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Midnight Rider.
I’m not a tournament fisher but try and fish as much as I can. I have several rods and reels in boat that I use but probably not using the CORRECT rod/ reel for the various fishing styles.. So my question is — Can someone tell me what rod ( length and action ) to use. Example— what rod to use for topwater, wacky worm, cranks, etc. I use mostly Lews and Cast Away. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I do not think it matters that much. When I was young, I used one rod/reel and caught no fewer fish than I catch today. My son and I typically carry 6-7 rods total, in the 6 1/2 – 7 lengths. I have always used medium action rods with fast tips. I do not use 50 pound test to drag 1 pound lures through massive weeds. But we do fish topwater, spinners, crank baits, plastics, you-name-it. I pretty much use 10-12 pound test mono exclusively. I follow the KISS and KICS principles (keep it simple stupid and keep it cheap stupid) :)We catch just as many (if not more) fish than friends that take 20-30 rods. And who spend as much time getting rods untangled in the rod box as they spend fishing, too…My take on this is that it is NOT the equipment that catches fish. I find it nice to have a spinner on one rod, a rattletrap on another, etc, as opposed to the old days of cutting / retying as the water dictated. But 3 different actions of rod, in 5 different lengths, with 10 different fishing lines? Not for me..
I believe the only time buying a bait specific rod really matters is for using Crank baits.A good crank bait rod will have a parabolic bend with a soft tip. It allows the fish to take the bait before the rod loads up, thus you lose less fish. The parabolic bend keeps it loaded without ripping the bait out its mouth.I use the Dobyns Champion series 704CB and 705CB cranking rods. Light, sensitive., and will keep them on.Length is up to you.Im not tall so I dont cast or pitch as accurate with long rods. My rods are from 68″- 73″.Rod Action: Shaky heads, senkos..etc. Meduim-Medium heavy action. Texas rigs, light jigs…etc.: Medium heavy Heavy jigs, Punching..etc: Heavy, X-Heavy
Honestly i never have bought something becauseothers like as far as rod legths, rod actions, reel names or reel ratios. Ive always used wat felt good to me. Though i will agree with cajun about a cranking stick. I have a very old cranking set up that ive had since i was a young boy. Reel is a 4:1 ratio. Everybodys feel is different. Even with rod manufactures. Wat is a medium in one rod might be a medium light in another. Best bet is feel the rod. Give it a shake!. Yes even 2 identical rods migh have a slightly different balance points. When starting my search a medium is a good place.
Ive never bought a rod that was made for a particular application. I like baitcasters for crankbaits. For almost everything else, I use spinning rods. Most of mine are 7 rods. Medium heavy and medium action rods. I have no one brand that I particularly like better than another, unless maybe it would be my Hammer 7 medium heavy spinning rods, I use for Texas rig fishing and for shakey head fishing.
I buy and use what feels right for me. I think when you know your combo, balance, casting ability and most of all, the connection to your bait, but that involves line selection as well. I keep it pretty simple too. Its all about familiarity, it helps to feel the slightest strikes. My 2 cents…….
My #1 criterion is weight. I still have an old rod I used as a kid. Fiberglass and HEAVY. I have a rod I watched my dad catch a 5 pounder on Pickwick when I was 5. Hexagonal steel, 5 long, beyond HEAVY… My favorite fly rod is made by Orvis, weighs in at a whopping 2.5 ounces. Carbon fiber changed the world. I can cast my 7 rods all day. After 15 minutes that steel rod would be in the river if I tried to use it. :)I still have our old 7.5 HP Elgin outboard my dad bought when I was 4 or 5. Hardly “portable” by todays standards… BTW it still runs too. 2 cylinder water cooled, lever on the front to adjust speed, and a knob connected to the carb you had to tweak for idle vs running wide open. Still has original prop and a really faded two-tone green color with built in tank. Some things survive the test of time nicely.We are currently at Guntersville, as the saying goes “roughing it smoothly” in a Tiffin RV I bought for my wife. Today (6/30) is our 50th anniversary. She says the RV is her well-deserved anniversary present for putting up with me for so long. 🙂 Right now river is pretty messy after that mega-storm that went through this area on Thursday… Water temp around 86-87. Even found some stripers schooling down on Town Creek (we are at an RV resort a couple of miles upstream of that area) but I have always liked Town Creek since we used to tent camp all the time at the state park there.
For me:Crankbaits, spinnerbaits: Light weight, Proper action and tip speed. Dobyns Champion seriesVertical fishing, Jigs, shaky head, Texas rig: weight, balance and sensitivity. G Loomis and Dobyns Xtreem series.
All of my rods are either Fenwick or St. Croix. I use nothing but Shimano reels, both spinning and baitcasting. I do that because they all can be set up virtually the same, so it makes it easy to pick up another rod and not be concerned with it casting differently. I do think it makes a difference to have technique specific rods/reels, though some can definitely serve double duty. Generally speaking, I use spinning rods for lighter finesse type lures…shakey heads, drop shot, etc. Actions are medium light to medium, with fast to xfast tips. Baitcasters are medium with a fast tip for small cranks, topwater, smaller spinnerbaits. Medium Heavy with a fast tip for worms, jigs, larger spinnerbaits, etc. I only have one Heavy action, which is used for pitching and/or Carolina rigs. Lengths vary from as short as 56″ to 74″, with the majority being in the 69″ to 74″ range. I do think it is important to have at least one cranking rod in Medium Heavy with Moderate action for deep diving cranks. None of my rods cost more than $175, with most being $125-$150. I have two or three rods that are 30 years old or more and I still use them for certain things, mostly in tight cover because they are shorter. Gear ratios vary from 5:1 to 7:1. I use mostly floro lines in 6-12lb test, with some 15lb Hybrid, like Yo-Zuri.
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