General Crankbait Rod?

[BrianMRetter]

Hey guys, I need some rod suggestions. I'm looking to buy a general purpose crankbait rod. I'd say 50% of the time = squarebills in shallow cover (stumps, laydowns, rocks etc), 40% = Rat-L-Traps in weeds (some open water too), and maybe 10% deep cranking (probably not even that much).  I'm wondering if I should get a shorter rod for more accurate casts to shallow cover, maybe 6' 6"?.  With squarebills & Rat-L-Traps being my main lures, should I got Med-Hev/Fast, or Med/Mod? 

 

Any suggestions for a rod in the $100 ball park? I plan on pairing it with a Shimano Curado 200i.

 

Thanks!

[A-Jay]

I fish all the bait's you listed on 3 of these.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00688XYV0/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_56?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3NU6AZPJLBBJ0

btw - the man who helped develop this stick knows a whole lot more about the subject than me - and the price is Killer !

 

A-Jay

[Brett's_daddy]

I'm in a similar position as you and this is the rod I'm thinking of getting...https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QMSR5LG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER. This is the Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0 Winch crank bait rod. Normally these rods sell for $100 and are on sale for $80 at TW but an even better deal here on Amazon.com.

[Advantage]

I do not throw rattle baits on cranking rods (mostly because I usually throw them in weeds and need a stiffer rod to yank it hard enough to rip it free). That being said, I'd go with a 2 rod system for your needs. One for cranking you squarebills and smaller cranks (med/mod 6.5 to 7 ft) and another for you rattle baits, deeper cranks, and bigger/heavier cranks (MH/fast 7ft or more). 

[lmbfisherman]

A medium heavy moderate/medium fast 7'+ will work.  Pick whatever is in your price range.

[kschultz76]

Based on my personal experience there's a couple rods I can suggest. But there's a lot out there I haven't tried so my opinion isn't definitive. I'd also generally prefer a less moderate bit more powerful rod for lipless cranks, but I like that for squarebills in lots of wood too. 

 

Id look at the Kistler KLX crank, rip, twitch series in a MH power, length of your choice. I like the 6'9" for target casting. I'd go 7-7'3" for longer casts with the traps.

 

A bit pricier I'd highly recommend the Megabass Orochi XX Diablo Spec R, it's very versatile for a lot of fast moving baits like traps and shallow squarebills, even fast enough for trigs and light jigs, and swim jigs, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits. 

 

A bit bit shorter and a bit, just a bit more moderate, is the Megabass Orochi XX Spinnerbait Special. Will do everything the Diablo will but won't handle trigs or jigs as well in my experience. But still has a lot of versatility. 

 

I have and have used St Croix MH/M rods, but they're for me too moderate for traps or squarebills in really heavy cover. My Dad has a 6'6" Avid in MH/M and it is actually feels a bit less moderate then my 7'2" Legend Extreme version(previous model with cork and recoils). 

 

Good on luck in your search. Lots of great options out there. 

[BrianMRetter]

3 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I fish all the bait's you listed on 3 of these.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00688XYV0/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_56?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3NU6AZPJLBBJ0

btw - the man who helped develop this stick knows a whole lot more about the subject than me - and the price is Killer !

 

A-Jay

I've heard a lot of good things about the KVD rods. That's super affordable too. Which lures do you throw on which actions/powers of those rods?

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Brett's_daddy said:

I'm in a similar position as you and this is the rod I'm thinking of getting...https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QMSR5LG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER. This is the Abu Garcia Veritas 2.0 Winch crank bait rod. Normally these rods sell for $100 and are on sale for $80 at TW but an even better deal here on Amazon.com.

Wow! That's a fantastic price!

 

Lemme see if I'm making sense of this.

  MH/F ~7'+: Lipless & Deep cranks

  M/M ~6.5-7': Squarebills

 

Also I should have mentioned, I actually have a Veritas 2.0 (6'9", MH/F) Not the winch version. I've been using it for jigs, texas rigs, and spinnerbaits mostly. I know it isn't 7', but is this suitable for lipless & deep cranks? That way I'd only have the buy the squarebill rods.

 

 

 

17 minutes ago, kschultz76 said:

I'd also generally prefer a less moderate bit more powerful rod for lipless cranks, but I like that for squarebills in lots of wood too. 

When you say you prefer less moderate, do you mean you prefer them to be on the faster side or the slower side?

 

 

 

 

[kschultz76]

Faster and/or more powerful. 

[A-Jay]

Just now, BrianMRetter said:

I've heard a lot of good things about the KVD rods. That's super affordable too. Which lures do you throw on which actions/powers of those rods?

Wow! That's a fantastic price!

 

I use the rod in the link for the 1.5 & 2.5 squarebills, 1/2 oz RES, and medium diving cranks like the SK 3 & 5XD and the Spro Rock Crawler using 12 - 15lb Seaguar InvisX.

 

And I love it for bombing a 1/2 & 3/4 oz spinnerbaits across a big flat.

 

A-Jay

[BrianMRetter]

Thanks so much! Is it difficult casting accurately with a 7'4"?

[A-Jay]

1 minute ago, BrianMRetter said:

Thanks so much! Is it difficult casting accurately with a 7'4"?

 

Not for me.

YMMV

A-Jay

[the reel ess]

I throw all my bigger treble lures on a 6-6 M/MF Lightning Rod. It's light and has all the limber tip qualities you want in a CB rod but still has the backbone you'd like to be able rip a lipless bait out of the grass. I use mono on it. http://www.berkley-fishing.com/berkley-rods-casting-rods-berkley-lightning-rod/berkley-lightning-rod-casting/1365017.html#prefn1=ZZSERIES&prefv1=Berkley%20Lightning%20Rod&start=2

I paid $30 for it about a decade ago. I also use it for topwaters. I know it's cheap and I'll probably replace it with a better rod, but it has served admirably. I own another MH one for spinner and buzzbaits.

 

I have a 7' MH/MF Falcon LowRider "Big Cranks" rod, but I use it for T rigs because it's so dang sensitive. I bought it used for $50. http://falconrods.com/lowrider20.html

Feeling a bite on that thing is like getting a little electrical shock registering all the way to the elbow. I couldn't waste that sensitivity on cranks, but it sure would make a good one for Traps. It's 20% springy tip and 80% backbone.

[fishnkamp]

I will also suggest a Falcon rod but this is a recommendation for a Falcon BuCoo Micro 7 foot medium heavy med fast rod called a Trap Caster. That rod runs $129 but can often be found for less.

[MDbassin]

I just ordered a Dobyns Fury 705CB its a 7' Medium Heavy Moderate fast crankbait rod for $110. I also plan on pairing it up with a Curado. I just placed the order so I haven't received it yet but with all the good things Ive read about dobyns and it met my criteria i wanted  for a squarebill/lipless rod I went on and ordered it

[Robert Riley]

Fury705cb! 

[Silas]

On 2/26/2017 at 8:33 AM, lmbfisherman said:

A medium heavy moderate/medium fast 7' will work.  Pick whatever is in your price range.

That would be the St Croix 7' AVID M/M.  Perfect for shallow cranks 

[BrianMRetter]

I ended up going with a St. Croix Premiere Cranking (7' MH/M) paired with a Shimano Curado 200i (6.3:1). Took it out for the first time (& my first time out this season) and caught a few by ripping a Gold/Black Red Eye Shad through the weeds (never caught any on a lipless before). Thanks for all the suggestions! Definitely happy with what I ended up with

[Turkey sandwich]

I just picked up my second Veritas crankbait rod, this one a 7'6 MH winch, and I'm excited to get it on the water.  I've had a 7' Med Winch for a while now and have enjoyed it for shallow running cranks, but I'm excited for the something with more backbone for cranks running 10'+ with the length to cast a mile.  Really, I think any inexpensive, limber rod with some sensitivity that doesn't wear you out will work well and really don't think it's that important to spend much in a crankbait rod.  

 

Both of my Veritas rods? Under $80 apiece.

[iceintheveins]

Can't go wrong with a Veritas winch for an under $100 crank rod.

[Clackincrank53]

On February 26, 2017 at 7:28 AM, BrianMRetter said:

Hey guys, I need some rod suggestions. I'm looking to buy a general purpose crankbait rod. I'd say 50% of the time = squarebills in shallow cover (stumps, laydowns, rocks etc), 40% = Rat-L-Traps in weeds (some open water too), and maybe 10% deep cranking (probably not even that much).  I'm wondering if I should get a shorter rod for more accurate casts to shallow cover, maybe 6' 6"?.  With squarebills & Rat-L-Traps being my main lures, should I got Med-Hev/Fast, or Med/Mod? 

 

Any suggestions for a rod in the $100 ball park? I plan on pairing it with a Shimano Curado 200i.

 

Thanks!

 

Skeet Reese spinnerbait/worm 7 M fast or bucoo micro cranker 7 M MOD

i own both and for me they throw both baits great, now the SR is labeled fast action which in my opinion is moderate all the way which I like best for throwing anything with trebles on it so they have time to eat it and have the hooks pull out...I never could understand why it's a spinnerbait/ worm rod because I tried throwing tx rigged worms with it and for me it's useless as a worm rod but it does throw spinnerbaits very well along with  Square bills and lipless baits, also throws med diving cranks like wiggle warts,6A's etc..well too.. The bucoo cranker throws both shallow to med divers and lipless very good too and I love them both but like the bucoo a lil better as its a little lighter rod...