Need a Smallmouth rod

[kpla51]

So I just moved to the beautiful ozark and missed smallmouth fishing in Kentucky so I want to pick it up here again. I mainly fish small creeks and rivers so I don't want something that will overpower the smaller fish. My main question is the action of the rod. Im looking into a lot of medium light rods but the ones I like all have a moderate fast action instead of fast. I fish a lot of ned rigs and weightless TX rigged worms. Im no expert, will a ML with a moderate fast action be less effective than a ML with a fast action? 

 

Id like a rod on the cheaper spectrum, since I will be doing a lot of canoeing in small streams and have seen the pain and suffering from a buddy who snapped his st croix. The main rod I am interested in is the newer berkley lightnings. Ive had good luck with these rods in the past but they do not make it in a ML with a fast action. 

 

[tkunk]

You don't want a ML moderate fast rod for neds and weightless soft plastics, because you'll have trouble hooking fish and possibly even detecting bites. I'd recommend and XF rod for these applications, but F is fine too.

[Djohn]

I fish on smaller rivers for Smallies from a kayak and over the years most of my rods have ended up being 7FT medium fast actions. That seems to be the best all around rod for what I fish with.  I fish a lot of tubes, senkos, and small crank baits.

[bayvalle]

I 2nd both the above suggestions. . I bought a 6' rod for river smallies and have regretted it. I'd recommend a 6'6" minimally but prefer a 7', F of XF.  A ML will work for smallies but the M power will offer more versatility.

[smalljaw67]

Berkley Series One in a 7' ML-fast action should work well for you. It will handle Ned rigs, light jigs and TX rigs but is limited because it is a true ML. Another you might consider is the Major Craft Nanoace in a 7' medium power, fast action, it is $20 more than the series 1 but they have better components than the Berkley and will handle the same presentations but it will have a little more power.

[TOXIC]

My brother in law asked me to outfit him for smallie fishing from a yak.  Something that often gets overlooked is whether or not you fish standing up or are required to stay sitting.  He has to sit.  I originally set him up with a 7 foot Fast rod and he was missing fish due to a bad hookset.  I switched him to a medium action and the problem persisted.  So, I dropped him down to a 6.6 rod and the problem went away in both actions.  He was also better able to skip baits with the shorter rod.  YMMV.  

[NYWayfarer]

21 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

My brother in law asked me to outfit him for smallie fishing from a yak.  Something that often gets overlooked is whether or not you fish standing up or are required to stay sitting.  He has to sit.  I originally set him up with a 7 foot Fast rod and he was missing fish due to a bad hookset.  I switched him to a medium action and the problem persisted.  So, I dropped him down to a 6.6 rod and the problem went away in both actions.  He was also better able to skip baits with the shorter rod.  YMMV.  

I fish out of a sit-in kayak and I find that a 7' rod is too long for the same reasons you give. I had similar problems that cleared up the same way it did for your brother in law when I started using shorter rods.

[kpla51]

So I’ve always use 6,6 rods so I’d like to stay with that length. A lot of the smallmouth in these creeks are tiny but there are some decent ones.

[BigTerp]

I used 6' Berkeley Lighting rods fishing my local river for smallmouth for years. Throwing mostly tubes, neds and other smaller soft plastics. Worked well for smallmouth up to 20" and even an occasional large catfish. Balanced perfectly with my Pflueger President 6930's, casted light lures well as well as heavier ones up to 1/2oz. My only complaint was their durability. I broke several tips and had the real seat on one blow up. This year I replaced my lightings with Cabela's fish eagle spinning rods in 6'6" ML/Fast. Can be had for 50'ish bucks when on sale. Much nicer rod overall, IMO. And the best part is they have a lifetime Cabela's warranty. 

[bowhunter63]

I have been using a Bass Pro 7ft 6 Carbon coil medium ,fast.My favorite rod to use.I throw Rage Swimmers ,tubes,Finesse jigs with it.It was about 119 but well worth it.Really like the Winn grips too.There worth checking out.

[kpla51]

Thanks for the insight, I might get a berkley cherrywood since they have the length and action I want. I have an ultralight berkley cherrywood that has probably a couple thousand fish caught on it even a couple big cat fish and bass and has held up well. Ill be beating the creeks hard so I don't want to invest too much money in the rod just incase of a mishap. Ive had expensive rods that broke and are still sitting in my garage broken due to the hassle of the warranty claims lol.

 

So you all seem to agree medium action rods will not overpower creek smallmouth. A lot of the ones we catch are super dinks but few are in the couple lb range, hence my thinking for a ML 

[J.Vincent]

A ML would probably be underpowered for a bass between 3 and 6 lbs. I recommend a 6ft6 to 6ft10 Medium Fast for a good all around smallmouth rod. But just like anything , every angler will have different opinions.

[bayvalle]

On 10/5/2018 at 10:00 AM, TOXIC said:

My brother in law asked me to outfit him for smallie fishing from a yak.  Something that often gets overlooked is whether or not you fish standing up or are required to stay sitting.  He has to sit.  I originally set him up with a 7 foot Fast rod and he was missing fish due to a bad hookset.  I switched him to a medium action and the problem persisted.  So, I dropped him down to a 6.6 rod and the problem went away in both actions.  He was also better able to skip baits with the shorter rod.  YMMV.  

Interesting. I surveyed a number of yak fisherman and most recommended a 7'. I have a 7' F action and a 6'6" M action and I personally prefer the 7' for casting distance but have caught more fish on the 6'6".

On 10/5/2018 at 10:25 AM, kpla51 said:

So I’ve always use 6,6 rods so I’d like to stay with that length. A lot of the smallmouth in these creeks are tiny but there are some decent ones.

If most of the fish are small then a ML would be more fun.

[PatrickKnight]

I fish smallies in a smaller river and I personally prefer mod fast actions. I normally carry a ml and m power spinning rod with me and which one I use is purely based on the hook I am using not the presentation. It should also be said I only fish with braided line so if you are going to use mono or fluro you might want a faster action rod.

[kpla51]

39 minutes ago, PatrickKnight said:

I fish smallies in a smaller river and I personally prefer mod fast actions. I normally carry a ml and m power spinning rod with me and which one I use is purely based on the hook I am using not the presentation. It should also be said I only fish with braided line so if you are going to use mono or fluro you might want a faster action rod.

I was messing around with other rods in the store and noticed that the action rating seems to be  a loose term across different manufactures. Bending a ML fast action st croix seemed to have the same bend as the berkley lightning. Where as a berkley cherrywood with a "fast action" seems to bend past the mid section of the blank. 

[Further North]

MLXF here, for those kinds of presentations.

 

You'll want the sensitivity and the hookset.

[DHP]

I have a 7’ Medium 2 piece cherrywood and I would say it’s more of a moderate action. But for $20-$25 it can’t hurt to try it. It probably won’t have the sensitivity like a lightning rod would have though. 

 

I should add add that I haven’t used this rod hardly at all and haven’t caught a fish on it but I could cast small inline spinners with it just fine. I bought it as a cheap travel just in case rod. I’ve also read its guides don’t handle braid well. 

[MickD]

 

 

Don't worry about braid.  Usually the only guide to get grooved will be the tiptop, and they are easily replaced.

[GeekOutdoors]

On 10/5/2018 at 6:48 AM, Djohn said:

I fish on smaller rivers for Smallies from a kayak and over the years most of my rods have ended up being 7FT medium fast actions. That seems to be the best all around rod for what I fish with.  I fish a lot of tubes, senkos, and small crank baits.

 

On 10/5/2018 at 5:05 AM, portiabrat said:

You don't want a ML moderate fast rod for neds and weightless soft plastics, because you'll have trouble hooking fish and possibly even detecting bites. I'd recommend and XF rod for these applications, but F is fine too.

I have a Fenwick HMG ML/F for nedrigs and it works just fine ! I will also get a Fenwick Elite Tech bass 6'10 ML/XF for dropshot rigs. I also use two 7' spinning rods, a medium and a medium-heavy, both Fast action with tubes, Power depends on tube weight, depth and cover.

[Boomstick]

I would go with a M/F rod if you are looking for ned rigs and also larger weightless t-rigged soft plastics. The ned rig is ideal on a ML/F or ML/XF, but those lighter rods don't have the power for a hookset on larger soft plastics. A lot of people do use a M/F rod for finesse however.

 

I would suggest braid to leader, that way you can run a 6lb leader for ned rigs and a 10-12lb leader for larger hooks.

[JWall14]

I’m getting a dobyns fury ml rod which I’ve heard is great for the price (120).

[tkunk]

23 hours ago, GeekFisher said:

 

I have a Fenwick HMG ML/F for nedrigs and it works just fine ! I will also get a Fenwick Elite Tech bass 6'10 ML/XF for dropshot rigs. I also use two 7' spinning rods, a medium and a medium-heavy, both Fast action with tubes, Power depends on tube weight, depth and cover.

ML/F or ML/XF is fine for single hook applications. I have one of each.

 

ML/moderate fast would be too whippy.

[GeekOutdoors]

1 hour ago, portiabrat said:

ML/F or ML/XF is fine for single hook applications. I have one of each.

 

ML/moderate fast would be too whippy.

Likely. I use a ML/MF for Brook Trout and its perfect but wouldnt use that for bass

[leinad]

i'm going against the grain here and say ml/f or even a l/f ( my favorite ) for river smallies on neds (1/16, 1/10 , 1/8) .caught 40 or more 3.5-5#  smallies this fall in the housatonic river in ct. don't think i missed many if any at all and lets talk about  landing these fish , plan and simple it's a rush. paired up with a 1000 reel ,( i have 6 daiwa regals  a great real for its price) you will have nice light rods that will have no problem setting those light weight hooks into your catch.one other nice thing about those rods are when you can't locate the smallies they work very well landing and playing trout.