Using rods for out of spec uses??

[mheichelbech]

If you were going to have a rod that you sometimes throw lure weight outside the spec range is it better to be able to use lures heavier or lighter than the spec range?

For example of the rod range was 1/4 oz to 5/8 oz, would lures that weigh an 1/8 oz work better than lures 3/4 oz or would it work better with a 3/4 oz lure?

 

Does it matter whether it’s a spin rod vs casting in looking at this?  

Edit: wanted to clarify what I’m getting at...would you have more versatility in a rod that had heavier specs and sometimes using lures underweight for the rod or a rod that is lighter and using lures overweight for the rod?

 

[Jig Man]

Personally I don’t pay attention to those numbers.  I tie something on and if the rod handles it then I’m good.

[jimmyjoe]

   I would go lighter before I would go heavier. I prefer my 2-piece rod to be made that way at the factory.

   OTOH, what @Jig Man said makes a lot of sense. Have you ever seen a weight rating on Duckett rods, other than the Triad? People still buy them, and use them successfully.          jj     

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

1/8 one way or the other won’t hurt anything. Too light and the rod won’t load, distance and accuracy will both suffer. Too heavy, the rod feels mushy     Accuracy may suffer as well as sensitivity ability to apply desired action. If you go ridiculously heavy and try a snap cast tip breakage is possible. 

[MassYak85]

I'll go slightly over the weight rating occasionally on many of my rods. It shouldn't hurt unless the rod was over-rated to begin with. Lighter baits are difficult because they won't load up the rod properly and casting accurately or for any distance will be a pain. If you do use heavier lures though slow down your cast a bit and try to "lob" them a bit if it feels you're straining the rod's capabilities. 

[mheichelbech]

3 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

I'll go slightly over the weight rating occasionally on many of my rods. It shouldn't hurt unless the rod was over-rated to begin with. Lighter baits are difficult because they won't load up the rod properly and casting accurately or for any distance will be a pain. If you do use heavier lures though slow down your cast a bit and try to "lob" them a bit if it feels you're straining the rod's capabilities. 

I am having a hard time wording my question correctly.  What I was curious to know is...I am looking at buying a new spinning rod.  This will be an "all around" rod for me from a type of fishing standpoint.  I don't use a spinning rod that much.  I plan to use it for dropshotting, skipping tubes/floating worms, smaller baits like a ned rig type deal, etc.  So I what I don't know is, would I be better off buying a rod where the specs are 1/16-1/4 oz knowing it may be a bit light for some of the tubes I use, or a 1/8-1/2 oz knowing it may be a bit heavy/stiff for some of the really light baits I might use?  

 

Also, I plan to use braid with a leader in most instances...light braid of course.

 

Is it easier to throw a bait that is lighter than the rod specs or is it easier to throw a bait that is heavier than the rod specs?  Obviously I know if I go to extremes with lure weight one way or another, I will have issues...rod not loading up or not able to control the cast.

[dodgeguy]

depends on the tip.i throw 1/5 oz ned rigs on a medium bass pro shop patriot baitcaster rod. it throws them fine. i would go with the 1/8 to 1/2 as long as the tip is soft enough.

[bunz559]

Everything suffers when too light, on the lower end of the rod specs, too heavy, or on the heavier end of the rod specs. But if I had to choose, I'd say lighter. Really depends on casting circumstances though. I've pitched 5 and 6 inch Senkos on a jig rod comfortably. I could also bomb cast them on the same rod as well. But obviously accuracy suffers.  

[NJBasstard]

I'm gonna say it depends on the rod. I have a medium spinning rod rated 1/4-5/8oz that does great with a 1/10 ned but almost feels overpowered throwing a weightless 5" senko. I also have a med-hvy casting rod rated 1/4-1oz that doesn't load up with anything under 1/2oz and I've comfortably gone to 1-1/4oz with.

[Bird]

Now your starting to understand why you need around 10 different outfits to optimize your fishing experience. Lol

 

In your case, I'd start with a 6.10 - 7.0 med action and go from there. 

 

I'll answer your question though. 

I'd rather have to much rod for a specific bait than not enough. Imo

[mheichelbech]

19 minutes ago, Bird said:

Now your starting to understand why you need around 10 different outfits to optimize your fishing experience. Lol

 

In your case, I'd start with a 6.10 - 7.0 med action and go from there. 

 

I'll answer your question though. 

I'd rather have to much rod for a specific bait than not enough. Imo

Oh yea...I have all the baitcasting rods...Flipping stick, pitching rod, crankbait rod (2 - 1 for big crankbaits and 1 for smaller shallow crankbaits), 2 spinnerbait rods (heavy and light), a carolina rig rod, a worm rod and a dedicated outfit for skipping.  I even have a custom made 14 foot Lamiglass "cane pole" I use for winter jigging when my line ices up.

 

I just have never used spinning rods much and wanting to do so just for something different.  This has opened up a whole new line of research for me!

[new2BC4bass]

Depends on the manufacturer.  Abu or St. Croix I'd opt for the heavier lure.  Falcon or Phenix and I'd opt for the lighter lure.

[CrankFate]

21 hours ago, mheichelbech said:

If you were going to have a rod that you sometimes throw lure weight outside the spec range is it better to be able to use lures heavier or lighter than the spec range?

For example of the rod range was 1/4 oz to 5/8 oz, would lures that weigh an 1/8 oz work better than lures 3/4 oz or would it work better with a 3/4 oz lure?

 

Does it matter whether it’s a spin rod vs casting in looking at this?  

Edit: wanted to clarify what I’m getting at...would you have more versatility in a rod that had heavier specs and sometimes using lures underweight for the rod or a rod that is lighter and using lures overweight for the rod?

 

I’m not sure that’s how it works. It’s hard to throw a weight that doesn’t match the rod. You want to be able to throw what you want to throw———and then just disregard all conventional wisdom and use a rod that is five sizes lighter than what is recommended. That. My friend. Is how it’s done.

[Armtx77]

I don't understand the question...

[mheichelbech]

23 minutes ago, Armtx77 said:

I don't understand the question...

I can empathize with you!  It has been difficult to express what I was thinking which is often true with a lot of my thoughts...especially the ones I shouldn’t be expressing to anyone!

[waymont]

I recently watched some guy on YouTube bashing a rod company because a ML rod he bought rated 1/8-3/8oz broke on a cast. He was throwing a 1/2oz chatterbait + trailer. That’s not a good way to test a rods worth. As long as you rod loads up on a cast on the light end of the ratings you’re good, even if it’s below the rated weights. I would be more careful going above the high end of the rated casting weights.

[greentrout]

On 4/14/2020 at 8:56 PM, mheichelbech said:

 

Edit: wanted to clarify what I’m getting at...would you have more versatility in a rod that had heavier specs and sometimes using lures underweight for the rod or a rod that is lighter and using lures overweight for the rod?

 

"would you have more versatility in a rod that had heavier specs and sometimes using lures underweight for the rod"

 

heavier ...

 

and it's been my experience not all rod makers are the same ... 1/4 for one might not be 1/4 for the other even though both state they are ...

 

good fishing ... 

[Tennessee Boy]

Rods are like pants.

 

Rods have a suggested lure rating.  Pants have a size.  

 

These numbers offer a good starting place but always try it and see how it fits you.

[J-rod]

On 4/15/2020 at 1:52 PM, mheichelbech said:

I am having a hard time wording my question correctly.  What I was curious to know is...I am looking at buying a new spinning rod.  This will be an "all around" rod for me from a type of fishing standpoint.  I don't use a spinning rod that much.  I plan to use it for dropshotting, skipping tubes/floating worms, smaller baits like a ned rig type deal, etc.  So I what I don't know is, would I be better off buying a rod where the specs are 1/16-1/4 oz knowing it may be a bit light for some of the tubes I use, or a 1/8-1/2 oz knowing it may be a bit heavy/stiff for some of the really light baits I might use?  

 

Also, I plan to use braid with a leader in most instances...light braid of course.

 

Is it easier to throw a bait that is lighter than the rod specs or is it easier to throw a bait that is heavier than the rod specs?  Obviously I know if I go to extremes with lure weight one way or another, I will have issues...rod not loading up or not able to control the cast.

Sounds like a 6'6" to 7' M or ML will fit what you're looking for. 

 

In my experience, it's easier to throw lures that are lighter than the rating than throwing heavier. Rod tips don't like being overloaded and casting gets clumsy when you have to cast like you are an Olympic hammer thrower. 

As long as you aren't severely out of the rod's limits, there is a little wiggle room.

[mheichelbech]

32 minutes ago, J-rod said:

Sounds like a 6'6" to 7' M or ML will fit what you're looking for. 

 

In my experience, it's easier to throw lures that are lighter than the rating than throwing heavier. Rod tips don't like being overloaded and casting gets clumsy when you have to cast like you are an Olympic hammer thrower. 

As long as you aren't severely out of the rod's limits, there is a little wiggle room.

I think I agree.  I know one time I only had my light spinnerbait rod rated to eithe 1/4 or 5/16 and was throwing 1/2 oz spinnerbaits, and I didn’t like it at all.  On the other hand, I have pitched 1/8 oz baits in my pitching rod rated up to 1/2 oz and it didn’t really bother me too much.  The other thing on the spinnerbait deal, it actually felt like the lure was too much for the reel as well...chronarch 50mg, maybe it was all the rod, either way, I didn’t like it.  And I didn’t like what it was doing to the rod.

[new2BC4bass]

34 minutes ago, J-rod said:

Sounds like a 6'6" to 7' M or ML will fit what you're looking for. 

 

In my experience, it's easier to throw lures that are lighter than the rating than throwing heavier. Rod tips don't like being overloaded and casting gets clumsy when you have to cast like you are an Olympic hammer thrower. 

As long as you aren't severely out of the rod's limits, there is a little wiggle room.

I still say the rod makes a difference.  I have a 7'6" MHF casting rod rated 3/8 to 1-1/4 oz.  Won't cast a 3/8 oz. spinnerbait worth a darn.  A 1/2 oz. spinnerbait only to a decent fishing distance.  I've weighed a few 3/8 oz. spinnerbaits I bought from a guy on here that made his own.  They weighed .58 oz.  Maybe an aerodynamic lure would do better.  I also tried a 1-1/2 oz. salt water jig (picked up from Dick's for this very purpose) and I had to lob that weight.  I felt that if I tried my normal cast it might break the rod.  Haven't weighed that jig.

 

Read through Tackletour rod reviews and you will find more than a couple that handle above the rod's rating quite well while trying to go below its rating results in poor performance.  You don't want to overload a rod, but at the same time it needs enough of a load to cast properly.

 

I've seen a buddy cast a pretty light lure on his MHF St. Croix.  The rod literally whistles on his casting stroke.  That is how hard and fast he is can cast.  I doubt I could have cast that weight very far...if at all on that rod.  So some skill is also involved.  That was awhile ago and I have gotten better at casting....I hope.

[J-rod]

On 4/17/2020 at 7:49 PM, new2BC4bass said:

I still say the rod makes a difference.  I have a 7'6" MHF casting rod rated 3/8 to 1-1/4 oz.  Won't cast a 3/8 oz. spinnerbait worth a darn.  A 1/2 oz. spinnerbait only to a decent fishing distance.  I've weighed a few 3/8 oz. spinnerbaits I bought from a guy on here that made his own.  They weighed .58 oz.  Maybe an aerodynamic lure would do better.  I also tried a 1-1/2 oz. salt water jig (picked up from Dick's for this very purpose) and I had to lob that weight.  I felt that if I tried my normal cast it might break the rod.  Haven't weighed that jig.

 

Read through Tackletour rod reviews and you will find more than a couple that handle above the rod's rating quite well while trying to go below its rating results in poor performance.  You don't want to overload a rod, but at the same time it needs enough of a load to cast properly.

 

I've seen a buddy cast a pretty light lure on his MHF St. Croix.  The rod literally whistles on his casting stroke.  That is how hard and fast he is can cast.  I doubt I could have cast that weight very far...if at all on that rod.  So some skill is also involved.  That was awhile ago and I have gotten better at casting....I hope.

I agree that in a perfect world the lure ratings should be followed. I would rather be over-powered than under-powered. I was chucking 5oz. pyramid weights into the surf with a 6'6" Ugly Stik rated to 3/4 oz with 20lb braid on a cheap Quantum reel. It was the gear I was willing to sacrifice to the salt (I'm a Midwest guy). I had to swing it like a baseball bat to move that weight. It worked, but it SUCKED... haha. Landed quite a few bluefish and the rod survived, but a proper cast would've destroyed it... the reel is a different story. I would've rather had a heavier setup, even though I was occasionally throughing lighter weight.