Baitcast Rod for weightless wacky-rigging

[FryDog62]

Looking for ideas for a baitcasting rod for throwing weightless wacky worms.  Casting them out and maybe skipping too.  Approx $100-200.  Thanks --

[WIGuide]

Are you looking at throwing 4" or 5" on it?

[Gundog]

I just use spinning gear. No muss, no fuss. Get a cheap spinning rod and reel and it will work better, in my opinion, than a more expensive baitcaster and rod. Again, just my opinion. Only way I throw anything on baitcaster is if it has some weight to it. If not its a pain in the youknowwhat.

[Darren.]

I agree with @Gundog that spinning is the easiest; 
however, I spent considerable time using my Chronarch
50e reels and both a M and ML (6'6") Carbonlite rods for
just such a thing.

Bottom line, the Carbonlites work fantastically for what
you are asking. I can even cast a weightless 4" Zoom
Finesse worm wacky rigged on my ML setup.

[FryDog62]

 

On 11/21/2016 at 9:05 AM, WIGuide said:

Are you looking at throwing 4" or 5" on it?

Mostly 5 inchers...

[Choporoz]

Sorry - I had the MF up on my screen -- didn't realize the link was back for the selection page.  I don't think you could find a better rod for the money than that 6'6" MF Aetos - at least not for weightless Senkos. 

[FryDog62]

So here's the deal why I am asking about this set up...

I had posted awhile back that I have a sore right wrist. Thought it was tendinitis, but it turns out to be a torn ligament.  The kind they can kind of fix, but maybe not 100%.  I'm having surgery on December 5th, and starting to think about changes for next season.  

I think safe to say that It will hopefully extend my days of fishing considerably if I only use my right hand to turn the handle and not use it very much to hold the rod itself.  I use baitcasters where I hold the rod with my left hand a fair amount and crank with the right.  But tossing light weight plastics, wacky worms, drop shots have always been with my right hand holding a spinning rod and the left hand to crank.  

Those days may be over for me but I still want to finesse fish at times.  Therefore if I can find a baitcaster to do these things would be optimal.  Yes, I could use my spinning gear and switch the handle to the other side, but after experimenting I'm just so much stronger with my left hand palming a bait caster than with a spinning rod.  And for whatever reason, spinning gear also torques my left wrist left more than a bait caster (different grip/angle maybe) and I really don't want to risk any injury to my only remaining healthy wrist either - or its time to pick up another hobby (not an option I want to consider).

[Darren.]

11 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

So here's the deal why I am asking about this set up...

I had posted awhile back that I have a sore right wrist. Thought it was tendinitis, but it turns out to be a torn ligament.  The kind they can kind of fix, but maybe not 100%.  I'm having surgery on December 5th, and starting to think about changes for next season.  

I think safe to say that It will hopefully extend my days of fishing considerably if I only use my right hand to turn the handle and not use it very much to hold the rod itself.  I use baitcasters where I hold the rod with my left hand a fair amount and crank with the right.  But tossing light weight plastics, wacky worms, drop shots have always been with my right hand holding a spinning rod and the left hand to crank.  

Those days may be over for me but I still want to finesse fish at times.  Therefore if I can find a baitcaster to do these things would be optimal.  Yes, I could use my spinning gear and switch the handle to the other side, but after experimenting I'm just so much stronger with my left hand palming a bait caster than with a spinning rod.  And for whatever reason, spinning gear also torques my left wrist left more than a bait caster (different grip/angle maybe) and I really don't want to risk any injury to my only remaining healthy wrist either - or its time to pick up another hobby (not an option I want to consider).

To your last paragraph, this is one of the reasons I went
to casting -- I was having significant issues with "fisherman's
elbow" in both arms. So I set out to become proficient in the
casting side of things.

That said, I'm actually going back to spinning more, and even
sold one of my Chronarch 50e reels... I think my injury was more
from overuse. I was fishing nearly every day then, so make sense.
I still like casting, but spinning (for me) is so much easier to deal
with windy conditions, etc. And I got quite proficient with casting
in all conditions. Just got tired of the drawbacks...  

Your reason to try casting finesse is laudable and I would say
go for it! I think it will definitely help you out. I know it did me.

And good luck with your wrist. Hope the surgery does the trick
and wish you a speedy recovery!

[WIGuide]

For what you're looking to do I'd either get a St. Croix Mojo Bass 6'8" M/F or an Avid X 6'6" M/F. I usually throw a 5" senko style bait on a 6'6" M/F Xtreme and it handles it very well even skipping. 

[FryDog62]

28 minutes ago, WIGuide said:

For what you're looking to do I'd either get a St. Croix Mojo Bass 6'8" M/F or an Avid X 6'6" M/F. I usually throw a 5" senko style bait on a 6'6" M/F Xtreme and it handles it very well even skipping. 

I'm shopping for a new rod, but am also considering using one of my existing St. Croix's - its an AvidX 6'-8" MXF.  I may experiment with that but those you listed above might be very good too ~ thx!

[Poolshark]

Casting equipment is fine. I use a 71 mhf mojo casting with a lews tourney pro reel for 5" senkos, and a 7 mxf spinning rod for anything lighter. I have no problems casting with either setup. One thing I've found is using a rubber o ring and mosquito hook has made my hook up ratio almost flawless. It really doesn't matter what I'm throwing them on 

[NHBull]

7' MXF spinning rod.

 

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Go light in overall weight. Look at the Okuma Helios 7' M/F weighs just 3.3ounces and yet still balances well with a light reel. Get a light reel in the 6oz or under range(Daiwa SV105) to put on it and it will be very nice to fish with. 

[WIGuide]

16 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

I'm shopping for a new rod, but am also considering using one of my existing St. Croix's - its an AvidX 6'-8" MXF.  I may experiment with that but those you listed above might be very good too ~ thx!

That rod should work just fine as well! I'd give that a shot before putting money into a new rod...well unless the bait monkey has a tight grip on you haha. 

[IgotWood]

I fish a St. Croix Mojo topwater rod. t's 6'8", medium power, x-fast action. I mostly spin with wacky worms, but there are a few scenarios where I prefer a baitcaster, and this is the perfect rod for it. It has a nice light tip for detecting super soft bites, while keeping a somewhat moderate action throughout the rest of the rod which allows solid hook sets, while still providing enough protection for the lighter lines I normally fish with wacky's. It really is a solid rod. It doubles as a great cranking rod for me too. Don't let the "topwater" rating scare you off.

[J Francho]

It's fun and games until you lose a senko on the back cast....

[new2BC4bass]

On 11/21/2016 at 10:00 PM, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

Go light in overall weight. Look at the Okuma Helios 7' M/F weighs just 3.3ounces and yet still balances well with a light reel. Get a light reel in the 6oz or under range(Daiwa SV105) to put on it and it will be very nice to fish with. 

Picked up that rod this year.  Naturally a Helios Air had to go on it.  Another light reel I love is the Pinnacle Primmus Xi Hs.  5.7 and 5.9 oz. respectively.  I am going to try to learn skipping next year with the 6'3" M-MF Smallmouth and the Alphas SV105.  If I can get good with this combo, I'll have to give the Okumas a try.

[Swamp Rat]

I have had excellent results with a M Carbonlite and 20lb braid. I usually use spinning for weightless and wacky rigs, but have 6lb copolymer on those, so when near heavier cover use the braid on the casting rod and haven't had any problems. One thing to make things easier, think about upgrading the bearings in your casting reels with higher end bearings, like the ones from Boca Bearings...makes things a LOT easier to cast than stock bearings...usually.