Fishing School
Rods/Reels
Recommended Medium Power Combos
Below are links to the 2 most popular combos across the Insider Club members for all-purpose medium power inshore setups.
Note: You of course have a ton of options to choose from, the key is to go with a medium power fast action blank in order to be able to effectively fish with both lures and live bait.
Recommended Medium Heavy Power Combos
Below are some links to the most popular lines used by Insider Club members for all-purpose medium-heavy power inshore setups.
- Avg. Price Tier: TFO Pro 7’6″ MH rod paired with BG 2500 reel
- Higher End: TFO TAC 7’6″ MH rod paired with BG MQ 3000
Note: For the BG series of reels, they are larger than most other reels so I use their 2500 for my MH power setups and it performs great for its price.
Great information on set ups..Never had a clue on proper combos of power and action based on what you’re targeting or lure weight..Thank you …Aced the test, if only that translated to finding fish ! Hopefully it comes with more experience…
Glad to see that you are enjoying the lessons! Yes, the catching will quickly get better and better as you have time to put these lessons to use out on the water.
What is a good rod for using cut bait for Reds. Is a 7ft Medium Heavy Fast action ideal for using Carolina rig with cut bait
Cut bait fishing does t require much for the rod since the bait is doing most of the work. The rod simply needs to be able to cast whichever sized baits you’ll be using while having enough power to handle your target species.
When will the slot machine rods be back in stock?
Hey Jeffrey, my apologies for missing your question. The slot machine rods unfortunately won’t be back in stock until late Jan… the reel seat is on backorder from the manufacturer (Fuji).
Thoughts about a 4000 size BG vs Fuego (for a bit larger fish- I think I’ll need more line capacity of bigger braid)? BG is heavier, but not sealed (Fuego has magseal). I’ll be on a kayak casting all day. I might set it with cut bait while casting with a lighter reel.
I’d go with the Fuego since it’s so much lighter which is a big help when casting for long periods of time.
I need a good three or four piece rod for inshore. I’ve heard good things about the Jigging World Nexus 2.0 over the TFO traveler. Thoughts?
If you’ll be casting lures, the TFO Traveler would be a much better experience because it’s much lighter and more responsive. The jigging rod appears to just be designed for dropping jigs down and working them up… if that’s what you’ll be doing, then it would be a good fit. Otherwise, I’d definetely be going with the TFO.
Why don’t these rods come in two piece option? I have a hard time transporting 7’6 rods?
That is in the works… multi-piece rods are more complex to build, so some more testing is needed before getting a big batch of them.
I noticed you do not mention the Slam Stick in your comparison. Is it much better than the TFO Pro?
This video was created before the Slam Stick was available. Yes, I do believe that it’s a better rod than the TFO Pro to more than justify the extra costs.
I’ve got a bunch of spinning combos but it’s m considering getting a speckled trout specific wade fishing setup; and I’m considering a baitcaster style reel. I want something for casting side plastics and working them in both shallow water and water up to 4’-5’. It needs to be a LIGHT setup that I can cast all day, without totally wearing my arm out. I’m not tied to the idea of a bait caster but they tend to be light and seem to be a bit better for working both soft plastics and top waters. I’m open to advise from anyone, though.
Main thing is getting a rod that can handle those acrobatic head shakes that trout are known for. I don’t have a budget but I dont like spending more $$ than I need to, unless there’s an actual and practical reason to.
Any community member advice or help from one of the staff members would be greatly appreciated!
Tight lines, folks!
For lightweight casting setups for trout, the best combo in my opinion is the new Coastal 80 (https://fishstrong.com/products/daiwa-coastal-tws-80-baitcasting-reel) paired with a 7′ Medium Power TFO PS (https://fishstrong.com/products/tfo-pro-c-professional-casting-rods?_pos=1&_psq=tfo+pc&_ss=e&_v=1.0).
This combo will be lightweight while still having enough power and line for handling big redfish too.
I have been using this setup (with just the next size up reel – 150) for my redfish and snook rod, and I have really enjoyed using it. Just a couple weeks ago I got into a good permit bite, and this setup was able to pull a couple 10+ lb permit away from bridge structure so I’m now completely sold on how it performs.
Is there a casting difference between the medium and the medium heavy? Why not just use a medium heavy all the time?
A Medium Heavy rod will not cast light lures well at all… basically, as the lure’s weight goes away from the mid-point of the rod’s recommend lure weight, the performance goes down.
So for those of us who through a lot of relatively light soft plastics for targeting redfish, seatrout, etc. in shallow water, the Medium rods are typically going to have the best performance.
So a paddle tail or power prawn on a 1/8 owner or jig will not do well on a medium heavy but a 1/4 plus would
I have 2 7’ m tfo and just debating whether I should get a medium heavy and debating if I should change to a 7’6” if it would give me more distance
7’6″ will give you more casting distance, I use my medium poles for shallow waters with lighter baits and my medium heavy for surf, deep water and jetty fishing where im using heavier baits and line.
Very nicely done Luke.
Question : you had mentioned the rod was labeled to perform best with 8-15 lb braid. I ordered 20 lb with mine so what should I watch for/Do or NOT do when hooking a fish ?
Thanks 🙏
The 20 lb will work, but you’ll get better performance with the lighter lines. Regardless of which line you use, here are the top 3 rod killing mistakes that need to be avoided at all costs when using high performance fishing rods: https://saltstrong.com/articles/fishing-rod-mistakes-to-avoid/
Is this link still valid? I click on it and it asks me to login but will not accept my credentials.
The link is fixed: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/fishing-rod-mistakes-to-avoid/
Thanks for letting us know about the issue.