What lure rods and reels for bass- 3 budgets u.k 

This is very helpful. I do a lot of sea spinning for sea trout and I've given lure reels for saltwater use a bit of thought. The 2 reels that I currently use are a 65 quid Daiwa Legalis LT 3000 and the 15-20 quid Daiwa Sweepfire EC 2500 featured in your video. Although the 5 ball bearing Legalis is very smooth, the 1 ball bearing Sweepfire has stood up equally well to the constant cast and retrieve of sea trout fishing and the salt environment. Three positives for me in favour of the cheaper reel are that it only has 1BB therefore only 1 bearing to potentially corrode through exposure to the salt. It also has no anti-reverse switch and a non-vented spool which reduces the number of potential locations for saltwater to enter. Plus points for the Legalis are that it's very light, has a slightly smoother drag and on stopping the retrieve there is no backplay on the handle unlike the Sweepfire which has a very slight amount of backplay - which you have shown us - but these are not major issues for me. As you rightly say Matt, if you look after your reel (rinse it after every saltwater use, lightly oil it after each outing and take it apart and lube it once a year) it will last a lot longer regardless of whether it is a premium reel or a 20 quid job. Keep up the great content!

I "had" a 4000 Stella SW with a St Croix Avid. Over the $1000 mark. I had a phone call as I was putting my rods in the back of my truck, so I lent a couple of rods against the tailgate. Got in, & drove off. By the time I thought "Oh shit," & drove back, they weren't there any more. A pretty pricing day, with losing two set ups. A valuable lesson learned. Thank you for another great video.

Great video. I have four Tenryu rods in my armoury ranging from the injection 73 to the dragon express. Lovely bits of kit!!!

I've got a Stella 3000 FE and it's unbelievably smooth, to me the Stella is a real for life.. Works wonderfully on my Century Graphex lure rod.

I’ve been using the Abu Garcia black max combo loaded with Diawa Sensor line. I’ve had some nice bass with it using a black minnow. Lure fishing is a new discipline to me and your videos have been very helpful. 👍🏻

Thanks for posting this, just the information I was looking for . I plan going for the mid-range set up.

Thanks for video and sharing your knowledge. Very much appreciated sir.

Very good information My own set up is a sakura lure rod badida travel suits me down to the ground pike and small fish in yakutia and sea bream plus sardines in provance. Sedona reel are great. The baidia breaks down in four sections very light sometimes use feathers with it max wieth 1.5 oz still works great especialy if you are travelling

Very informative. Nice reviews. I don"t understand the fascination with fishing small rods from the shore, and by small, i mean fishing with sub 10 Foot rods. I can see their appeal and advantage over longer rods when boat or kayak fishing, but not from the shore or the rocks. When I began spinning for Bass and Mackeral in 1980, you would be hard pressed to find a spinning rod under 10 Foot. These rods would have been Fibre Glass, not light but perfectly manageable for an 11 year old. Whether casting from the shore or the rocks, the extra length allowed you to control the fish better, exert more pressure and thus land the fish quicker. Modern wands have their place but I think its nothing more than a marketing ploy from the tackle companies to get us to buy more rods. And its working!

I started sea fishing only a few weeks ago, bought loads of mid-range gear, in the end caught my best fish (so far) 2.6lb bass on my son’s tiny cheapo Mitchell reel/rod set 😂 I will always bring it along with me for luck!

I have sea fished for many years. Recently tried lure fishing and am now hooked (No pun intended) have been looking at loads of youtube videos for guidance on a good setup to start with - and just wanted to say - this video is excellent - so thank you...

Another interesting and informative video, thanks. I like the way you stress you don't need piles of cash to get started. I've worked my way up from budget stuff to mid-price gear, but was disappointed when my Shimano Stradic ci4 had a dunking and suffered, despite a thorough wash out. Replacement bearings cost £60! I bought a Penn Slammer to use in the surf, or where a swim's on the cards, and it has survived its first season. I just love the Stradic though, the line lay must be worth another 10m. I've now packed it with AC50 anti corrosion grease, so we'll see how it fares. After that I think I'll be looking at a sealed reel.

Great video :) I bought a Shimano Catana reel £45 and its been brilliant so smooth!

Interesting video, thanks for sharing! If you like the Shimano Sedona you will probably like the Daiwa Fuego LT too. Its a bit more expensive (not much) but definitely worth it in my opinion.

Thanks Matt - very interesting. Coincidentally, I have been looking at cheaper lure rods (limited budget!) as I have a nice Bass rod, but it is rated around 150 grams max, so much too heavy for lighter kures. This would make a good series, covering different types of Rods IE Beach, Continental, Boat etc. Keep 'em coming! Stay safe & well.👍👍

Lovley video as usual spot on

Great channel Matt! After catching my first ever sea bass down at Pagham with budget gear a few days ago…No pressure but I’ve taken your tip and gone for the Sedona 2500👍🏼

It's all down to budget and how often you'll be using it. I'm not very good at looking after rod's and reels, aways end up bashing them on rough marks.

Right so after lots of research (and having sold my three multipliers which pretty much dictated my budget), I have purchased a Daiwa Black and Gold Rod - quite a long rod at 10'6, but rated for 15-50g which I liked. Very good quality for the price. And I have purchased a Shimano Sahara 4000 RD - strictly speaking a coarse reel according to the product info, but a trusted brand, mid-range size with rear drag (Again something I was looking for...) Then I have purchased several lures - my biggest splurge was on the Megabass Zonk, then I have a few Dr. Fish hard lures at a range of weights, some budget hard lures for practice plus a range of soft lures - sidewinder sandeels, black minnows and some "shads." Been out and spent a few hours practicing casting and retrieving. Didn't expect to catch anything... and didn't :-) But pleased with the performance of the setup (I am using an 18lb braid). Watched loads more videos and been out exploring loads of venues at low tide as well (I live in Kent) Now I think I am ready - just waiting for the weather (and water) to warm up a bit. So thanks for your content - found it all really useful. Will say hello if I ever bump into you whilst fishing. :-)

Me and my dad have become bass gear addicts at this point and some tackle that i can 100 % recommend is the Shimano Dialuna rods, have two weights the 8-45g 9’6 and the 6-32g 9’ and both are unreal and are i think well under priced. Reels I recommend are the shimano strafic fl and the shimano vanford. Some more expensive rods we have are the shimano lunamis and the sgs8 which are both fantastic as well. I would recommend sticking to the big brands like shimano because you real pay for what you get.

Very interesting Video thanks I can recommend Penn Battle and Fierce reels very good quality and salt proof not silly money other

Quality vid as usual Matt. Picked up a Shakey Zenith spin (9 ft - 10-40 gm ) would a Shimano Sedonna go with it okay Matt.

Great video love the options, would you reccomend the sedona over the spinfisher by penn I'm torn after this video I love a 2500 size what braid would you reccomend

Goture Xceed 4pc travel rods 9/10ft paired with Shimano Stradic FL and Daiwa BG magsealed on J braid Grand my fav set up, thinking about upgrading to Dailuna with Twinpower!

I really like the look of the cobalt rod you have reviewed..could I expect to get a good size bass using it?

I’ve got an afaw 9ft mk1 lure rod which is based on the Tenyru I believe - I pair it with a Daiwa Caldia 4000X and it’s a lovely combination; powerful and so light to fish with. I prefer mono on this set-up as the rod is so fast actioned. Tight lines 👍

I've started using the Century Graphex Lure Rod. Got to say it is an amazing bit of kit.

Great vid Matt, I'm using a 10' 10-40g Okuma Expior rod with a Diawa BG 3000 and also a Daiwa Procaster *' 5-30g with a Mitchell Pro 4000. This covers all my lure fishing. Keep the vids coming I find them very informative.

I look at all of the information relevant to sea bass angling and there is no comparison for a first time angler. Lads from Cornwall 👍and the Channel Islands post great vids but you are stand out subtlety on point. 👍👍

I use a major craft triple cross tcx ..it's my go to rod, use from beach to rocks..

The Sedona reel is very good for the price, lovely and smooth.

This is awesome! I’ve recently bought myself an omen 85g 9 ft rod. I’ve noticed that the rods you’ve mentioned have a much lower optimum casting weight. Would my 85 be an issue when casting much lighter weight lures? Sorry if this is a silly question!

Would my perch/pike lure rods be suitable for wrasse/bass/Pollock etc?

Thanks for another good video. It's a shame there is not somewhere where you can go and have a few casts of different rods as you could find a rod that suits you without having to pay silly money, and even if you bought a top end rod it might not be the best one for your style of casting / fishing.

Finding it difficult to upgrade from my Shimano beastmaster 5-20g which is beautifully balanced, casts like a rocket and is super fun to fish with all day. A new reel tho, hmmmm, the tailwalk 2500 could come calling very soon

I use a Penn Overseas XT 9’ 20-50g travel rod and a Stradic FL 4000 reel. I’ve only been sea fishing a little over 3 months now but have caught a decent amount of bass on lures and quite a few squid so far with this setup. I absolutely love the Penn, however I started to want a rod with a little more finesse for the lighter SPs and walking surface lures more delicately. A couple of weeks ago I splashed out on a Shimano Exsence Genos 3 piece 9’6” 5-40g rod (I need a minimum of three pieces to travel by bike), and although it cost three times as much as the Penn and is half the weight, it just feels too soft in the tip and not fast enough for my liking, perhaps veering towards a through action feel. It doesn’t load up the lighter lures as I’d hoped and certainly doesn’t seem to handle lures much over 30g. I was surprised as a lot of people seem to love the Shimano JDM rods, then again perhaps my tastes differ. Did you find the Exsence Infinity to be quite stiff or did it feel soft in the tip? I don’t know if it’s a case of getting used to it but it just seems too soft to offer the casting performance I was hoping for. I think the HTO N70 is the only other high end travel rod out there and I wonder how the action differs.

I literally just spent £150 on a lure rod set up and I got a mega bass zonc great video very helpful

i would value your opinion of the penn fierce 4 travel rod and reel combo. 4 piece rod casts 20 to 80g. i have used it once and like it but as its my first time lure fishing have nothing to compare it with. thankyou

Diawa Prorex LT insanely good for the price, on the look out for a new rod might try majorcraft or westin,

A good tip with reels, particularly Shimano, is that the reel body is usually the same size in the 2500 and the 3000. So get the 3000 as it is almost the same weight, but the spool is the difference in the sizing, the 3000 spool is taller. This means better casting distance. Also the 3000 in many Shimano reels use carbon washers in the drag but the 2500 use Felt. Not sure if it applies to them all but I know for a fact this is true with the Stadic FL

Morning Matt yes I purchased the Sedona 2500 HG -I but I’m really struggling to find a spare spool have you any advice do you know if any other Sedona model spool will fit cheers John

I fish with the Diawa Sweepfire reel and I find it decent. I caught a decent Sea Bass last week and my reel never blew out Lol. 👍

Dream kit!........one day. 👍

Il watch this later matt..I'm off down the shed to attempt to salt some squid and hand picked mussles..want to try see how I go doing that and trying them on size one hooks ect for small flatfish ect...and the squid strips,,who knows..also got a challenge for you this winter,,try to catch a cod/codling on a stinger rig..I shall be trying this myself this winter...

I fished shimano rods and reels all my life. I think they go crazy now with the prizes and too much new models (reels) I bought a new spinning rod from China this time. My old shimano spinning rod is telescopic and I don't like that' My new rod is standing in the corner looking at me because I don't get a chance to try it (lock down) If things not chance the lock down will end tomorrow morning at 07.00. I will run to the sea :) The new rod is a Tsurinoya Detective, sea bass 3.3 meter long. I wanted a longer rod. In my eyes this is the nicest rod I ever had. I hope it is as good as it looks, cant wait to try. My target species are sea bass all year and now in the winter it is season for little tuna and Spanish mackerel I want a new reel to this rod too that will be a shimano but I can't decide wich one. The Stradic and Ultegra are too expensive here. My all time favorite was the bio master but they don't make them like that any more. Thanks for all your videos I learned a lot (specially about sea bass) and I enjoy watching.

I don’t spend a lot on my rod but it’s important to get a good reel nothing worse than a crappie reel that breaks after 5 uses I like the hto hooligan and the ugly stick range of rods! the Penn reels are great as well

What was the name make casting weight of the mid priced rod? I went back through the vid but I didn’t see a mention of it. Cheers nice vid.

For the price, I think it's hard to find anything better than a ci4+, which I have paired with the nebula 2.4m and it's given me all sorts of catches in sea and fresh water

I've got the sweepfire in 4000 size, seems much more solid than that. Caught a 60kg eagle ray on it, no problems. I fish in too many grotty spots to spend too much on gear.

Great video. Are you using a rubbing leader with your braid?

The stradic is the king of reels in my opinion for its price

I do not think that composite cork is somehow better than real cork but otherwise an informative look at some of what is out there. Do you have a strong recommendation on a £200 ten foot 4 piece outfit for a motorcyclist? Lure, float and other bait methods as well?

Hi, Im fairly new to lure fishing . I have an Abu garcia tormentor spin 7-28g 8ft rod. I I were to buy a reel like the daiwa sweep fire, would It work as as a seabass lure fishing set up. Or is my casting weight/rod wrong. Thank you

Hi mate, just a quick question mate iam getting the shimano fx xt 8 ft one, which castings size would you recommend?

I’ve just ordered the century lure rod. What reel would you recommend? A small reel maybe 2500-3000 size ?

due to covid and lockdowns not been able to get out at all i bought a rod its a grauvell teklon nano evo spin 802,and i have a shimano sahara 4000r which i already had rear drag ,do you think this reel will be ok

what do you think about okuma Epixor reel??!!

Pleas do some more lure videos and stuff for beginners please

Nice video but the "lure fishing for bass" website is rubbish its hardly stocked on rods and reels.

Hi. Is your giro Favorite rod , the 9’ cobalt 9-28. Or 10-35. ?? Thanks. John 😃😃👍👍

The more expensive rod reel kit, over £ 200, is entirely to catch anglers, you wont catch more fish. I have an Abu Cardinal 174 reel, not bad at all.

You can't possibly compare a sweepfire to a Stella. I own two Stella's and nothing comes close. Tenryu rods are awesome but very heavy in the weight department. I always say to people spend as much as you possibly can spare on rods and reels. Cheap as chips is ok but how long will it last you, how long before those rings on that £60 rod go green. I'd keep both of my Century lures rods over any Tenryu rod. Century are cheaper & British made, and every bit as good as anything Tenry have ever made.

I hate the colour of the temru coloured fishing rods look cheap im not saying its not a fantastic rod .I own a savage gear 9ft 34grm gs5 it's build quality is sublime hooked up to a shimano spheros 4000 salt grade reel with 26lb of daiwa j braid its a dream boat

After sale service with some of these reels is diabolical, have you tried buying parts for reels in the past?

Help please,,, i want to fish for seabass off the cliffs, they are usually 2,5kg... I have to reel them up a cliff 100 meters. I googled all day, 'strongest reel' etc tec. Can't get any results. Does anyone know which is the best fixed spool reel for reeling up fish out of water up cliffs? Ideally around 485 - 500grams to match my rod. Thank You in advance Guy's.

No mention of Penn reels 😉

I've just binned a shimano sedona 4000 Worst reel I have ever owned. Rear protector broke after a month and reel totally seized up after three months. Never again!!!

makes you think. if only .or do really want to pay that much.will Santa buy it for me ?thanks

Daiwa EXCELER LT 2 good

Sedona reel need upgrade.

You still around matt??

Lock down prevents any sea fishing. 😒