Inshore Salt setup and Freshwater Swimbait setup

[dfisher]

So I am saving $$ and have no idea what to browse. Anything under $200 for the setup.

The salt setup is for harbors and surf. If I can squeeze it on a 1/2 day boats without any problems GREAT!

The freshwater swimbait setup, no idea what I am looking for here.

I have the Crucial CRC-C70M, Line Weight: 8-14 lbs. Moderate/Fast Action with a Curado E7, was thinking of using this for the Salt setup but I really don't want to mix my freshwater setups with my salt setups.

Any ideas? Thanks!

[xjdesertfox]

what size freshie swimbaits are you looking to throw?

i'm guessing the lighter range of things? 1-5 oz baits?

You have a few options as far as making a swimbait setup for under $200

Brand new:
Okuma swimbait rods $109
Shimano Clarus Big bait rods $80?
Daiwa Heartland Big Bait rods $70

Used:
Gen 1 Dobyns rods(795ML ideally) $100ish
Powell 711SB $90-100
shimano crucial rods (great for walk the dog big baits) 100ish


Things to avoid:
Matt newman fig rig.

For reels, a 300 sized reel(in shimano standards) is perfect, you're going to want to hold about 120-150yards of 65lbs spectra.

I fish with a 400size reel and its definitely too big. Bigger lowpro baitcasters are perfect too, like curado 300's and Revo toros.

If you want a swimbait rod that will do double duty as a light swimbait rod, a shimano teramar 8foot Heavy is a good choice. matched with a 400 sized reel.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[xjdesertfox]

Forgot to address the harbor surf rod:

I'm recently looking for the same exact type of rod and doing some research on it.

I'm personally going with a 12-25 flipping stick, probably the new abu garcia veritas rod, or a dobyns savvy series. the 7'6 - 7'11" range works great for the surf and will launch your lures into the 2nd surf tier with a decent reel.

[dockboy]

The Okuma Guide Select Series are fine swimbait rods, and at $110 they aren't a bad price. The 7'11" Heavy will throw most baits. For something along the lines of 3/4-2oz bait, the MH in either the 7'6" or 7'11" lengths are fine rods. The Daiwa Heartlands are nice for smaller baits. A Hudd 5 is a ~4oz bait; you cannot set the hook on a Hudd effectively with the Heartlands, so think of that too. If you want to fish big topwaters like Punkers or smaller plastic baits, go for it. But you need a rod with more backbone to throw the bigger plastic baits. As I mentioned, the Okuma 7'11" Heavy will throw the Hudd and a whole lot of other baits too. The 7'6" version of the heavy model is a little too fish a bunch of baits, very much a broomstick. The nice thing about any of these is they will fish the salt bite very well also. I've caught 20lb albies on my Okuma swimbait rod, they are fine rods for the price.
Reel wise, a larger low profile or smaller round reel is a nice size. A 300 size Shimano throws everything up to 7 inches very well. Above that, I prefer a 400. The Curado 300D and E series both can fish the big baits. You can use Spectra if you'd like. I prefer mono for most of my swimbaiting except big topwaters and fishing in the salt. One thing you will find out with braid or Spectra is that 65lb seems very strong, but with bigger, heavier baits like the Hudd or the bigger Mission Fish, you can lose baits on the cast. A Hudd 5 or 12 will snap off very quickly if your braid birdnests mid cast. Mono typically has enough stretch to save a bait like that, or least more so than braid. Remember, the reason the 400 sized reels are still fished is because the need is still there. The dedicated guys who brought swimbaiting and trophy fish to attention fish for the specimens that require a 400 and nothing less.

[dfisher]

thanks guys for the info, looks like I have alot of homework to do.

Yeah the swimbait setup is for lighter swimbaits, as I am new to the whole swimbait scene. I want to get the feel for this before going bigger.