High End Fishing Combo Buyer's Guide

The Holiday Buyer's Guide series continues! Today we explore our Top 10 favorite high end combos. If you're a fishing tackle junky this is the video for you!

We know that some anglers can't afford the highest level of bass fishing gear and that's perfectly okay. You don't NEED $1000+ combos to catch bass. However, if you've arrived at a place where you are able to do so, it absolutely makes it more fun! 

Matt and Tim's Top 10 favorite rod and reel combos are listed below. If you plan to make purchases please consider using the links provided to reach Tackle Warehouse before placing your order. We appreciate you supporting TacticalBassin while doing your holiday shopping!

Matt's Favorite Combos:

Rod- Dobyns 742 Champion Extreme HP Spinning
Reel- Shimano Stradic CI4 Spinning 2500

Rod- G Loomis NRX 852C JWR Casting
Reel- Shimano Aldebaran 50 HG

Rod- St. Croix Legend Elite 7'6" MH "Big Cranker"
Reel- Shimano Curado 200I

Rod- G Loomis GLX 894C JWR Casting
Reel- Shimano Metanium MGL

Rod- Dobyns 746 Champion Extreme HP
Reel- Shimano Curado 200I

Tim's Favorite Combos:

Rod- G Loomis Dropshot Spinning
Reel- Shimano Sustain Spinning 1000

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Rod- G Loomis IMX Senko Spinning (852)
Reel- Daiwa Certate 2510PE-H Spinning

Rod- Dobyns 784 Champion Extreme HP Casting
Reel- Abu Garcia REVO MGX Casting

Rod- G Loomis 853 GLX Casting
Reel- Shimano Aldebaran 50HG

Rod- Shimano Zodias 7'2" Medium Heavy
Reel- Shimano Curado 200I

Socal Slugfest

Good music, hard hook sets, and monster bass, does it get any better??? By now nearly all of the members of the Tactical Bassin community recognize Adam Hinkle when he submits a video. For those of you who don't, Adam is a regular contributor and his work is much appreciated. Some of his recent pieces include Beating the Bank for Giants, Fall Jig Madness, and Mapping Your Approach. Adam Brings a unique perspective and a whole different style to the Tactical community.

True to form, Adam is smashing fish in Southern California. Lucky for us, we get a front row seat to the show. These fish were caught on the 8" Huddleston Swimbait in both ROF 5 and 12. The rod you see is a Dobyns 795 MLSB. Adam's approach to swimbaits is quite a bit different from my own. He uses 20 lb mainline and smaller hooks to draw the heavily-pressured Southern California bass into the open. It just goes to show there isn't always a right and a wrong way to catch these big bass. Its important to experiment and develop confidence but always stay open to progression.

Also, for those of you who are confined to smaller boats and are drooling over the net they keep sliding out of the rod locker, that is a Hiber-Net by Frabill. Its quite a bit different than what I carry but after watching how nicely it stores I may have to check it out myself.

Choosing the Right Rod

It seems that everywhere we turn someone is trying to sell us some new piece of tackle. We’re all jaded enough to drown out the advertisements during the Sunday morning fishing shows but now its in the forums, blogs, and even in the headers above our private emails. That said, its not really the advertisements that get me. If they were handled differently I might not be so put off.
I don’t mind being shown new product or concepts but I hate to be told what I need. I’m part of the generation that wants to be shown why, how, and when things work so that I can make an educated decision about what is right for my style.
I get emails daily asking questions about swimbait rods. I thought that perhaps instead of constantly telling people what they should get I would simply show the differences amongst the rods. What you see in this video are 3 of my all-time favorite swimbait rods. There is a 4th rod but I won’t be answering any questions about that one, not yet anyway. When its ready you’ll be the first to know and then you can decide if its right for you.

Its important to understand that we don’t all have the exact same style. These are the rods that perfectly fit my style. I’m not telling you that the rods you use are wrong, but if you’re losing fish, not feeling bites, or uncomfortable while throwing swimbaits for long hours it may be time to take a look at what I’m talking about.
The 3 rods discussed can all be found on this page at tackle warehouse.

How to Properly Cast Big Baits

When people first started discussing the topic of “properly” casting baits to avoid injury I didn’t think anything of it. Even when the requests started coming in to get my opinion on the topic I really wasn’t interested. That is, until I woke up one day with a shoulder injury.
No, don’t worry about me. I’ve since recovered and am catching more than my fair share of fish but the whole incident got me thinking. I started looking at how I throw big baits, how other people throw them, and how much of a difference it makes by the end of the day. Just like there is a science to catching big bass, there is a science to keeping your joints functioning year after year.

There may be people who watch this video and think its ridiculous (I would have) and that’s okay. But for those of you with open minds who want to start taking care of yourself, pay attention. HOW you cast is as important as the bait you choose to throw. Feel free to chime in on this one, I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts.