[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.