Spinner bait rod recomendations?

[basstech]

Hi guys, I'm needing to lighten my load so to speak on my spinnerbait setup. It tends to wear me down. I really like what I'm using in terms of feel, casting controll and response when throwing 3/8 oz. baits but 1/2 oz. seem pretty heavy and it feels like the rod is overpowered on the retrieve. I'm wanting something that will handle both adequatley with out sacrificing the sensitivety to the blade rotation. The majority of what I throw is willow leafs with the large blade being from 3.5 to 4.5. The setup I'm currently using is a st.croix (crankbait rod) pcm66 mhm, with a '97 model Shimano citica. The rod doesn't seem so heavy in and of itself but with that reel and a 1/2 oz. bait, it just plain wears me out after 4 or 5 hours, not to mention I have a much tougher time snapping the bait out of the weeds. I use primarily 15 to 20 lb. test with this. Do you all have any rod/reel suggestions that will decrease the weight, keeping the 6.X:1 or higher gear ratio and still handle a 1/2 oz. bait well with allowing me to feel a 3.5 willow on a 3/8 oz. head or should I go with a seperate setup for the 1/2 oz. baits all together? I know this is wordy, but I wanted to be as speacific as possible about it. Thanks for any input.

[BigBassin144]

Basstech, When it comes to rods, I've found spinnerbaits to be different from any other bait. And what I mean by that is while most baits have a general guideline to follow while picking out a rod (i.e. A good t-rig rod is 6'6" - 7' MH), I've heard everything from a 6' rod for spinnerbaits to a 7'6" rod, and from Medium power to Heavy and from Moderate Action to Extra Fast.

But generally, there are six different aspects to take into consideration when picking out a spinnerbait rod. As I mentioned above: Length, Power, and Action.

Length - We can simplify this just saying longer and shorter rod. What you consider a long or a short rod may differ from what others think, so we'll just leave it at long vs short. A shorter rod is going to give you one distinct advantage over a longer rod, and that is accuracy. With a longer rod, you'll be able to cast farther.

Power - I think this really depends on what size spinnerbaits you're throwing. If you're throwing light spinnerbaits, a M power rod will work fine for you, but if you're chucking 1oz'ers you'll want a stronger rod, most likely a H.

Action - This is where the big debate is with spinnerbait rods. Your choices are a slower action rod (M or MF) like a crankbait rod, or a fast action rod (F or XF) like a worm and jig rod. There really is no straight answer to this, and is what you prefer. Some argue that one gives you more accuracy than the other, but there are people arguing for this on both sides of this fight.

Reel - Again, I've heard anywhere from a 5:1 Crankbait reel, to a 7:1 burner. It all depends on how you fish spinnerbaits. A burner will allow you reel in the spinnerbaits faster with less work by you, it may make it harder to slow roll spinnerbaits.

Now, for what it's worth, here's what I use: I never throw any spinnerbaits over 1/2 oz, and mainly use 3/8. I also will occasionally go to a 1/4 or 3/16 oz bait. I've tried two of my rods for spinnerbaits: a 6'6" MH F and a 7' M F. For throwing around docks, laydown, and anytime I need more accuracy, I go with the 6'6" MH F. When I'm shore fishing and want to get my lure out as far as I can, or I want to cover a lot of water, I'll go with the 7' M F. I am however, interested in trying a longer, Moderate Fast action rod for my longer casting.

Now at the KVD seminar I saw on spinnerbaits, he was using an over 7' rod, MH power, and M or MF action. And he could still out that spinnerbait in places I'd have to pull the boat up to and drop the spinnerbait. He was also using a 7.3:1 reel with a 34" retrieve rate.

Ok, my favorite part, the recommendations .

For rods, there are many "spinnerbait" rods out there that span the full range of lengths, powers and actions I talked about. While I'm not in the market for a spinnerbait rod, I was thinking the Falcon Cara Swim Jig Special (7'2" MH MF) would make a great long distance spinnerbait rod. Other than that, I haven't really looked much at any spinnerbait rods, but check out these brands for a model that suits your needs: Falcon Cara, Shimano Crucial/Cumara, Daiwa Zillion, Kistler Magnesium/LTA, St Croix LTB, Fenwick Elite Tech (makes a rod that the top 40% is glass for a softer action like a crankbait rod). For a lower budget, look at the Abu Garcia Vendettas, W&M Tessera, BPS Carbonlite, Falcon Bucoo, and St. Croix Mojo.

For reels, the Daiwa Zillion would get my vote, and comes in 6.3:1 and 7.1:1 so you can get whichever speed you want. The Abu Garcia Revo STX would make a good spinnerbait reel as well, and comes in both speeds.

Hope this helps more than it does complicate your decision.

BB

[MallenManson]

I see Citicas are all over the place when it comes to weight, how much does yours weigh?
Quantum Catalyst-7.5 oz
BPS Pro Qualifier Tournament (limited edition)-7.1 oz

The Catalyst is on sale at Cabelas for 99.99 and the BPS went on sale today for 79.99.

Can't recommend either since I've never fished my Catalyst (yet) and haven't checked out the BPS (yet)

Hope that helps

[basstech]

Thanks guys. Will check out your suggestions tonight. Good fishing to ya.

[screwballl]

In addition to the above, what is your price range?

[BeaverIslander]

I think a graphite, 7' med heavy power, fast action rod is the best for spinnerbait fishing, as well as being the most well rounded and versatile rod for bass fishing, at least on MN natural lakes. It works great with many lures that range from 1/4 to 1 oz and gives you plenty of casting distance and hook setting power and leverage.

This combo is perfect for 3/8 oz to 3/4 oz spinnerbaits. I use a 7' MHF St. Croix Avid and a 7' MHF Shimano Crucial, and I toss spinnerbaits on both. The Crucial also doubles as my Senko pitching rod. I use high speed reels and stretchy mono line that helps the fish inhale the lure since it's a rather stiff rod, but that stiffness will let you control a fish and cast a 3/8 oz+ lure better than a med power rod will.

I have a very similar rod as yours, a St. Premier 6' 6" med power moderate action crankbait rod. I use it for tossing small crankbaits like Bandit 100/200's, Baby 1 Minus, 1/4 Rat L Traps, etc. It has VERY little backbone, too little IMO, and it doesn't take much to overpower it. I can see why you feel that way with a spinnerbait, it's badly overloaded.

I would recommend a St. Croix Premier or Avid Series rod. I have numerous of both that they are great rods. You don't need to go crazy on rods for reaction lures like cranks, buzzbaits and spinners. Save that money for a rod where sensitivity will benefit you more, like a really nice worm and jig rod.

[orcpr]

Just bought a g loomis spinerbait rod.LOVE IT!Broke ice to go and try it.all i can say is wow.Light and sensitive,with plenty of backbone.Nice piece!

[basstech]

Thanks guys I appreciate your input. I did find a reel that is signifigantly lighter than the citica 200 I've been using, but I couldn't find a rod and went through most of them they had a Bass Pro. I liked the crucials but the only ones with a Moderate-fast tip was a med. power, that's going in reverse for me. Fast tips are to stiff and I can't feel the smaller willowleaf blades turning. That is the most important factor to me, and then the weight of the rod. Thanks again and good fishing.

[BigBassin144]

I don't know exactly what length you're looking for, or how much you want to spend, but check these out. I know I mentioned the Falcon Cara Swimjig Special (2nd from bottom) in my first post, but I had a lot of rods in there, so it may have been missed. It is 7'2" MH MF. It's about $40 more than a Crucial, but I think it would make a great spinnerbait rod. And Falcon makes a great rod.

BB

[Backwater Charlie]

The older Citica's were beefy reels, especially when compared to the new ones. Keep the rod, use the reel for something else. Get a new "Citica" or just use another reel of yours that is light.

[brad94]

Been using a e21 7' med heavy carret stix for spinnerbaits latly and its the best power fishing rod I have ever used. It has great sensitivity and a great backbone.

[Jrob78]

Another thing to consider is the higher the gear ratio the more energy it's going to take to reel in a heavy bait. Reels with lower gear ratios have more torque and handle heavy baits that create a lot of drag better than burner reels. I was amazed at how little effort it took to reel in crankbaits and heavy spinnerbaits with my 5.2:1 cranking reel.

[bassboogieman]

I have several rods listed in the for sale forum that would meet your requirements. They are a "high end" rod at about 50% off retail. Will perform "as new", and I don't think you'll find a better rod at the prices listed. If you want a LIGHT weight rod, extremely sensitive with the backbone to pull a bass from grass, check them out. Either the 6'9" MH or the 7' MH would be the best as an all around spinnerbait rod.

[Strike_King 609]

Check out the st.croix Mojo Bass series they have rods for every need I have the plastic i can throw 3/8 baits about 40+ yards on my baitcaster I believe they making a spinning set up. Hard to find might have to get it online been looking everywhere for the spinning Mojo all i see are baitcasters. However I love my spinning rod I have the original Spidercast pole from mitchell thing is a beast. But dont use it as much since I got into the baitcasting game about 4 years ago.

[Bassboss]

As for length, I think 6'6" or 7' is the best, MH action for 1/4 - 1/2 oz.

What's your price range?

For a rod, I think a Lamiglas Excel, W&M Tessra rod, or BPS carbonlite rod, and all the loomis rods are very light as well (not sure about the GL series though). These are all fairly light rod, having handled every thing but the Lami. But I've seen on rod weight on reviews, and it's about a < 4.3oz rod for the 7'. For reels, a BPS carbonlite reel, Shimano Curado, or Shimano Citica, both reels a little more than 7oz other than the BPS reel which is just under 7oz (6.7oz I think). Or on a higher budet an Abu premier. If you're willing to shop online, than check out tackle warehouse, they have last year premier reels for like 140 (over 50% off), and sill under 7oz.