Rod suggestion for spinnerbaits

[Barthez]

Hello there,

I have been using crankbaits and plastics for a longtime, however, in the last few months started experimenting with spinnerbaits. I tried them on a Shimano Crucial 6'6" medium heavy / fast action rods, varying speeds and depths during retrieve. Any input about rods for spinnerbaits.

Best
Barthez

[woody]

Hey Barthez,

I like to use a medium heavy/fast action casting rod with anywhere from 12# up to 17#mono depending on how much cover I'm fishing. I just bought a 6'9" MH/F casting rod for spinnerbaits.

There have been many a good discussion about spinnerbait rods on the forum. If you haven't already, click on the search button and you will be amazed at the amount of good info. I hope this helps.


-Mark

[Bubba_Bruiser]

I know a lot of guys say 1 hook, fast action. So general consensus say you are in the good as long as you are in the medium with your rod recommended lure weight.

I personally like a softer action rod though with a moderate to mod-fast tip. I have less shake offs with a SB and a buzzbait since I got away from fast tip rods. I don't gorilla set a spinner bait either. It is usually coming at you at a moderate speed and your already reeling. I like to sweep the fish like a crankbait hit and let the fish turning and the rod loading take care of the hookset.

[keithdog]

The rod your using sounds like a good spinnerbait rod. The 6'6" length is very popular for spinnerbaits. Some guys like 7' or somewhere in between. The rod I've been using for many years now is 6'6" MH/F. It's been a good rod, but actually, I wish the tip was a bit softer. You want a good backbone in your rod but with some flex at the tip to make for easy casting. If I were to buy a new spinnerbait rod today, I think I would be looking at 6'10" MH/Moderate Fast action. I don't know if there is such a rod out there. but thats what I would like.

[Rebbasser]

Yep, sound like you have a good rod. You can get spinnerbait specific rods-most are 6-10 like Keith said, but a 6-6 MH action rod will work fine.

As a rule of thumb if it has a single hook I throw it on at least a MH action rod. Treble hooks go on a M action rod.

[Barthez]

Very useful information. Yes, even though my 6'6" felt ok I've wished I had a couple of extra inches on my rod. Will look for a 6' 8"-10"

[Bubba_Bruiser]

Another thing to think about is what kind of spinner baits you will be throwing. A willow leaf doesn't put out much drag, so a M power rod is a favorite of mine. If you are throwing a thumper with Datsun hubcaps (old Harry n' Charlie term) AKA Colorado blades, you might would want to move up to your MH or possibly a H depending on the weight of the bait. Its like throwing a DD22 on an ultralight and will wear you out by the end of the day fishing with a rod under a constant load.

Sorry for blabbing, I haven't posted much lately

[Barthez]

You have a point. I was throwing a tandem Willow & Colorado and definitely could feel some weariness after a while.

[bamabassman]

i may be worng in this, but have oyu looked at the micro guided rods? same actions, but in a 7 footer. i have one and i tell ya...it FEELS like i can sling it at LEAST 10-15 feet further.i may be worng...but that is what i use. i like the med/hvy..medium with the fast tips. VERY fast tips. i WANT to feel the vibes on the blades.

that way, when a dink (what i USUALLY catch) hits it...it feels like a wall hanger. hahaha!!


and i like the combo willow/colorado blades as well.

[bassboogieman]

I like spinnerbaits and used a 6'6" M, mod/fast rod to throw them for many years and it worked well. But I have sinced moved to a 6'9" MH/f rod about 3 years ago and found it much more preferable for 1/2 oz spinnerbaits that I usually have tied on. I prefer the longer, heavier rod for a several reasons, the first being I usuallly throw them around grass and the heavier rod works better when ripping them loose. Secondly, with the heavy hooks found on spinnerbaits, I believe I get a better hookset with the stiffer rod. And the slightly longer length gives a little more distance.

One note, you should try a couple different brands if you're looking for a new rod. The power rating does vary slightly between brands (sometimes even between models whithin a brand) so one brand's MH will closer resemble another's H or possibly a M, there really is not an "industry standard" to define a particular power.

[bamabassman]

well said bruce. well said. differnt companies make different strentghs.

[Jrob78]

Put me in the mh, mod/fast group as well. I use a 7' graphite cranking stick for spinnerbaits. The length and tip allow good casting distance while still being short enough for accuracy. After years of fishing spinnerbaits on fast action rods, I really like the mod/fast I'm using now. It isn't whippy like a glass rod but has enough give in the tip to absorb some of the drag and let the fish grab the bait well. It also has enough backbone for a good hook set.

This is one of those things that's highly subjective though, different strokes for different folks and the way you fish spinnerbaits plays a big role.

[kennethdaysale]

Originally Posted by Bubba_Bruiser

I personally like a softer action rod though with a moderate to mod-fast tip. I have less shake offs with a SB and a buzzbait since I got away from fast tip rods. I don't gorilla set a spinner bait either. It is usually coming at you at a moderate speed and your already reeling. I like to sweep the fish like a crankbait hit and let the fish turning and the rod loading take care of the hookset.

That's exactly how I roll^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[MIbasser]

I like the shorter rods as well for spinnerbaits. I use a Powell 683MH EF (6'8"). However, where I'm a little different, I use braid. Why, I don't know but I know one thing, I knocked 'em dead with it this year. I live/fish in Michigan and we water that makes gin look dirty up here and didn't have any issues with fish seeing my line. Also, my hook-up to miss ratio was the best ever, once they hit it, they were stuck.

I also used it as a buzz bait rod, well I will have the same exact rod and reel (Curado E7) next year so I don't have to re-tie (I liked it too much).

[kennethdaysale]

Originally Posted by MIbasser

I like the shorter rods as well for spinnerbaits. I use a Powell 683MH EF (6'8"). However, where I'm a little different, I use braid. Why, I don't know but I know one thing, I knocked 'em dead with it this year. I live/fish in Michigan and we water that makes gin look dirty up here and didn't have any issues with fish seeing my line. Also, my hook-up to miss ratio was the best ever, once they hit it, they were stuck.

I also used it as a buzz bait rod, well I will have the same exact rod and reel (Curado E7) next year so I don't have to re-tie (I liked it too much).

The stout & stiff rod paired with braid is just not the "natural" way to do it for me but V V
Just goes to show that spinnerbait gear and schools of thought can be very different but equally effective.

[carolina-rig-01]

It's strange how for whatever reason a certain rod will just feel better than all the others you own, and in my case it is one of my spinnerbait rods. It's certainly not one of my more expensive rods and nowhere near being one of my lightest rods. But for some reason this rod just does a great job for me and I am very accurate with it when throwing spinnerbaits. It is a Falcon original FC5-17, basically it's a 7' MH rod with a pretty fast tip. This rod has a lot of backbone and does an excellent job for me when I am fishing spinnerbaits from 3/8oz. on up. I do have a few custom built spinnerbait rods with micro guides on them that I will use when I am fishing lighter spinnerbaits. These rods are 7' MH but with a softer tip that allows me to get more distance while casting these light spinnerbaits, but they have enough backbone to get a good hookset.

[Rebbasser]

I was messing around with some of my gear this evening and was surprised to find my spinnerbait rod is only 6-4. It is a Falcon Low Rider spinnerbait special and I would have bet money it was 6-10. Go figure

[Tavery5]

I truely believe you can fish a spinnerbait on just about any rod you own, as long as you don't over power the rod. It seems to be a matter of preference more than technique specific.