ChiCityBasser

The shock to me would be a good crankbait rod

I have the Tec Spec 7' MH rig&jig spinning model and it is a great rod. Very sensitive for the price and been using it as my worm and fat ika rod as of late. It has plenty of backbone to handle and control fish and sure any of the casting models would be a great budget addition to your line up. I'm thinking of adding another spinning model to my lineup as well since I liked the rig & jig model so much.

I started using them late in our season after reading the RW "Guaranteed" article as well. I ordered some off ebay since Cabelas didn't carry them and its 10 min from my house. I got the Watermelon with gold/black seed and rig them backwards on a 5/0 hook and as the temps drop here they have become a go to bait. The only other trick I use with them is to add a worm rattle and it works just fine with the 5/0 EWG hook. Learning when to set the hook was the hardest part of using them for me. I mainly fish lipped cranks and need a bit more patience with the hookset on these baits.

Lately for me its been a t-rigged Fat Ika in watermelon.

I'm from the Chicago area also and with our water temps down the fish haven't been hitting cranks like they normally do as I fish from the shore as well. I fished a small pond yesterday and got the majority of my hits on a fat ika t-rigged weightless. The color was watermelon with black/gold flake. It's been working lately in the shallows and rigged on a 5/0 EWG hook with a worm rattle inserted and with the tentacles rigged up instead of down on the hook.

I have the Tec Spec 7' MH/F Rig&Jig spinning rod and its a great rod. It's perfect for weightless senkos and fat ikas and the like. Very sensitive as well for the price and sure you will enjoy your rod as well.

Check the flea market here and you should be able to find a deal and not burn a hole in your pocket.

This will be my next combo coming next spring so let me know how you feel about it after a bit more usage out of the combo. Thanks

As others have said I wouldn't go over 6# as I have had the same problem with 8# flouro on a 2000 series reel. I switched back to 6# and no problems at all with KVD added.

No I didn't get the last position I applied for but soon Seriously cabelas is 10 min from my house and haven't had a bad experience with any of their products. The staff has always been friendly and helpful and they seem to always have decent sales on rods. Warranty is good and on the occasion I have broken a couple of rods they have exchanged them without a hassle. Plus I like a deal on my equipment and if they have one going and need something thats my first online stop.

Any reel with a graphite frame will flex under a load after a period of time from what I have read. If you can try to find a reel with an aluminum frame.

Ok I understand as I have both Cabelas and BPS locally but have leaned towards Cabelas. I've read the BPS cranking sticks are pretty decent rods for crankbaits.

Try one of the micro rods in or around that price range along with the braid. Cabelas has the XMLTi casting models on sale for $120 and normally around $200 in the MH/F and H/F. They also have the Prodigy Micro Guide rods on sale for $80 in the MH/F and H/F models.

Is BPS your only shopping option? If not check out Cabelas Tournament ZS HS or the Daiwa Exceler or the Lews Speed Spool. The Tournament ZS is on sale and the Exceler can be found on ebay relatively inexpensive. You can also try ebay for the Quantum Accurist PT500/501 on ebay for around $45 or so. I have both the exceler and the accurist and the accurist is going on 4 yrs old and not one problem. Cabelas also has the Prodigy rod on sale as well and I use a 7' M/F prodigy as my spinning crankbait setup. I also have the 7' M/MF casting rod paired with the prodigy baitcast reel as one of my casting crankbait setups.

Nice catch

LOL I remember those "MiniTruckin" mags and true it does look just like one of those cover trucks.

My current crankbait setup is a cabelas prodigy 7' M/F spinning rod $60 and a quantum catalyst pti-b20 and it could serve for a couple of other techniques but its my crankbait setup. The reel is equipped with 30# braid and was nib for $60 as well. The cabelas sale is in store as well as they are clearing out some rods now.

It will work with braid as I have a Daiwa rod that was part of a cheap setup that I used for a couple of years as a crankbait rod with 30# braid. The rod is a backup rod in case my current crankbait rod breaks. Daiwa doesn't even make the rod anymore but the total combo was around $30.

Try the Cabelas Prodigy rod as well which is on sale for $60 and normally $100.

Congrats on your first crankbait fish and nice setup as well. I use braid the same way with no leader when cranking also but 30# instead of 50#. Good luck on future success as well

Trying to cast like you are using a spinning reel will cause you to backlash as well. Try more of a roll cast with more wrist than arm and that should help also.

Good to know u figured it out and got it working for you and just keep practicing.

The Lakeside Collection has them for $10.95. I can't load the pic but very similar to the one posted by "endless". http://www.lakeside.com/Toys-%2B-Sports/Sports%2B%252B%2BOutdoor/Fishing-Rod-Case/prod320425.jmp?navAction=push&fm=leftnav&categoryId=cat52224&navCount=0

Try the Field and Stream Tec Spec series from Dick's. I have the 7' MH/F tube and rigging rod which I use for plastics. It is normally $60 but there is always a $10 off coupon online for Dick's. The rod is light and sensitive as I have been fishing senkos and fat ikas with it lately and it has worked well. It has plenty of backbone and has even seen some frog use with 30# Cajun braid.

Good luck and sure you will get him by adding some braid and the reel of your choice.