Thread: Rods that handle light line & jigs but strong enough to flip fish in the boat?

Originally Posted by deathb4disco

Agreed. The bass guys are using pool cues for rods and 65# braid. Just ignore them.

Yep, I'm one o' those guys! I bass fish a lot, usually in heavy cover and a couple of my rods are heavy and heavier with 20# fluoro and 40# braid. But even on my lighter rigs anything 3 lbs or less I usually haul in. I keep a big KastKing net on the deck for the rare occasions I need it. I'm old, overweight, bad back, knees and hips and just not very agile and I've lost more bass trying to net 'em than hauling 'em in. I realize it's different with crappie fishing and if I have to have a net so be it, I'm just trying to avoid a hundred dollar mistake out of the gate.

Guilty of charge here, I’m a bass guy and do flip a lot of my fishing and that habit is continuing even with Ultralight Fishing. I know it is not a good thing and high risk of damage the rod. Anyway as a bank fishing man and normally carry only one setup and a box of jig, I hardly ever carry net with me.
I don’t flip the fish that is too big and can put heavy load on my rod, instead I pulled up from leader line or lip them if it is really big. Sometime I have no option but to flip them no access to water from shore.
Is there technique to flip the fish. I don’t know.

I don’t have to worry about it with the 8” crappie I catch

I've flipped 4 pound catfish with my UL St. Croix Premier series rods. Heck, I've hung a lure and pulled my 16' Deep-V boat with my rod and 6# line.

I always thought that line weight listed on a rod was to indicate size line that best suited casting with, not the dead weight that you could lift with the rod!!!

flipping fish is tricky , I almost never use a net myself ,but I do ride in boats sometimes that use nets .
larger crappie fish in the over 1.25 to 1.5 range often get a pass when "flipping" fish if you are not tuned into this technique .
with 2 lb test I never ever try to flip fish that are over around 10 inches or so . with 6 lb test and an ok stiff rod I regularly flip larger fish .
the trick is to get the fish coming your way steady and pendulum them using the fishes momentum and not give it a split second slack or any kind of jerk .
a lot of the crappie tackle I handle is not made for slinging fish for sure , a good amount of it just doesn't have what it is needed for the lift . folks mention backbone a lot and I guess its a good term , but to be sure even with the right stiffness lots of things can go wrong when you go to toss one ….
my 3 cents

I’m not sure why one would want to “flip” fish. Why chance a lost fish or a broken rod?

Originally Posted by ET Fish

I’m not sure why one would want to “flip” fish. Why chance a lost fish or a broken rod?

I haven't touched my toes in decades. Haven't seen them in longer than that Weight and age lead to poor flexibility and stability. Imagine bank fishing from rocks with those issues. Now add bending over to the "balancing act". I used to laugh at my grandmother when I was a kid for her asking me to thread her needles. I wish she were still alive so I could apologize and explain that "I get it" .