Pitchin' & Flippin Rods

[Justbass11]

Question about a Flippin/Pitchin Rods. I have seen that these rods come in Med Hvy and Heavy and from 7'6 to 7'11. I understand the length part of it but why are they Med Hvy and Heavy? Does it make that much of a difference between the two? I been leaning towards a 7'6 rod just in case I want to use it for other than Flippin or Pitchin. Thanks for your input

Justbass11

[WdyCrankbait]

There is another thread along the same question about a page down. 

I would personally go with a shorter rod, getting in close to over hanging branches could cause problems. 

[SoFloBassFiend]

The thicker the stuff your fishing the longer your rod should be to add leverage To help get them out. 

[primetime]

One brands Medium heavy is another brands Medium, and another brands Heavy....

Med Heavy usually is for lure weight of 3/8-1.5 or 1/4-1 oz....Heavy is usually 3/8 up to 2 oz or more...

I would say that a Medium Heavy is the rod you will end up using the most and it can double as a frog rod and a good quality worm/jig Med. heavy rod at any length will usually handle most of your fishing except punching with weights over an ounce, and or fishing in crazy weeds and cover like we get in Florida at times since you need the horsepower to get the fish turned fast...

A heavy action rod is often too heavy for feeling the lighter baits, and will not cast them as far....Also look at the line ratings...If you fish with punch weights over an ounce, you need a heavy action rod simply so you don't break your Med Heavy pulling in tons of weeds, and all the pressure the rod has to deal with on every hook set and fish...I try to find a good quality rod that is light, since using a heavy action rod with a standard 7-8 ounce reel can get you tired very quickly, and unless you are throwing the Spro Jungle Frog, or huge walking bait, you won't get the action you want on the lures...However, to get a good hookset with a big frog, or huge topwater, you need a heavy action rod to drive them home, but I use a medium heavy as much as possible and I rarely need to go over 1 ounce when Punching, I will use a 1.5 oz if punching through a floating Island of Plants, but usually most of the day I do fine with a good quality Med Heavy if that makes sense....You can find heavy rods that are light now a days for under $100 easy, I would look for older models, closeouts, or in the flea market...I trust buying stuff from this site since most people take care of their stuff and would not put up junk.....Glenn has a video on how to choose rods, and Aaron Martin has a great video on when and why to use what rod...You tube is great for these questions and getting different opinions, just remember they are trying to sell you extra stuff in each video...

[thirtysixit]

Few people actually "Need" a rod over 7ft for anything.  I'd look at what fits YOU.  Taller guys tend to like longer rods. I'm an average Joe and my flippin rod is a Falcon Cara Head Truner 6'11' heavy with fast action.  Its perfect for me and its bullet proof.  I flipped with a 6'6'' MH Falcon Original for years before I got the Cara.  Its still one of my favorites for lighter jigs too. Just sayin, unless you are fishing something over 3/4oz or punching extremely thick vegetation I'd go with an all around rod so I could still throw spinners and worms on it.

[.ghoti.]

On 2/17/2016 at 8:42 AM, SoFloBassFiend said:

The thicker the stuff your fishing the longer your rod should be to add leverage To help get them out. 

This is completely backwards, but I've seen it posted a lot. A longer rod does NOT give you more leverage. It gives the fish more leverage against you.

[Dan_the_fisher]

I prefer a loomis imx 7' heavy for my pitching, a shorter rod makes my pitching a lot more accurate, doesn't matter how much power you can put on a fish if you can't put the bait right in front of them.

[capjohnson.mike]

I prefer a 7'11 heavy to extra heavy rod for flipping and pitching. Medium heavy if sparse vegetation. In South Florida we have some heavy cover and I have better control and with a long, heavy action rod and high speed reel. I can horse them out of the cover no problem. We all have preferences. I've hauled 8 to 10 pounders no problem with 711 rod. I don't feel the fish have an advantage on me. And I use an Okuma TCS rod for my flipping great value for price.  But whatever gives you confidence. Confidence catches fish. That's proven