a while over Lew's. The Lew's reel you mention the Laser MG is a decent reel and I own one. I will tell you I would 100% buy the next model up (LFS Speed Spool) for only $20 more. It has an all aluminum frame compared to the Laser MG's graphite. Well worth the extra $20. Again without knowing how you intend to use this combo makes it hard to suggest a gear ratio but I would get a 6.3:1 ratio or in that ballpark because it lends itself to use it for cranking or soft plastics/jigs. A happy medium if you will. Line. Again can't really help without knowing your intentions. Co-poly like RPS mentioned is a good all around line that would work for just about any bait application you could think of....soft plastics, jigs, cranks, topwater, jerkbaits..etc. 12 pound would be a good best all around line if you only had ONE rod to use. Hope this helps and we can dial you in a little better with more info.
Champ188 Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 I would offer a couple of suggestions. As for the rod, the American Hero series should be fine. I'd suggest the 6-6 MH (AH66MHC) as a good all-around stick for bass. The fast action will let you throw just about anything you want on it. For your reel, you would do yourself a big favor in considering stepping up to the TS1H model in a 6:4:1 gear ratio. I believe our favorite store (Tackle Warehouse) has them for $139. I also think this particular reel may be going out of production, so you may want to hurry. The REASON that I recommend this step up is because you gain centrifugal braking, which will help you immensely in casting without backlashing. The lower-priced reels have only magnetic brakes, which I personally find pretty useless. I think you would be more than happy you stepped up to the better reel. One final suggestion ... once you get your reel spooled, pull off the amount of line you would make with your longest cast, plus about 5-10 yards, then put a strip of black electrical tape longways across the spool. Reel in your line and you're ready to go. This creates a sort of insurance policy against your spool overspinning and causing a backlash. After you become proficient with the reel, you may want to take off the tape. It's kind of like training wheels on a bicycle. Hope you enjoy your new gear. Get out in the yard and practice with it before the good fishing season gets here and then you'll be ready to catch em. GNSfishing and crazy4fishin 2
Champ188 Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Lew's just got into the rod market a few years ago so they might be a little green yet. Your youth is showing. Lew Childre started making rods in 1949. The old Lew's Speed Stick was one of the most innovative rods of the 1970s.
mixermarkb Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 To be fair Champ, and I'm a fan of the lews reels, the new lews rods have nothing to do with the lews of the 1970's. There really isn't any design lineage with any of the new lews products to those of the old company. New owners, new designs-
mixermarkb Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Oh and here is a link with the lews tournament reel on sale for $109- http://tackletrap.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=75_117_1445&zenid=a7e77aaaf3d74188cd9a1442fb543618
crazy4fishin Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Who says you cant learn something new when it is all of 10 degrees outside! I never thought of the black tape thing....not that I EVER have an over run...but I have a friend that does on occasion C4F Crazy4fishinA Cornhusker
abkeenan Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 Your youth is showing. Lew Childre started making rods in 1949. The old Lew's Speed Stick was one of the most innovative rods of the 1970s. I though about mentioning that in my original post. I am aware of that but since the LEWS brand was bought out just a handful of years ago (after a hiatus from producing rods or reels) by the current owner it's safe to assume they started from square one on the rod and reel building. Don't know that for sure but just my assumption. How's that you smart alecked Razorback?
abkeenan Posted February 17, 2015 Posted February 17, 2015 To be fair Champ, and I'm a fan of the lews reels, the new lews rods have nothing to do with the lews of the 1970's. There really isn't any design lineage with any of the new lews products to those of the old company. New owners, new designs- This is what I thought as well.
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