Glass Casting rods

[David Austin]

I've seen there are a lot of companies making glass casting rods for bass fishing.  Are there any real advantages to glass casting rods or is it just a gimmick?  Are they mostly for crankbait fishing?  I've owned several glass fly fishing rods for trout and they are nice but very flexible and I've used them for mostly very small streams with small trout.  Will a glass rod really withstand a huge bass? 

[new2BC4bass]

10 minutes ago, David Austin said:

I've seen there are a lot of companies making glass casting rods for bass fishing.  Are there any real advantages to glass casting rods or is it just a gimmick?  Are they mostly for crankbait fishing?  I've owned several glass fly fishing rods for trout and they are nice but very flexible and I've used them for mostly very small streams with small trout.  Will a glass rod really withstand a huge bass? 

Absolutely.

AFAIC, they are not a gimmick.  Thoroughly enjoy the one I have. 

[David Austin]

11 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

Absolutely.

AFAIC, they are not a gimmick.  Thoroughly enjoy the one I have. 

ok cool!  I was looking at one of the daiwa guys videos and noticed the one he was using was flexing almost down to the handle.  I think it was the medium action elite rod.  Looking for one to use with small squarebills, size 1 and 1.5 (3/8 oz and 7/16oz) and possibly 1/2oz lipless crankbaits.  I really like the looks of the tatula elite glass rods.   Mainly interetested in the  Daiwa Tatula Elite Cranking Rod 7'4" Med Hvy Ehrler rod.  Any experience with them?

 

[bulldog1935]

many of us here cut our teeth on Fenglas Lunkerstik, Lew's Speed Stik, Berkley Tri-Sport, and Garcia Conolon.  

The only new glass casting rod I've fished is a Lami Classic Glass steelhead rod for inshore drift fishing, but the best glass bass rod I've used is Falcon - these turn up on ebay occasionally.  

 

 

 

My offshore rods are e-glass.  

As far as handling big bass, glass rods are much tougher than graphite, and virtually indestructible.  

 

My St. Croix Legend (S-) Glass spinner is the most perfect MM kayak rod I own, and is lighter in hand than my Crowder IM6 MM bait rod.  

[new2BC4bass]

Nope.  Mine is the Dobyns 704CB Glass as seen here.  http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdobyns704cbglass.html

 

[Deleted account]

38 minutes ago, David Austin said:

ok cool!  I was looking at one of the daiwa guys videos and noticed the one he was using was flexing almost down to the handle.  I think it was the medium action elite rod.  Looking for one to use with small squarebills, size 1 and 1.5 (3/8 oz and 7/16oz) and possibly 1/2oz lipless crankbaits.  I really like the looks of the tatula elite glass rods.   Mainly interetested in the  Daiwa Tatula Elite Cranking Rod 7'4" Med Hvy Ehrler rod.  Any experience with them?

 

IMNSHO glass rods are better suited for larger cranks, a composite or low modulus  (try finding that in marketing lingo) graphite rod would be my choice for smaller baits. Also, not all glass rods are created eaqual, some are awesome, some are awful. and as far as withstanding bass, yeah, pretty much any rod will do that.

[FishTank]

I have tried a couple over the years and so far my favorite glass rod is the St. Croix Legend Glass 7'2'' M Mod.  To me it's the perfect crankbait rod.  Not too sensitive and not totally dead but very well made.  It also has plenty of power and will cast a 3/8oz crankbait a mile. 

[new2BC4bass]

Another good option is to look at a composite stick like the highly regarded Phenix X-series.  Ark Tharp is on sale for less than $98 at TW.  The B-Hittay seems to be popular.  I bought one at the last sale.  Be aware it weighs 6.3 oz. rod with a good size diameter.  TT gave it a "Great" rating.

 

Quote from a different review of the B-Hittay:  "The B-Hittay is probably my favorite rod in the lineup. I will probably fish the jig rod more than all the others, but this is my favorite as far as its unique application. The action is really good. You can feel every shudder of a Chatterbait, and the fish load so well on it and stay pegged through the fight. It's got enough rear to pull on a fish, and it's not so flimsy that you can't skip a Chatterbait under a dock.  But the action is so nice on it and the sensitivity is amazing.

A couple of the fish I felt bite before I really felt the bite. What I mean is I could feel the Chatterbait quit "chattering" for about two wobbles, and then I felt the bite. It's that good."

 

Lot more money, but I've read very good things about Alpha Angler glass rods.

[FishTank]

21 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

My St. Croix Legend (S-) Glass spinner is the most perfect MM kayak rod I own, and is lighter in hand than my Crowder IM6 MM bait rod.  

 

It's funny you bring this up.  I have a St. Croix Mojo Yak casting rod that now sees a lot of my kayak fishing. It's a 7' M Fast and when I first got it, it reminded me of a crankbait rod, soft tip and little whippy.  My next thought was why didn't I buy a glass spinning rod (the same one you have).  I like they way Mod or Mod-fast rods load when I sitting down in my kayak.  Most of the techniques I use when I am in a kayak lend themselves towards spinning gear.  

[jimmyjoe]

   Please be aware, @David Austin, that there is no such thing as "truth in advertising" for fiberglass fishing rods. Many of them are only 10%-90% fiberglass, with the remainder graphite.

   I'm not saying that this is a bad thing; some composite rods are truly excellent. But when it come time for you to compare  different rods, make sure you're comparing apples to apples.

   And one thing that has not been mentioned here: 'glass rods are extremely durable and shock-resistant. Graphite rods can, under certain circumstances, shatter.                        jj

[kayaking_kev]

Like @jimmyjoe said, a lot of rods advertised as glass rods are actually composite, like Dobyns for instance, the bottom 60% is graphite and the top 40% is glass and most of the composites I've had use that same formula. I believe it's NFC that has a Composite blank that actually blends the graphite and glass together throughout the whole rod though.

 

Pure Glass rods are a lot heavier and lack sensitivity, that why it's easier to find composites anymore, even though they are labeled as glass.

 

I prefer glass or composite for Smallmouth fishing in the rivers. I've had 3 Dobyns Glass and a few others, but I like my custom built Phenix X-10 the best, it weighs 3.9 oz.

[NOC 1]

17 hours ago, David Austin said:

I've seen there are a lot of companies making glass casting rods for bass fishing.  Are there any real advantages to glass casting rods or is it just a gimmick?  Are they mostly for crankbait fishing?  I've owned several glass fly fishing rods for trout and they are nice but very flexible and I've used them for mostly very small streams with small trout.  Will a glass rod really withstand a huge bass? 

Back in the day everybody used glass rods.... ALL glass rods. They were a big improvement over the steel rods w use to use. They weren't as nice as the split bamboo rods, but the bamboo rods were spendy and kind of fragile. Yes they will stand up to a bass. LM Bass aren't big fighters to begin with.

 

The reason folks like the glass rods is because of what you saw in that video. The parabolic bend. Makes it easier to keep tension on the line when fishing with small treble hook like the ones that are on most crankbaits. Without that constant tension fish have a way of spitting out the lure. The can cast really well too, though the slow or moderate action can feel a bit odd if you are used to using only fast graphite rods.