Lure Ratings On A Rod

[pbizzle]

How accurate do you feel that these really are? I was at Academy today looking for my first quality contact bait rod when I stumbled across the All Star Micro Jig/Worm rod. In my hand it felt really good and I wanted to get it for jigs and worms, but when I looked at the rod specs it's rated for 1/2-1 ounce lures. I'm a guy that likes fishing 1/4 jigs in 10ft of water, and I need a rod that's able to pitch these where I need it but also throw a 7in worm with a 3/16oz bullet weight across the lake. I know that rod ratings aren't exactly accurate, but I don't know if this rod would be able to load up. I have a 6'6 medium that I throw anything with an eighth ounce weight on, but will this rod handle anything around a quarter?

[Brian Needham]

it varies from each manufacture, but generally pretty close.

 

I know on my dobyns they are true to form and the sweet spot is the middle.

some manufactures fish light, some heavy, I have no experience with all star though.  

[The Rooster]

Also, the jig rating is just referencing the lead head weight. Actual total weight of skirted/lead head lures as I've observed on a scale is always higher. For jigs, it is an average of 1/8 added when the skirt and hook are accounted for, so a 1/4 jig will be about 3/8. Add a plastic trailer and you'll have a 1/2 oz. when finished. Since I mentioned skirted lures, I'll go ahead and mention spinnerbait weights also. I've found most to be nearly double their ratings, so a 1/4 oz. spinnerbait weighs about 1/2 oz., a 3/8 oz. bait weighs 3/4 oz., and so on. Much more increase than with jigs. This must be due to added blade weights. Buzzbaits are the same way.

On rod ratings, I've noticed some that will throw upwards and downwards of their rated weights. It depends on their overall stiffness. But I do have one that is rated at 3/8 to 1 oz that means just that. It's a MH/F rod, and it fails miserably at throwing a true 1/4 oz. lure, but is wonderful with 3/8 and up. I haven't tried anything over an ounce yet. Don't want to break a tip just to see if it will do it.

[bigbill]

I try to stay within the specs of the rods ratings. I'm not sure if we can feel the lighter stuff on the heavier spec rod.

The lures once came with the line test recommendation for the best lure action. I don't see that anymore on the lure boxes.

[Loop_Dad]

Sometimes I spy questionable lure weight ratings, just by looking at catalogs. If I were to buy a rod from a company that I don't have experience with before, I will stick within the suggested range, or even try to stay in middle of the range to be on the safe side.

[SirSnookalot]

I don't pay too much attention to rod parameters, I constantly overload and so does everyone else here, I have rods 10 years old that are like new.  I even go low sometimes depending where I'm fishing.  I do have rods that will not load up well with too little weight even though they are rated the same as some of my other rods, those rods are just used for something else.  I do think spinning allows me greater latitude, I throw anywhere from 1/4 oz to a little more than an ounce on some of my medium rods, I'm only interested in getting my lure into the zone.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

The sweet spot usually lies in the middle of the labeled range but it's all subjective. On the low end is where you'll notice the most difficulty casting as the rod won't load correctly. Distance and accuracy will both suffer. On the to end over loading gives the rod s sluggish feel that can affect accuracy. A snap cast with a greatly overloaded rod can break tips but it takes more than you might think.

[JayKumar]

Those specs are just a recommendation, not a limit.  Plus I always advocate fishing with the stiffest rod you can. Hookset and a short fight are paramount imo.

[smalljaw67]

The specs on lure weight are just a guide line and not specific, I can tell you with some manufactures you have more lee way while others are spot on. Falcon rod specs are generally right on the money, I was trying the Bukoo out, great rod by the way, and it was the medium cranker, 1/4oz to 1/2oz and those specs were very dialed in, any crank in the 1/4oz range would load the rod and it was no problem tried a 1/8oz Lucky-E-Strike RC series 1 and I found I could cast it but it was the reel, on the retrieve I had very little feel. On the high end, well it was spot on, a 5/8oz bait was about as heavy as I'd go and that even felt like I was pushing it. On the other hand my MH Fenwick is rated for 3/8oz to 1 oz. and I can throw a 1/4oz bait on pretty good, and 1 oz isn't a problem but 1 1/4oz is the heaviest I would go as you can feel how the rod is reacting. If you are using 1/4oz jigs in 10' of water, the rod you are looking at may be too much, look for a lighter action.