Top Casting Rod For Plastics And Rat-L-Traps Under $100

[Big Fish Small Pond]

What would be some top choices for a casting rod to throw plastics and Rat-L-Traps under $100?

[bighed]

That's really two different rods to me.  I will say that the Duckett Ghost seems to be nice and light in that price range althought I don't own any.  Good luck

[F14A-B]

I use to throw both those baits, & more on a heavy lews rod, years ago. You can do it. I never had a problem. I really don't know what rod to recommend. ***, used, or powell diesel series are decent sticks, with a mh you could make it work..

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

How heavy of baits and what type of cover?  I'd be looking for a modestly priced M or MH / Mod. Fast rod for the traps and a higher end second hand M or MH / F for the plastics. If you have to have one rod, a MH/F is pretty versatile.  

[Raul]

Shimano Compres are really nice sub $100 rods, and Clarus are also really nice sub $80 rods.

[Ozark_Basser]

St. Croix Mojo 7' M would do both well.  However it is $110

[Catt]

Goto your local academy & look at Castaway, All Star, & H2O 

[CWB]

Veritas 2.0

As stated above, should be 2 separate rods or might get by with one based on lure weight. Med. action.

[adam32]

Falcon bucoo 7ft medium/heavy moderate/fast trap caster. Works great with rattle baits and would be fine for plastics even though it's moderate/fast. One of my favorite rods.

[OntarioFishingGuy]

I would go for a 7' M/fast, assuming you are fishing in light to no cover. Get a Fenwick that fits your price range, they are great rods.

[smalljaw67]

To me they are 2 different rods, but for 1 rod go with a 7' medium heavy power with a fast action.

[Big Fish Small Pond]

Thanks for the responses guys.

From what I can tell a couple of your responses seem to point towards these being two different rods.

Would someone like to elaborate on why I should use seperate rods for crankbaits and plastics?

[smalljaw67]

Thanks for the responses guys.

From what I can tell a couple of your responses seem to point towards these being two different rods.

Would someone like to elaborate on why I should use seperate rods for crankbaits and plastics?

 

You see a lot of technique specific rods these days but when you really think about it there are two categories rods fall in, and that is jig and worm with the other being crankbaits. The reason you use separate rods for cranks and plastics is because both require quite different actions, in fact they are exact opposites. For plastics you want a rod with a fast or extra fast action that can drive a large diameter single hook the mouth of the fish, so you have a small tip section that transitions quickly into backbone for power. With crankbaits you need a rod with a softer action that will give when a fish runs because treble hooks don't always penetrate, they often are caught in just the skin inside the mouth and if your rod is too still like a jig and worm rod, it will actually pull the small treble hooks out when the fish is skin hooked. Think of it like this, take a crankbait and hook it to a stump and then grab your line and pull, what is going to happen is either you break the line, or you pull the bait free. Now hook the same crankbait to a green, thin willow branch and then just like before, grab the line and pull, what you'll find is that you will be pulling and you aren't going to get free the crankbait or break your line because you pull and the willow branch is going to give and that is why you use a softer action rod for crankbaits, in order to fight the fish and when he surges, he'll just bend the rod as there will be constant pressure to hold the fish yet plenty of give to keep him from pulling out the hooks. There are times when you'll use a stiffer rod for cranks, like ripping lipless baits through grass, a soft rod won't let you do that too well and rod manufacturers have responded by making medium heavy, moderate fast rods, they will allow you to rip a bait free from weeds but still will flex deeper than a fast action rod when a fish is hooked but those rods are still to soft for fishing worms.  

[fishballer06]

The BPS Extreme rods are nice and retail for $100, and sometimes go on sale for $70-80.

I also recommend the Fenwick HMG rods.