Medium action worm rod.

[spec]

Fish lakes with little or no cover. 3/16th- 1/4 max plastics. Currently using MH. Will I lose anything by going to a nice medium action rod?

[ridgerunner6901]

Nope, lots of guys exclusively use a medium spinning rod for that type of bait. I personally like a lighter tip with a stouter backbone. ( mag bass taper)

[ECobb91]

I use an old Gander Mtn X-Factor Med casting rod and St Croix BassX med casting rod for light pitching and worms. No problems at all and I prefer a lighter rod

[BassinJax]

Check out Legit Rods Wild Side !!

[eyra_kid]

It depends on the company you're considering. There is a wide range of mediums. Some company's mh feels like other's medium.
One of my favorite mediums, and one I wouldn't hesitate to throw a light T-rig with is the 7" medium fast St. Croix Legend Tournament. Pick your price range. You could find this in a 7-1 medium fast in the mojo or bass-x for less money also.
Another one that would be similar would be a 7-2 medium Shimano SLX. I have that rod also.

I feel like a G.Loomis medium (2 power) would on the light side. I have an 842, and mostly use it for topwater and jerkbait.

If you were going Falcon, I wouldnt go 7' medium as the ones I've felt are pretty moderate. A good one is the 6-10 medium heavy. Has a nice tip for lighter baits.

ALX rods has some interesting 7' medium rods in various price ranges. Would be worth a call to get a recommendation if he doesn't comment on here first.

Let us know your preferred brand and price range.

[spec]

Thx for replies. Not looking at any particular brand, but prefer to stay under $250. Currently using no-name MH rods and but since my plastic fishing is 1/4 and under, kinda wanted to know if I was missing anything by not using a decent medium action vs the MH.

[PSchueller]

I used a St. Croix Mojo 7'1" medium "plastics" casting rod for years without a problem. I use braid to a leader, which helps a medium be enough power. The main reason I don't use it any more is because I moved to FL and wanted something with more power.

[PolarKraft195]

I use a pair of Dobyns Champion 703C's for light pitching, in and around cover.

[DrewFlu33]

I throw plastics in that weight range on a 7'1" MH rated Phenix Feather. I've actually got 2 of them that I use for quite a few different techniques, but one of them does full time duty as my light Texas rig rod. Though it's rated MH, it really fishes more like what other companies' medium powered options do as Phenix tends to rate their rods heavier than other companies for a given power. It's a fantastic rod, especially at its price point (about $150, so well under your budget). They may be out there, but I've yet to find one that comes close for less than twice as much. Super light, super sensitive, and I've casted Texas rigs down to 1/8 oz (+ hook and plastic) without any trouble at all. That said, I think its sweet spot is definitely around that 3/16 to 1/4 oz range. It's versatile, too. I have fished up to 1/2 oz Texas rigs and even thrown around 3/4 oz Dark Sleepers on it successfully though the latter was admittedly a little too much for it.

The action is rated XF and though different companies have different takes on what exactly XF means, in this case I'd call it a "soft" tip that helps with accuracy in closer quarters and allows you to get some distance on it when you want to do that. If you're worried about backbone, unless you're fishing for true giants I don't think you'd have issues with this rod, especially since you say you're not fishing around cover. I'm primarily casting those light Texas rigs out there a long way on braid to a leader and working them through submerged milfoil and coontail. I haven't had problems yanking fish up to and over 5 lbs out of that stuff. I even landed this 42" muskie on it when it grabbed a Texas rig out of a crib on a lake in WI:



As others have suggested, you could also consider a spinning rod for that task. I've done that in the past when fishing deeper areas with less cover, especially in clear water where getting as much distance as possible on a cast and having the bait fall straight down to maximize my efficiency is important.

[johnnybass]

x2 on the Phenix Feather. Best bang for the buck rod ever for me. Also should consider the ALX Zolo Dream. Do it all true medium fast action.

[Alumicraft145]

A lot of great rods out there for under 250$ look for something with a fast taper. Something people miss is the fact that a longer for may move your bait faster. I did a lot of great worm fishing with a 6 ft rod. ( just bought 3 old 6 ft all stars recently, one may see use as a worm rod. ) a lot of rods I got are 6-8 to 6-10. Seems to be a good length for me. Somebody had a 6-10 lews soft plastics rod for sale in the swap area.
25+ years ago, I bought a 6 ft all star heavy action spinning rod for worming. Put a big whisker 1600ss feel on it and 10# test. Worked great for me. Still got both, may put them back together as a combo.

[Bassbme]

If you are normally making 50' or longer casts with these baits, then stay with the medium heavy power. If a 50' cast is a long cast for you, then a medium power would probably be fine.

What good is a rod that can cast those baits a long way, if it doesn't have the power to set the hook at those distances.