Senko Rod

[zachb34]

Why am I seeing xf tips for senko rods I use my falcon Bucoo with a softer fast tip and really feels better casting so what's the reason?

[K_Mac]

Extra Fast rods have a tendency to have a little softer tips than Fast rods in my experience. My Pro Qualifier is a 7' M-XF, and it is perfect for unweighted or slightly weighted Senko/knock-off's. It does not take much loading to get into the backbone of the rod and it loads quickly when casting or pitching.

[fishking247]

the bucoo does not have a faster tip then an XF rod. the bucoo has a moderate taper. my friend has one of the spinning bucoo's and the rod nearly flexes into the handle. not something you want when you're fishing soft plastics in my opinion. i personally do not like extra fast rods, i prefer fast action. most of the rods today designed for wacky senko fishing have a soft extra fast tip with plenty of backbone in the middle to lower section of the rod.

[Jay Ell Gee]

As K_Mac said, the XF taper can really rocket a weightless soft plastic or other small lures. A senko hardly counts as "light" when used weightless, however. I have a medium/fast abu garcia rod with my citica that can sling an unweighted senko almost as far. For many other small lures, however, the XF tip really comes into its own. For example, I do a good bit of wading for spotted bass. They don't grow to the sizes of largemouth bass, so I find myself downsizing my lures. This rod helps get those light H&H spinnerbaits a looooooooooong way across the creek!

Granted, for pretty much all of my senko work, I use my MBS68MXF St Croix Mojo Bass. At 6'8, it's easy to handle and very accurate, but also allows me to pitch if the conditions warrant. It has a pretty serious taper, but is rediculously sensitive because of it. The XF taper not only allows me to throw light lures like I could only dream of with my baitcasters, but it allows me to really rip the hook out of a soft plastic when it comes time to cross eyes. The XF tip also helps when you need to simply twitch your rod tip to pop a plastic through some poopy cover.

All in all, I couldn't imagine wanting less than a MH rod with an XF tip for fishing soft plastics, but since St. Croix tends to make their rods a little stiffer than they rate them, this rod performs very well. Just my .02, however. That Bucoo is a sweet rod. If it fishes according to your style, use it every second you get. Most importantly, enjoy it!

[TNBassin']

How big of a difference is there between a fast tip and a moderate fast tip?? I bought a 6'6 medium vendetta rod with a fast tip, but I'm thinking about going back and getting the 7 footer but it has a moderate fast tip, and I'm not sure what the difference would be. It's gonna be my worm rod and not much more, but I'm wondering if I'm better off with the fast tipped 6 6??

[fishking247]

How big of a difference is there between a fast tip and a moderate fast tip?? I bought a 6'6 medium vendetta rod with a fast tip, but I'm thinking about going back and getting the 7 footer but it has a moderate fast tip, and I'm not sure what the difference would be. It's gonna be my worm rod and not much more, but I'm wondering if I'm better off with the fast tipped 6 6??

it depends on the rod. a fast action st croix is different from a fast action vendetta. i recommend a fast action for fishing plastics. a moderate fast tip flexes further down the rod.

your 6'6" vendetta that you bought should be fine. good luck!

[K_Mac]

TNBassin if the 7' rod is a Med power then you probably be better with a F or XF action rod for fishing weighted plastics IMO. The way I think of "speed" related to action is simple, but it works for me: The faster the action the faster you reach the backbone of the rod on a hook-set. On a lighter power rod this is important. On a heavier power rod with a much stiffer tip (a flipping stick for example) a MF action will give you a little more forgiveness keeping a fish buttoned , esp when working in close. These are just generalizations since I have not handled a Vendetta.

[11justin22]

TNBassin if the 7' rod is a Med power then you probably be better with a F or XF action rod for fishing weighted plastics IMO. The way I think of "speed" related to action is simple, but it works for me: The faster the action the faster you reach the backbone of the rod on a hook-set. On a lighter power rod this is important. On a heavier power rod with a much stiffer tip (a flipping stick for example) a MF action will give you a little more forgiveness keeping a fish buttoned , esp when working in close. These are just generalizations since I have not handled a Vendetta.

Not so sure I totally agree with this. The speed has to do with where the rod bends, meaning xf will bend all the way towards the tip, f will be back a little, mf a little further etc... But what that means is a rod that only bends in the tip will recover from a bend (as in moving your lure) faster than one that bends towards the middle because there is less rod blank to physically move back.

[iceintheveins]

Go with any good quality MH 7' spinning rod for smaller senkos, and a MH 7' casting rod for bigger senkos. The St. Croix Premier and Mojo series is a good one, as well as the Quantum Accurist. Can't go wrong with the BPS bionic blade or extreme series rods, either.

[roadwarrior]

Well, probably not the right pricing point for you, but as a general response for those that are interested:

Spinning tackle: St. Croix LES70MF/ Stella 2500 FE/ Yo-Zuri Hybrid #6

Baitcasting: BCR893/ Curado 50E/ Hybrid #12

[TNBassin']

I guess I will stick with the 6'6 fast. Thanks for clearing this up for me guys.

[S Hovanec]

This chart should illustrate how the various actions compare. Remember, one company's F can be another company's XF.

http://www.shfishins...sed-3-11-11.pdf