Rod action of the pros

[kschultz76]

Another brand that is more affordable with more mod fast tapers is Hammer Rods. They’ve been dinged for their build quality/quality control though. I have their 7’3” MF/ModFast micro guide rod with Winn grips. Great for all kinds of treble and reaction baits. For single hooks I’d move up to the heavy and have it on good authority it’s still got that deeper mod fast flex even though they rate it a fast. They recently came out with a new series with cork grips that look nice.  Build quality aside their blanks are nice and have great feel for the price point. Only quality issue with the rod I have is the epoxy work on the guides is a bit heavy and sloppy. 

[Fishin Dad]

I will look into those.  I like a Winn or grip other than cork.  I have cork grips on some rods, but prefer something else.  Thanks

[Choporoz]

On ‎3‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 5:55 PM, Fishin Dad said:

.  The thing I have noticed is it seems a lot of the pros seem to be using moderate action rods?   Am I just seeing things?  

 

Now that so many are fishing for dinks, they don't need MH rods any more

jk  

[fishwizzard]

10 hours ago, kschultz76 said:

Another brand that is more affordable with more mod fast tapers is Hammer Rods. 

Major Craft also has a lot of ModFast/Regular taper rods in their lines.  

[CrankFate]

23 hours ago, LionHeart said:

For this reason (well , one of many) I use braid.  A hook set at 40 yards carries almost the same authority as 5 yards.

It does. Even at 70 yards. The problem is if the bait wasn’t inhaled or was inhaled with a tapered bullet weight and the fish is far and shallow, the hookset rips the bait out of the fish’s mouth or doesn’t pop the hook out of the plastic. IMO, that one second of flex in a mod rod let’s the hook angle enough to grab something. 

[LionHeart]

8 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

It does. Even at 70 yards. The problem is if the bait wasn’t inhaled or was inhaled with a tapered bullet weight and the fish is far and shallow, the hookset rips the bait out of the fish’s mouth or doesn’t pop the hook out of the plastic. 

I was thinking about this exact thing earlier today.  A lot of guys (and gals I suppose) have said this, and for all my faults on the water, I've never had this be a problem.

 

Maybe it is because I skin hook a Texas rig but a large majority of the time, the fish will expose the hook just by striking the lure.  At that point, the fish has an exposed hook in its mouth and it's game time.

 

I like a slower than 'fast' (whatever that even means) tip, but a moderate action for bottom baits?  No Sir.

[CrankFate]

50 minutes ago, LionHeart said:

I was thinking about this exact thing earlier today.  A lot of guys (and gals I suppose) have said this, and for all my faults on the water, I've never had this be a problem.

 

Maybe it is because I skin hook a Texas rig but a large majority of the time, the fish will expose the hook just by striking the lure.  At that point, the fish has an exposed hook in its mouth and it's game time.

 

I like a slower than 'fast' (whatever that even means) tip, but a moderate action for bottom baits?  No Sir.

I think the fish in some places slam the bait and in other places (where they eat smaller things) they gently suck it in or nip it before sucking it in. These little nipping bass drive me crazy. The fish around here nip like a little sunny, making hookups impossibly difficult without treble hook lures.

 

Funny you say that, though. I always consider they way I fish faster than ‘slow’

[Heartland]

4 hours ago, CrankFate said:

It does. Even at 70 yards. The problem is if the bait wasn’t inhaled or was inhaled with a tapered bullet weight and the fish is far and shallow, the hookset rips the bait out of the fish’s mouth or doesn’t pop the hook out of the plastic. IMO, that one second of flex in a mod rod let’s the hook angle enough to grab something. 

So you have actually tried it at 70 yards?

[Turkey sandwich]

If you guys are concerned with a fast action or extra fast rod pulling a non reaction (generally trebled hooked) bait out of a fish's mouth, the rod may not be the issue.  Sensitivity, and ability to feel cover aside, a heavy wire hook, at distance requires more power to set. Adding either additional line stretch or a slowing the action of the rod isn't going to increase hook ups if something is wrong with your hook set.  It's only going to deliver less force over the greater distance. 

 

But yeah, I'm pretty sure Denny Brauer switched back to using exclusively bamboo rods painted to match his sponsors.  Because he's old school like that. 

[Fishin Dad]

I totally know these rods have their place and time for sure.   I was just interested in knowing what you all thought and observed.   It seemed like Rick Clunn was using a pretty soft rod flippin 10 pounders in.   It also seemed like some other pros had some softer rods for techniques I found interesting.  My only observation is that i enjoy casting a softer action rod than i do an extra fast rod.  Looking to get a couple of new rods this year and was wondering if I should be adding some of these for a reason.  Thanks for all the comments, it is interesting to see what people think of this.

[CrankFate]

On 3/5/2019 at 2:12 AM, Heartland said:

So you have actually tried it at 70 yards?

By having someone hold it? No. But because there is zero stretch with braid, it has to be the same. The only way it could be different is when there is slack in the line. With worms or jigs, it’s a big difference compared to moving baits because moving baits will have no slack. 

[kenmitch]

On 3/3/2019 at 4:56 PM, Heartland said:

Take your rod and reel outside and try this little exercise.  Have a friend, wife, neighbor, someone walk off about 30 -40 yards.  Give them the end of your line whatever line you would normally use.  With them 30-40 yards away have them pinch the line between their thumb and fore finger, then see if you can pull it loose from their grip by imitating your hookset.   You may be surprised.

 

 

I know you meant baitless, but there's less fortunate people in this world that won't.

 

Imagine somebody trying this with a bait on the other end, the pincher isn't quite ready or has a weak pinch....Ouch.