What casting rod to get next

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

 I already have medium heavy, fast action 7’ casting combo, with 30lb braid and a flouro leader and a bunch of spinning rods. I’m trying to decide what cast rod I should get next. I was thinking about getting a moderate action rod I could use for crankbaits and Chatterbaits. Should that be a good choice? And any solid options for under $150?

[Peacedivision]

Dobyns Fury 705CB. I don't love it for chatterbaits but I know some folks do. That said ANY treble hook bait in its weight range and it excels. Particularly love it for top water spooks and lipless cranks.

[LrgmouthShad]

So you want a rod that will be good for chatterbaits and crankbaits?

 

There is no “correct” rod to get next… it is based on what you need/want to use it for. 

[MediumMouthBass]

Some like a composite or glass rod for chatterbaits, i dont.

My chatterbait rod is a stiff fast action MH, my crankbait rod is a composite moderate rod either a M-MH depending on how deep im cranking. When im fishing chatterbaits im ripping it out of grass over and over again. I only catch fish on lipless cranks and chatterbaits when i do it this way, the bass rarely bite them for me any other way. Thats why i want that stiffer fast action rod.

Im always ripping it out of that grass, i would be worried about breaking a moderate rod if i were using one to do this. Plus i want that instant hookset so i bring back a bass and not just a bunch of grass.

 

But others prefer a moderate rod with some bend to it, and a few may rather have a moderate fast rod.

 

How do you fish chatterbaits? Thats a big factor in what rod would be good for you.

If you fish it like most you probably need a moderate/mod-fast rod and something from Dobyns or St Croix would probably be very nice. Although my Lew KVD composite rods i have for deep cranking/1oz bladed jigs, and 1-2oz swimbaits i really like. Not too expensive either.

 

If you dont need the moderate rod for them then wait for a sale and get 2 rods, 1 for each technique.

You can get quite a few good rods for $75-100 each on different sales throughout the spring-summer seasons.

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

What action, length and power rod would complement the MH that I already have the best? Like I said I do a little bit of everything and I plan on buying more casting rods in the future.

[LrgmouthShad]

40 minutes ago, August said:

Like I said I do a little bit of everything and I plan on buying more casting rods in the future.

Unless stated on another thread, you did not state either of those things here. 

41 minutes ago, August said:

What action, length and power rod would complement the MH that I already have the best?

Think about what baits you currently own perform the worst with your current baitcaster, whether that is through poor hookup/land ratio or poor castability. Research on here what rods people recommend for those baits. Start to develop an idea of what kind of rod might be good for multiple different baits that need 'help'. 

 

The closest answer I can give you that matches with what you want is to recommend you buy a rod that is MH, moderate or MH, moderate fast. 

 

Remember, the rod, line, drag, bait, and hook all form a system. There are multiple 'right' answers that people may recommend for the same bait. You need to think about how much 'give' you need for a particular bait, and where it is coming from. From the stretch of mono or fluoro? From your rod's action? From a looser drag?

 

Is your rod appropriate for casting the lure weights you want? Do you want a longer rod for more casting distance and control over a fish? Do you want a shorter rod for accuracy, less weight, and maneuverability?

[new2BC4bass]

Maybe look at the Ark Tharp B-Hittay 7'4" MH-Mod.-Fast.  It is a composite rod.  Weight 6.3 oz.  Blank diameter is larger than most.  At least larger than any other rod I have, if that is a put-off for you.  Check the reviews.  TT gave it a 'Great' rating.  It was the favorite rod in the series by another reviewer even tho he admitted to preferring a jig rods.

[MediumMouthBass]

 

3 hours ago, August said:

What action, length and power rod would complement the MH that I already have the best? Like I said I do a little bit of everything and I plan on buying more casting rods in the future.

@August not sure what lures you fish but for 99.9% of bass anglers the following rods would work for almost every type of lure made.

 

Heres my suggestions for future rod ideas for you

 

6'6"-7' M fast or moderate-fast, excels for those lighter lures or jerkbaits that dont have a weight transfer system. Weightless soft plastics, like senkos and flukes or lightly weighted texas rigs also work great for these kind of rods.

I have a few of the Abu Black Max walmart rods, they are listed as fast action rods and are 6'6" but they have alot of bend in them that make them great for throwing lighter square bill crankbaits.

So sometimes a certain rod material can give it a different action that what is stated, keep that in mind.

7'-7'3" MH fast, great do everything kind of rod, texas rigs, spinnerbaits/buzzbaits, chatterbaits, jerkbaits that are heavier, crankbaits (just loosen the drag), paddle tail swimbaits on a jig, football and finesse jigs. It can do it all depending on line, reel, and drag. While it can do it all its main strengths will be jigs, texas rigs, spinner/buzz baits and top water baits like poppers and walking style lures. You already have a rod for this area, but you should think about getting more in the future. I take around 2-3 7'3" MH rods with me when fishing. They can do anything its just not always ideal.

7-7'4" H fast or extra fast, frogs, punching, flipping/pitching, heavy texas rigs and jigs, but can also do lighter ounce big swimbaits and also big topwater's like the bigger sized whopper ploppers.

7'4"-7'6" Medium, or Medium Heavy rod in moderate action, whether you go medium or medium heavy depends on how much the crankbaits you are throwing weigh, and how deep they dive.

Example for Strike King 1.0 and 1.5's id rather have a Medium rod, will make casting them easier and also get more distance. But as soon as i go into the 2.5 or larger ill need that MH.

Pay close attention to the lure weight ratings, i have cranking rods that are the same power/action and the one rod might be good for 1/2-3/4oz but the other may be 1/2-2oz.

The higher the max lure weight rating is the harder it will be to cast those lighter crankbaits, because the rods much stronger and also stiffer, even tho my 2nd cranking rod is still rated at the bottom for 1/2oz like the other it really struggles casting 1/2 and 3/4oz lures.

And for deep diving crankbaits thats another few paragraphs so ill keep it short, you can use 1 cranking rod for all the types of crankbaits, but it wont be ideal and you will struggle in certain areas. Its best to figure out if you prefer shallow cranks or deep cranks, get 1 rod or 2 depending on what ones you want to fish.

 

Any rod within certain parameters can fish any type of lure, some will just do the task better, faster and be more ideal. Keep that in mind, you dont need to go out an buy 20 different rods.

Just a few will be needed, figure out which lures you want to fish the most and go from there.

[PBBrandon]

I’d either get a rod for crankbaits if you fish mostly open water, or a heavy rod if you fish a lot of cover. For cranking rods I’d recommend:

 

Dobyns Fury 705cb

 

Daiwa Tatula 7’ or 7’2” medium regular

 

The old St Croix Mojo bass rods can be found on their site for $125. I’d get the 7’1” MHM cranker.

 

if you get a heavy rod for big jigs/t-rigs and fishing slop:

 

Daiwa Tatula 7’4” HF

St. Croix Mojo Bass 7’4” HF

 

not a fan of the heavier Fury rods, they get a little heavy in hand when you get to the 5 powers

 

 

as for chatterbaits, I’d throw those on the MH you got. Everyone has their preferences but I personally don’t see why   I’d use a glass rod for chatterbaits. It’s a jig with a blade on it, and has a jig hook. Plus I’m not a fan of heavier glass rods. 
 

I will say, I’ve held a couple of the St Croix LTB glass rods and didn’t even know they were glass rods until I looked at the label. Very impressed with those.

 

Good luck with your decision!

[bulldog1935]

JY hit 158 to US$ today - weakest Yen against the $ in 34 years - and should continue to drop during next week holidays.  

 

Go over everybody's JDM recommendations and buy from Japan.  

 

 

Sometimes difficult to grasp.  JDM vendors may list US$ prices (assumed exchange rate), but they bill you in JY, and you will be charged the exchange rate by your credit card.  On a rising JY, I've seen additional 5% I paid over US$ listed by vendor.  On a falling JY, I've seen 10% less billed to my credit card than vendor's US$ list price.  

[MN Fisher]

55 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

JY hit 158 to US$ today - weakest Yen against the $ in 34 years - and should continue to drop during next week holidays.  

 

Go over everybody's JDM recommendations and buy from Japan.  

 

 

Give it a day or two for the shops to catch up....Digitaka still has the exchange rate at 150yen/dollar

[1984isNOW]

57 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

next week holidays.  

What are next week's holidays?

[MN Fisher]

19 minutes ago, 1984isNOW said:

What are next week's holidays?

This year, April 27-May 6 is 'Golden Week'. 4 public holidays occur during this time.

 

Monday is Showa Day

Friday is Constitution Memorial Day

Saturday is Greenery Day

Sunday is Children's Day

 

Quite a few people also will take Tuesday-Thursday off to give them a 9-day holiday 'week'

[GetFishorDieTryin]

A 6'10 M fast would be my choice.  

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

15 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

 

@August not sure what lures you fish but for 99.9% of bass anglers the following rods would work for almost every type of lure made.

 

Heres my suggestions for future rod ideas for you

 

6'6"-7' M fast or moderate-fast, excels for those lighter lures or jerkbaits that dont have a weight transfer system. Weightless soft plastics, like senkos and flukes or lightly weighted texas rigs also work great for these kind of rods.

I have a few of the Abu Black Max walmart rods, they are listed as fast action rods and are 6'6" but they have alot of bend in them that make them great for throwing lighter square bill crankbaits.

So sometimes a certain rod material can give it a different action that what is stated, keep that in mind.

7'-7'3" MH fast, great do everything kind of rod, texas rigs, spinnerbaits/buzzbaits, chatterbaits, jerkbaits that are heavier, crankbaits (just loosen the drag), paddle tail swimbaits on a jig, football and finesse jigs. It can do it all depending on line, reel, and drag. While it can do it all its main strengths will be jigs, texas rigs, spinner/buzz baits and top water baits like poppers and walking style lures. You already have a rod for this area, but you should think about getting more in the future. I take around 2-3 7'3" MH rods with me when fishing. They can do anything its just not always ideal.

7-7'4" H fast or extra fast, frogs, punching, flipping/pitching, heavy texas rigs and jigs, but can also do lighter ounce big swimbaits and also big topwater's like the bigger sized whopper ploppers.

7'4"-7'6" Medium, or Medium Heavy rod in moderate action, whether you go medium or medium heavy depends on how much the crankbaits you are throwing weigh, and how deep they dive.

Example for Strike King 1.0 and 1.5's id rather have a Medium rod, will make casting them easier and also get more distance. But as soon as i go into the 2.5 or larger ill need that MH.

Pay close attention to the lure weight ratings, i have cranking rods that are the same power/action and the one rod might be good for 1/2-3/4oz but the other may be 1/2-2oz.

The higher the max lure weight rating is the harder it will be to cast those lighter crankbaits, because the rods much stronger and also stiffer, even tho my 2nd cranking rod is still rated at the bottom for 1/2oz like the other it really struggles casting 1/2 and 3/4oz lures.

And for deep diving crankbaits thats another few paragraphs so ill keep it short, you can use 1 cranking rod for all the types of crankbaits, but it wont be ideal and you will struggle in certain areas. Its best to figure out if you prefer shallow cranks or deep cranks, get 1 rod or 2 depending on what ones you want to fish.

 

Any rod within certain parameters can fish any type of lure, some will just do the task better, faster and be more ideal. Keep that in mind, you dont need to go out an buy 20 different rods.

Just a few will be needed, figure out which lures you want to fish the most and go from there.

Is it the right choice to put braid to a fluoro leader on the MH I already have? If not, what pound straight fluoro? 

[PBBrandon]

23 minutes ago, August said:

Is it the right choice to put braid to a fluoro leader on the MH I already have? If not, what pound straight fluoro? 

Braid to fluoro is very versatile on a MH rod. Perfect for bottom contact presentations, if you are fishing topwaters, replace with a mono leader. light frogging or heavier cover? Snip the leader off and run straight braid.

 

Only thing I see a disadvantage with braid to leader is if you have smaller guides or a big knot, your casting distance can get affected if you are trying to bomb cast a lipless/spinnerbait/chatterbait etc. 

 

15lb is a pretty good all round fluoro. More cover and you can bump to 17lb

[KP Duty]

Your 7ft MH should work for chatters.  A crankbait/topwater/jerkbait rod should be next imo.  I like a 6-10" M regular/moderate tapered rod.  ML RB in Daiwa line.

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

Just now, KP Duty said:

Your 7ft MH should work for chatters.  A crankbait/topwater/jerkbait rod should be next imo.  I like a 6-10" M regular/moderate tapered rod.  ML RB in Daiwa line.

What line would I put on it? Would I want braid for top waters but straight fluoro for cranks? 

[KP Duty]

19 minutes ago, August said:

What line would I put on it? Would I want braid for top waters but straight fluoro for cranks? 

10lb-ish mono.  You need a floating line for the topwater baits.

[MediumMouthBass]

@August braid will be the easiest line to cast on a baitcasting reel, and mono will be 2nd.

Copoly/hybrid lines are a bit more difficult than the two above but keep in mind that fluoro is harder to cast, requires alot of care and maintenance and also requires the reel to have brakes put on a higher setting.

Fluoro is great at many things but only fill the whole spool with it if you are sure you need it and understand its downfalls.

 

so if its working for you then think about keeping braid on the reel you already have it on and just switch between fluoro or mono leaders depending on lures being used that day.

 

For other reels tho 10-12lb mono would be excellent for topwaters but even straight braid with no leader would be good for topwaters also, 12-15lb mono for square bill crankbaits and also chatterbaits/spinnerbaits, and 8-10lb mono for deep diving crankbaits (the lighter the line the deeper they dive). And for jerkbaits ive used fluoro, mono, hyrbid, and braided lines, unless you are fishing in super clear deep water any of them will work. Between 8lb-10lb is what i usually use (or 30lb braid).

[Brian11719]

21 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

Maybe look at the Ark Tharp B-Hittay 7'4" MH-Mod.-Fast....

^ I bought one of these over the holiday when they were on sale at T.W. I like it ok but in retrospect I wish I would have paid a little more and gone with a St. Croix Victory VTC72HM or a Dobyn's Champion DC 736CB. One good thing about the Ark rod is the lure weight rating goes over 1oz so you can throw 6XDs on it, but after using it a while and checking these other ones out I wish I would have waited and spent a bit more. If either of those are too pricey then the Ark is a pretty good bet. If you can live with a 1oz max weight the Dobyn's Fury crankbait rod also looks pretty good but I personally think it would be worth it to save up a little more and get a Victory or a Champion for this setup....just my humble opinion. Also if you need a reel I think Dick's has the speed spool LFS on sale for $80 right now so that might save you a few bucks that you could put towards the rod. The Dobyn's Kaden KD 735CB also seems like it might work for this type of thing.

 

Alternatively, you might also consider a 7'4" heavy fast setup. I use this for spinnerbaits, smaller a-rigs and 6" magdrafts and it works great for that. There are also plenty of good options for this around that price point I guess for me I'm just a little more picky about my bladed jig rod...

[FishTax]

Doesn't matter. In a month you'll want 2 more. 😎 

Personally, I have numerous MH/fast rods. Wish I'd gotten a couple shorter ones, mine are mostly 7+. Wish I'd gotten m/f Sooner. I still don't have heavy and don't feel like I've missed out as I have some stiff MH setups. 

 

Everyone fishes different and has different preferences, which also change over time. Bait monkey is real. 

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

What about bass x or mojo bass? My local sporting goods store has $25 off st croix rod this week

[wonkyrig]

Could make better suggestions if you define the weight and depth of the crankbaits or type of crank, eg squarebill, wart, flat, 6xd, etc.

 

I personally think it's only a low percentage of rods that cross between crank and chatter well. Driving a 5/0 ridiculous wire single hook and size 4-6 rb trebles have completely different necessities to me. Casting distance is a big factor on my lake too.

[10,000 lakes Bassin]

Could I also use braid to a fluoro leader for crank baits? In the past I’ve always used straight fluoro.