Hey guys looking for some help. I started pulling cranks out the side from the bow last year and had a ton of fun. To see if I liked it and because I didn’t have a transport rack, I bought black widow collapsible rods and cheap spinning reels. I went out the first day and put a hurting on some big ones and got hooked. I started buying line counters in anticipation of getting new rods this year. I also picked up two 8’ PSTs and two 10’ PSTs to see if I liked them last year. The 10s are okay but I feel the 8s are way too soft. I’m pulling picos, arkies, and bandits anywhere from 1 to 2mph.

Had an issue with some of the Shakespeare reels having the line jump into the side of housing and get jammed in the spool but that’s another issue, I’ll look at upgrading those later.

The time has come to order some cranking rods. I picked up a set of six 16’ southern crappie rods to spider rig with. I wish he made more lengths in the “T” version but he only has 14s and 16s. I’m hesitant to get more PSTs because I’m unsure if they will be too soft like the 8’ers I have. Honestly the action on the black widows are pretty good and can easily detect a bite but I’d like something a little better with a better reel seat that’s lighter to handle. I’d like to use these new rods to try pushing cranks as well ans PSTs with 2-3oz on them wouldn’t be pretty I assume.

I’ve read that 4’ difference in length is preferred and I can see where that might be nice. The PSTs come in a bunch of different length options and since I’m only looking for 6 rods I could pick up a set of 14s and 18s and be done since I have a set of 10s.

If you had to get new rods, what would you go with and would you hold the 4’ difference? 18’ rods are going to be as long as my boat but I did get a transport rack after breaking down those 16’ southern crappie rods a few times. That was money well spent and would work well for cranking too.

Looking for some advice here. Thank you!