Rod Selection for Crappie Fishing

Hello gang, I'm fairly new to Crappie fishing. I use to fish for Crappie in ponds when I was a kid with a cane pole. Since then I've been doing a lot of deep sea fishing and some river fishing for bigger fish. I have some medium heavy/fast and medium/fast rods that I use for various things but idk if that would be suitable for Crappie fishing. I have some 2500 spinning reels but I'm thinking of going down to 2-1000 ultra lite rod setups and 2-2500 medium light rod setups for fishing Crappie and other panfish. What are in you guys arsenal? Thanks
Clint

Which of my 30 some odd rod/reel outfits do you want me to expound on :scratchhead:Rofl

But, seriously ... the heaviest action rod I use is a 7' med action IM7 Bionic Blade, which has a Shimano Spirex 2000 reel spooled with 10/2 PowerPro braid, which I use to cast baits heavier than a 1/16oz jig.
For most all other casting or dock shooting use ... I use a 6'6" IM6 ESP PowerLite (fast action tip) with a Okuma Stratus STX20 reel spooled with 6# test Vicious Panfish hi-vis copoly line.
My secondary/backup rod is a 6' Ardent IM7 rod, with a Shimano Spirex 1000RE reel spooled with the same Vicious copoly line.

Of course, if you ask a hundred people what rods/reels to use, you're likely to get almost as many different answers. Some will say go high end and never look back, while others will say go cheap and replace as needed, and even others that say look for something in between. My suggestion is ... regardless of what brand/style/length you decide on, make sure the reel balances well with the rod. A rod/reel that's a little handle end heavy is MUCH better than one that's tip end heavy, because a tip end heavy outfit will wear you out within a short time of use ... especially if you're casting with it.

The techniques you intend to use will dictate what outfits you will need. Some will allow you to use them for more than one technique, while others are obviously technique specific.

As CP mentioned, it all depends on how you'll be fishing and, even then, everybody uses different set ups.

If you will be casting jigs, almost any light or UL rod from 5-8' long will work. Just balance it out with reel, and you'll be set. Your 2500's should be fine.

If you plan on trolling, guys generally go with longer rods (10-16'.)

Thanks fellas! I normally have my rods built from a builder. Great customer service, lifetime warranty and made in the USA won me over lol! I'm gonna send up a request for a couple of ultralites and a couple of medium lite/lite rods. I will never say never for trolling but I think I'm going to wait on it. So mostly jigging and bladed baits!

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Originally Posted by Hertboi

Thanks fellas! I normally have my rods built from a builder. Great customer service, lifetime warranty and made in the USA won me over lol! I'm gonna send up a request for a couple of ultralites and a couple of medium lite/lite rods. I will never say never for trolling but I think I'm going to wait on it. So mostly jigging and bladed baits!

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In that case .... I'd go with 7' rods, minimum. :twocents

Copy that! I just called my buddy up for some quotes. Hopefully I hear back soon to get this show on the road!

The custom rods will always perform well. I learned to make them 30 years ago by reading a book by Dale Clements who at the time still sold rod components but has long since left this world. It is easier to learn than you might think and there are tricks that make the rods much more sensitive than anything that can be purchased over the counter. Making the rods yourself provides for a large savings on custom rods and provides for yet another hobby. I mostly use bait casting rods for my crappie fishing and generally jig in the 40' range most of the year with very good success. I have several ultra-light 7' St Corix bait casting rods and several GLoomis spinning rods from when I used to be able to purchase blanks before Gary sold out to Shamino. I even have a limited stock of GLoomis blanks left. Since going to mostly using bait casting rods I have found that I catch a lot more fish on the drop. While the jig is dropping (free spooling down) just put your thumb on the spool and set the hook at anything that changes the rate of fall then turn the handle to engage the reels gear drive.

You can use your existing setups to great effect if you're vertical jigging. If you're casting a 1/16 oz jig, better go light action or med.light. My current favorite rod for jig casting is a 6' Falcon Original spinning rod in med. light weight with a 1000 series reel of your choice. Simple, versatile and effective.

Well, not knowing what or if you have any budget restrictions, I sincerely believe you should take serious look at the B n' M rods. The SHSS (Sam Heaton's Super Sensitive) in 7' length would serve you very well for either casting light jigs or vertical jigging. A very versatile rod that will cost around $50.00, depending on where you get it from. I've caught a ton of crappie on this rod and it has enough backbone to handle the occasional bass or norther pike as well. Good Luck. :)

Like light 6,6 from Gander Mountain