Crankbait rods ??????

IAFrogger · 02-01-11, 07:06 PM

Ok guys,... I admit that I am way too one dimensional when it comes to bassfishing. Most all I do is topwater fish ... mainly frogs and a few others. Also enjoy using plastic jerkbaits ie. zoom flukes, etc.

I am wanting to get serious about shallow water crankbaits this spring. I rarely ever fish in water over 10 ft deep. Concentrate my efforts on the top half of that water column.

I am wondering about your experience with "crankbait rods"... I understand the concept of moderate action and moderate weight helping to not pull the hooks out of the fishes mouth, etc.

What are your thoughts on these two rods.... I have a St. Croix 6' 8" Avid series medium weight with extra-fast tip and a Cabelas XML 7' medium weight rod.....

Should I be looking into getting a "crankbait" specific rod? ... Or will one of these other rods work well? If not what other techniques would you recommend these other rods be used?

Thanks for any insight you can provide.....

CamG · 02-01-11, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IAFrogger

Ok guys,... I admit that I am way too one dimensional when it comes to bassfishing. Most all I do is topwater fish ... mainly frogs and a few others. Also enjoy using plastic jerkbaits ie. zoom flukes, etc.

I am wanting to get serious about shallow water crankbaits this spring. I rarely ever fish in water over 10 ft deep. Concentrate my efforts on the top half of that water column.

I am wondering about your experience with "crankbait rods"... I understand the concept of moderate action and moderate weight helping to not pull the hooks out of the fishes mouth, etc.

What are your thoughts on these two rods.... I have a St. Croix 6' 8" Avid series medium weight with extra-fast tip and a Cabelas XML 7' medium weight rod.....

Should I be looking into getting a "crankbait" specific rod? ... Or will one of these other rods work well? If not what other techniques would you recommend these other rods be used?

Thanks for any insight you can provide.....

IMO That one should do you well, as long as it has a fast or slower tip.

carolina-rig-01 · 02-01-11, 07:22 PM

I agree with CamG, that rod should suit you fine. However I like my crankbait rods a little heavier than most guys do. A while back I went from medium heavy cranking sticks to medium cranking sticks to see if I would notice any benefits, and instantly I started losing fish on crankbaits. After a while I got fed up and went back to MH cranking sticks and the problem was solved. I don't have any problem with ripping the hooks out of the mouth of a fish with a medium heavy rod but I do have problems not getting them stuck very well with a medium rod. I should add that my issues with lost fish were for the most part with bigger bodied crankbaits. The medium heavy rods just didn't have enough backbone to move the bait in the mouth of the fish and get the hooks burried. For smaller crankbaits such as Bandit 100 or 200 I will still use a medium cranking stick because it doesn't take much effort to stick them with smaller baits and with the smaller hooks a softer rod becomes more important in my opinion.

bassboogieman · 02-01-11, 07:51 PM

The Cabela's rod should be fine, I would stay away from a rod with an Xfast tip for treble hook baits. The Avid would do well for spinnerbaits to 1/2 oz. I have no problems with medium rods (mine happen to be crankbait specific) for shallow - medium divers with #6 or #4 hooks. Larger, deep diving cranks with #4 to # 2 hooks I use a MH. Unless a lure comes with premium hooks, I upgrade them -my "first string" have Owner
ST-36 trebles, most of the "second string" are still sporting the Gammie EWG's I was using prior to switching to Owner. Goods hooks are a must and many lures just don't come with them. If you're having trouble keeping fish buttoned up, the first thing I'd look at are the hooks.

carolina-rig-01 · 02-01-11, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassboogieman

The Cabela's rod should be fine, I would stay away from a rod with an Xfast tip for treble hook baits. The Avid would do well for spinnerbaits to 1/2 oz. I have no problems with medium rods (mine happen to be crankbait specific) for shallow - medium divers with #6 or #4 hooks. Larger, deep diving cranks with #4 to # 2 hooks I use a MH. Unless a lure comes with premium hooks, I upgrade them -my "first string" have Owner
ST-36 trebles, most of the "second string" are still sporting the Gammie EWG's I was using prior to switching to Owner. Goods hooks are a must and many lures just don't come with them. If you're having trouble keeping fish buttoned up, the first thing I'd look at are the hooks.

I agree that good hooks are important. Every bait I have that has treble hooks gets Mustad Triple Grips put on it before it ever ends up in a box. Owner makes a good hook too as does Gammy, but I have had much better results with Triple Grips for some reason.

IAFrogger · 02-01-11, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassboogieman

The Cabela's rod should be fine, I would stay away from a rod with an Xfast tip for treble hook baits. The Avid would do well for spinnerbaits to 1/2 oz. I have no problems with medium rods (mine happen to be crankbait specific) for shallow - medium divers with #6 or #4 hooks. Larger, deep diving cranks with #4 to # 2 hooks I use a MH. Unless a lure comes with premium hooks, I upgrade them -my "first string" have Owner
ST-36 trebles, most of the "second string" are still sporting the Gammie EWG's I was using prior to switching to Owner. Goods hooks are a must and many lures just don't come with them. If you're having trouble keeping fish buttoned up, the first thing I'd look at are the hooks.

Great advise about the extra fast tip.... I hadn't thought of it like that... Thanks again! ....

keithdog · 02-02-11, 11:34 AM

Just adding my 2 cents worth. I agree with whats been told to you above. The Cabelas XML rod will do you fine. I have one of those by the way. Great rod!!! My only suggestion would be a different rod for your larger cranksbaits like the DD22's and DT16 I would use a 7'MH-MF rod for those. But since you don't fish deeper water much, you probably don't really need to invest in that kind of rod.

DVT Mike · 02-02-11, 11:46 AM

Either of those rods will work fine for shallow cranking. I'm partial to St Croix blanks in general. For deep cranking is when I go to a custom Lamiglass SR765 mod action with an ABU 4600C3 reel.

mike234 · 02-02-11, 11:56 AM

I use the Shimano Crucial Crankbait Rods. Only have 2. One is 7' med and the other is 7'2" med heavy. The tips are rated moderately fast but they seem to be moderate to me. Could be just me but anyway IMO they are great crankbait rods.

02-01-11, 07:06 PM	#1
IAFrogger BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Iowa Posts: 48	Crankbait rods ?????? Ok guys,... I admit that I am way too one dimensional when it comes to bassfishing. Most all I do is topwater fish ... mainly frogs and a few others. Also enjoy using plastic jerkbaits ie. zoom flukes, etc. I am wanting to get serious about shallow water crankbaits this spring. I rarely ever fish in water over 10 ft deep. Concentrate my efforts on the top half of that water column. I am wondering about your experience with "crankbait rods"... I understand the concept of moderate action and moderate weight helping to not pull the hooks out of the fishes mouth, etc. What are your thoughts on these two rods.... I have a St. Croix 6' 8" Avid series medium weight with extra-fast tip and a Cabelas XML 7' medium weight rod..... Should I be looking into getting a "crankbait" specific rod? ... Or will one of these other rods work well? If not what other techniques would you recommend these other rods be used? Thanks for any insight you can provide.....

02-01-11, 07:22 PM	#3
carolina-rig-01 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Webb City, MO Posts: 6,387	I agree with CamG, that rod should suit you fine. However I like my crankbait rods a little heavier than most guys do. A while back I went from medium heavy cranking sticks to medium cranking sticks to see if I would notice any benefits, and instantly I started losing fish on crankbaits. After a while I got fed up and went back to MH cranking sticks and the problem was solved. I don't have any problem with ripping the hooks out of the mouth of a fish with a medium heavy rod but I do have problems not getting them stuck very well with a medium rod. I should add that my issues with lost fish were for the most part with bigger bodied crankbaits. The medium heavy rods just didn't have enough backbone to move the bait in the mouth of the fish and get the hooks burried. For smaller crankbaits such as Bandit 100 or 200 I will still use a medium cranking stick because it doesn't take much effort to stick them with smaller baits and with the smaller hooks a softer rod becomes more important in my opinion. __________________ You only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough.

02-02-11, 11:34 AM	#7
keithdog BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: IN Posts: 8,308	Just adding my 2 cents worth. I agree with whats been told to you above. The Cabelas XML rod will do you fine. I have one of those by the way. Great rod!!! My only suggestion would be a different rod for your larger cranksbaits like the DD22's and DT16 I would use a 7'MH-MF rod for those. But since you don't fish deeper water much, you probably don't really need to invest in that kind of rod. __________________ Just one more cast, and then some!

02-02-11, 11:46 AM	#8
DVT Mike BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Milford,PA Posts: 312	Either of those rods will work fine for shallow cranking. I'm partial to St Croix blanks in general. For deep cranking is when I go to a custom Lamiglass SR765 mod action with an ABU 4600C3 reel. __________________ Visit us at www.delawarevalleytackle.com

02-01-11, 07:51 PM	#4
bassboogieman BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Parkesburg, Pa. Posts: 3,762	The Cabela's rod should be fine, I would stay away from a rod with an Xfast tip for treble hook baits. The Avid would do well for spinnerbaits to 1/2 oz. I have no problems with medium rods (mine happen to be crankbait specific) for shallow - medium divers with #6 or #4 hooks. Larger, deep diving cranks with #4 to # 2 hooks I use a MH. Unless a lure comes with premium hooks, I upgrade them -my "first string" have Owner ST-36 trebles, most of the "second string" are still sporting the Gammie EWG's I was using prior to switching to Owner. Goods hooks are a must and many lures just don't come with them. If you're having trouble keeping fish buttoned up, the first thing I'd look at are the hooks. Last edited by bassboogieman; 02-01-11 at 08:04 PM.

02-02-11, 11:56 AM	#9
mike234 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Knoxville, Tn Posts: 177	I use the Shimano Crucial Crankbait Rods. Only have 2. One is 7' med and the other is 7'2" med heavy. The tips are rated moderately fast but they seem to be moderate to me. Could be just me but anyway IMO they are great crankbait rods.

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