Two rods, one reel

[ChrisCarter]

I have two rods and one reel. Right now i have my Shimano Sahara 500FD reel hooked up to my Abu Garcia Vendetta 7' MH rod, also got a off-brand 6'6" ML rod that i got last year. So I am wondering which one i should hook up to it. Keep in mind that i also want to get a baitcast reel, but i'm not sure that the Sahara and Vendetta are too much of the opposite, since i do mostly bass fishing with it right now, i eventually want to use the Vendetta rod for catfish, that's why i got it. But i am wondering should i take the Sahara and hook up to the off brand rod for bass fishing and get a rod/reel combo for baitcasting, or should just get a baitcasting reel and hook up to the off brand rod and the leave the Sahara and Vendetta alone?

[Eager Beaver]

The baitcaster takes a different type of rod from a spinning rod. With a baitcaster rod the guides are on the top of the rod and with spinning rods the guides are under the rod. Not good idea to switch them around. Using a spinning rod for a baitcaster the rod is built for a specific bend and you would not be using it for what it was designed. EB

[ChrisCarter]

Wait a minute, i thought all rods have the guides facing the same direction that the reel is facing. Unless your talking about the little guide thing that sits very close to the reel. I don't use that, never understood what it does and the point of it.

[CrappiePappy]

Wait a minute, i thought all rods have the guides facing the same direction that the reel is facing. Unless your talking about the little guide thing that sits very close to the reel. I don't use that, never understood what it does and the point of it.

Actually ... they do. But, baitcaster reels sit on top of the rod handle, thus the guides are there .... spinning reels hang underneath the rod handle, thus the guides are there.

The little "guide thing that sits very close to the reel" is a hook retainer ..... meant to be used to put your baits hook into, when outfit is not in use. It's better than placing the hook thru the guide ring, guide foot, or any part of the reel ... to avoid scratches, or damage to the guides (which can lead to nicks in your line).

Eager Beaver's point, about the rod bend ... is that spinning rods are designed to bend towards the guides, while baitcast rods are designed to bend away from the guides.

While it is possible to use a baitcast reel with a spinning rod ... the rod action is compromised, and the stress on it (bending direction) is not favorable. Putting a spinning reel on a baitcast rod is much the same ...plus - being as the guides are much smaller, overall, they won't allow good casting distance. And, if the baitcast rod has a pistol grip handle ... your spinning reel would be on upside down (and you'd have to reel it "backwards" to its design) --- and the end grip (hump) in the handle would make it awkward to use, if you held it with the reel hanging down.

Trust us when we say that matching the reels to the proper style rods will make your experiences much more satisfying, and you'll get better functionality from them.

... cp

[Olgrey]

X2 - What Crappiepappy says. If nothing else go someplace where they sell a packaged outfit, some place like Walmart, Bass Pro, or Cabelas. For that matter you might have some friends that use spinning or baitcasting outfits. Look them over closely and you will see what we mean. Good Luck.

[ChrisCarter]

Yea, after i read EB's post i started looking at package rod/reel combos from Cabelas. Thanks guys for the info.