Suggestions for 1st finesse set up

[Jibaro]

I'm looking to buy my first finesse set up for lures between 1/8- 5/16 oz. What rod and reel do you guys recommend. I'm looking for a good quality build around $600 or a little more for the set up.

[spookybaits]

Give us a few details.
-Do you have a preference towards daiwa or shimano or Abu?
-Do you have a preference towards a certain gear ratio range?
-What lures will you mostly be using? (I ask that because, if say, it's mostly crankbaits, you may want a slower gear ratio and more moderate action rod aimed at treble hooks & moving baits, vs a faster ratio & rod action that's better suited for plastics/single hooks. Or will this be a 'do it all' finesse set up, where something say... in the 7.1 gear range and a fast action will do a good job at most things.

[Jibaro]

Give us a few details.
-Do you have a preference towards daiwa or shimano or Abu?
-Do you have a preference towards a certain gear ratio range?
-What lures will you mostly be using? (I ask that because, if say, it's mostly crankbaits, you may want a slower gear ratio and more moderate action rod aimed at treble hooks & moving baits, vs a faster ratio & rod action that's better suited for plastics/single hooks. Or will this be a 'do it all' finesse set up, where something say... in the 7.1 gear range and a fast action will do a good job at most things.

I like daiwa and shimanos. I will like to start with a plastics/single hook set up. Thanks for helping me out.

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

600 bucks is definitely do-able.

The Alphas Air is a sick reel for the money. Skips well and will he the best bang for your buck, out-of-the-box finesse reel.

That's the reel I use for the very same specs that you are looking to get into. I have mine on a custom St Croix Legend Elite 7' Lite.

As for factory rods, I haven't had much experience because I build my BFS rods. I'm sure many others can chime in.

[lil_man72]

For a reel I'd recommend either the alphas air or ltx-bf8... both can be found new or lightly used for $250 or a hair over...
For rod I'd look into the majorcraft lineups... they have several different options but their MS-X limited is what I had my eye on...they have a 6'5"ul bf or a 6'7"L bf rod

[Jibaro]

The alphas air looks sick and the majorcraft rod looks like it matches too. That combo is priced in my budget.

[zodiak311]

For your specs I have would go with an Airy Red Pixy (costs $150-200), and send it to Ian. I just feel that the reel is more connected to me for single hook presentations. I have an Alphas air as well, and you wouldn't be disappointed with it either, but the Airy Red is something special, especially with Ian's magic touch.
Then I would go with a variety of Major craft rods out there. I am a big fan of the either UL or L powered original Volkey, or the MSX line up. I like anything 6'5" and above. These rods are so light, and have the perfect action.
Once you get a taste of those bfs setups then, you will have money left over for stuff like the Alderbaran BFS paired with a Shading X, Jackall Cover trap, etc... which are setups that can go even lighter.

[Frosty]

Alphas SV for the price is hard to beat, or alphas Air if you want super finesse/bfs. Pretty sure Alphas SV can be had new for under $200 and the Air probably $20-30 more. That leaves more to spend on the rod. For plastics I would go NRX 842 or GLX 842, which can be found dealer rep for 30% off msrp or new if you know a place (ask around, hint)...rods lighter than that I have trouble getting a good hookset with single hook aps, unless it's drop shotting. Other options would be DX 702.

Good luck!

[Jibaro]

I'm shopping around guys thanks all for the reply's.

[Advoxgt]

I really like my Majorcraft BFS692 paired with a Shimano Aldebaran BFS reel. I mainly use it to fish 1/16 oz flick shake and 1/16oz Megabass Hendoze swim bait with screw head. Casts a mile and has plenty of backbone.

[ss30378]

If 1/8oz or 3-3.5g is the low end of what you will be casting then the sv105 size spool will work just fine. Alphas sv is the best bang for the buck in my opinion. If you have plans to go lower down under 1/8oz the true bfs reels, daiwa air's, shimano bfs xg start to shine.

For a rod for 1/8-1/4oz id go for something medium or medium light power with an extra fast taper. My legend elite is a 6'8" medium xf and it works great with 1/8oz jerkbaits, small jigs and such. But the tatula 6'10" finesse rod is a great bang for the buck that will cast 1/8 well.

[Bootytrain]

16 Aldebaran BFS XG and Major Craft BFS rod in any flavor you want. I would say msx-limited.

[LowRange]

I'm looking to buy my first finesse set up for lures between 1/8- 5/16 oz. What rod and reel do you guys recommend. I'm looking for a good quality build around $600 or a little more for the set up.

Do you want a warranty with the rod? Are you willing to pay $100 in shipping to import a one piece BFS rod from Japan? Importing a BFS rod will, generally speaking, negate any warranty and will run around $100 in shipping. Some places like bass.co.jp will ship two rods in one tube for one price which can help to keep the shipping cost down per rod.

What do you value in a reel's braking system, casting distance or control? Do you plan to be on a casting deck throwing these baits at targets, possibly skipping them on the surface or do plan on being bank bound and trying to cast as far as possible?

[Jibaro]

I really like the looks of the 16 aldebaran bfs xg. The new scorpion bfs is coming out soon so maybe ill wait to see whats up with that one. I'm going to buy the msx limited first that's a good price for me.

[Jibaro]

I found this video of the rod that I want. That abu reeel looks like a great caster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew_FM6stxcI