Setting Up a New $30 Baitcaster Combo and Bass Fishing With It! 

Hell yeah dude glad to see you went out and got it and made a video it’s become go to I prefer this setup over my abu Garcia black max

Nice job. I like that you show ways to be effective on a lower budget. Cheap equipment catches fish too.

Brings back memories of when I was a kid with very little money looking for deals on rods and reels! Thanks for bringing me back!

Alot of people hate on the Omniflex line but I personally have had better experience with it than the higher end brands. Keep it realistic! 👊

Alex, great video. I am re-watching this one. I got turned on to Omniflex last year during the pandemic. Went to Wallyworld to restock a few things and realized what everyone furloughed wear doing. Frey went FISHING! The only line in stock was the Omniflex. Been using it ever since. When I couldn’t break the 4lb test I bought wrapping it around my hands I was sold. Didn’t come close to breaking, just cut into my hands 😆

Everytime I see a notification for your videos I get like a kid in a candy store

i was using mostly old gear when i really got into fishing this year. was just trying to make it last as long as i could and then i found your channel. i really appreciate these kinds of videos because it helped me learn that i don't need to drop over 100 bucks on my rod and reel to be successful out there. also after watching i know a little more about what to look for when i am bargain shopping. thanks for all the info my dude!

I've never used a bait caster and was really wanting to try it out. I bought 2 of these reels today, 1 left hand retrieve, 1 right hand retrieve because I'm not sure which way would be more comfortable for me. I'm somewhat ambidextrous and just started using left hand retrieve on my spinning reel. I have no Dick's store near me so I tried ordering online. The site let me add them to my cart but when I visited my cart nothing showed up. I called and placed my order after talking to online chat. Success! No cheap rods at my local Ollie's store unfortunately.

Well Alex you got me into baitcasting. I went to Dicks to get this reel. I ended up getting my first even baitcasting combo. I got a Lews American Hero combo. I used it the same day I bought it. It is fantastic. I had a couple over runs because I forgot to thumb the spool but I had no birdsnest. Ots a great easy to use combo that is quality. The best part is some of the cost goes to veterans. Im looking to start posting videos soon. I have a couple just enough to get by cameras. You will be mentioned in my videos as inspiration. Thanks!! Tight lines

I've got a 7' Lightning rod. Bought it used for next to nothing and it has been a favorite for about ten years now. Thanks for the vid.

My first ever fishing pole was the Berkley Lightning rod and I kid you not, I’ve put that thing through hell and it lasted me 5 years. I gave it to my little cousin because his rod was getting old and the corks were breaking apart. By far, for the cheapest pole, it does an amazing job. Caught plenty of 3-4lb bass and 20+ in northerns.

I have 2 6'0 spinning rod combo's I use now and I love them. Had a 6'0 Cabelas casting rod but it broke when i was trying to get a lure out of a tree. That was realistic. Took it back to Cabela's and they gave me a new 6'6" one. For $10 that rod is a great deal!

I've been able to put together several budget combos since this video inspired me 2 years ago to do the same thing. I still don't have anything over $60 and most are between $30 and $50. Me and my wallet thank you. 🍻

What a fantastic channel!! I've been binge watching your videos over the past week and can't seem to get enough of your content. Like many others, I can strongly relate to the 'realistic' aspect that the channel focuses towards. My girlfriend purchased a quantum bait caster rod & reel combo as a birthday gift a few years ago, and I love it! I've caught loads of fish from it including my personal best largemouth of 7.25 lbs! I think the combo costs her around $50.00...that just goes to show that no one needs to go out and spend a lot of money on fishing gear to have a great time. Keep up the amazing work, and good luck to you out there!

$10 lighting rod!? Heck of a deal!!! I have the newer graphite model and I love it!! Great video too!

The way you set the hook is so satisfying

Back when I was fishing as a teen, in the early 60s, the standard for a bait-casting rod was 5 feet, solid fiberglass. My dad actually had a steel rod. Times have changed.....

Thanks for showing me about that cheep zebco line! I just recently bought a lews American hero combo and I’ve been back lashing a lot while learning how to use a baitcaster so the cheap line will help!

My local Ollies has crap for fishing supplies. That's a nice combo you've set up. I have a 30 year old Quantum reel that still works good.

I’ve got that same rod and reel setup. Absolutely love it. Zero issues with that reel. Great find!

I'm so glad you took the plastic off the rod handle. It drives me nuts when people leave that on.

Currently using mostly 7 foot rods . For those not used to baitcasting or new to fishing, the 6-foot rod will allow for more accuracy and finer feel. Fished six-footers for years. Still have and use a 40 year old, 6 ft.. Fenwick medium heavy with my heavier baits.

Lots to say about this vid. First is I love a good bargain. Just got a $60 Lew’s rod from DSG for $20. The combo you got is sweet. Reel looks nice but the rod, dang! I wish my Ollie’s carried that rod for $10 I would clean them out. My first rod after an Ugly Stick was a Lightning Rod. I love the 6’ size for bank fishing around trees and bushes it is just the right size. Great vid and nice Bass to break in the combo!

I was using the lightening, I think 6’6” rod. It fished well, but I kept slamming the tip in the car door... decent sensitivity, good feel for an inexpensive med/heavy rod. Good, affordable rod, I just literally broke three tips off in car doors.

i learn more from your channel than many other fishing channels! Your videos show the obstacles you face and what you do to get better vs. other channels where all they show is themselves catching fish. It makes me feel good that I bought a shirt to help support you. Keep up the good work!

Big big props to realistic fishing for staying true to your channel thanks roll tide

I got a Diawa J series rod for $10 years ago. landed a nice 26" channel catfish on it. I thought it was going to break but it didn't phase it at all. Cheap rod doesn't always mean bad rod. Good deal.

Omni flex has been a standard line for me for a long long time. Never have I had a problem with it. 12 pound is what I like!!!!

I just bought this at Dick's in Lynchburg last night for the same price. I havent set it up yet but I still wanted to see the review since I'm a total noob to baitcasters. Thank you for sharing.

thanks bro, I went to Dick's and got their floor model for an extra 10% off! Reg.49.97, on sale for 29.99, priced matched to their website which has it still at 19.99. Ive been looking for an entry level baitcaster set up. Good stuff, thanks for sharing, it's so nice that somebody lets me know this stuff is on sale!

Great deal! We don’t have Ollie’s where I live but I’ll keep an eye out for these rods when the season ends; at 6’ it seems like they’d be a great size for my kids to start learning to use baitcasters. Good job making Dick’s honor the sale price because of signage too 👍🏼

Great Video!! Just goes to show people that you don't have to spend tons of money to go fishing!! I've used that line for years with great success!! I will have to check that reel out.. Enjoyed

Good deal. I will get a baitcaster one day. Looking at spinning reels and rods under 6' right now. Looks like a nice begginner setup and I've used that line for a long time too and it's great line.

After many years my Quantum Lite bit the dust and no parts available. I used it for ultra light fishing with 8 lb test and a light action rod. This reel just might be its replacement.

I found 2 spools of 150 yard 15lb power pro braid for 5 bucks a piece at Walmart. Saw a deal and had to take advantage💸💸💸

The lightning shock rods are very nice. The newest model is even better. By far my favorite cheap rod. The academy mettle baitcasters are great too. I picked up 3 last winter on clearance for $25 each.

That's a steal. My quantum pulse, was 40 bucks. And a Berkley lighting rod for ten is nuts. Well done.

Dude I must say, I've been watching every one of your videos lately and I gotta say thank you! Thanks for keeping fishing a leisure activity and not a pissing contest. Your not swagged out in Costa shades or huk fishing shirts and driving around in 80,000$ boats. Though I like those videos too, you do exactly what the title says...Keep it realistic. From one novice to another, cheers mate! Ps. Try Yards milk stout...delicious

Hey hey! A lightening rod is what I use with my bait caster! 7ft version. Glad to see you gave it a good review. I used it in my first video and still do! Though it sees very few bass catches here lately, lol. Quick question, that zebco line is monofilament right?

I have been considering a bait caster setup, this $30 setup looks like a good starting point for me! Nice job!

Nice!! I buy Zebco line all the time since you suggested it on another video. For the price, you can't go wrong, and it works great!

For a $30 combo I think it did pretty good and that was a nice bass. Thanks for sharing brother.

Very Realistic. Solid work bro. I have 2 lightning rods. They are great all purpose caster rods, a great starter rod. I haven't gotten good enough to need any better.

I use Zebco Cajun red line.. works good too! Also, red is the first color on the spectrum that goes invisible under water. I love Berkley rods.. I recently bought the Berkley Mudcat medium heavy rod and love it for catfish and flounder. I paired it with a Piscifun Chaos 50 round bait caster reel. I noticed the fish really don't care what equipment I purchased.. lol

Dude!!!! Gus here from Dinuba, Ca I just got the same reel like 4 weeks ago for $20 but I paired it with a 6’6” Shakespeare medium rod for $6 at Walmart got me a 3lb bass. Love the videos bro keep it real!!!

Nice video. I have the Quantum Pulse PL10, that I bought just to have an extra reel. it's not a bad reel at all after you get it dialed in. I can cast it all day with out a birds nest. Doesn't cast crazy far, but for 38 bucks, not bad. I started building a Wacky worm/ Neds rig spinning combo last night. I had to do it on the cheap. I picked up that Same Lightning Rod in the spinning version. I had to pay 39.95, but it was the best feeling I could find for a 6'6" Medium rod I could find. Bought a Black Max size 20 spinning reel for 29.95 and Berkley tough mono line for 7.99. Had Bass Pro spool it for me. Ended up in the 87 dollar range, which was about 30 dollars over my budget. They had a bunch of combo's in the 30-60 dollar range, but all the Medium rods were paired with size 30 or 35 reels, which is bigger then I wanted. Sure wish I could have gotten that Rod, for what you paid. Almost went for the Berkley Cherry wood, but they didn't have any 1 piece M 6'6" models... Kool build on a nice inexpensive combo, that would probably last for years with a little care... Love your Videos Brother...Love seeing cool stuff for cheap.....especially when it works!!!!

I have a lightning shock spinning rod for my finesse set up and I love it. Super sensitive and casts really well too

Love digging around Ollies! 10 bucks for that rod is a steal! They are usually 30-50 bucks.

Awesome video. Shows you can catch bass on a budget! I happened to have just picked up a Lightning spinning rod, and I paired it with a Pflueger President and its awesome. Keep the realistic videos flowing. Cheers🍻

Now it's just a matter of seeing if the reel can stand the test of time, and the rod did better than that first Lews. It's short length will come in handy if you ever have to cast beside trees on the bank.

I’m glad you got the reel. I wanted to get it but had to make a choice on a reel or diapers. I chose diapers... realistic life I guess! I wanted to ask you a question, but not too sure where is the best platform to ask, so... How do you choose a place to fish when you are fishing from the bank and it’s a massive body of water and it will be the first time you’ve been to. I’m fishing Lake Lanier in GA in a couple of weeks.

Nice work on finding that deal! I love my Lightning Rod for my spinning setup. It has caught my best this year!!

I’ve seen this reel in stores around here but have never been turned onto quantum. This might’ve just changed my mind! Love the wacky rig

Wow that combo is a steal!! I always liked the Lightning Rod and for 10 bucks, outstanding!!

I have a 12yr one Berkley lightning rod caught eels rays huge redfish never had a problem good rods

Budget combo bait caster! We’ve seen $15, $20 spinning combos, $15 baitcaster (how’s that thing doing by the way), $10 spinning combo and this! Keeping fishing realistically within budget as always 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻

Always love setting up a new rig and using it for the 1st time, thanks for the tip on tge Zebco line.

There are days I feel like I could throw all my tackle away and just use a wacky rig, it always seems to produce. Great video, nice to see someone proving you do not need to have a 300 dollar combo and a 50k boat to have success!

LoL, just bought my own version of this $30 combo at Dick’s. These reels are on clearance for $20, and I got a $12 medium power casting rod. Have been interested in messing with bait casting for awhile now and was just looking for a relatively inexpensive entry point

Man,I ALMOST pulled the trigger on the nitrous spinning reel last week. Had to pass,sadly. You got a helluva steal there my man! A sharp looking combo,to be sure. Keep up the great work,Alex!

That is pretty much the same reel as the Zebco Protege that went out of production a while back, I picked up one of the Proteges for $19 at Academy and i LOVE it. Really good reel for the money and it has stood up to lots of abuse.

Just bought my first bait caster. 30 bucks at wal mart. It’s a quantum as well. And then I slapped it on my zebco 33 rod. We’ll see how it works

That is a nice looking combo , I like that you use affordable gear and catch fish, good job.

I own three of the spinning reels that’s all I’ve been using lately I love it

Dude you always do wonderful job a lot people spend a lot money on rod reel and line you no need high quality for fishing bass like always you are the man brother 🤙🎣😎

Realistic... I use the same line from Walmart. Can't believe you found that reel for 20 bucks also. It's obvious you are a bass man of good taste. Keep'em coming. Orlando Ron

I have had that lightning rod for about a year and I have to say it’s a great rod. I have the 7 footer though

You always keep it Realistic. You do a great job. It is very easy to apply what you do on your channel to real life. I’m a better angler because of what you demonstrate. Keep up the good work. 👍🏼

I was in an Ollies in Orangeburg , SC back in April. They had about 10 of those rods same price. I bought one maybe should have grabbed a few more.

another nice bass, hope the rod combo keeps truckin for you Alex, have a great weekend.

I tried omniflex once, and I didn’t care for it 👀 it had line memory worse than my usual Seaguar I use, and was a bit elastic feeling so I didn’t land many fish using it 👀…? Maybe I just got a bad batch but I just prefer using stuff that I’ve got confidence in 👀?

Not a bad little set up. Great bass man! Thing sure seems to have a little backbone

Great video! Do you use ominiflex on all your reels except the ones with braid? Also does 12lb mono cast farther than 14-15lb mono on a baitcaster?

Late to the party by a few days! Goes to show that you don’t need to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on a setup to go out and catch quality bass! Awesome video man big thumbs up 👍

been watching your videos for awhile now, I've got one question for you. Is there anyway you could show how much line you spool onto your baitcaster? I can see in the video but that's not a good way to judge it, I've scoured youtube far and wide on how much line to put on, and I can't seem to find a good one.

Nice. Its got the Spinal Tap knob that goes to 12, not just 10. Excellent deal. I actually like 6' poles. I have 3.

I agree with you when I comes to the Omniflex line caught all my big bass in it up to 7 pounds never had a problem

I got a zebco pro staff bait caster combo at Academy sports for $39.99. I couldn't be happier with it. Caught probably 40 15 inch + bass on it the first month I had it. Had to restring a few times cuz I'm terrible at casting but it catches fish. Lol

One of the only channels that I have the bell turned on for

Nice. I've been eyeballing the lightning rods every time I visit wally world. Think I'm sold

$20 you can’t go wrong. I like the Berkeley lighting rods. I have a couple of them.

That’s a nice line, especially the price. You’ve compelled me to use it, and have had favorable luck so far. Seems like a decent combo too. Solid video. And nice beaver lol

Nice combo and for 12lb to bend a hook that says something! Not a bad fish ether better than what's around here for sure.. nice video!

Love the channel! Do you ever keep and cook up any of your bass? Some folks say they're not too good to eat, but I think fresh caught bass tastes better than any of the farmed crap they buy at the store.

That wacky rig hook looked pretty useful. Do you know what brand it is and where I might be able to find some?

Just saw this video and really like your out take that was a nice rig you purchased for $30.00 thanks for sharing!!

I got the nitrous spinning reel. I have no complaints except I paid twice as much as you did for the baitcaster. You gotta deal there.

Awesome video. Thanks for showing there is nothing erong with cheap fishing gear. I have been fishing since i was 4, sometimes I'll buy expensive line. But most of the time it's omniflex.

I got one of those Berkeley rods for my shimano caenan and oml do they work like a charm.

Wow, that is the same exact reel that comes on the Quantum Octane baitcasting combo. Just different color

how pressured are your fishing spots? all of my spots are fished by tons of people every single day.

I bought a 7ft 6 berkley amp saltwater spinning rod last year for my Penn fierce2 ll 4000 the rod was too small for my reel then the tip broke the first week I took to Walmart got a replacement then the tip broke on the first bass a cought so I ended up getting rod tips and repaired myself. I believe berkley owes me a good amp rod since I have had two and they both broke but I'm not feeling with Walmart returns on it anymore.

How does it feel to be the best bassing and general fishing RU-vid pro amateur.....outstanding I imagine. And you do collaborations with panfish and chat cats. I look forward to your vids and it’s not full of nonsense keep up the work

Nice one, hell for 30 bucks you can’t beat that. Kinda wish I’d came across that reel last week lol. Great video as always

Dang.......that Zebco line has a good strength in it...bent that hook 😮 Nice bass fish too👍👍👍👍👍

That's a sweet combo for $30. Luckily for you, the comments are read. Otherwise, that sweet deal would've been missed.

See like I said this man is a damn legend🤙🤙he is always showing that you don’t need to break the bank for gear,great vid🤙🤙🤙🔥🔥

You are going to love that reel. I have had mine since may. I love it

That's a sweet bait caster!. And that's pretty good line if u bent the hook b4 the line snap. 👍🎣nice !!

Absolutely love that reel. Also have mine on a 6ft rod medium heavy.