Set up for Spinnerbaits for Bass

Hey guys,

Wondering if a couple of the Pro-staff guys can recommend a good set up for Bass sized spinnerbaits.

I have St. Croix rods and really don’t want to change from them so if you can give me St. Croix models that would be great. Reels? pretty much open on them….

What about crankbaits or plastics?

Thanks in advance!

Steve Cady, Bass fishing!! Cool they better look out. I recommend Avid spinning rods # AS66MHF or AS66MF 30 lb Power Pro with a 5 ft 10 lb mono leader on a Quantum Catalyst reel and you are ready to go. Baitcasting (which I think you would prefer)
AC60MF or AC66MF rods are both excellent spinnerbait rods. Stay away from the extra fast tips. My spinnerbait rod is the EC60MF Legend Elite casting rod. Has a great tip for a spinnerbait rod. Shimano Curado reel or the new Quantum PT energy baitcaster is incredibely smooth and strong. Same line. We will have to go on a bass/muskie combo outing this year! Take care.
Chris Beeksma
Get Bit Guide Service

Ok, I didnt take a stab at the rest of the request. Plastics…..# 1 last year for me was definitely an Exude RT slug in Funky chicken and Rainbow shad. 4 ” tubes have been hot for smallies and largemouths. Nothing wrong with the old standby plastic worm in Tequila sunrise. Crankbaits… as far as med to deep runners I caught alot of fish last year on lipless crankbaits…..Rattlin Raps and Ratl-traps and the Cordell Wiggle O was awesome on again both smallies and largemouths. Storm Wiggle Warts are a great crankbait also. Could go on and on lol just like musky baits. Just give me a Mepps musky killer and a Jackpot la la la
Chris Beeksma
Get Bit Guide Service

For spinnerbait fishing I Recommend one of 2 setups depending on the situation. For close-range accurate casting around docks laydowns etc. I’d get a shorter 6’0″ or 6’6″ trigger rod in either a medium or medium heavy action (I use a 6’6″ medium) I’d reccomend 12-14# line. A lot of people choose the even shorter pistol grip style rods for this purpose, but unless you can cast with both hands its almost impossible to hit the “backhand” angles with the pistol grip where it is much more reasonable with the trigger.
The second setup I reccommend is for either burning spinnerbaits in clear water for smallmouths or slow rolling heavy ledgebuster type spinnerbaits in deep water. For that I recommend a 7’0″ or 7’6″ medium heavy rod for extra casting distance and to be able handle lures that weigh from 3/4 to 1 1/2 oz. For line on this setup I reccommend 15-20# line and I recommend a fluorocarbon line instead of mono for reduced stretch when setting the hook at the end of a long cast. Since you are a musky fisherman I’m guessing you may already have a rod that handles these lures.

For crankbaits (also jerkbaits & topwaters) a 6’6″ medium that you use for close range spinnerbaiting should serve here as well, 10-14 lb mono. For plastics the 7’0″ med. heavy should handle for pitching/casting texas rigged plastics, jig & plastic, or dragging a carolina rig. For any of the the finesse plastic techniques i.e. wacky/weightless, mojo, dropshot, tube jigs etc I recommend spinning tackle a 6’6″ medium rod and reel with a fairly large spool.

Steve,

I personally use the same rods for both spinnerbaits and crankbaits. This allows me to simply retie instead of grabbing a different rod when changing techniques. For lighter spinnerbaits and lipless or shallow cranks I use a AC70MF. For deep cranks or heavy spinners I’ll use the AC70MHF. I’ve always personally preferred longer rods. I seem to have better control over lure placement. With the longer rod I can also stick the rod down in the water to get an extra foot or more when using cranks. I’ll have 5600C4 Abu Garcia spooled with green 10-16lb Berkly XT. The reels have a 6.3:1 ratio that will allow me to speed retrieve or slow down to a crawl. They are extremely durable and if anything ever does happen to them, it is easily fixed.

You didn’t ask about jigs, but I’m going tothrow in my 2 cents. The AC73MHF and AC710HF are the best rods I have ever used while using 1/2oz-2oz jigs in milfoil or on deep rock. They are telescoping rods so they will fit in any rod locker. The sensitivity is awesome and there is more than enough backbone to pull a big bass out of thick weeds in a hurry.