8 Foot Light Rod Suggestions ?

Hello,

One of the ways of getting thru all the snows up here in Boston
is thinking about a new rod. Sure is hard without actually

trying them out. At least with a car you can test drive it first.

So, would most appreciate your comments and suggestions.

I do mainly small pond fishing; lots of Largemouth.
Probably 3 pounds absolute max size. Mainly smaller.


Have a Daiwa Spinmatic UL 8 foot now.
Fine rod, but tip section is way too soft.

Thinking of going up one level to a Light.
Want an 8 foot again, and the "classic" all cork (front and handle); not any
of those cut-away styles.

Considering these three 8 foot rods.
All are pretty much the same in cost.
a. Gander Mountain Guide Series Classic Crappie Rod (GSC13-802L-CR) - Light

b. Cabelas Cabela's Pro Guide® PTC Spinning Rod (PGPTCS802-2) - Light

c. B n M The Difference by Roger Gant - Light ? They don't say ?

Which would you pick ? Other possibilities ?

Are they all "truly" a "Light," and one step up from an UL, and likely to have a "meaningfully" stiffer tip section compared to my present UL Daiwa ?

Quality, etc. ?

BTW: Couldn't find any 8 footers designated as a Medium-Light (one step up from a Light. Are there ?)
If so, would this perhaps be a "better" choice for my Pond fishing ?

Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

Thanks,

Bob

I have an 8ft Pro Angler Tackle rod that I have caught a couple of nice bass on. It has great backbone and is very sensitive. I like to throw Crappie Sliders on it and you can feel everything on the bottom. They are made in TX and are designed for fishing brush. You can choose between foam or cork grips. I chose cork. It really is a nice rod. Check their website to order. I am also looking at a BnM Ultimate in the 8ft length. The reviews are great on it and it seems to be an all purpose rod with spinning guides and good backbone. In the process of buying one from Cabela' s. Maybe I will give a full review once I put it through the paces.

Crappie Max lite (bass pro)or Wally Marshall. Good rods for the money. If you ever put your hands on one you will not be disappointed.

Bob,

It is getting harder and harder to find the rods people want anymore. The "split grip" fad came on by storm and a ton of companies went away from building the all cork fore and rear grip. I too hate the split grip.

There are tons of 8' rods that have an ML weight. Problem is, most of them are in "blank" form and are usually hand tied. Your stepping to a whole nother class and money catagory if you are looking in that direction. I tied a ton of them for people.

If I was looking for a "non custom" ML rod, I would look at the Fenwick series. They have about 6 or 8 different rod blends in both split and full cork grip and a multitude of sizes ranging in price from about $70.00 to $150.00.
You could also look into the G-Loomis rods but you are going to pay for them ($200.00 to over $400.00). I never recommend St. Croix (too many issues from a custom builders perspective).

Now that sticker shock is about over....... Go to a local Wal-mart or K-mart and test drive a couple different rods. They may say "light" on them when they are in fact an ML powered rod. You get what you pay for but if you don't do a ton of fishing, there is no sense getting the higher end rods as you won't notice much of a difference. I don't own a store bought rod anymore so I cannot comment much on the ones you mentioned.

I suggest a ML steelhead rod. I have an 8.5-footer, and it’s great for pond fishing for bass. It’ll sling a Senko a mile.

The B n M roger gant pole was designed for side pulling. Tried one not good for jigging. Great for what it was designed for though. I second the crappie max 8 ft ML good rod. Friend of mine has a 8 ft B n M duck commander and it fishes good. I think both have the cut away notch in the top handle though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wicklundrh

It is getting harder and harder to find the rods people want anymore. The "split grip" fad came on by storm and a ton of companies went away from building the all cork fore and rear grip. I too hate the split grip.

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Yeah, I'm firmly in the "hate split grip" camp. Let the bass guys have 'em if they want 'em. I'll stick with the traditional handle.

I bought an Okuma Celio in 7'6" similar to the one below a couple years ago for fishing 1/32 - 1/16oz jigs for spring walleye and Saugeye. Light weight, sensitive and has handled 8# Walleye very well. Does a great job on Crappie and Blue Gill as well.
Okuma Celilo Spinning Rod 7' Light 2 Piece | eBay

I will say that cabelas ptc rod is much stiffer than a light action it's more of a medium (to stiff for crappie IMO) but it might be a good option for largemouth... Hope this helps only rod I have experience with that you have listed

Action is not refered to as Light, or medium... That is the weight of the rod. The action (stiffness) is refered or referenced as: Slow, Moderate slow, Moderate, Moderate Fast, Fast, X-fast. Weight refers to what the blank can handle in terms of bait selection.

Didn't see you were after an 8ft my experience with the cabelas rod was the 7ft light

Like wicklundrh says.... you want a faster rod action, not necessary more powerful rod (ie weight to take to load the rod for a cast).

I am too lazy to re-type, but here is some more info here (and a chart that helps explain action): http://www.crappie.com/crappie/main-...ml#post1631352

B&M Sam's Super Sensitive, best one made in my opinion. I do not know if they make an 8ft but they do make a 7ft and a 9 ft.

BASS PRO MICROLITE 8 FOOT. Best rod for sensitivity and backbone in my opinion.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EARL KITCHENS

BASS PRO MICROLITE 8 FOOT. Best rod for sensitivity and backbone in my opinion.

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Hi,

Thanks for help; much appreciated.

Is this the 8 foot rod you are suggesting:

Bass Pro Shops Micro Lite Graphite Float 'n' Fly Spinning Rod Model: ML80MLS-2

a. Not important, but does it have a hook-keeper ?

b. What do they mean by "Float 'n' Fly" ?

c. It's apparently a ML. Think that this might be "too" heavy for the Pond fishing I do which is mainly
Largemouth (2 pounds or so usually max.) and small Crappies ?

I'm pushing 80 now (wow) and being able to cast "long" distances is getting hard. My Daiwa 8 foot
Spinmatic UL casts very easily for me, a pretty good distance. Think this one would also ?

Thanks again,
Bob

The bass pro micro lites do not have a hook keeper or they don't on any I own lol the float and fly is a technique used during the colder months to target bass using flies in the 1/32 oz to 1/8 oz under a float

I use the Gander Mountain 8' and like it very much. Use em pullin, pitchin jigs and slip bobbers. No issues at all. I would also add these to the mix as they are very good as well
Bass Pro Shops Crappie Maxx Pro Series Crappie Rods | Bass Pro Shops

Bass Pro Shops 2014 Crappie Maxx Pro Series Crappie Rod | Bass Pro Shops

I have a 8ft Crappie Maxx love it

I have three B n' M rods right now. Two are the 7' SHSS and one is the 9' SHSS. These rods are dedicated to crappie fishing, but have landed some decent largemouths and northern pike on them as well. The are definitely not "whippy", but rather a moderate to fast action. The seven footers are faster than the 9', but I would not call the 9' whippy either; rather a moderate action. These rods are not rated as UL per say, but I'd rate them as a light action series.

Will be getting another 9 footer next month for my float rod. Like I say, the waters I fish, you just never know what you are going to tie into, but I haven't found a fish to better either of these rods yet.

Don't let them not having a hook keeper hold you back. YOu can puchase an add on hook keeper for under 5 dollars. Or, you can have a rod builder put one on for you for next to nothing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by huntinslabs

I use the Gander Mountain 8' and like it very much. Use em pullin, pitchin jigs and slip bobbers. No issues at all. I would also add these to the mix as they are very good as well
Bass Pro Shops Crappie Maxx Pro Series Crappie Rods | Bass Pro Shops

Bass Pro Shops 2014 Crappie Maxx Pro Series Crappie Rod | Bass Pro Shops

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Hello,

Thanks, and to everyone, for all the suggestions.
Really appreciate the help.
Sure is hard to know what to get without really trying them all out.

Guess I will just have to divorce the wife, and get one of each.

Would like to ask these followups, please:

a. For the BassPro Crappie Maxx Pro Series Crappie Rod:

Do you "like" that cut-a-way section of cork on the handle ?
Nusince, or really helps ? Does it tend to break-up the cork any due to the, what appear to be, sharp edges ?
Good idea, or... ?

b. For the Gander Mountain 8 foot that you suggested: I guess they term it a "Light" (L) rod.
Is it "easy" to cast a distance ? At my age now, that is really a concern.
My Daiwa UL casts a mile, but the tip is way too soft.

What's the tip like on this Gander Mountain 8 footer ?
Reasonably stiff ?
Easy to cast, though ?

Know it's hard to describe in words, but any thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks again for all the suggestions and help,
Bob

Casting with the 8' Gander is no problem. I can pitch a 1/16oz jig as far as needed. Feel is as good as any others I have except the Crappiemax with the "touch cutout". My Crappiemax is 12' and use it mainly for single poling and do like the touch cutout. Finger on blank with another touching line to finger, I get a double feel without any cork or anything dulling the bite. I honestly don't think you can go wrong with either or the Sam Heaton Super Sensitive. Basically I would compare shipping, cost and replacement. I have as of late tended to buy the Bass Pro rods simply because I live close to a store and returns are painless with the reward card saving purchase history I don't need receipts. But have only had to return 1 rod and that was simply operator error. Even explained that and was still replaced.

Like wicklundrh said I added a Fuji hook holder to all of my bps microlites

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Robert11

Hello,

Thanks, and to everyone, for all the suggestions.
Really appreciate the help.
Sure is hard to know what to get without really trying them all out.

Guess I will just have to divorce the wife, and get one of each.

Would like to ask these followups, please:

a. For the BassPro Crappie Maxx Pro Series Crappie Rod:

Do you "like" that cut-a-way section of cork on the handle ?
Nusince, or really helps ? Does it tend to break-up the cork any due to the, what appear to be, sharp edges ?
Good idea, or... ?

b. For the Gander Mountain 8 foot that you suggested: I guess they term it a "Light" (L) rod.
Is it "easy" to cast a distance ? At my age now, that is really a concern.
My Daiwa UL casts a mile, but the tip is way too soft.

What's the tip like on this Gander Mountain 8 footer ?
Reasonably stiff ?
Easy to cast, though ?

Know it's hard to describe in words, but any thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks again for all the suggestions and help,
Bob

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A: YES like the Cutaway the reason why! The salesman at the Bass Pro shop I bought it from is a legend fishermen and a great crappie fishermen.(can afford any rod he chooses) We fish a deep clear lake where we get a lot of light bites. He said (bass Pro sales man) take the rod try it if you do not like it bring it back and will trade for rod of your choice. The cut away gives a better feel for light bites.(the cork dampers the feel of the lite bite)(do not try one you will have to have another) We have Bought 2 more rods and just ordered 4 more different lengths. Cannot beat their customer service.

X2 on the Bass Pro Micro Lites. Best rod for the money IMO. Very similar to the St. Croix Triumph series rods, but half the price. I have a 7', ML fast action and it is perfect for my style of fishing. Dont confuse this with the Micro Lite Float N' Fly, which has less backbone than the regular Micro Lite, but is still fairly stiff, which is probably what you are wanting. My suggestion would be to grab ahold of both and see which one suits you best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by philmacMS

The B n M roger gant pole was designed for side pulling. Tried one not good for jigging. Great for what it was designed for though. I second the crappie max 8 ft ML good rod. Friend of mine has a 8 ft B n M duck commander and it fishes good. I think both have the cut away notch in the top handle though.

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The difference is a good pole for what it was designed for. A soft tip section makes me think it's too soft for your purpose. I had a 9' and returned it 3 days later for just that reason.

I agree that the BassPro Microlites are nice rods for the money. I have a 8 foot float n fly version that is very good for slip bobber fishing, but I feet that it would be much too heavy of rod to use for tossing jigs. The 7 foot L or UL would be a much better choice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Robert11

b. Cabelas Cabela's Pro Guide® PTC Spinning Rod (PGPTCS802-2) - Light

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These are not a light action, I would say Medium Light for their PTC Ultra Light and the PTC Light a Medium. Much stiffer that the Diawa 8'. I bought the PTC on sale online as I never see them in the store. Another note the 8' have longer handles than the 7'6" the rod sections are the same.

The Diawa 8' is almost too light of a rod for me, I bought the 6'6" first and love it for fishing gills out of my canoe.

I didn't see where you had a limit on cost . I'm a St. Croix fan . I recently bought the 2 piece 7' , light , Trout Series Rod , to go with my 6'4" I already had . I also have a couple shorter Panfish series and a 6' Trout series . Like I said I'm a fan . :)
They offer a two piece 8' light in the Panfish series I think would be perfect . Weighs only 3.7 oz . Gillchaser