BEST BAITCAST FISHING COMBOS

When looking for a new Baitcast Fishing Rod and Reel combo, there are a few features to keep in mind when looking for the best combo. Baitcast combo’s are great for long casting big baits, dropping your lines into the deep water, trolling for stripers, mackinaw, or trout, catfishing, and flipping bass baits.

Baitcast Rod and Reel Combo Features

• Right or Left Handed Reel • Action of the Rod • Power of the Rod

Right Or Left Handed Reel

The first feature, or quality, that is a matter of choice, or need, which is whether you need a right handed or a left handed reel.

Rod Action

The rod action of the fishing rod is a rating for where the rod will flex when you put pressure on the rod tip when reeling in a fish or your lure. They are rated by Extra Fast, Fast, Moderate Fast, Moderate, and Slow. • Extra Fast – Fishing rod only bends at the tip • Fast – Fishing rod will bend in the top third or less of the rod • Moderate Fast – The fishing rod will bend between the top third and top half of the rod • Moderate – The fishing rod will bend in the top half of the rod • Slow – The rod will begin to bend in the lower third of the rod

Fast Action Rods

Fast Action provides a higher level of sensitivity for detecting bites, and can quickly load up for setting the hook.

Moderate Action Rods

Moderate action is best for targeting bigger fish with aggressive lures. The longer flex of the fishing rod allows you to cast further so you can send your lures out further. Moderate action fishing rods sacrifice sensitivity for improved casting distance.

Slow Action Rods

Slow action fishing rods are best for casting smaller lures for fish like panfish and trout. The flex of a slow action fishing rod helps you to cast smaller lures further with lighter line.

Rod Power

A Fishing Rods Power rates the amount of pressure needed to bend the rod at its action rating. The Power ratings for fishing rods are typically rated as ultra- light, light, medium light, medium, medium heavy, and heavy. Power ratings really correspond to the rating for the weight of the fishing line and lure or weight that you will be fishing with, and this rating is usually shown on the rod itself to help you pick the righ fishing rod for the type of fishing that you will be doing. The lighter the rating, the lighter tackle, lighter fishing line, and lighter fishing lures that you will be fishing with. Ultra light, and light Power ratings would tyically be for fishing for smaller tackle for Panfish and Trout. A medium power rating would typically be for medium sized lures and baits used for fishing for Bass and Walleye. The heavy power rating would be for larger lures, baits, and fishing line typically used for fishing for Bass, Pike and Catfish.

Abu Garcia Veritas Baitcast Combo

The Abu Garcia® Veritas® baitcast combos are top notch with their feature packed fishing reels. The Veritas baitcast reel has a 10+1 bearing system and lightweight graphite frame. The rods are powered by their exclusive Powerlux® 100 Nano resin, which provides a stronger, lighter, and more sensitive rod.

Abu Garcia Revo SX Vendetta Baitcast Combo

This Abu Garcia® Revo® SX matched with Vendetta Casting Rod and Reel Combo features one of the best low profile baitcasters available, and the Vendetta rod is packed with amazing features, including added performance enhancing custom Winn® rod and reel grips for ultimate in comfort, and control, no matter what you have in store as far as weather. This baitcast fishing combo is the ultimate bass getting machine!

BPS Johnny Morris Platinum Baitcast Combo

The Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Baitcast Combo is the utimate fishing machine for serious fishermen that demand the very best. Built for being the ultimate in performance, the Johnny Morris Platinum Signature Baitcast Reel features the a solid machined aluminum frame, aluminum side plates with an unbreakable titanium deposition finish, and a double anodized aluminum spool.

Abu Garcia MLF Baitcast Combo

The Abu Garcia® MLF® Baitcast Combo is a high quality, performance engineered fishing rod and reel combo. The Major League Fishing® reel with a choice MLF rod were built for both comfort and amazing fishability. The Abu Garcia MLF Baitcast Reel has a graphite frame with graphite sideplates and a machined aluminum spool. The Duragear™ brass gear assures relentless winding power, and the five bearing system includes 4 stainless steel ball bearings plus 1 roller bearing.

BEST BAITCAST FISHING REELS

Baitcast Fishing Reels

Most fishermen start to learn to fish with a spinning reel, or possibly even the most simple to learn spincast reel. But if you are looking to be able to cast a long ways, or quick bass jig flipping action, a baitcasting reel is the way to go. A baitcast reel can be a little intimidating at first, and it takes a little practice to learn how to use it without ending up with a big old birds nest bunch of line that you have to spend an hour to take apart and clean up. With some patience, and some practice, you will quickly see that a baitcasting reel is a fishing reel that you will want to have in your fishing gear.

Why should I use a baitcast reel?

A baitcasting reel gives you further casting, more control, pinpoint accuracy, additional fishing techniques, and has a more ergonomic design.

More Powerful Casting

A baitcast reel gives you the advantage of haveing more powerful casting, allowing you to cast much farther than a traditional spinning reel. This lets you lob your baits out there where the trophy fish are.

More Control

Baitcast reels provide you with more control over your cast, and reeling in your line. There are several adjustements on the reel to let fine tune the control as well.

More Accuracy

A baitcast reel makes it easy to pinpoint exactly where you want your lure to drop, and cast it there with precision. This is really great for flipping lures for bass and striped bass fishing.

More Fishing Techniques

By adding a baitcast reel to your fishing gear, you will now be able to do pitching and flipping for bass. The unique desing of a baitcast reel makes it possible to fine tune and master these fishing techniques to increase your bass slaying skills.

More Ergonomic Design

Another great feature of a baitcast reels is that they have an ergonomic design that makes them more comfortable to hold and use all day while you are fishing, causing less fatigue in your wrists, so you can spend more time fishing.

Can Use Heavier Line and Lures

With the open design of baitcast reels, it allows you to use heaver line, and more of it, due to it’s higher capacity. You can also use bigger baits, weights, and lures, for huge trophy fish like sturgeon and big striped bass. They are also great for trolling for trout or stripers too due to the ease to let line run off the wheel smoothly.

Baitcast Reel Sizes

For baitcast fishing reels they have light low profile reels, and heavy duty reels. The lightweight baitcast reels with the low profile are great for flipping for largemouth bass or spotted bass. While the traditional round heavy duty style baitcast reels are great for lobbing your large baits out very far for big sturgeon, and bait fishing for stripers. The heavy duty style is more durable, and can handle the heavy lines, and heavy weights.

Reel Drag Adjustment

On a baitcast reel, the drag adjustment knob is located on the crank between the handle and the reel. You can use it to set the amount of resistance on your line. You can loosen the drag to allow the fish to pull more line, or you can tighten the drag to make it harder for a fish to pull line off the reel as they run during the fight.

Reel Spool Tension and Braking Knobs

On a baitcast reel, one of the most important settings on the reel to learn is the spool tension knob. This knob will make all the difference between having a good cast, or having your line turn into a birds nest on the reel. You can find this knob just behind the crank, to fine tune the drag resistance setting and is set after the drag adjustment is made. You want the spool tension knob adjusted so that your spool won’t do a fast free spin as your cast starts to fall towards the water, if it continues to quickly spin it will spider up your line. Tightening this knob up just a little will prevent the backlash from happening.

Reel Crank Ratio

When you are looking at the different baitcast reels to find the one you would like to buy, one of the important numbers to look for is the reel crank ration, which would say something like 5:1, or 5 to 1. This means that the reel will rotate five times for ever one time you crank the reel. The higher the number the faster your line will reel in. This is really important for those really long casts, or really deep drop downs.

Beginner Baitcast Reels

You can pick up an inexpensive baitcast reel for under $40. These are good to learn with, to make sure you like this style of fishing, before you invest in the more expensive mid and high priced reels. This level of reels has lower end components so they won’t last as long as the more expensive reels. But they are great to start with.

Mid Range Baitcast Reels

If you are thinking about getting into fishing with a baitcast reel, a mid range baitcast reel is probably the best bet for you. You can pick one of these reels up for the $100 to $200 price range. Buying a reel in this price range will give you plenty of high quality components, and these reels are durable so they will last you season after season.

Professional Baitcast Reels

If it is in your price range, if you want to splurge on yourself and get a really high quality baitcast reel with all the bells and whistles, the Professional quality baitcast reel would be the way to go. The price range in this catergory goes from $200 to over $400, but the durability, look, style, and quality of these reels are well worth the cost.

Questions About Baitcast Fishing Reels

How much farther can I cast with a baitcaster vs other types of reels?

With a baitcast reel you can increase your casting distance by about 25% on average once you master the casting technique.

How frequently do bird’s nests occur with baitcast reels?

When you first start using a baitcast reel you will probably get a lot of birds nests until you master the braking and spool adjustments needed to prevent the birds nests. Once you master the skill of casting with a baitcast reel you will rarely have a birdsnest, if ever.

Is a Baitcast Reel Harder to Use Than a Spinning Reel?

Yes, at first. A baitcast reel takes a little patience, and practice. But once you learn how to use the baitcast reel, you will quickly switch to use this reel as your primary.

Shimano Antares A Baitcast Reel

Shimano's latest flagship baitcasting reel is the Shimano Antares A Baitcast Reel. They combined an unrivaled casting performance with a uniquely elegant and sophisticated design. Featuring their new MGL III spool, Antares' spool inertia has been reduced by 17% for effortless and accurate casting of both light and heavy fishing rigs. The S3D Spool and Silent Tune minimizes bearing vibration for smooth and silent casts.

Daiwa Steez SV TWS Baitcast Reel

The flagship reel in the Daiwa reels lineup, and one of the finest baitcasting reels that money can buy, is the Daiwa Steez SV Baitcast Reel. Daiwa’s new compact 70 size is small, fits in your palm and it is very comfortable. It has twelve ball bearings and a roller bearing, making this reel one of the smoothest out there on the market today. It is light, weighing in at 5.3 ounces, and the design incorporates a wide range of their most advanced technologies. Shimano Calcutta B Round Baitcast Reel Shimano’s Calcutta Baitcast Reel provides great quality, versatility, dependability and long term value due to their durability. There's a Calcutta reel for almost any application, both in fresh or saltwater. With it’s cross carbon drag and anti rust bearings, the Calcutta will be your most dependable reel for many years of great performance.

Abu Garcia Ambassadeur C4 Classic Round Baitcast Reel

The Abu Garcia Ambassadeur C4 Classic Round Baitcast Reel focuses on better casting performance, yet still maintaining the same durability and dependability that you would expect from Abu Garcia. This Abu Garcia® Ambassadeur® C4 Classic Round Baitcast Reel retains its proven power and performance, but has also been made stronger, lighter, more efficient, and smoother. From it’s 25 percent lighter spool design, to it’s 65 percent lighter aluminum line guide, to it’s bent star and handle for more efficient retrieves and more manageable fish fights, this reel will be your new favorite for trout and striper trolling, or bait fishing them big bass, striper, catfish, walleye, pike, muskie, mackinaw lake trout, salmon, snook, redfish, and more. We also have line counter baitcast reels, and power assist baitcast reels.

BEST BAITCAST FISHING RODS

Casting Rods

Casting rods are designed to be used with a casting reel, also known as baitcast reels. Some casting rods are not designed for casting at all, some of them are specially designed for letting your line out slowly, or trolling with a downrigger. To get a perfectly matched baitcasting reel and rod, take a look at these baitcast fishing combos. Heavy duty casting rods may require large level wind reels that are built for maximum drag and hold a lot of fishing line. These rods may not be great for a lot of casting, what they are good at is being able to pull in some really big game fish, like sturgeon or big stripers. With the strong backbone these rods have, you can fight the full fight of the fish and make good ground at bringing them in at a quicker pace.

St. Croix Legend Xtreme Casting Rod

The St. Croix Legend Xtreme Casting Rod was built with a stockpile of advanced rod building technologies. This fishing rods SCVI carbon with Fortified Resin System in the lower section maximizes both the power and strength of the rod, while keeping the weight to a minimum. The Legend Xtreme rod has a superior resin that significantly increases strength during the hookset and flex strength under load. Daiwa AGS carbon fiber guides with Fuji KG Tip Top with SiC ring are strong and durable to last even in harsh environments. Includes a 15 year manufacturers warranty to give you the peace of mind in knowing that your investment will last season after season.

G.Loomis GLX Bass Jig & Worm Series Casting Rod

The G. Loomis® GLX® Bass Jig & Worm Series Casting Rod is the perfect choice for bass fishing with jigs and soft plastic baits. The GLX is now 20% lighter than the previous series, and has better balance with enhanced ergonomics. It is made of high performance, G. Loomis GLX proprietary blank materials, which are well known for both their sensitivity and their strength. This rod lets you feel even the lightest of taps, no matter how thick of cover you are fishing in. It has extra fast action that lets fishermen make accurate, low trajectory casts, and provide plenty of power to bring in those big lunker bass. This casting rod has amazing strength and sensitivity.

Abu Garcia Veracity Casting Rod

3M Powerlux delivers a 30% stronger rod while remaining light weight and well balanced. Custom Fuji soft touch reel seats for superior comfort Titanium alloy guides with ultra light zirconium inserts allow for a lightweight balanced rod. Cork and high density EVA gives greater sensitivity and durability. Designed with 3M Powerlux 300 blanks, the Abu Garcia Veracity Casting Rod offers the strength and durability needed by serious anglers, while remaining lightweight and sensitive. About The Author Mike Mendenhall is the the founder of Mendenhall Outdoors. This website is an extension of the Mendenhall family’s lifestyle and passion for the great outdoors. Everything that they learn, and experience, along the way that they find may be valuable to our website visitors is on the site for you to enjoy. We highlight products and services that you might find interesting. We frequently receive free products from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. If you click a link on this page, then go on to make a purchase, we might receive a commission – at no extra cost to you, and does not impact the purchase price of any products that you may purchase. The Best Baitcast Fishing Experience Awaits!