6'6" rod for cranking??

[CTBassin860]

I know its all preference,but does anyone prefer a shorter rod for cranks?

[Hulkster]

I like a 7 foot one piece rod for pretty much everything now. not too short, not too long.

[A-Jay]

When I'm target casting a 1.5 or 2.5 Squarebill to shallow shoreline cover, I'll use a 6'6" MH Graphite stick.

And usually it's with 15, 17 or even 20 lb Mono.

Squarebills in the 3.5 size & larger, calls for a little more Fire Power; At least the rod anyway.

A-Jay

[roadwarrior]

No.

Longer rods give you better distance which generally maximizes the performance of crankbaits both in achieving desired depth and covering water.

 

 

 

[RoLo]

The cushion & forgiveness needed for treble hooks is better provided by your line material,

blank material or rod-tip action, rather than the length of the rod.

 

On the other hand, ‘length’ directly influences a wide set of rod properties:

> Cast Distance    a longer rod means longer casts (very important with cranks)

> Haul Stroke       a longer rod is preferred for quickly hauling bass out of heavy cover

> Power               all things equal, shorter means more power, though commonly confused

> Sensitivity         all things equal, the shorter rod is more sensitive

> Accuracy           all things equal, the shorter rod is more accurate

> Storage             shorter rods facilitate storage at home and in the boat

 

Roger

 

 

 

 

[A-Jay]

2 minutes ago, RoLo said:

The cushion and forgiveness needed for treble hooks is better provided by the line material,

blank material or rod-tip action, rather than the length of the rod.

 

On the other hand, Rod Length influences a whole other set of other variables:

> Cast Distance  (longer means longer casts)

> Haul Stroke     (a longer rod is preferable for hauling bass out of heavy cover)

> Power             (shorter means more power)

> Sensitivity       (all things equal, the shorter rod is more sensitive)

> Accuracy         (all things equal, the shorter rod is more accurate)

> Storage           (shorter rods facilitate storage at home and in the boat)

 

Roger

 

 

 

 

 

So now who says size doesn't matter ?

A-Jay

 

[crypt]

18 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

When I'm target casting a 1.5 or 2.5 Squarebill to shallow shoreline cover, I'll use a 6'6" MH Graphite stick.

And usually it's with 15, 17 or even 20 lb Mono.

Squarebills in the 3.5 size & larger, calls for a little more Fire Power; At least the rod anyway.

A-Jay

this......

[new2BC4bass]

I prefer longer, but am loving my 6'6" ML Aetos.

[MassYak85]

I don't use anything shorter than 7' currently. A 6'6" might be nice for target casting with squarebills though. 

[Fishin' Fool]

31 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

No.

Longer rods give you better distance which generally maximizes the performance of crankbaits both in achieving desired depth and covering water.

 

 

 

 

Agreed. However it depends if his cranking is for beating the banks a shorter rod would suffice. When I'm on St Clair and I have no targets in a 360 direction the longer the rod the better. In fact I'm using a 7'7".

[WRB]

I made a custom 7' 3" from a Fenwick popping rod blank, a  trigger stick type cranking rod back in '71 when bass rods 5'6" to 6' long. Reason was longer casts for deep diving crankbaits and better control of the bass around the boat. Paul Elias didn't event kneeling and reeling, he made it famous, longer rods get deep divers deeper.

6' to 6'6" crank bait rods will give you better casting control for close in targets.

Moderate action rods bend more than 1/2 the rod blank before the bottom half starts to bend, this is your shock absorber when bass are close to you and turn sharply to help prevent hooks tearing or line breaking. 

Tom

[CTBassin860]

Also casting from the bank

[ww2farmer]

A short cranking rod has uses.

 

For those who don't think so................try roll casting a 1.5 size squarebill up under docks, or under over hanging tree's, or under a pontoon boat between the outboard and pontoon with your 7'11" cranking rods and get back to me on how well that works out for you.............probably about as well as using a 6'6" rod for making long casts with a 10xd sized deep crank.

 

Tools of the trade..............time and place.

[Jeff H]

My "norms" are 7' but I also employ a 6'6" just as A-Jay does.

[CTBassin860]

I was looking at the 6'6" medium Berkley lightning.Had it in my hand and almost went to the register.Then I picked up a 7' ugly stik elite which was quite heavy.I wouldn't want to hurl that thing around for 10 minutes,nevermind all day.I decided to wait 10 days for my bonus points to credit to my BPS rewards so I can knock an extra 15 bucks off a Falcon instead.

[Frenchman83]

I fish out of a kayak on the river mostly so a 6'6" M gets all the work for my squarebills up to DT 10s.

[Angry John]

I love my avid 66mf for target casting Square Bills near cover and on river systems when i need to be very accurate.  In all other times i am using a dobyns 764 rm cranking rod.  The distance i get with the zillion hlc and that rod is wonderful for getting to depth and long casts keep the bait in the water longer.  JMO

[smalljaw67]

I have a 6'6" ML that I use for small shallow cranks. It allows me to make target casts with pin point precision, but it depends on what you are using that length for.