Medium Fast Rod

[Capt No Fish]

I am wondering if this is a rod I should consider purchasing.  I see Fluke Master mentions the medium fast in his video's fairly often and even has one saying that is the best rod to own.  What would I use it for?  Do you own one and what do you use it for?

 

I already have a MH/F, MH/MF, M/M in casting and a M/M, ML/M spinning set ups.

 

I don't have a brand or anything in mind.  Just thoughts on if I have a whole in the lineup.

[casts_by_fly]

A medium power fast action is a useful rod for throwing things in the 1/4-3/8 bucket.  If you fish finesse jigs or light swim jigs, open hook soft swimbaits on a jighead, unweighted plastics, or other similar things its a good rod to have.  An unweighted fluke makes a lot of sense on one.  You need to be thinking 10-12 lb test line type lures.

 

Do you fish any of those things on a baitcaster and find you're limited by your MH/F now?  You already have a M/M (I'm guessing small crankbait rod)- do you find it a useful rod power but want a little less bend in the rod to cast? Answer those two questions and that will tell you if a M/F is something you need.

[Jar11591]

Medium fast is good for wacky rigs around sparse cover, poppers and walkers, 1/4oz spinnerbaits around sparse to moderate cover to name a few. Not as versatile as a MH-F, but still has plenty of uses. 

[king fisher]

       My 7 foot medium fast rod is rated for 1/4 - 5/8 ounce lures.  I use it with almost any technique where the lures weight falls in between 1/8 and 3/4 ounce.  Only techniques I don't ever use use a medium fast rod for are T rigged plastics, and jigs over 1/4 ounce.  The only rod that is more versatile in my quiver is a 7.5 foot medium heavy.  Both these rods fish many of the same lures, depending on the situation.  Many times I use the medium fast with a technique that I would prefer using my medium heavy, but I already have a lure tied on the medium heavy, and am confident the medium will do the job.  Over half of my biggest bass have come on my medium heavy fast.  Some of those while fighting the bass, I did wish I had switched to a heavier rod, but was able to make do.  Others it was the perfect rod for the job.

[Capt No Fish]

48 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

A medium power fast action is a useful rod for throwing things in the 1/4-3/8 bucket.  If you fish finesse jigs or light swim jigs, open hook soft swimbaits on a jighead, unweighted plastics, or other similar things its a good rod to have.  An unweighted fluke makes a lot of sense on one.  You need to be thinking 10-12 lb test line type lures.

 

Do you fish any of those things on a baitcaster and find you're limited by your MH/F now?  You already have a M/M (I'm guessing small crankbait rod)- do you find it a useful rod power but want a little less bend in the rod to cast? Answer those two questions and that will tell you if a M/F is something you need.

Correct, the M/M is my smaller crank bait rod.  Unweighted plastics I have generally through on a spinning outfit, same with the swimbaits unless I have them on a jig head fishing deep then I just use the MH/F because I put them on a 1/2 oz.

 

Thanks for the input.

[BrianMDTX]

My main WR rod is a MF. I also fish weightless TR with a MF. No bigger than 3/0 hooks. I think they’re very versatile especially with lighter baits. 

[softwateronly]

I've fallen in love with it.  MC Days 69M/F has been my GL smallie rod.  1/4oz ballhead jig is a killer on the rocky shores.  I've also done 3/8oz ballhead jigs and free rigs in weedy inland lakes, the reel sweep hookset becomes more important w/ t-rigs and heavier weed guards.  Blade baits and jerkbaits in colder water.  I also have a couple M+ rods that definitely do better in heavier cover.  I fish braid to leader which probably helps with hooksets.

 

scott

[WRB]

6’8”-6’10” Medium Fast casting rods are very versatile for a wide variety of lures within 3/16 to 5/8 oz weight range. Top water, jerk baits, smaller crank baits, Finesse jigs and worms.

When sold nearly all my tackle the 2 casting rods I kept were Custom ALX jig & worm rod and MC Iovino Splash-It rod, they  cover everything I need as a occasional back seater.

I use SLX 70 MGL with 11 lb Armilo on the MF rod, great combo for the lures within the weight range.

Tom

 

[Ryanralston07]

I love my M/F rod, a BP Carbonlite 2.0, at 7’. That rod is rated for 1/4-5/8 oz baits. I mainly throw top water poppers and wacky rigs with it but have thrown crankbaits and light t-rigs. . I have a Daiwa Tatula CT in 7.3:1 on it with Yozuri Hybrid. It casts a mile, has decent feel, is light, and fights well. 

[Capt No Fish]

Ok you guys talked me into it.  Bass Pro had the KVD's on sale for $70.  I figure that would be a good one to play around with till I determine I like it.   I throw almost everything on a medium heavy except cranks and I have a heavy rod for flipping and frogs.

[Ryanralston07]

I doubt you’ll regret it!

[Mobasser]

My medium fast Fenwick is one of my favourite rods. 

[Jar11591]

4 hours ago, Mobasser said:

My medium fast Fenwick is one of my favourite rods. 

Me too. I have a 7’ MF Elite Tech that is exclusively on wacky rig duty. Such a great stick. Fenwick is a very underrated rod company. 

[Capt No Fish]

I am seeing a lot of people stating this is their wacky rig rod.  I am curious, why this over a spinning rod.

 

I have always used spinning for wacky, poppers, flukes, jig head paddle tails.  Is there a benefit of one over the other.  Even though I ordered the rod, I am wondering if I should just keep using spinning and take back the Medium casting.

 

I know a lot ask do you find yourself looking for this or that.  To be honest,  I catch like 10 - 15 fish a year and it is hard to catch where I live so I don't know. I don't even know why I catch what I caught.  I just feel lucky when I do. I get into the just try everything I have on my deck till something catches something.  I can't really say that I lose fish because of something.  I just don't get that many bites.

[bp_fowler]

38 minutes ago, Capt No Fish said:

I am seeing a lot of people stating this is their wacky rig rod.  I am curious, why this over a spinning rod.

 

I have always used spinning for wacky, poppers, flukes, jig head paddle tails.  Is there a benefit of one over the other.  Even though I ordered the rod, I am wondering if I should just keep using spinning and take back the Medium casting.

 

I know a lot ask do you find yourself looking for this or that.  To be honest,  I catch like 10 - 15 fish a year and it is hard to catch where I live so I don't know. I don't even know why I catch what I caught.  I just feel lucky when I do. I get into the just try everything I have on my deck till something catches something.  I can't really say that I lose fish because of something.  I just don't get that many bites.

The rod power (medium) generally has no bearing on whether or not it’s a casting or spinning rod.  There’s both medium fast casting and medium fast spinning rods.  Although most of your heavier power rods do tend to be casting and most of your lighter rods tend to be spinning since most folks will cast heavier lures with a baitcaster and lighter ones with a spinning rod.

My M/F rod is a spinning rod, and I use it for the following :  shaky heads, 5”unweighted senkos both wacky and texposed, 3/16oz  4” tubes, Rapala Original F11, 4” soft jerkbaits, Mojo Rigs, and in a pinch I’ve used it for Neko, Ned rigs, and drop shots.

 

It really is a versatile rod.
 

When selecting a rod I usually look at what weight lure it’s rated for and make my decision based on what lures I use in that weight range and go from there.  For instance the lures I listed above are all within the 1/8-1/4 range so I know they will cast efficiently from my M\F rod that’s rated at 1/8-3/8 Oz.  I think matching the weight is more important than whether it’s a casting or spinning rod.
 

***EDIT***
 

Also keep in mind that different manufacturers will rate their rods differently.  What is a Medium rod for one may be a medium-heavy for another.

[MN Fisher]

29 minutes ago, bp_fowler said:

Also keep in mind that different manufacturers will rate their rods differently.  What is a Medium rod for one may be a medium-heavy for another.

Exactly so - don't look at the words, look at the numbers.

Example - Two rods, both rated 10#-20# line, 1/4-1oz lures - so exactly the same ratings.

Dobyns 704C - Labeled Heavy

Aird-X  - Labeled Medium-Heavy.

[BrianMDTX]

7 hours ago, Mobasser said:

My medium fast Fenwick is one of my favourite rods. 

My WR rod is a Fenwick HMX 6’ 6” MF. I really like that rod. 

[optimator]

I throw a WR on a 7’3” Kistler LMH.

[badfish79]

My Dobyns Champ XP 703C is my favorite for anything under 5/16oz. Its labeled MH, but to me its a Medium power.