So, how do you decide what rod to use, when where and how. Don't want to hear the normal answer. We all have more rods that we need. ( not really but it sounds good). My question is, why choose this rod, for this situation, over another?
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So, how do you decide what rod to use, when where and how. Don't want to hear the normal answer. We all have more rods that we need. ( not really but it sounds good). My question is, why choose this rod, for this situation, over another?
Not enough room to type.
Depends.
When I'm bank fishing nothing works better than my 9' Crappie Maxx Ultra Light or at least that I have tried. I have tried various lengths and actions but this one gets the bait out there and sets the hook every time.
For shooting docks I have only tried my 4.5' Pro Angler Tackle rod. I'm not shooting too far of a distance or else I'd get a longer one. Gets the job done.
Still searching for for a casting rod while boat fishing. Thinking of a 6.5'-7' rod. Looking hard at the Outlaw camouflage poles.
For dipping I've been using an 8' Pro Angler Tackle rod with a left handed Daiwa bait caster. Thinking of getting a 10' for this as the 8' just doesn't seem long enough at times.
All of my other poles have Crappie Maxx Light Reels. $20 and some good reels.
As as far as why I chose these, that's a hard answer. Im still fairly new to crappie fishing. A factor for using these was price. They are all priced $50 or less. I travel light with my tackle.
I just bought a Todd Huckabee Pulling Rod (11 ft). Only taken it out once so far, and didn't catch anything, but I'm loving how it handles. I put a Accurist PT casting reel on it...but I'm not sure I won't go with a spinning reel in the future.
My go-to rod is a Carbonlite spinning rod, 6'9". Also new for this year is a St. Croix Eyecon spinning rod, 8'. Caught some crappie at Thunderbird this spring with it at the dam...that's what got me thinking about a longer rod and led me to the Huckabee.
Each Technique I fish has a rod that fits that purpose. I have tried many different rods and a lot of them from advise or word of mouth from other fisherman. But these are my favorites and for the reason I will address
Cast n Drag Technique: BoneHead 7' Carbon Fiber Light Action Rod. Light, Sensitive, and Backbone to lift a slab into the boat. During windy conditions I like a shorter rod due to line now so I use a Falcon 6' in light action. Either of these rods a great rod for this technique.
Double Dipping: Todd Huchabee 10' Meat Dragga in MH Action or the 11' Pulling Rod in Med Action. Reason being I can turn the head of a slab crappie and get him headed toward the boat. Also use these rods with a single jig setup fishing wood cause I can turn them and get them out of heavy brush. I have tried many different brands and as far as I am concerned there isn't a better rod on the market right now.
Longlining: Again the Huckabee Rod due to the action of these rods. Enough said. I hate a wimpy rod hands down.
Spider Rigging: I use the Crappie Max Trolling Rod for this technique due to it's stiffness and action. A limber rod with just a little wave action moves the baits to much and it unnatural. Enough Said. There are many good rods for this technique you just have to do your homework and find one that suits you. Either 12' or 14' rods work for me.
Cork n Jig: I use an 8' BoneHead Fiber Carbon Rod in Light Action. Long enough to cast a jig and cork no matter the depth you are fishing.
Bottom line is all the above mentioned rods work for me and well. Hope this helps and Good Luck......Ranger
I forgot another technique that is one of my favorites. That's is dipping, flipping,and swimming small baits around standing timber and under willow trees. 10' Ozark Heavy Jigging Rod. This rod is light, sensitive, has a soft tip with lots of graphite. Also has a titanium rod tip without an insert so you can take the tip and bounce the jig loose from the wood. Great Rod For This Technique. Yes I have way to many rods. Don't ask me to count them I will be here all night.....Ranger
Dr.Nip you will like the Outlaw camp rods I have a 6', 7'2" and a 10' and like them all for certain situations
Thanks for the input. I'm pretty sure this is the next rod I will get. 10' that is.Quote:
Originally Posted by oucrappie
Great posts guys. This the information I'm seeking.
where do you find the outlaw camp rods?
The camouflage with the bright green tip is the one I was looking at.
Outlaw Crappie and Walleye Poles
Obviously everyone has their favorites and what works for you is the best for you. I've owned or tried about everyone on the market at around $100 or less and these are my favorites:
Casting - 6' Falcon BuCoo or 6'9" Falcon BuCoo with spinning reel and Vicious hi-vis.
Dipping/Pitching - 10' Huckabee Meat Draga, 10' ProAngler or (up close) 8' ProAngler all with baitcast reels and 8-10 lb Vicious hi-vis.
Jig & Cork - 8' BnM Float & Fly rod or 8' ProAngler with spinning reel and Vicious hi-vis.
Strolling, Pulling Jigs, Pulling or Pushing Cranks - 11' Huckabee Pulling rods with baitcast reels and 8 lb Vicious hi-vis.
deep vertical jigging - various 7-10' spinning and baitcast rods with both types reels and original hi-vis PowerPro 10/2 braid.
Shooting Docks - 5' BnM SharpSooter with 4 or 6 lb Vicious hi-vis.
YMMV :biggrin
Floyd
I bought my first from JR at a Fishing Show in Bixby. But I also order my Outlaw rods from Grizzly Jig at www.grizzjig.com. My wife also found one on Amazon her recently.
I bought the 7'2 Outlaw camo to use as a dual purpose rod for casting grubs and vertical jigging. It works very well for 1/8 - 1/4 grubs, and for drop-shotting for bass and walleye, but the action is too heavy for vertical jigging with the 1/32oz #6 jigs I prefer. Have had too many hooks tear out.
I am using the Lew's WM 7' pro series for my vertical jigging and am very happy with it. I also use a B-n-M Sam Heaton SS 7' for casting 1/16oz and smaller baits.
:welcome Welcome, Mountain Fork :welcome
to Crappie.com and to the Oklahoma message board. Hope to hear lots of reports from down your way. Check out the state crappie camp threads and join us if you can. :fish
Thanks- Been here a while but haven't posted much due to technical problems, but that looks like it's been worked out. Fishing is slooooowwww....... See Machine's post about the lack of a thermocline. The water level is coming back down on Broken Bow after a 3 ft rise a few days back. Next week may be better.
I hope it will be better. Going to broken bow lake for the 1st time next week.
Good luck! If you are not familiar with the lake, there is very little cover in the main lake. There are unmarked brush piles, if you can find them, and some marked ODWC piles that get hammered pretty hard and are usually too shallow for crappie this time of year.Quote:
Originally Posted by DrNip
The standing timber starts just north of Egypt creek. Trying to find brush piles around the standing timber will be easier than trying to find unmarked piles in open water. In a "normal" year the fish would be holding tight to cover around 20' - 25' deep in 30'- 40' water. Vertical jigging soft plastics works best for me. Crystal shad and blue metal flake(Blue Ice) are usually good colors.
I just received another rod that may well become a favorite - it feels great! I had problems with a 7' Bonehead and the owner of Bonehead, Josh Spain, bent over backwards to satisfy me. Superb customer service! He replaced my 7' Bonehead with one of the new 8' 2-piece models. It feels great and I can't wait to try it out. My daughter is closing on a house tomorrow and we are moving her all weekend or I would be on the water bright and early in the morning. Take a look at Bonehead rods.Quote:
Originally Posted by IkenI
Floyd
Floyd, I had to help my dad work on his airplane last Sunday down at Cookson, but before I did Redge and I hit the water for a couple hours. I took my new 8 ft Bonehead with me and used it for both vertical and cast drag methods. It's a good feeling rod for vertical and doable in a pinch for cast and drag. You'll like the rod. I had a president reel on and the feel was great. You are right, Josh's customer service is un paralleled IMO
My problem is I'm not found of two piece rods and most are.
Like you Nip I'm not fond of a 2pc rod either. I can say that the Fiber Carbon Bonehead Rod feels like no other 2pc rod I have ever fished with. As far as sensitivity there is no comparison I have found. I was amazed and have used it for both techniques of vertical one jig and cast n drag. A great addition to my arsenal........Ranger
Right, right, right. Outlaw has a 6' 2" one piece but everyone keeps raving about the Bonehead rods. Might just have to bite the bullet and get me one for casting. Is their 6' 6" a one piece or two?
Right Now the only rod I use for cast n drag and is offered is the 7' light action 1pc spinning rod. It has a fast tip and is just a little stiff for me when I started fishing it but now it's my go to rod. Now I will say BoneHead is coming out with a 5'9" version for this technique but not sure when they will be available yet......Ranger
I will wait to see this rod then. No rush on my end.
Now I'm using my new Bonehead 8' rod that I won at Crappie Camp and I'm loving it :biggrin! I won't reveal the reel I'm using for fear of being banned nonono. But I love the sensitivity of this rod. I fish from our dock -- when the fish are biting. The rod is a little longer than I'm used to -- I like to fish just off the edge of the dock so I stay in close to the hanging cedars. So I have to sit a little farther back, but that's not a big deal.
I've got both the 7ft one piece and 8ft 2 piece from Bonehead and like them both, ALOT! If a 5'9" is coming out, I'll have one of those as well! Nip, any time you want to test either rod before buying, you can try mine to see how you like them.
Will do.
Dock shooting ... 5'6" ESP UL - extra fast action taper - graphite Tenn handle
Jig casting/swimming ... 6'6" ESP PowerLite - extra fast action taper - graphite Tenn handle/poodle tail
Slip float ... 8' BnM Float-n-Fly rod - short cork handle w/balance weight system
Casting heavier lures/vertical jigging ... 7' BPS Bionic Blade (use PowerPro braid)
Spider rig/drifting/tightline ... 10' Sam Heaton Super Sensitive -- 10' Huckabee Dipping -- 7' Mitchell spinning rod -- 6'6" Shimano Compre baitcast rod
All were chosen for the specific purposes listed, and to take the place of rods previously being used ... because they performed better.
All of these rods, with the exception of the Bionic Blade, were either gifts, won in tournaments or raffles, or were field test rods (all received free). But, their lack of cost to me has no bearing on why I still use/prefer them over the rods they replaced.
... cp :kewl
50 o 60 years ago I started out with cane pole and line the length of the pole (no reel). Also no fish finder or trolling motor. As I remember it was as much fun then as it is today. Were was a lot fewer fishermen back then.
I've used a Tenkara fly rod during the spawn - a keeper will turn you ever which way but loose. (Japanese UL cane pole)