# multiple fishing rods



## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

For starters, sorry if this is a dumb question. Just really starting to get into fishing, and I need to upgrade from the single fishing pole I use, to lure specific setups. I mainly throw crankbaits, 1/4oz to 1/2oz. Lippless crankbaits, 1/4oz to 1/2oz. And paddletail swimbaits. But want to get into Carolina and Texas riged creature baits for offshore structure. And flipping an pitching into weeds,grass, heavy cover. Any recommendations on what to get and what to stay away from?? Thanks, sciotoyaker.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

If crankbaits, and lipless crankbaits are a big part of your arsenal, I'd get a rod that is designed for them. A rod at least 6 1/2' long, 7' would be better, and a rod that has a medium or moderate, to medium fast or moderate fast action. (the words medium and moderate are basically interchangeable in this case) Not medium power, medium action. They are two separate things. 

The action of a rod is a description of how fast the rod's tip transitions to the backbone of the blank. A slower action rod, such as medium fast versus fast, will have the tip transition to the backbone of the rod more slowly, and will mean that the bend of the rod is more parabolic than that of a fast action rod. Crankbait rods are usually made out of fiberglass, a fiberglass and graphite composite, or graphite that is of a lower modulus or that has a construction that slows the responsiveness of the blank. That more parabolic bend is important in keeping the line tight, as well as absorbing some of the power of the fish that are hooked on treble hooked baits. 

For the size baits you mentioned, a medium power rod with a medium fast action would probably work quite nicely. Although, if you're planning on throwing any of the larger and heavier deep diving crankbaits, you may want to consider a medium heavy power rod. 

All of the other baits you mentioned can be fished on the same basic rod. A 7' medium heavy power with a fast action would do the trick. Although if you're going to be fishing heavy cover and punching baits through thick weeds, or fishing hollow bodied frogs over those same thick weeds, I'd go with a heavy power, with the same fast action. If you look at the lure weight recommendations for each power, there isn't that great of a difference. But depending on the rod company, there can be quite a bit of difference. BTW the power of a rod relates to its lifting ability. That's where there is a lure weight rating for each power.

An extra fast action rod is nice if you do a lot of pitching. The tips are a little more responsive which makes pitching a little easier. But really a fast action rod will work just as well with the lure weights you'll probably be pitching with it. The reason for the recommendation of a fast action rod for baits other than ones with treble hooks, is that the other baits are single hook baits. Also the wire the hooks are made of for the presentations you mentioned is going to be thicker. The faster action is going to set the hook better with a heavier wire hook, and single hook baits usually hook a fish much better than a treble hooked bait does.

Sorry for the long post. I hope the ideas help.

BTW .... the recommendations are for casting rods.


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## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

So, basically 4 baitcasting combos.
>6'6" medium power, moderate action for small cranks and traps.
>7'0" medium heavy power, moderate fast action for deep cranks, bigger traps, and spinnerbaits.
>7'0" medium heavy power, fast action for Carolina, and Texas rigs.
>7'3" heavy power, fast action for pitching, punching, and frogging.
Does this sound about right? What about line, and reel recommendations??? Sorry for all the questions.


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## Cajunsaugeye (Apr 9, 2013)

Man,what did guys do before they made all these "technique" rods? Oh,that's right,they still caught fish! AND ON MONO!


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

sciotoyaker said:


> So, basically 4 baitcasting combos.
> >6'6" medium power, moderate action for small cranks and traps.
> >7'0" medium heavy power, moderate fast action for deep cranks, bigger traps, and spinnerbaits.
> >7'0" medium heavy power, fast action for Carolina, and Texas rigs.
> ...


If it were me I'd go with a moderate fast action on all the rods you'll be throwing treble hooked baits on. This is just my opinion, but they seem to cast a little better. Especially when using baits on the lighter side. Which begs a question? When you mentioned small cranks under the first rod listing, just how small are you talking? You can throw small cranks say 1/4 oz., but it has to be the right crank. What I mean is ... don't expect to throw a #7 Shad Rap a long distance with a casting rod. They're just not a very aerodynamic bait. 

The baits you mentioned using the second rod for are good, except for the spinnerbait. Spinnerbaits are better used on a fast action rod. They're just easier to cast, and cast accurately with a fast action rod. I'd throw them on the same rod you'd use for Carolina rigging. 

As for the 7' medium heavy you mentioned for Carolina rigs and Texas rigs ... I'd add pitching and hollow bodied swimbaits to that list, as well as the spinnerbaits I mentioned earlier. A lot of the pitching I do is along weed lines, and to the edges of shoreline cover, so medium heavy power is more than adequate for that. 

The last rod and bait combinations, you hit right on the head. Anytime I'm fishing heavy cover, I want a heavy power rod. 

Line types, that's up to you. I'm a fluorocarbon fan, so that's what I use probably 90% of the time. Braid has it's place: frogs, punching, and deep in heavy cover, and regular mono has it's place: topwater baits. Other than those instances, I'm a fluorocarbon guy.

As far as reels, I'm a Shimano guy, so of course I'd suggest Shimano reels. The Curado I with a 6.3:1 gear ratio would be my personal choice. Or the Citica G with a 6.5:1 gear ratio if you're looking for a slightly less expensive reel. The Citica is a nice reel, but it doesn't compare to the Curado though. If you can spend the extra 50 bucks, I'd go with the Curado. 

And Cajunsaugeye ..... I bet guys said the same thing about mono filament line, and level wind reels.  

But I get the point of your post.


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## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

Thanks a lot bassbme. What do you think about the mhx blanks? I'm a diy kinda guy.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

I can't offer an opinion on MHX blanks, because I've never used a rod made from one. 

Myself, I'm just getting into actually working on rods, and plan to build at least one, this year. Last year I put new guides and refinished the blanks on three of my older rods. I figure building my own rod is the next step in that progression. 

I can tell you what I've heard from people I've talked to about them, and about what I've read about them on Rodbuilding.org though. They are supposed to be awesome blanks, that are beautifully finished. From looking at their website, they offer a pretty complete line of blanks for bass fishing. Their Blend series of blanks would probably be great for crankbaits. They have the moderate fast action that I like. Their Mag Taper series offers a wide selection of blanks, that would fit just about any application, and their High Mod Gen2 series of blanks are supposed to be very light, very sensitive, and strong.

Rainshadow might also be a blank you want to look at. They're made by Batson and from what I've read and heard, from people that have built rods on their blanks, they like them a lot. Rainshadow's RX7 crankbait series of blanks are very reasonably priced, and they offer a pretty decent selection of moderate or moderate fast action rods with medium or medium heavy power ratings. One of the rods I plan on building will be built on an RX7 crankbait blank.

Rainshadow used to offer an RX8 high modulus series of rods for bass fishing, but they have upgraded and supposedly refined that series of blanks, and they now call it the Immortal series. They also have a series above the Immortal series, called Eternity. The Eternity, according to the company, are supposed to be extremely sensitive. The only problem (at least for me) is that the Eternity blanks are blue. Be that as it may, Rainshadow blanks are supposed to be very nice blanks. 

I plan on building a 7' medium heavy, or heavy power rod (I haven't decided yet) To replace a heavy power 6'6" G Loomis GL2 rod that I'm currently using. I'll build the new rod on either an MHX High Mod series blank, or a Rainshadow Immortal series blank. 

Anyhow ...... aside from St Croix blanks, (which are made in the USA but are very expensive) MHX, and Rainshadow blanks seem to get very good reviews from people on Rodbuilding.org.

Hope that helps


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## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

What would you recommend for top water? Like poppers, and patty's 1/4 oz. to 1/2oz.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

I use either a 6' Shimano Convergence (it's old) medium power that's listed as a fast action, but it's a composite rod, so it acts more like a medium fast action. It has a short, straight rear grip. I use that rod for smaller poppers, and jerkbaits up to 1/2 oz. in weight. 

Or I use a 5'6" Bass Pro Shops Tourney Special that's medium power, and a fast action. The backbone of the rod is pretty weak, so it bends more like a medium fast action rod would. It has a pistol grip, and I use it for buzzbaits, larger poppers, and walking baits. It also doubles as my squarebill rod when I want to make accurate casts around hard cover.

Personally I think it's a shame that the major rod manufacturers don't make rods in the 5 1/2' to 6' length ranges any more. I find it much easier to work topwaters and jerkbaits with a shorter rod.


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## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

Well, I prefer a shorter rod anyway. I'm short, and its hard for me to use anything longer than 7'. I currently use a 6'7" wild black medium power medium fast action spinning rod, its good for cranks, but that's my bank fishing rod. Its the perfect length for me to cast while in a canoe, kayak, and on the bank. But I know I can't use it for fishing jigs in heavy cover, without the chance of breaking it. 
Not looking for technique specific rods......just trying to learn what power, and action would be best for the type of fishing I plan on doing. And I GREATLY appreciate the help bassbme!


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

No problem sciotoyaker, I love talking fishing, and as you can see from my posts, it's easy for me to ramble on. Maybe even a bit too much. 

Actually, and I'm kind of embarrassed by not picking it up from your name ... but you saying that you fish from canoes and kayaks changes things a bit. Not from an power of the rod, or an action of the rod standpoint ..... those would be my recommendations regardless of what you were fishing from. But the lengths would be different. Longer rods have longer handles, which I'm sure would be harder to use from a sitting position. I should have caught that. Sorry about that.

With that being said, what I said in my previous post about shorter rods basically being a thing of the past, really comes into play for you. But it's also something you can get around, by building your own rods. The one rod I mentioned that I wanted to build in a previous post, is going to end up being a 6' medium heavy power rod with the same length rear handle, as the 6' Convergence rod I mentioned earlier. 

That's the nice thing about building your own rods. You can custom tailor your handle lengths to a certain extent. Of course it's probably not something you want to go too crazy on, because you still want to have an appropriate balance point on the rod. 

Anyhow ... I'm glad I could give you some ideas about powers and actions of rods and the baits I'd use on them. I will say that they are my own personal preferences, and you may not find them to be yours. But they're a starting point that you can use to ask questions on other web sites, such as Rodbuilding.org. That's a great resource for new rod builders. I know I've learned a lot from reading threads on there. And it's really where I got my ideas about which companies rod blanks end up making very nice rods.


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## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

Went ahead and bought some mhx blanks. Can't wait for everything to come in, so I can get started! Should have all (6) done by march, so I can use them this season!


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## Cajunsaugeye (Apr 9, 2013)

Let us know how they feel.I'm looking at building a few myself.Just received my MHX 30" ul ice rod today.Handle is glued on.Guides are marked out and grinded down.Installation starts tomorrow! Rod feels awesome so far!


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## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

Cajunsaugeye said:


> Let us know how they feel.I'm looking at building a few myself.Just received my MHX 30" ul ice rod today.Handle is glued on.Guides are marked out and grinded down.Installation starts tomorrow! Rod feels awesome so far!


I definitely will, I'll post pictures along the way.
I'm eager to see how your ice rod turns out as well. Good luck!


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

sciotoyaker said:


> Went ahead and bought some mhx blanks. Can't wait for everything to come in, so I can get started! Should have all (6) done by march, so I can use them this season!


Diving right in Sciotoyaker ... awesome. Which blanks did you end up going with? What kind of guides, reel seat and handle? And and Cajunsaugeye said, definitely post on here or in Cajunsaugeyes rod making thread in the Tackle Making forum. 

The one rod I want to build is definitely going to be built on a Rainshadow blank, but I'm still up in the air on the blank I want to use for the new flipping stick I want to build. Right now I'm leaning towards a Rainshadow Immortal blank. I'll be interested to what your impressions of MHX are.


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## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

I went with the freshwater series blanks, slate finish.
>6'6" medium power, moderate fast action. - small cranks, and traps.(1/4oz. - 1/2oz.)
>7'0" medium heavy power, moderate fast action. - deep cranks, and big traps.(1/2oz. - 1oz.)
>6'6" medium power, fast action. - top-water, poppers, and walking baits. (1/4oz. - 1/2oz.)
>7'0" medium heavy power, fast action. - Carolina rigs, Texas rigs, and spinnerbaits.
>7'3" heavy power, fast action. - flipping, punching, and frogging.
>7'0" medium power, fast action. - drop shot, and shaky head.(spinning)
Went with 2 tone( black and grey) Eva foam split grip's, (no foregrip.) And minima reel seats, and micro guides.


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## Cajunsaugeye (Apr 9, 2013)

Sounds great! X-fast is preferred for drop shot but that should suffice plus,im not sure w/out looking up,they have an x fast.I just finished my ice rod build.Pics(not great) are in my thread in tackle making.QUALITY blanks IMO.Best of luck on your builds.Its quite addictive!


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## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

The spinning blank is part# MHX SJ834. Says both drop shot, and shaky head. I just wanted a rod that could do both, instead of having to make another rod, haha.


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## Cajunsaugeye (Apr 9, 2013)

Oh and it will.Sensitivity is more the issue than power of the rod anyways.Should work out fine.I used a 7' med st Croix(fast) mojo for years for dropshotting and amazingly still caught fish!And,like you said,did other things well too.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

That's a good selection of powers and actions you picked out Sciotoyaker. You'll be well outfitted to tackle pretty much anything. I like the looks of those Pac Bay Minima reel seats, and am seriously considering using one for the pitching/flipping stick I'm going to build. I've never handled a rod with that type of split grip though, so I'm going to find one in a store somewhere and see how it feels before I make the final decision on which reel seat to go with. But they look sweet, that's for sure. Much more visually appealing than Fuji's SK2 reel seat. 

I debated on going with micro guides on one of the rods that I replaced the guides on last year. I've heard and read good things about them. My only concern was the need for at least one, and possibly more than one additional guides because of their lower profile. I know the whole idea of micro guides is to reduce guide train weight, but if you have to add one or possibly two more guides, are you really reducing the weight by all that much? That wasn't a question to you. I was just thinking out loud. lol 

I ended up going with some of the Fuji Alconite guide sets that Mudhole sells. I really like how they perform on the rods I put them on, so I'm probably going to stick with those, unless someone convinces me otherwise. 

Let me know how that Minima reel seat ends up working out for you. I'm interested to hear how easy it was to install, and how sturdy the reel ends up being when mounted in it.


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## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

Carrot stix have minima reel seats. That's how I know what I wanted. I really liked how the reel seat felt in my hand. Good blank contact, and I like the way the reel seat looks too. Your right, the minima looks way better than the sk2 style reel seats. I went with micro guides because that's where the industry seems to be going nowadays. Not looking to save weight, but be less cumbersome in the kayak.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

sciotoyaker said:


> Carrot stix have minima reel seats. That's how I know what I wanted. I really liked how the reel seat felt in my hand. Good blank contact, and I like the way the reel seat looks too. Your right, the minima looks way better than the sk2 style reel seats. I went with micro guides because that's where the industry seems to be going nowadays. Not looking to save weight, but be less cumbersome in the kayak.


Ahhh ...... thank you for the tip on Carrot Stix's having the Minima reel seats. Now I know which rod I need to look for to check out how it would feel. The part about micro guides that keeps me thinking about getting them when I do a build is the weight reduction on the blank, and its relationship to the blanks responsiveness and sensitivity, not the overall weight of the rod. 

As far as the industry and the way it's going nowadays, I know what you mean. While I love some of the directions it's going, I can't say I love them all. Hard to find a quality rod 6' or under in length? That's the wrong direction in my book.


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## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

Here are a few sample pictures of what grips I will be using, and a picture of the minima reel seat. I won't be putting that anodized spacer between the grips, just bare rod.


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## cmiller21 (Aug 27, 2013)

Both the new and old BPS carbonlite and the white bionic blades have the Pac Bay Minima reel seats if you live near a Bass Pro


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

Thanks for that tip as well Cmiller ... I don't live close to a Bass Pro, but I plan on buying some of my materials from JannsNetcraft and if I end up buying my blank from them I was going to go pick it up instead of having it shipped. With the cost of gas these days I figure it will be about the same as what shipping would cost me. Jann's carries the Minima reel seat, so a stop by Bass Pro before heading to Jann's would be a nice little side trip.

Thanks again for the tip. Very much appreciated.


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## sciotoyaker (Jan 23, 2015)

sciotoyaker said:


> I went with the freshwater series blanks, slate finish.
> >6'6" medium power, moderate fast action. - small cranks, and traps.(1/4oz. - 1/2oz.)
> >7'0" medium heavy power, moderate fast action. - deep cranks, and big traps.(1/2oz. - 1oz.)
> >6'6" medium power, fast action. - top-water, poppers, and walking baits. (1/4oz. - 1/2oz.)
> ...


What line would you suggest for the combos?


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## Cajunsaugeye (Apr 9, 2013)

1) 8-12# fluoro
2)10-12# fluoro
3)10-12# MONO
4)12-14# Fluoro OR braid w/mono leader for T+C rigs.Spinnerbaits 10-12# fluoro
5)30#+ braid w/14-17# fluoro leader OR straight 14-17# fluoro
6)6-8# fluoro OR 20# braid w/4-8# fluoro leader.
My recommendations only.May well not be the same from others.


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

The recommendations that Cajunsaugeye gave fit almost every recommendation I would give. But as he said, they may not be the same as others. The only ones I'd change would be those for the 4th and 5th rods mentioned. 

I rarely if ever throw a spinnerbait on smaller than 14# test, and usually 17# test. When I fish a spinnerbait, 95% of the time I'm fishing it in or very near cover. Fluorocarbon is my line of choice though. For a Carolina rig I don't go lower than 17# test for the main line, and I use fluorocarbon line for the main line. The reason I use the heavier line is because it has a larger diameter. With the constant bottom contact of the sinker it puts your line in a position to easily become abraded. A larger diameter line can take more abrasion without breaking than a smaller diameter line can. The majority of the time I use 12# test fluorocarbon line for the leader. Occasionally dropping down to 10# test, but not very often. I know using a nylon mono filament line as a leader will help the bait settle to the bottom slower. But nylon mono is so easy to abrade, that I don't think it's a good choice for a Carolina rig leader. Just my personal opinion.

For the heavy action rod I'd be using a minimum of 17# test fluorocarbon, and since I switched to Seaguar Tatsu line, I've been able to use 20# test. Again, the larger diameter line can take more punishment without breaking. If I had braid on it, 50# to 65# test for a couple of reasons. Number one, braid is very strong line, and extremely hard to break on a dead pull, but it's much easier to break when you shock it, as you would on a hook set. There are going to plenty of people that call BS on what I just said. And that may not be their experiences, but it has been mine. I've popped 20# braid on a hook set numerous times. And it's not the knot letting loose, it's the line breaking. Also, while I am sure many people use 30# braid for frog fishing quite successfully, I think it's a mistake. Not only does thinner braid cut into the type of cover that a frogs are sometimes fished in, more easily ... it's one of the best ways I know to stick a big bass. I want the piece of mind the heavier line gives me.

Another plus of larger diameter braided line is that it doesn't cut into the reel spool as easily when put under a lot of pressure.


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