New Rod Advice

[Janderson45]

So i'm looking for a new rod to fish topwaters, jerk baits, soft plastics, and possibly some light spinners and lipless cranks... I'm looking at a 6'8" MXF st croix legend elite. It seems to me as though it should be able to work all of these techniques, but what do you guys think?

The other thing I was debating is whether or not to make this a casting or spinning rod... any advice there?

[jerzeeD]

I have that size LTB. It is great for plastics and light jigs. I imagine it would work well for spinnerbaits, too. There are better choices for lipless cranks, though. All my rods are spinning, BTW.

[kschultz76]

The previous 2011 model of the St Croix Legened Tournament Bass topwater rod, 6'8" M/XF is currently on sale in the St Croix bargain room online. If you're not married to the idea of the Legend Elite its a killer deal. I recently got one and so far am enjoying working top water lures like pop r's and spooks, etc on it. The tip is probably a bit soft and light to be throwing spinnerbaits or buzzbaits with.

http://www.stcroixrods.com/shop/products/Legend_Tournament_Bass_Casting_Rod_LTBC68MXF-326-23.html

[NitroZ9]

Personally, I'm going to be fishing a different rod for baits with trebles versus single hook baits. When I'm fishing treble hook baits, I'm wanting a rod with a moderate action to help keep from tearing the trebles out when fighting a fish. It also allows the fish to get the bait in it's mouth a little bit better. With single hook baits, I'm not as concerned with the hook pulling out. I'm wanting a fast action and more power to give me a stronger hookset. With topwaters and jerkbaits, I like a shorter rod like the 6'8" you mentioned. The reason is, I'm working those baits with my rod tip held down and the shorter rod makes it easier. I use a Denali Michael Murphy signature jerkbait rod for jerkbaits and topwaters. It is a 6'8" Med. with a moderate action. It was designed with a shorter handle to make it easier to work baits with your rod tip held down towards the water. For lipless crankbaits, I prefer a 7' Denali Jadewood Med. action cranking rod that I use for all my crankbaits. I like a longer rod for crankbaits because it helps with casting distance and hooksetting. If I'm fishing texas rig plastics, jigs, etc., I use a Denali Rosewood 7' MH Worm/Jig rod. If I was going to get rods to combine techniques, the jerkbait/topwater rod should work fine for small to medium cranks also. I would definitely look at a worm/jig rod for your texas rigs, jigs, etc. Also, as far as casting versus spinning, that can come down to personal preference. Personally, I only use spinning for finesse techniques, such as shakey head and dropshot, where I'm using very light line. If I'm using heavier than 10# line, I'm going to be using a baitcaster. I want to use as heavy a line as I can get by with, and to me, a baitcaster handles heavier lines much better.

[Janderson45]

Personally, I'm going to be fishing a different rod for baits with trebles versus single hook baits. When I'm fishing treble hook baits, I'm wanting a rod with a moderate action to help keep from tearing the trebles out when fighting a fish. It also allows the fish to get the bait in it's mouth a little bit better. With single hook baits, I'm not as concerned with the hook pulling out. I'm wanting a fast action and more power to give me a stronger hookset. With topwaters and jerkbaits, I like a shorter rod like the 6'8" you mentioned. The reason is, I'm working those baits with my rod tip held down and the shorter rod makes it easier. I use a Denali Michael Murphy signature jerkbait rod for jerkbaits and topwaters. It is a 6'8" Med. with a moderate action. It was designed with a shorter handle to make it easier to work baits with your rod tip held down towards the water. For lipless crankbaits, I prefer a 7' Denali Jadewood Med. action cranking rod that I use for all my crankbaits. I like a longer rod for crankbaits because it helps with casting distance and hooksetting. If I'm fishing texas rig plastics, jigs, etc., I use a Denali Rosewood 7' MH Worm/Jig rod. If I was going to get rods to combine techniques, the jerkbait/topwater rod should work fine for small to medium cranks also. I would definitely look at a worm/jig rod for your texas rigs, jigs, etc. Also, as far as casting versus spinning, that can come down to personal preference. Personally, I only use spinning for finesse techniques, such as shakey head and dropshot, where I'm using very light line. If I'm using heavier than 10# line, I'm going to be using a baitcaster. I want to use as heavy a line as I can get by with, and to me, a baitcaster handles heavier lines much better.

This is a debate that I've come across before when it comes to topwaters and jerkbaits, some anglers feel that the moderate action is important because it helps keep the treble hooks in the fish while fighting, while other anglers argued that they'd prefer a fast or extra fast action in order to better impart the action that makes a fish strike on the bait to begin with. For instance it's easier to make a jerkbait or topwater stop quickly in the water with a faster tip than a slower tip...

Heavier plastics and jigs as well as spinners and buzz baits can all be worked well on my other rod, but i think the medium action should work well for unweighted senko's along with some light jigs..

[MichiganFishing1997]

From what i have heard, if you want the moderate action, get a MH/MF rod, around 7', if you want the extra fast action, Get a M/XF around 6'10".