What Gear Ratio For Crankbait Rod?

[Max Teas]

Hey guys, So I'm about to pick up a Daiwa Tatula CT Type R For Squarebills, 6-10 Foot Medium Divers, and Lipless Crankbaits. I'm debating whether to get a 5.5:1 or a 6.3:1. Im also planning on purchasing a 7' Medium Duckett Micro Magic Pro Crankait Rod. Any other rod reccomendations? Any input is aprecciated thanks!

[bowhunter63]

I know you cant get them anymore but the 381 crankin reel was a good one.I wish Quantum would bring them back.

[NHBull]

I am in the same boat....since I want to limit my rigs to 4, I am going with the 6.3. The 5.5 is a bit limiting.......for me I just want one CB rod

[thebillsman]

Consider the Inches Per Turn, not necessarily the ratio.

[fishnkamp]

Personally I would go 6.3-1 in order to have a versatile combo. The reason to go with a 5 to 1 or 5.5 to 1 is for deep cranking with dd22s and the like. Here the stress  on your hands can come into play.  If you are setting that rod up with a 6.3 to 1 it will work for square bills, mid depth cranks and even traps.

[Robert Riley]

I'd say the 6:1 like the rest. I like a 6:1 for squarebills and lipless cranks.

[Mike L]

9 hours ago, fishnkamp said:

Personally I would go 6.3-1 in order to have a versatile combo. The reason to go with a 5 to 1 or 5.5 to 1 is for deep cranking with dd22s and the like. Here the stress  on your hands can come into play.  If you are setting that rod up with a 6.3 to 1 it will work for square bills, mid depth cranks and even traps.

Ditto 

 

Mike 

[burrows]

631 I fish mainly mid divers and squarebills so I see no reason to go 541 or less.

[jsh32]

I just bought an Abu Orra Winch in 5.4:1 but my deepest diving cranks are the 5XDs that go to around 15ft and I mostly use squarebills. Do you all think I bought a reel that is too slow for what I tend to do the most? I read reviews for this reel and everyone said it was the best cranking reel for the money, now I'm thinking I should have just stuck with my good old Daiwa Tatula CT in a 6.3:1

 

[Fishes in trees]

Back in the day when Shimano made a 3.8-1 reel in their Curado series, I got a few on them on sale - cheap.  Used them a couple of times.

IMO 3.8-1 is just too slow.   I paid to have the gears switched out to 5-1 and now I have a set of back up reels.   I use a 5-1 reel for throwing cranks, lipless cranks and spinner baits.  I have a few Calcutta TEGT reels and a couple of the old Curado D reels that I use.   Some reels have 17, some have 14 and some have 10 lb test line.

Are you going with a "versatile"combo to save money or to save space in your boat?  If it is just to save money - heck with that, sooner or later you can always make more money.  Get the best rig that you can afford that suits the kind of baits that you throw the most.  Later, when you get some more stray money, do that again.  Over time you'll build up an arsenal.  If you are going multi-purpose to save space in the boat - well, then, those kind of compromises are what we all have to. make from time to time.

For the record, I've seen & handled that rod in the tackle store I commonly frequent, and IMO it will work good enough for what you want.  A little "tippy" for my tastes in throwing square bills.   However, for distance casting of lipless cranks, a little tippy is a good thing.  My lipless crank rod is a little more tippy than my square bill rig.

[Raul]

Squarebills don't need low gear ratio reels, lipless cranks don't mind being reeled in at warp speed, it's deep divers where lower gear ratio reels are more useful, so if it were my money I would get me 5ish for crankin, it's easier to reel in faster than it is reeling slower..... still, I fish them deep and extra deep divers with my CU200B38.

[detroit1]

The slower one. Much easier to speed up your retrieve than to slow It down. No, wait, get the fast one, you can always move the bait with the rod once you get it down there, then quickly grab the slack...

[A-Jay]

    5.3:1 KVD Cranker for mid & Deep diving baits

  5.7:1 200D for Squarebills

  6.6:1 for Lipless / Rattlebaits.

A-Jay

 

 

 

[junyer357]

6:1 for regular cranking. 5:1 for deep cranks. 

One more thing to consider is if you plan to fish at all in freezing temps micro eyes will freeze up on you big time. You will be dunking rod in water to thaw eyes out every few casts. Happened to me in feb a few years back and have not used a micro eye rod since, nor will i ever again. 

[iceintheveins]

I like a 5 ratio for most all crank applications. Throwing shallow runners and squarebills on a 6 ratio works well too though, but anything running over 6' or so needs a slow reel IMO. I can always speed up on a slow reel, it's hard to slow down enough sometimes with a faster one.

[Attila]

On 12/8/2016 at 5:06 PM, Max Teas said:

Hey guys, So I'm about to pick up a Daiwa Tatula CT Type R For Squarebills, 6-10 Foot Medium Divers, and Lipless Crankbaits. I'm debating whether to get a 5.5:1 or a 6.3:1. Im also planning on purchasing a 7' Medium Duckett Micro Magic Pro Crankait Rod. Any other rod reccomendations? Any input is aprecciated thanks!

I was in the same position you were in and I went with the 6.3:1 for both squarebills and medium divers.  I was debating getting the 5.5:1 but I just don't fish water that is deep enough for me to require the lower gear ratio reel.  The deepest lures that I'll be throwing might hit 20ft but that's at the deeper end of their running spectrum. I asked myself...do I really need to worry about 3" of line on every turn of the handle during the retrieve? The answer was no.

When it comes to rods, I bit the bullet and bought 2 different ones; an original green Team Daiwa S 6'6" M action glass rod for any baits at and under 3/8oz and a Daiwa Tatula 7'2" MHR for any baits 1/2 oz or more in weight.  I'm looking forward to using them both this year with a CT Type R in a 6.3:1 on each of them.

I'm looking forward to seeing and more importantly feeling the difference between glass and graphite next year.

Cheers, and happy hunting!

[wdp]

I'm big fan of 6.1-6.4 ratio reels for shallow cranking. Plenty fast enough for burning a Baby 1- or square bill, or easy to slow it down for say a wake bait if need be. 

[WRB]

On December 8, 2016 at 2:06 PM, Max Teas said:

Hey guys, So I'm about to pick up a Daiwa Tatula CT Type R For Squarebills, 6-10 Foot Medium Divers, and Lipless Crankbaits. I'm debating whether to get a 5.5:1 or a 6.3:1. Im also planning on purchasing a 7' Medium Duckett Micro Magic Pro Crankait Rod. Any other rod reccomendations? Any input is aprecciated thanks!

I wouldn't go less than 6.3:1 with a 100 size Tatula for the lures you referenced. None of those lures are high resistance divers and the LPT is reduced greatly when you cast 30 yards with a 100 size reel.

Take a look at Dobyns  DC704CB Glass rod for this application.

Tom

[David P]

I use a Dobyns 735CB for squarebills and medium depth stuff, I have ways used the absolute fastest reels available. Right now I have 8:1 on that rod. 

  I personally prefer to just reel slower if needed, and have the great slack line pick up ability when a fish hits hard and swims right at the boat. 

[WIGuide]

I use 7.1:1 for all my cranking currently. I find it easier to slow down than speed up. I don't fish all that much in the 15+ range due to a lot of shallower lakes around my neck of the woods, but the times I have, I haven't had an issue with the faster gear ratio reels. If you find it hard to reel slower for any retrieve, then a slower reel will be necessary for you though. 

[WRB]

9 hours ago, David P said:

I use a Dobyns 735CB for squarebills and medium depth stuff, I have ways used the absolute fastest reels available. Right now I have 8:1 on that rod. 

  I personally prefer to just reel slower if needed, and have the great slack line pick up ability when a fish hits hard and swims right at the boat. 

735CB looks good!

[David P]

2 hours ago, WRB said:

735CB looks good!

Just when I thought they couldn't put out a better, more versatile rod, BAM!

  if you don't have one, I personally think it's a must! Started out as a chatterbait specific rod, but it's an incredible squarebill, spinner bait, buzzbait, and even trap rod. They really hit a home run with the 735 and 736 chatterbait rods. 

[Columbia Craw]

2 hours ago, David P said:

Just when I thought they couldn't put out a better, more versatile rod, BAM!

  if you don't have one, I personally think it's a must! Started out as a chatterbait specific rod, but it's an incredible squarebill, spinner bait, buzzbait, and even trap rod. They really hit a home run with the 735 and 736 chatterbait rods. 

5.1 to 1 for anything 10 feet and deeper and 6.4 to 1 for everything else.  There's some truth to the 735 CB Glass.  I just happened to go with the 736 however. The Champion XP705CB or Fury 705CB's are both awesome rods. 

[David P]

8 hours ago, Columbia Craw said:

5.1 to 1 for anything 10 feet and deeper and 6.4 to 1 for everything else.  There's some truth to the 735 CB Glass.  I just happened to go with the 736 however. The Champion XP705CB or Fury 705CB's are both awesome rods. 

736 is great too, not a huge difference, both incredibly versatile.