baitcaster for light plastics 2024

NHBull reply :

To date I have always use a spinning rod for 4 and 5 inch plastics. Come mid Summer, I always have one tied on.......

The problem is that I hate spinning rods for techniques other than News and dropshots.

Looking for a caster to take its place and the NRX 852c comes to mind with a Met MGL

Any thoughts on this.

Recommendations are welcome, Thanks

MichaelJ7 reply :

I have a rod set up specifically for weightless senkos. Best reel IMO is a Revo premier. Brake system makes it easy. The rod is a 7’ MH Veritas which is stout for a good hookset and fighting ability but being paired with a Revo premier I can cast a senko a mile.

Loomis13 reply :

Sounds like it would do great. I use a 6'4" MXF avid x and a tourney pro and it does well. The one you mentioned should do even better!

freelancer27 reply :

I do use my Met MGL for jerkbaits (down to 1/4oz) and it works fairly well. Though I would not use the reel for anything lighter than this.

Given that you have a nice rod I would pair it with an adequate reel. The following come to mind:

* Steez SV TWS: great SV spool for lighter lures and pretty light. Very refined reel. I love mine

* Aldebaran (BFS): light and more robust than you think. If line capacity is not of concern, I would even suggest the BFS version (I use mine for 1/8 oz lures and beyond with a BFS rod though)

* If it should be a Abu I would consider the Abu Revo MGEXTREME 2. A friend of mine has it and he uses it successfully for a variety of lures, down to weightless plastics. I have not fished the Abu Premier. so I can not say much about it. Though again, I would pair an NRX with a reel that plays in the same league.

Cheers.

DogBone_384 reply :

I toss 4"& 5" Senkos, Rage Tail Menace, and other soft plastics with almost any of my BC's.

I use mostly M/F setups with the occasional MH/F for weedier waters. My gear runs the whole spectrum - Diawa, Shimano, ***, and Abu which are attached to Abu, Kistler, and Fenwick rods.

FishDewd reply :

I recently got a carbonlite 2.0 in medium-lite power for thus purpose. It has more than enough backbone to tear through grass and debris, yet has a light tip that can throw a weightless senko with a light wire hook a good ways. I used it for the first time today, and didn't catch anything, but I'm not at all worried about it being underpowered for hooksets. My area doesn't really have much opportunity for bass over a couple pounds anyway, I'm yet to catch one that weighed even a pound.

Yudo1 reply :

I have a steez with diy long cast on my nrx852c and use it for weightless senkos and wacky rigs. I have my met mgl on an 893c and also use it for ikas and senkos and it throws them nicely. The met mgl/852 should work nicely.

Catt reply :

Senkos, Flukes, Menaces, or 1/4 oz jerkbaits!

I throw unweighted Zoom Finesse Worms with my Calcutta ????

RyneB reply :

Tough to beat an MGX for light techniques. I have a Gen 2 Revo Premier that can also cast real light baits with ease.

Further North reply :

On 2/20/2018 at 6:05 AM, NHBull said:

Looking for a caster to take its place and the NRX 852c comes to mind with a Met MGL

Seems like that'll work, but I'm a simple guy...

Mike L reply :

I don't own those but since you asked for recommendations...

I use a MBR 843C GLX for all things weightless..

The reel I use is an older Chronarch 100SF spooled with 14# Sniper and wouldn't change a thing.

I'm sure any reel of your liking would be a great fit and give you what you're looking for.

Mike

LxVE Bassin reply :

Daiwa Tatula SV!

fishwizzard reply :

I think it depends on what type/weight of 4-5" worms you are talking about. I throw 5" senkos (~3/8oz) on a 3 power Loomis and a M power St Croix, both of which do a good job of it. But for say a skinny worm like a Trickworm (~1/4oz), I prefer a Light or Medium Light rod.

The Fisher reply :

I have an original Tatula Twing 100HS with a Daiwa Tatula Custom Honeycomb spool from Kyang Fishing on EBay

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

Throw your baits with hook etc on a scale. You might be surprised at how hefty they actually are. Chances are your regular reels will work just fine.

RPreeb reply :

Last summer I had no problem throwing most weightless plastics with a Diawa Tatula CT 100XS 8.1 on a 6' medium Ugly Stik. I found my limit when I tried a 4" curly tail... just couldn't load the rod with such a small bait. Everything else seemed fine for me, but I'm new to this so I don't have anything to compare with to know if I was doing pretty good or just didn't know that my casts were mediocre. I was able to reach most of the areas of my little town pond casting from shore, so when I get out on a lake in my canoe this year, I'm not at all concerned about being about to use most any bait I want. (I will have a second baitcasting rig this summer - Tatula CT100H 6.3 but no rod for it yet) When I do need those smaller plastics, I'll tie them on my spinning rig.

Poolshark reply :

Since you seem to prefer shimano reels The metanium will work well (if you want one, buy it) .. but you don't need to buy one specifically for throwing light plastics. I'm using curado 70s and chronarch mgl and they all toss weightless plastics just fine. Mine are mostly thrown on medium extra fast or even medium heavy fast rods on thin braid and light floro leader. With the newer reels these days, I seem to rely less and less in my spinning setups for finesse work.

archeryman20 reply :

I use a Curado 70XG, paired with a St. Croix TBC610MLXF for weightless plastics. Usually have 15# PowerPro, sometimes with a flouro leader if the water is especially clear/fish are being finicky. The setup you're looking at would do the job just as well, if not better, though.

Catt reply :

Y'all seriously need to learn how to cast! ????

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

I thought you have chronarch MGL? That or met should work just fine.

NHBull reply :

On 2/21/2018 at 3:34 PM, JustJames said:

I thought you have chronarch MGL? That or met should work just fine.

I now have a couple of both cronarch and Met.......great memory!

Yudo1 reply :

BTW, the 852c is just plain awesome. It's my favorite smallmouth rod and does everything a spinning rod does for bass. The blank is the same as the 852s spinning rod and is just so versatile and sensitive.

millerp reply :

I don't have 1 yet but was thinking of buying the curado 70 for lite stuff and pairing it up with mye6x852c jwr med x fast 7-1 loomis. was hoping for some feed back.

desmobob reply :

I have a ball with a Daiwa PXR and MajorCraft Volkey rod, casting light stuff. Also, TW has the Daiwa SV105 on sale right now... that's another good finesse reel. I have one and like it, but prefer the Pixie.

Tight lines,

Bob

millerp reply :

On 2/21/2018 at 8:37 AM, Catt said:

Y'all seriously need to learn how to cast! ????

What your saying then is casting is everything that rod and reel set up is not important?

jbrew73 reply :

I think he is just saying that high end or specialty gear isn't required for casting weightless soft plastics.

fishwizzard reply :

On 2/22/2018 at 6:50 AM, desmobob said:

Also, TW has the Daiwa SV105 on sale right now... that's another good finesse reel. I have one and like it, but prefer the Pixie.

The sv105 with a Ray's/DIY spool is really nice and will cast down quite low with good to descent control.

WRB reply :

The rod power and action, line type and baitcasting reel tunning all play an important roll. If you don't know how to cast properly none of those will help.

Tom

Catt reply :

On 2/22/2018 at 6:53 AM, millerp said:

What your saying then is casting is everything that rod and reel set up is not important?

What I'm saying is some have mentioned casting Senkos, Flukes, & jerkbaits like they're difficult to throw needing specialized equipment to do so!

I'm using a 36 year old Calcutta with a Crucial medium heavy extra fast rod & have no problems throwing unweighted Zoom Finesse Worms!

I agree with the proper setup for throwing light lures but those aint light lures!

Darren. reply :

Man...such disdain for spinning reels...

A Chronarch 50e does the job just fine....

DaveT63 reply :

I agree with the Pixy. I use it with my St Croix Legend Elite 7' MF rod and love it.

lmbfisherman reply :

I’ve thrown a weightless Zoom finesse worm on a 1st Gen Fenwick Smallmouth ET M/F, paired with a Curado 50 E with not a lot of effort. I won’t win any distance contests but it’s far enough. In fact that combo with that rig still holds my PB record for most caught smallies in one outing. If you are buying a new reel and want true finesse, I think you should go Aldebaran. I haven’t bought one myself yet, but if you’re going to pay Met MGL money might as well do it right!

Fishinthefish reply :

I have a rod that I use for the exact same thing. I had Mike at DVT build it for me, it's an MHX Pro Elite series blank, with a Shimano Core 51MG or a Shimano Aldabaren 51 on it depending on the line/day. Works wonderfully.

Raul reply :

4” and 5” senkos are anything but light, any baitcaster can throw them.

lmbfisherman reply :

On 2/23/2018 at 10:12 AM, Raul said:

4” and 5” senkos are anything but light, any baitcaster can throw them.

If you’re throwing Senko, I totally agree.

Yumeya reply :

I have a GLX 842, Metanium 13 with a Yumeya shallow spool and HH air bearings and its amazing.

I also added Curado K brass gears

I would say a 842 with a MGL would rock, I also two NRX 852 in casting and spinning one with a

Excense and one with the Metanium MGL and they are awesome also.

OnthePotomac reply :

I guess I do not over think these things enough because I have thrown all my plastics on a 7' MH fast tip Carbonlites on a variety of my Curados over the last five years. Before that it was the old BPS Extremes 7'MH. Initally spooled with 14lb mono and now with 15lb Invizx flouro. Weightless if possible, or with a 3/16th pegged slip sinker. Most are now on a Curado 200E7, 50E or 70XG. At least this works on the tidal Potomac grass beds.

Oklahoma Mike reply :

On 2/21/2018 at 1:58 AM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Throw your baits with hook etc on a scale. You might be surprised at how hefty they actually are. Chances are your regular reels will work just fine.

This. I throw a ton of weightless plastics and can run them just fine on pretty much any setup I have that isn’t a swimbait or punching rig.

burrows reply :

I only throw weightless plastics on reels that cost 1000$ plus can’t cast light lures unless I buy a ridiculously expensive reel! That’s the bottom line fellas.

Boogey Man reply :

On 2/25/2018 at 11:19 AM, Burro said:

I only throw weightless plastics on reels that cost 1000$ plus can’t cast light lures unless I buy a ridiculously expensive reel! That’s the bottom line fellas.

Me too. Plus it's cool to say BFS. When I started out tho it was called RTS. Right Thumb System. It was alarmingly cheap too. Then I saw this new kinda rod and reel. It was an odd looking apparatus. The guides were underneath the rod. So was the reel. The spool didn't rotate either it had a wire thing, the only thing I could think to call it was a bail. You flipped it over and when you cast, it let the line come off the spool. Then when you started reeling, this bail thingy flipped back over and wrapped the line back around the spool. A miraculous invention!!! We decided to call them spinning combos!????????????

millerp reply :

I remember when I was first learning to fish as a child, maybe 10 or 11 ,I used to open the bail set my rod on the ground pick up the end of my line tie a rock to it and wind up and give it a toss, I think I will go back to that method with my baitcaster, cause I'm not having that much luck.

3crows reply :

I use a Falcon Weightless Worm rod and a Shimano Curado 70. Works fine. I have a Stradic CI4+ on another Falcon spinning rod and it is nice but prefer the little BC rig for finer control.

KP Duty reply :

I have an 852 I purchased last year but have yet to put a reel on. I'm going with the 8.1 steez tw that comes equipped with the shallower 1012 spool. Just waiting for the dollar to get a little stronger.

Boomstick reply :

On 2/20/2018 at 6:05 AM, NHBull said:

Looking for a caster to take its place and the NRX 852c comes to mind with a Met MGL

Any thoughts on this.

My thought is if that setup is in your price range, go for it. Other than maybe the price, I doubt you are going to have any complaints. I doubt you will be able to get a better rod anywhere. If you fish in heavier grass/weeds or prefer weighted soft plastics, you may want to consider a MH/F, but weightless or with light weights, M/XF should be perfect.

I use my Tatula 6'10" MH/F rod for soft plastics. I would like to eventually add a M/F or M/XF rod for weightless soft plastics down the road, but I have other fishing gear I want to get first (dropshot rod, heavy frog/jig rod, bass boat).

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baitcaster for light plastics 2024

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