Why Would You Not Want Sensitivity In A Cranking Rod?

[The Rooster]

I've read before where some people feel that sensitivity is less important in a crankbait rod, or for that matter, even a spinnerbait rod also. Why is that? I know those type baits are reaction baits, but I fish both of them in and around wood and rocks, feeling my way along the cover, in and out of all the nooks and crannies. I like being able to tell when the bait contacts cover, and also have some idea which type it was.

On a side note, right now I'm using a crankbait rod that's a little less sensitive than I'd like. It works, but I thought it would have been a little better when I bought it. It's a Cabela's Tourney Trail IM7 graphite rod, MH/MF rating. It has the right flex and fishing abilities, just slightly less sensitive that I wish. My spinnerbait rod is a previous model Shimano Compre MH/F. It has great sensitivity. Because I feel both types of baits would benefit from sensitivity, and I have it with one, I'm noticing the lack of it with the other rod. But, since this is the first rod besides an Ugly Stik Lite Pro that I've ever bought to be a cranking rod, I don't have a lot to compare it to. I actually feel that the Ugly Stik Lite Pro is either equal to it, or even just slightly better. Is there a cranking rod out there that is sensitive, or are they even designed to be? A lot of people seem to think it's not all that important, but I do.

[David P]

 Fish in general hit a reaction bait HARDER and it's more noticeable when you get a bite... Jigs, Drop Shots, Shaky Heads, Senkos, etc, many times a fish will eat it very softly and it's tougher to feel. 

 

I don't think "not wanting" sensitivity is what most people mean... I think what most people are trying to say is that sensitivity isn't AS important as that of a jig rod or drop shot rod... If I had say $500 for two rods, I'd spend $350 on a bottom contact rod and $150 on a cranking rod. I use Dobyns Champion rods for my cranking and spinnerbaits, still a VERY sensitive rod, but I use Dobyns Extremes for all my other rods...

[tomustang]

It's like you don't want it, it's just not necessary to have a very sensitive rod because of moving bait and strike.

[papajoe222]

I'm with you when it comes to sensitivity in my cranking sticks. I like to be able to feel the line draging over a limb, or be able to feel the difference in bottom composition during a retrieve.  I also swear I can sometimes feel the change in a bait's vibration just before a fish hits.  The down side to more sensitive rods is their action. Most have Mod/fast to fast actions and that makes it easier to miss fish that don't totaly inhale the bait. I use a stretchy mono on my graphite composite sticks and flouro on my glass rod for that reason. The flouro adds a little sensitivity and the mono slows down the rods ability to unload as quickly.

[SirSnookalot]

Any fish hitting a moving bait comes to get it, it's not a passive inhale like with a bottom bait.  Not too many strikes that shouldn't be felt with any kind of rod and line.

[skeletor6]

There are 2 primary reasons less sensitivity is needed. The first has been mentioned, bass usually hit the bite with greater force. What I have not seen mentioned is that when a bait is moving, it is much easier to feel changes in that movement. One is constantly cranking and applying force to that bait, if something hits that bait, there will be a change in that movement and, thus, a change in pressure on the rod, reel, line which are all easily noticeable.

 

There are instances where too much sensitivity can be annoying. I've thrown chatterbaits on my 803c NRX and all of that vibration was tiring. The recommendations that I often give and most that I have seen given on the forum is in regards to funds allocation. Spend most of your money on the rod for bottom contact, because the performance of the technique is heavily sensitivity oriented. And spend less on a moving bait rod, but more on the reel as the performance is more dependent on the reel. 

 

With that said, I do believe there has been a trend over the years of individuals switching from glass rods to hybrid or straight graphite rods. The reasons being that a graphite rods are lighter in weight and also deliver a greater degree of sensitivity. However, 

[wnybassman]

Since I put straight braid on my cranking rod a few years ago, I'd probably never go back to any other type of line for deep cranking.  I can thank the resident farmer here for that one.   I use a 7' MHM with 30 lb. Spiderwire Invsi Braid.  I know I can go a little lighter in the line, but so far the 30 has been working good for me.    Do I feel like I'm going to have a problem using braid with a treble hooked lure?   Not one bit.     Sounds like you have the rod narrowed down, use a line that will transmit the data you want back to you.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Its more about give then sensitivy..treble hooks and no give equal lost fish

[wnybassman]

Its more about give then sensitivy..treble hooks and no give equal lost fish

 

 

And I have always heard and read that, but haven't really experienced it.   I liked braid so much on the crank I switched my Pop-R and spook fishing to straight braid a couple years ago as well.   I'm probably using a soft enough rod to still allow for shock absorption.    And all this is coming from a guy that doesn't use/like braid all that much.   All my bottom bouncing stuff is strictly heavy flouro.

[J Francho]

I simply cannot stand a floppy glass rod for cranks.  Give me a moderate action graphite stick any day, and I'm happy to feel what my crank bait is doing.

[mjseverson24]

I switched recently to glass rods for my cranking, and I would not go back. I put floro on the spool for this to increase the sensitivity just a little bit, but also the 10 lb floro allows me to run the bait a little bit deeper. the nice parabolic action of the glass keeps proper tension on the fish and absorbs better the change in pressure as compared to graphite rods. I have found that the lack of sensitivity has a nice trade off with an increase in strike to land ratio. the hybrid rods like the shimano tc4 technology are a nice compromise of sensitivity and parabolic action.

 

Mitch

[Fishes in trees]

I'm in the sensitive graphite camp for cranking rods.  If I had finely honed fishing reflexes, maybe I'd appreciate a glass rod more.  Plus, glass rods are heavier, so when I am going for distance, that is more stress on my elbow, which isn't any fun.  Every fishing rod is a trade off, so different guys look for different things in crank rods.  Currently, I'm using a 7'4" BPS Extreme rod.   It was originally marketed as a Woo Davis Special - a pitching stick.  For me, it has too much flex in the middle third of the rod to be a decent pitching stick, but it works ok for me for cranking.  Mine is a 2004 or 05 model and I've looked in the BPS catalog and see that they market the same rod, but the handle looks slightly different.  That is good, IMO the original handle design (an early split grip model) sucked.  One roll of bicycle handle bar tape and  1 large rod wrap later and now it fits my hand great.  The rod tape didn't add too much weight and actually it made it balance in my hands a little better.  This rod will do until I find a better/lighter one.

[quanjig]

I may be in the minority here but I like my glass rod for deep cranking. Bigger fish and big head shakes are easier to control with a glass rod. Plus the added bonus of not pulling the bait away from fish at depth helps too! I think with graphit rods I had a tendency to overreact when I got bit!

[The Rooster]

I don't know, maybe I'm expecting to feel more vibration from the baits or something. I suppose I'm just comparing the crankbait feel to the spinnerbait feel, but being two different rods they're bound to be different. Since the spinnerbait rod is a lot more sensitive, when I set it down and pick up the crank rod and make a cast I notice the difference more than I might if I just fished the crank rod all day.

[Raul]

Y´all saying a bass strikes a crank harder should watch Bigmouth and be ready for the surprise of your lifetime, don´t ask me, watch it ! seeing is believing.

 

I do want my crank rod to be sensitive, where I fish most of the time you need your rod to be sensitive to manuever the crankbait through the Wood.

[craww]

Love a fiberglass crank rod for everything but squarebills. If you consistently are hooking into big fish on long casts with rattlebaits glass rods are just a better tool in my opinion. I can feel everything I need to including changes in bottom composistion, deflecting off cover, etc.

That said, not every glass rod or the line its throwing are the same.

[The Rooster]

How many crank rods does a person need? I have two set up right now. One is the 6'6" Tourney Trail rod with a 6.4:1 reel on it, and 12# Trilene mono. It's basically my treble bait rod in general. Not only do I use it for jerkbaits and topwaters, but I also use it for shallow and medium diving crankbaits, and lipless crankbaits since it has the faster reel. Then I have a 7' Ugly Stik Lite Pro with a 5.4:1 reel on it, and also 12# Trilene. I use this rod just for deeper diving cranks since it has the slower reel, and I like to think the longer rod equals a longer cast, so I also would have more distance to achieve the deeper depths in with that. Otherwise, it's not that much different than the first. I couldn't even tell you if it works like I think it's supposed to since the deepest diving crank I have is only a 12' diver, and I could probably just cast those on the first rod also. Really, more or less, I think these two rods could be about the same in function other than the reel ratios. I guess the question here is, does the second rod have a purpose just because of the slower ratio, or did I build two rods too close together in function?

[Capt.Bob]

I would never wish for less sensitivity, but I would never use my most sensitive rods for cranks and moving treble hook baits, as they are pretty Fast actions, to XTRA Fast actions and yes that is in my experience a prescription for loosing fish. But My MHM and MM Avid and Extreme rods are plenty forgiving and offer a good and welcome amount of sensitivity, kinda have your cake and eat it too, much nicer for me than fiberglass that just feels dead and to whippy,,,,,,I also think positively knowing what and where that crank is working and how, is a good thing.

[Dave P]

I have a glass rod to throw deep divers and a graphite stick to throw squarebills and shallower stuff. I feel the need to "feel" the shallower runners a lot more to work them through the timber, than feeling a deep diver digging the bottom. The hookup to land ratio on the glass rod (for me) is phenomenal. 

[WRB]

To me a good crankbait rod should cast extremely well, this is important. The rod tip should vibrate with the line movement of the deep diving lures, this is your indicator how the lure is working and if the lure stops vibrating to indicate a strike. The rod needs to be strong enough to get a solid hook set with treble hook lures at a long distance. The rod needs to be flexible enough to avoid tearing out treble hooks near the boat, yet strong enough to control the bass.

High modulus graphite rods do not have all these characteristics, glass blends with graphite or E glass have these features. The modern crankbait rods are designed to optimize all the features you need.

Can you use a general use med/hvy fast action high modulus rod to fish crankbaits with? Yes, just not as affective as rod designed for crankbaits.

Tom

[J Francho]

 

High modulus graphite rods do not have all these characteristics

 

I beg to differ.  In fact, side by side, my SC AVC70MHM with a similarly spec'd top line Quantum KVD cranking rod, the graphite has more of that flex, deeper in the blank, yet when loaded has all the power needed to land heavy fish, in a much lighter, and more comfortable package.  I've caught plenty of bass, and trout closing in on 20 lbs. using treble hooked baits.  This simply leads me to believe the common recommendation to use glass over graphite for crankbaits boils down simply to preference.  I see no performance advantage of either in practice.

[Deleted account]

Yeah, I don't hink its a matter of wanting less sensitivity, as opposed to wanting a slower action, which usually lends to less sensitivity. And I think the glass vs graphite thing is overdone. I have both, and both work, and there are good and bad from either camp. I've found that some of the major mfgs "cheaper" graphite rods, make good cranking sticks. I don't consider squarebills "cranking" per se, I use a shorter faster rod with them.

[Siebert Outdoors]

I simply cannot stand a floppy glass rod for cranks.  Give me a moderate action graphite stick any day, and I'm happy to feel what my crank bait is doing.

 

This!

[Capt.Bob]

I think what J Fancho is saying is 100% on, the problem is far to many have never used a quality Moderate Graphite Blank, and are comparing fast graphite to way sssslllloooooowwwww and heavy glass. I have that same rod J is referring to in a MM power and action, and the Extreme in the MHM power and action, both are very forgiving and in my opinion better so than glass, with more precise actions, and much much lighter, but still have more POWER than equal rated glass rods, and way more sensitive.  Most compare Glass to Fast actions in graphite, and they are no where near the forgiving rods the St. Croix Moderate action blanks are for treble rigs, I will never own another glass rod, for working any lures. But do prefer them for big water trolling and down rigger use! Everything else, make it a quality graphite action for the purpose I am using it for.