Need help finding walk dog rod

[johnsmith]

Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing well. I decided to stop ghosting around after lurking this website for about a year now. Can anyone recommend me a specific rod for walking the dog? I'm throwing only 1/2 and prefer a Medium casting. Thanks and sorry if I missed something, this is one of my first posts.

[moguy1973]

My BPS Carbonlite 2 7' medium/fast works really well for walk the dog.

[Fishes in trees]

I like a 6 foot rod for throwing spooks or Sammies or stuff like that.   There are lots of different choices, my current choice is a mid-90's era Mitchell Fulcrum - available at Walmart at the time for $40 or $50, less on close out.   One of the first split grip handle rods I ever saw & had the disposable income at that moment to purchase - it's pretty light weight - medium action - and when paired with a Calcutta TEGT & 17 lb mono it will a 1/2 oz Sammy a ways.

A little more than half the spool if you want to.

 

So that is what I use - I know lots of guys use longer rods but I'm not a fan of smacking the rod tip against the edge of the boat and when I use a longer rod, that is what happens.

 

All Star rods used to make a Zell Rowland "Top Water Special" a 6'3" stick that was on the heavy side of medium that was designed to throw spooks & Pop-r's.  If you find one of those buy it and take care of it.  The early series with the brownish blanks were the best, IMO.

[moguy1973]

If it's going to be a walk the dog only rod ^^^^^  has a good point about it being a shorter rod.

[Ben77]

Lew's speed stick lite 7'0 medium fast action works for me.

[Jigfishn10]

I lean towards a shorter rod as well. A 6' medium ideal for me. Heck, I used a 5'6" rod for years....until it broke

[ironbjorn]

Budget?

[Jigfishn10]

Does a budget need to be stipulated? What would you use? ?

[ironbjorn]

6 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Does a budget need to be stipulated? What would you use? ?

Yeah that's kind of how it works around here and other places like here when someone asks for a rod recommendation. No clue where to start without knowing how much someone is or isn't willing to spend.

[Deephaven]

6'8" MXF St. Croix.  Choose your flavor to match your budget.  Killer for jerkbaits as well.

[Jigfishn10]

Oh gotchya...sorry man, I didn't know how it worked ?

[PotatoLake]

I’m on shorter rod bandwagon too. I use a Dobyns Sierra 6’ 8” medium heavy ‘ fast. But if I had a shorter rod, I bet I’d like it even more.

[ironbjorn]

7 minutes ago, PotatoLake said:

I’m on shorter rod bandwagon too. I use a Dobyns Sierra 6’ 8” medium heavy ‘ fast. But if I had a shorter rod, I bet I’d like it even more.

That's what I would recommend as well. Sierra 683c.

[Happybeerbuzz]

10 minutes ago, PotatoLake said:

I’m on shorter rod bandwagon too. I use a Dobyns Sierra 6’ 8” medium heavy ‘ fast. But if I had a shorter rod, I bet I’d like it even more.

X2

 

I started using a 7', but have switched to progressively shorter rods for topwater (jerkbaits too)  in general.  I went to a 6'10", then to a 6'8".  Currently I am down to 6'6".  At first, it was about ease of working the lure.  However, it is just as much about accuracy at this point.  I really like landing my casts right in the gap between the toolies or consistently 1-2' off the bank.  

[Quarry Man]

St Croix makes an Avid X that is a 6'4" M, that rod would be great, as would the Sierra series from Dobyns. 

[scaleface]

I use a 6 foot pistol grip Lightning Rod for Spook fishing . I find the shorter rod much easier to walk the dog with .

[papajoe222]

I'm old school and have been fishing Spooks for as long as I can remember. My favorite rod is the St.Croix PC56MF. It's short with a pistol grip. I believe they make a couple of different lengths, but this is their only offering with a pistol grip.

[Bluebasser86]

Doesn't take a real specialized rod to walk the dog. I've used a bunch of different ones and have a couple different ones I use right now depending on the bait I'm fishing. For the ones like you're describing, I use a 7' M/F H20 Ethos Micro and 20lb straight braid.

[rangerjockey]

18 hours ago, Fishes in trees said:

I like a 6 foot rod for throwing spooks or Sammies or stuff like that.   There are lots of different choices, my current choice is a mid-90's era Mitchell Fulcrum - available at Walmart at the time for $40 or $50, less on close out.   One of the first split grip handle rods I ever saw & had the disposable income at that moment to purchase - it's pretty light weight - medium action - and when paired with a Calcutta TEGT & 17 lb mono it will a 1/2 oz Sammy a ways.

A little more than half the spool if you want to.

 

So that is what I use - I know lots of guys use longer rods but I'm not a fan of smacking the rod tip against the edge of the boat and when I use a longer rod, that is what happens.

 

All Star rods used to make a Zell Rowland "Top Water Special" a 6'3" stick that was on the heavy side of medium that was designed to throw spooks & Pop-r's.  If you find one of those buy it and take care of it.  The early series with the brownish blanks were the best, IMO.

 I would agree. I have been using the All Star TWS forever. If you can find one they are a great rod but these days they bring top $.  

Mine is 6ft 6 with a Charcoal colored blank and maroon wraps. I would guess it's close to 40 years old.

[Sir Shamsalot]

My favorite has to be my 6' 6" Berkley Lightning Shock Rod. The older one with the cork handle. It's cheap, light, effective, and strong. Caught my first "two'fer" walking the dog with this rod.

[Deleted account]

18 hours ago, PotatoLake said:

I’m on shorter rod bandwagon too. I use a Dobyns Sierra 6’ 8” medium heavy ‘ fast. But if I had a shorter rod, I bet I’d like it even more."

Yup, I like short rods for tip down twitch presentations. For dog walking I like a 6'6" MH Fast leaning to moderate. I just found a 6' pistol grip Garcia Conolon Custom while cleaning the garage. The distance from the reel to the tip is only about 1 1/2" shorter than a 6'6" rod. I'm gonna fish it just for S&Gs. I'm thinking spooks and spinnerbaits. Now where did I leave that 4600C?...

[bulldog1935]

Dog-walking is a big deal in the coast flats, and just about full-time fishing between topwater plugs and neutral-density swimbaits over skinny grass.  

My two favorite dog-walking rods are St. Croix Legend Glass 7'2" MM spinner, 

 and for baitcaster, my IM6 Crowder E-series Light - while Crowder rates this rod as ML, it's definitely closer to MM, compared to my other ML rods.  IM6 rods (graphite II) are not the lightest in hand, but will have the right moderate action.  

 

[Brett's_daddy]

Lew's Mach Speed Stick, 6'8", Medium power/Moderate Fast action.

 

https://www.americanlegacyfishing.com/lew-s-mach-speed-stick-topwater-jerkbait-6-8-medium-casting-rod-mhtwjbr.html

 

If you're fishing with treble hooks you'd benefit from a Moderate/Moderate Fast action that has a parabolic bend to keep the fish pinned so they can't head shake your lure off and also so you don't rip the treble hook out of their mouth on the hookset before they fully commit to gulping down your bait.

[fishwizzard]

The Avid 6’3” M/XF casting rod is the best walking/popping/twitching rod I have found, it’s got the perfect tip for it and the power strikes a good balance between “light enough for trebles” and “powerful enough for t-rigged flukes”.  

[avid]

On 3/8/2021 at 1:07 PM, Deephaven said:

6'8" MXF St. Croix.  Choose your flavor to match your budget.  Killer for jerkbaits as well.

I have this exact rod   I use it for single hook baits like worms or jigs   For spooks and jerkbaits or anything with trebles I like the 6’6” medium fast   I think a rod for spooks need a little more play than an xf     I use the st croix avid series for all my fresh water spinning