Rod Lure weight ratings

[HigginsFishingMO]

I'm thinking of purchasing a 7ft Med Mod-Fast action crankbait rod rated at 1/4oz to 5/8oz. Will it be able to handle lures such as 1/2oz red eye shads, 3xd-5xds, and 1.5 squarebills? I want to only have one cranking rod that can do it all. 5xds weigh 5/8oz and that will be the biggest crank that I use. 

[rippin-lips]

You should be just fine. It'll fish the 1.5's and the 1/2oz great. 

[HigginsFishingMO]

5 minutes ago, rippin-lips said:

You should be just fine. It'll fish the 1.5's and the 1/2oz great. 

Thanks a lot for your response, I'm one of those people that does way too much research and needs to be reassured before making a new purchase lol. 

[rippin-lips]

1 minute ago, HigginsFishingMO said:

Thanks a lot for your response, I'm one of those people that does way too much research and needs to be reassured before making a new purchase lol. 

Rod ratings are just guidelines to go by. Sometimes they're spot on and sometimes you can go heavier than rated. Sometimes it's max rating is a bit over zealous too. Tie on a 5/8oz bait and you'll know if it feels overloaded. 

[WRB]

If a diving crankbait weighs 5/8 oz you should consider going up to a rod with 3/4 oz rating or MH mod fast if that terminology works for you.

Tom

[bigfruits]

18 hours ago, rippin-lips said:

Rod ratings are just guidelines to go by. Sometimes they're spot on and sometimes you can go heavier than rated. Sometimes it's max rating is a bit over zealous too. Tie on a 5/8oz bait and you'll know if it feels overloaded. 

 

very true.

 

HigginsFishingMO - what exact rod are you considering?

[kschultz76]

Specifically what make/model rod are you looking at?  All manufacturers ratings vary so it's hard to generalize based just on the spec of lure weight range. I'm with WRB for those 5xds I'd want something with more power. And generally for me with 1.5 and similar squarebills I want a less moderate rod as well as well as a different line then something like a 5xd. Same for the red eyes I'd likely want a faster reel with them. Also if you're bouncing those 1.5s around wood and cover or the traps in or around grass you'll want more power to rip them. 

 

If I had to use one rod to handle all of that it would be something rated up to 3/4 or 1oz. I'd be looking at my St Croix MH/Mod or my Kistler KLX CRT MH/MF or my Megabass Orochi xx Spinnerbait Special. But I don't fish a lot of deep cranks so my preferences and experience lean towards squarebills and lipless baits. 

[fishnkamp]

A nice rod to do what you ask for is the Falcon Bucoo Micro series 7 ft Trap Caster. It's rated for 1/4 to 3/4 and will handle most all of those duties fine. It is not all that expensive either. Falcon even suggests using it to throw a big spinnerbait on. It still has a pretty good moderate fast tip. I throw square bills, all of my 1/2, 5/8, and 3/4 ounce red eye shad, and xcalibur trap style baits for bass and stripers along with wake baits on this rod. The other rod I own and like for this duty is an Irod IRG703CC.  They call it a Gabes Rip Rap Special. It is the same length and specs basically the same.

[Mike L]

On the opposite side..I use a 7' Phenix X 11 composite rod that's rated to 3 oz.

It'll launch 1.5's with no problem and I can feel it all the way back. 

Sometimes rod ratings are  a little over/under rated. 

 

 

 

 

Mike