I’ve decided to stick my toe in the swimbait pond this season and am looking for rod/reel advice. I’m in SE Ontario, starting soon on early season pike then showing our bass something different this summer/fall. So far I’ve picked up an S-Waver 168, 13 Fishing Glidesdale 185, Savage Gear 6 3/4” 4D Perch, a 6” Cullshad and an 8” Rapala Peto. I’ll be grabbing a Spro Rat 40 and/or 50 as soon as I can find one. So, I’m looking to throw baits in the 1 1/4 - 3oz -ish range.
I already had a St. Croix Bass X 7’11” Heavy/Moderate-Fast rod that’s rated 1/2-2oz., paired with Chronarch 201E 6.5:1. This isn’t labelled as a swimbait rod, but I’m thinking it will work fine for the lighter baits I’ve listed?
I also want to add a bit heavier rod. Brands I have best access to are Diawa, Shimano, St. Croix and Halo. I can get others, but they’re less common. A local shop has a Diawa Tatula 7’3” Swimbait rod, rated for 1-4oz. Would that be a good choice for throwing 1.5-2.5oz. hard baits around docks and other cover? Thought I might pair it with a Tatula 300 reel and 20# Berkley Fluoroshield copoly.
I fish small-medium size lakes from a 16ft. aluminum bass boat. Pike up to 10-12# are pretty common, and I could certainly catch bigger. But up here a really big bass is 5-6#, and I’m just as likely to catch smallmouth that size, as I am a largemouth.
Thanks in advance for any input.