Why glass cranking rod?

[Whopperstopper]

Why do some people prefer glass cranking rods? I'm interested in a comparison - glass vs carbon crank bait rods.

Thanks

[Walkabout7781]

I would expect that few cranking rods would be entirely carbon fiber. I have a glass St. Croix and a GLoomis that I'm sure has some glass but also CF. Not a fan of the St. Croix, but thankfully don't find cranks very practical with all our milfoil (due to the clear water...largely caused by the milfoil...largely caused by the fertilizers use on the lawns).

[Milehibird]

I've used all 3, glass, graphite, and glass/graphite composite rods. I'm in the camp of people who can't stand glass rods. The very reason why many people like them, is why I don't. They are noodles for their power. The glass rods I've used will bend all the way down to the stripper guide on the cast. When a fish loads up, it feels like you're setting the hook forever to get through all the bend in the rod. The reason people like that, is no matter how much a fish shakes its head, the rod just gives, so it can't throw the bait. Also, loading up on the cast, if you can adjust your cast to the rod, you can get amazing distance from the cast. I just don't like to change my cast to wait for the rod to catch up with my hands.

Graphite rods can be hard to find a good cranking rod that has almost as much flex as glass. When you do though, they feel half the weight of a glass rod, and you can feel every vibration of the bait. You have to be a little more careful fighting fish because you're more likely to pull the hooks out.

Composite rods typically offer the best of both worlds in that they are both graphite and glass. The ones I have, the top 1/3 or so of the rod is glass, so the tip is a noodle, very soft. But it transitions into a solid backbone. These are actually squarebill rods for me. So this works because my squarebills I use stout hooks on, and the soft tip lets you roll cast it easily and lets the fish suck it in, but the strong backbone also lets you get the heavier hooks set, and you can horse them in a bit more. They aren't as light as full graphite/carbon, but they aren't as heavy as glass. So they are a good balance.

FWIW, I currently have 3 composite rods, 1 glass, and 5? graphite crankbait rods. Both of my deep cranking rods (6XD, 8XD, 10XD) are full graphite, and so are my all purpose rods. The 3 composite are my squarebill rods and a flat side/jerkbait rod.

[csurp]

I had great luck using saltwater "popping" rod action rods for cranking. They can be had in graphite with a soft parabolic bend.

[XingEyeballs]

I have both St. Croix and Dobyn’s glass blended rods and crank a lot. The draw to glass is it’s load characteristics when both casting and fighting a fish on small treble hooks. I own a lot of high end rods and very technic specific setups and in my hands they are a good blend of power, feel, and forgiveness. I only fish cranks on fluorocarbon and don’t find any real loss in sensitivity personally.

[fr8dog]

My favorite crank rod is an All Star Classic. A 7’ ACL PRM graphite. Slow rod. Great for cranks on bass and walleye. I have a Lamiglas that I built many moons ago. It’s OK, but I prefer the AS pole, can’t actually say why. They both work well. I can switch from a fast to slow rod easily. Do it all the time on fly poles also. You get used to it.

[RFeyoMN]

I hate glass rods. I'll never use one. People claim fish rarely throw baits with them...but that's far from true. A bass can shake out a plug that isn't connect to any rod.
I prefer heavier, faster rods. You need hook penetration. And on longer casts (more line out) it just makes more sense. You bury the hooks in a fish, they're not coming off. Use a noodle rod, and you simply won't get the best hook penetration.

[Warcat]

I think the whole glass rod / med action rods for cranking is hog wash. I like med heavy rods for crank baits and lipless baits. Yes I do lose some like everyone else. Just my preference. For me there is just no feel in flimsy rods feels like your reeling in a rock.

[johnnybass]

I too don't like glass. Sensitivity is important when cranking for me because I want to feel the grass well before I bury my bait. Also, graphite can be engineered to be as soft as you want so you can get the flex and keep the sensitivity.

That being said, I know that there are pros and some excellent fisherman I know that like glass so I don't want to dismiss it entirely.

[FryDog62]

There are graphite rods out there made for cranking with parabolic bends. If those keep pinned and yet offer greater sensitivity than glass - I've decided why even bother with glass. I tried many of both materials... graphite just makes more sense to me.