Light power rod for bass fishing?

[RedHeadAngler]

Does a 5'6 to 6' foot light power spinning rod have a place in bass fishing? If so what would it be good for?

[Turkey sandwich]

I keep a short light or ultra-light rod rigged with a grub anytime I'm fishing a river for Smallmouth.  It's great for throwing those grubs super accurately as a follow up bait for missed fish, or aggressive smallies that'll chase a hooked fish to the boat competing for food.  Also, it's a ton of fun playing smallies on a light/ultra-light spooled with 6lb test. 

[buzzed bait]

roostertails, small exposed hook jig heads or maybe even a dropshot rod.

[0119]

Small original rapala's are killer at times they will not hit anything else. A real day saver that is perfect on that set up.

[Paul Roberts]

OK... I wrote this for another thread about light weight outfits... but it turned out that thread was actually about the weight (in oz.) of rigs, rather than about "light tackle" bass rigs. I'll post it here realizing it's overkill...

Power has to do with the lure sizes you need to throw, and the size hooks they have. Length has to do with reach and casting accuracy to some extent as shorter rods simply put the cast trajectory closer to your line of sight.

Here's a quick run down of my light end of things:

-UL spinning rig with "4lb" (.008) line for 1/32-1/8oz baits with small #4 to #12 hooks. Small ponds, stream smallmouth, and on larger waters when big hatches of prey-fish fry cause bass to become myopic. Otherwise I prefer more a powerful rig. These UL rods are 5-1/2ft to 6ft. A 5-1/2fter is standard on small streams for me where streamside cover and casting accuracy can be paramount.

-L/ML spinning with "6lb" (.009) lines for 3/32-1/4oz baits for small baits in early spring, and during winter. These rods are 5-1/2 to 6-1/2ft. I also use a 9-1/2ft rig with "6lb" for Float-n-Fly rigging in winter.

-M 6 to 6-1/2ft spinning with "8lb" (.010) lines. A standard rig for early spring when water has high clarity and is mostly cover free. Using small jigs, grubs, small to med hardbaits, jerks, in-line spinners, blade-baits, ... . It’s also my standard “finesse” rig for summer fishing as well, always in the boat for bright high visibility conditions. I also keep an extra spool of  “10lb” (.011) line bc where I fish I can run into carpets of Chara, a macro-algae that’s like steel wool. Let a bass bury into it and they don’t want to come out.

I'm listing only spinning rigs because my lightest casting rigs have a minimum of 12lb lines on them which is getting out of the "light" side of bass fishing. 

Hope this helps.

[Raul]

3 hours ago, RedHeadAngler said:

Does a 5'6 to 6' foot light power spinning rod have a place in bass fishing? If so what would it be good for?

Of course it has a place in bass fishing and even UL has a place, the catch is knowing WHEN it has a place.

[John G]

4 hours ago, RedHeadAngler said:

Does a 5'6 to 6' foot light power spinning rod have a place in bass fishing? If so what would it be good for?

Yes it does. Do you have one mind? If not, look on eBay for a used G-Loomis CR721IMX. That rod, combined with a baitcaster with a shallow spool makes for an extremely fun combo.

[Raul]

11 minutes ago, John G said:

Yes it does. Do you have one mind? If not, look on eBay for a used G-Loomis CR721IMX. That rod, combined with a baitcaster with a shallow spool makes for an extremely fun combo.

CR721IMX + Daiwa Liberto Pixy + Berkley Trilene XT 6 lbs = ton o´fun !!