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Originally Posted by SoCalEDC
quick update. Went rod shopping on Saturday, but Turners was closed. Ended up at Bass Pro Shop. Rod selection was pretty slim which surprised me. about a month ago I was there looking at gear and they had a ton of rods in stock. I found an Okuma mixed in with the Shimanos that caught my eye, after having the sales guy pull on the tips (hey now) of a few rods I decided to go with the Okuma Guide Select swim bait rod 7'-11" XH (15-40#, 2-10oz. lure). Its a little lighter than I had in mind but it felt great in hand, balance was nice, and the salesman mounted one of the display MXJ reels on it since thats what I am going to stack it with. Its a little more parabolic than I had in mind but that should help if I want to use it for big rockfish swim baits too I suppose. Over all I am pretty stoked.
My reel is brand new and its been sitting around waiting for a home for a while so I've yet to put any line on it. I plan to spool it with 65# jbraid (4 carrier) and 30-40# mono top shot (75-100 yds), likely berkley trilene because thats what I have spools of. An alberto with the 30 may pass through the guides just a little easier than the 40#, but the 40# is obvi gonna give me a little more juice.
I would love to hear any thoughts on 30# vs 40# for the top shot.
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Like I said...big swimbait rod...you will be happy with the lighter format...good choice. You will cast further and more times without fatigue.
More flex is better for casting and fighting fish on treble hook equipped jigs....all though yours is rated fast-action...the longer length just gives it a longer flex section....will accommodate single hook swim jigs as well. I use 2x-rod-length leader of 20-lb, 25-lb or 30-lb trilene big game over 30, 40 or 50-lb 4-strand braid depending on mood, target fish or kelp or lure weight. Always FG-Knot. Go lighter and cast further with less effort. Go lighter with less leader to get jigs to the bottom (rock fish) and retain sensitivity. I challenge you to tie some fresh 30-lb braid to 2x-rod length of a 20-lb leader and then tie the leader to something solid. With full leader deployed, pull against it in your yard or wherever just to set your reference...can you acheive full compression? Don't break your new rod...seriously. Then decide what line you want on your reel. Max for me is 30/50...unbreakable, cuts kelp, etc...but are you regularly fishing la Jolla?