Spider rig question

[Gen273]

So am I hearing that 12’ rods would be a good starting point? I have good jigging rods, but I am wanting to buy one set of rods to do both spider rigging and pushing crankbaits. I am foolish, or can the same rod be used effectively for both tactics?

[CrappiePappy]

So am I hearing that 12’ rods would be a good starting point? I have good jigging rods, but I am wanting to buy one set of rods to do both spider rigging and pushing crankbaits. I am foolish, or can the same rod be used effectively for both tactics?

They "can be" .... but, it's pushing the limits on some brands. Spider Rigging rods should be a little lite in action on the tips, so you can see soft bites ... Pushing rods should be a bit stiffer on the tips, so they don't totally load up when you have a couple of ounces of weight and a diving crank pulling down on them. Using one of them for both methods isn't going to get the optimum effect in the other method.

I have the BnM Capps/Coleman 14' rods, which is a decent Spider Rig rod, but I use them to Push jigs/cranks (1-2oz weights) and they do just fine. I have the BPS Uncle Bucks collapsible 13' rods, which have a VERY soft tip action & would work well as Spider Rig rods, but I use them to Push jigs/cranks as well. I also have a BnM PST 14' rod, but it's not a optimum rod for Spider Rigging, but does a real good job Pushing jigs/cranks. I have line counter reels on all of them.

Normally I see Spider Riggers using an array of identical length rods, whereas Pushers usually have rods of varying lengths (so as to maximize line separation).