Question

[Jdtmalone]

I just picked up a new combo. A medium power moderate fast action combo. 1/8-1/2 rating. Is moderate fast to flimsy for light T rig? Also is 3/8 oz to heavy I notice chatter baits and spinners have extra weight with skirts ,wires, blades and trailers. More than half oz. lews has it rated as their all purpose. What would you throw on it? I’ve only had fast action combos prior.

[DitchPanda]

Too me that rod is more suited for squarebills and shallow cranks, smaller lipless, poppers and jerkbaits. Medium mod fast seems awful light to me to drive a single hook home...especially texas rigged. Gotta punch through the plastic then the fishes mouth...sounds flimsy for that.

[Jig Man]

That sounds like my favorite shaky rod.  I also use it for cranking.

[jimmyjoe]

   M/MF is the rod I have for smaller cranks. I tried to use it for bottom contact, and although it will work, it definitely wasn't the best. The problem is the flex/deflex in the top portion. On a steady retrieve, the top is pre-loaded, or flexed. When a hit comes, the time and distance-of-arc to access the backbone are both short. So if you have a steady-retrieve ribbontail or creature, it'll work. In bottom contact, you deflex the rod when the bait hits the bottom and you wait for the pick-up. There's no pre-load. So when a fish picks up your T-rig, let's say, you have a much greater distance-of-arc to move through, and subsequently a greater time delay to get to the rod's backbone.

   Yes, it's doable .... kinda. Poorly doable, is what I'd say.

   And it's not that the rod is necessarily "flimsy", although it may feel like that. Some (not all) rods that flex the tip easily are very strong, but still not suited to bottom contact. It's the difference in the strength of a rope and the strength of a steel rod.

   Hope this helps.    jj

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

It depends on the specific rod. A slower action is not necessarily softer. Mod fast isn’t always much off of fast labeled rods. Try it and see what you think.