Rod question

[Mizzou211]

All,

I've gotten a small unexpected bonus at work and while it's not a great deal of money, my wonderful wife has told me to splurge a little on myself. Should be enough to buy myself a couple new rod/reel combos I've been wanting.

Now for most setups (cranks, pitching/flipping, bottom contact baits, etc.) I know PRECISELY what I want. But, I've got most or all of those already. My desire here is to come up with a new primary spinnerbait / chatterbait combo. I know exactly what reel I want and in what retrieve ratio, but I'm struggling with the rod choice.

I've always used kind of general purpose rods for blades and jackhammers and I'm not sure that's my best choice. I've heard lots of folks talk about using a glass rod for these applications and that intrigues me. Kind of a slower loading, but lots of backbone type rod. I'm a fan of the Lamiglass rods from St. Croix and have a couple of them I throw cranks on. I'm leaning towards a 7'4" MH Moderate rod in this series. Seems a good choice for 1/2 oz. blades and chatterbaits, at least to me.

I'm not necessarily looking for specific brand/length/power recommendations (although feel free to add them in if you wish) but what are your overall thoughts on the glass/slower action rods for this purpose?

Thanks all!

[Ckfishin]

Dobyns 736g is all I use for spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. Buy it from American legacy fishing today and you will get a giftcard for 40%.

[mean_dean]

Yes, I am a believer in glass rods for cranks and other moving baits. I just got a ALX Zolo Rumble just for that purpose, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and fish head spins.

I'm already using the St. Croix Legend Glass for cranks and love them enough I'm giving the Rumble a try.

[Topwater All Day]

A lot of guys lump vibrating jigs and spinnerbaits together and throw them on the same rod, but I've found I want a different rod for these two baits. For a vibrating jig, I want a rod with a lot of power and backbone, but still has a good parabolic bend and a softer tip. For a spinnerbait, I still want a powerful rod but maybe more of a medium heavy, and a little faster action tip. Another thing is line size for these two techniques - I use heavier line when fishing vibrating jigs (14-17 lb) than I do spinnerbaits (10-12 lb), so that matters too. So really, having the right rod and line allows for fishing these baits a lot more effectively!

This combo has worked really well for me and I can't say enough about these rods:

Vibrating jig rod: St Croix Victory VTC72HM "Rip'n Chatter" rod, 7'2" heavy power/moderate action

Spinnerbait rod: St Croix Victory VTC71MHF "The Grunt" rod, 7'1" medium heavy power/fast action

And agree 100% with CK above about buying rods from American Legacy Fishing - they are an excellent retailer and have one of the best loyalty programs around called Legacy Elite. They also buy and sell used rods so you can trade in rods on new ones.

Hope that helps, good luck and enjoy your new rods!

[coreynov902]

I'd have to agree with Topwater All Day about having two different rods. I really love the Shimano Expride 7'2" MH Glass composite rod for throwing chatterbaits, but want a little faster tip for throwing spinnerbaits. The only rod I have owned that I would say I loved equally for both bladed jigs and spinnerbaits would be the Megabass Destroyer P5 Blade. However, that is a pretty short rod at 6'8" and for a lot of guys that rules it out. Many of the P5 rods have this kind of dual action where they have a crisp tip but yet they bend pretty far into the blank, so you have the best of both worlds.

[basscat tyler]

A lot of guys lump vibrating jigs and spinnerbaits together and throw them on the same rod, but I've found I want a different rod for these two baits. For a vibrating jig, I want a rod with a lot of power and backbone, but still has a good parabolic bend and a softer tip. For a spinnerbait, I still want a powerful rod but maybe more of a medium heavy, and a little faster action tip. Another thing is line size for these two techniques - I use heavier line when fishing vibrating jigs (14-17 lb) than I do spinnerbaits (10-12 lb), so that matters too. So really, having the right rod and line allows for fishing these baits a lot more effectively!

This combo has worked really well for me and I can't say enough about these rods:

Vibrating jig rod: St Croix Victory VTC72HM "Rip'n Chatter" rod, 7'2" heavy power/moderate action

Spinnerbait rod: St Croix Victory VTC71MHF "The Grunt" rod, 7'1" medium heavy power/fast action

And agree 100% with CK above about buying rods from American Legacy Fishing - they are an excellent retailer and have one of the best loyalty programs around called Legacy Elite. They also buy and sell used rods so you can trade in rods on new ones.

Hope that helps, good luck and enjoy your new rods!

I’m with you. Definitely two different rods for those applications. I use the same line though. #17-#20 fluorocarbon

[Mizzou211]

I had wondered about the two different rods/actions scenario.

Thanks for weighing in on those ideas!

[pabasshawk]

I like the ALX Rumble so much that I now have 3 of them. They have enough flex in the tip to let your bait hunt and the fish inhale the bait then loads with plenty of backbone. That flex in the tip helps with longer casts while still allowing accurate shorter work. It's becoming one of my favorite rods. I also like it for working traps around and through weeds.

[WI-Bassin]

I use two different rods for each presentation.

For bladed jigs I use a Favorite Phat Glass 7'4" MH. It's a composite rod and perfect for throwing bladed jigs. Using 15lb flourcarbon. I use the same rod for throwing DT 6 and 10's. Just go down to 12lb Florocarbon with that. Rod has a nice soft tip that loads up really vice but also is able to rip the jig through the weeds also. A lot of my videos you can see it in action. If you 'd like I can send you a link to one that really shows me using it ripping through weeds.

I like a MH fast action for my spinnerbait setup. Something in the 7' to 7'4" length. Currently using a Halo KSII Elite. Same 15lb flourocarbon.

[Mizzou211]

I think I'm leaning towards the Rumble from ALX at this point. Still want to find weights on a couple of the St. Croix rods before making a final choice though. And, thanks for the advice on American Legacy Fishing. I have quite a few rods and reels I think I will trade in. I'd love to sell them on Marketplace or Craigslist, but honestly just don't have the time. I may get a little less for them from ALF, but anything is more than I'm getting right now. I'll take it.

[ManxFishing]

I'd say the Dobyns Champion Series

The 735Cb Glass It's a 7-3" MH fast glass rod.
Loads up were it should, Has a full cork handle and there's a great warr with the Rod
Perfect rod for Chatterbaits, Spinnerbaits and it works for Sq. bills and DD's

[Milehibird]

I was a chatterbait junkie. that said, one of my favorite chatterbait rods to this day, was the skeet reese spinnerbait/worm rod. BUT...you have to run braid with it. It's too soft with fluoro. I disagree with people who say that a chatterbait and spinnerbait need different rods because the construction is the same.
That said, for now, I am using an NRX+ 883BJR for it. I don't think there's a better setup for both as long as you stay under 1/2oz.

[Big Al]

I am a huge spinnerbait fisherman and my go to rod is a Loomis SBR 812C. It is not made anymore but I notice they make it in the GCX model and in the IMX-Pro. The 813 would be better for 1/2- 3/4 oz but they only have it in the IMX-Pro. Of course these rods are only 6'9".

[cubswin]

I went with powell diesel rods for cranking, about 80 bucks and no warranty. Have two of them that replaced some older bps crankin sticks, and after a year and half I'm very pleased with them. For a general purpose rod I think the 7 or 7'3" alx promise ikon rod is hard to beat.

[hatcreek]

I went with powell diesel rods for cranking, about 80 bucks and no warranty. Have two of them that replaced some older bps crankin sticks…

If those are Gen I OG models, I know a guy who might be interested in helping you dispose of them, properly.

[BigFishSteve]

Change you ways a bit. Buy a decent 6.5-7' medium light spinning rod. Put on a smaller spinning reel. Skip some light jigs around and catch more fish. Skipping a 3" curly tail grub up under some stuff. Light jighead so it falls slow. Don't be so quick to get the fish in the boat. Play it out. Get it to the boat and watch that wonderful creature swim some. Catching 10, 20 or 50 more fish per day can be quite satisfying.

[buzzzzbait88]

A lot of guys lump vibrating jigs and spinnerbaits together and throw them on the same rod, but I've found I want a different rod for these two baits. For a vibrating jig, I want a rod with a lot of power and backbone, but still has a good parabolic bend and a softer tip. For a spinnerbait, I still want a powerful rod but maybe more of a medium heavy, and a little faster action tip. Another thing is line size for these two techniques - I use heavier line when fishing vibrating jigs (14-17 lb) than I do spinnerbaits (10-12 lb), so that matters too. So really, having the right rod and line allows for fishing these baits a lot more effectively!

This combo has worked really well for me and I can't say enough about these rods:

Vibrating jig rod: St Croix Victory VTC72HM "Rip'n Chatter" rod, 7'2" heavy power/moderate action

Spinnerbait rod: St Croix Victory VTC71MHF "The Grunt" rod, 7'1" medium heavy power/fast action

And agree 100% with CK above about buying rods from American Legacy Fishing - they are an excellent retailer and have one of the best loyalty programs around called Legacy Elite. They also buy and sell used rods so you can trade in rods on new ones.

Hope that helps, good luck and enjoy your new rods!

These are the exact 2 rods that I use for vibrating jigs and spinnerbaits. The VTC72HM is one of St. Croixs iAct glass rods, that combines the lightweight and sensitivity of SCIV+ Graphite with glass to create a light, sensitive rod that fishes like glass. I absolutely love mine for chatterbait fishing. The VTC71MHF is a good all around rod that I bought for spinnerbaits, but has also worked great for buzzbaits, swimjigs(in light cover), senkos, light texas rigs. Pretty good all around rod.

[steinybass]

I would look at the Cashion line up and see what you like that they have.

[kyelkhunter]

I like the ALX Rumble so much that I now have 3 of them. They have enough flex in the tip to let your bait hunt and the fish inhale the bait then loads with plenty of backbone. That flex in the tip helps with longer casts while still allowing accurate shorter work. It's becoming one of my favorite rods. I also like it for working traps around and through weeds.

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