best deal on baitcaster combo Abu Garcia Max Pro Baitcast Layer Structure) technology that layers carbon of varying modulus and fiber direction to produce a reinforced construction and improved torsional load resistance The Lit rod is a comfortable Elite Baitcast Combo 7'

Best Soft Swim Bait Keitech FAT Swing Impact MSRP: $7.69 Buy from: Why I love it When I was a kid, I threw Sassy Shad in Iowa farm ponds for largemouth bass

Toughest Saltwater Baitcasting Reel PENN Fathom 200 MSRP: $319.95 Buy from: Why I love it Ive been fishing with the PENN Fathom 300 and 400 big-body baitcasters for years, but I was suspicious about the diminutive 200-size reel

Heck no

At 24 oz it's a capable, well-rounded offshore reel, and the narrow spool makes it one of the better casting conventional in the lineup

Water temperatures hovered around 53F (12C), and the first strike came less than twenty minutes after we reached the first fresh cabbage bed exactly the kind of day that exposes the strengths and weaknesses of a combo

The best thing about editing a fishing magazine is four times a year I get to write the tackle column on gear I dream of using