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Hi All:
I have been pouring through the archives trying to to decide on new rods for spider rigging. For my situation I have decided on 14 footers. I am considering BnM, Ozark, Southern and BPS Crappie Maxx. One important note is that I am a BPS employee, and get 40% off the BPS Crappie Maxx rods. I will be buying 9 rods. Money is an issue, but I'd rather not make an easy mistake. I'd love your input.
Stlouisloui
I would start with the BPS Crappie Maxx then, you could always less em for what you have in em. I am not a BnM fan, not due to rod performance tho, good rods. Ozarks have priced themselves out of the business as far as I am concerned. for the money the Southern's are an excellent choice, been very well satisfied with them with no issues so far. It really comes down to what you like the feel of, they all catch fish but I don't like a "whippy" rod.
My first choice would be SouthernCrappieRods. But in your case I would go with the CrappieMax rods from bass pro for the money savings. My choice would Titeline special or the PST by B&M if you get the same pricing deal.
You should take a look at the proanglertackle.com website and their rods. I have spent a lot of money over the years on just about everything. I buy nothing but Proangler rods.
B&M designed the PST pole for spider rigging, they are the cats azz, why buy anything else. I've had mine for years, and they are great for pulling crank baits. Save money by buying the right tool for the job the first time. Check with Grizzly Jig Co. I think they offer a discount buying three or more poles.......
And no charge here for the expert advice.....Good Fishing To You.....:fish
I can save ya a bundle on the Crappiemaxx rods if ya go that way. Might save ya on the BnM too.
I've owned and tried a large variety of rods in the past. A tornado destroyed every single one I had and I started over. I only bothered to replace with B&M's.
I use bnm. One of the best sets I ever had were the 14 ft pst. I can't speak for the other rods though. Never seen any reason to change. I read somewhere that bnm has won 12 or 14 nat champs. That's saying something
My favorites I ever owned were the old Bass Pro Wally Marshalls that had the green tip. Wish I had bought 100 before they changed them..for $30 a rod was good for 3 or 4 years. Since I have had the yellow jig poles(forgot their name but I hated them), Lew's(really poles just a little stiff) and now the Southern. I have really like the Southerns so far but i will let you know more in the Spring.
B&M for sure
I have the BPS rods, mine are branded Wally Marshall but I think they are the same exact rods only Wally and BPS parted ways so they rebranded them CrappieMax. They have worked fine for me, I've spider rigged and pulled cranks with them without any problems.
I started out fishing BnM West Points 12'ers.I am fishing some 14' Firecast rods that scottv turned me onto from Grizzly Jig. I still have and use both.I have caught a ton of fish on both.The BnM's were $20 and the others were $19 ea.I use a rear seat 11' Ozark jigging pole. I have never broken the tips off any of these cheaper poles. The 14' Ozark trolling pole that I won at camp I broke twice.These guys on here have the experience to lead you in the right direction as far as crappie fishing is concerned.If you have the money, invest in the best. It will more than likely save you money in the long run.When I first started spidering years ago, I didn't even have any pole holders. Just fanned them out in front of me on the deck and still caught fish.Good luck with your purchase.
For all those who didn't suggest Southern Crappie rods must have never fished them. I like some of you have had them all but none even close to the Southern Crappie rods. I didn't believe it until I purchased two 14' and placed them beside B&M,BPS,Pinacle, etc. The bite recognition was so superior to the others and the feel with a fish on was unbelievable. Nothing but Southern Crappie for me.
What Capps cousin said..then I use PSTs for all cranking...haven't got to try the new Southern Crappie heavy wt. Yet
No. Capps and Colemans 14'. Discussion over.
Wannabe..,
I did try some Southern Crappie rods.....I like my BnM Capps and Colemans a lot better.
All of mine are the cheap telescopic 14 and 16' rods. I bought most of them in pairs and they all catch fish. I can't remember all of the names, maybe part of the names.
Slow Troll 14' $7, Slow Troll 16' $9, Uncle Buck 14' $12, Uncle Buck 16' $14, Peanut Lure 14' $11, Peanut Lure 16' $14. 10 other Slow Troll 16' rods with reels for $5 each from a retiring crappie fisherman. He gave me 4 rods that need new tops.
I used a rod very similar to the Slow Trollers(and had several of those too). It was made by Hi Tech (I also bought some of the blue and silver ones from Peanut. Same rod, different color). I used them to power troll with.Quote:
Originally Posted by canebreaker
We took the 16'ers and cut off a foot of the tip, then stuck a piece of the tip end back inside the rod tip end and gorilla glued them in. We glued all the sections together where they wouldn't collapse also. We took a 1' piece of 3/4 PVC and glued it in the butt end of the rod so it would fit the rod holders better than the fat end on the rod (we left the rubber stop on the butt end out, but left the threaded piece on them). We used 5 baits on each rod and an 8oz weight and headed down the lake at 1-1.25 MPH. We WORN THEM OUT on this setup.
That rod can lift 2-4 fish and the weight without any problem when done like this. We quit using them when the baits per pole went to two baits. We also had to tape the reels in the reel clip because the reels would come off sometimes when the clip popped loose. Good inexpensive poles!!! We only used the 16's.
I hated the cheap slide up eyes on them tho. The inside of the eyes break out pretty quick.
B & M PST: Power trolling with weights over 1oz and pulling cranks. PSTs are good all around poles and these were the rods that we started out with. If I only had one set of rods it would be PSTs. You can use them for all types of crappie fishing just a little stiff for some situations but they are still a good choice if wanting to have one set of rods for spider rigging and pulling cranks.
B & M BGJP's or Capps and Colemans for spider rigging with jigs or weights less than 1oz. BGJP's are not covered for spider rigging but you can see the lightest bite which is key some days. They are not stiff enough for heavy egg sinkers for power trolling. Capps and Colemans are just a tad stiffer than BGJPs but still great for light weights and detecting a light bite.
B & M BGJP's and Roger Gant's in various lengths for long line trolling.
I have tried a few other makes without problems but for some reason I just seem to stick with B & M's. I like the Sam Heatons for single pole jig fishing. Lots of good rod choices out there but this is just what we have and how we use them. I hear a few people complain about breaking PST tips. We have snagged stumps and had them pulled all the way under the boat so tight that you can barely get them out of the rod holder and have not broke one yet. We bought our first PST's about 7 years ago and they are still going strong. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen but we have been tough on ours and have not had any problems.
Really comes down to personal preference. Good luck with your choice.
I was running 6 hooks with a 2 or 3 oz sinker before the rules changed on the big 4, Our last few trips to Tunica cut off produced more carp and gar than crappie, haven't been back.
One of the blue/silver Peanut rods broke in the center section on a 20 lb gar, save it for parts.
One BnM rod broke in the second section on a gar. I called, they wanted $35 for the section for a $13 rod, $10 was shipping. I cleaned the tore area, slid the top into the bottom and glued. A bit shorter, doesn't have the same arch, but still catches fish. Some of the tips have broke, I replaced with a larger top and keep fishing.
Those plastic add on guides weren't any good. I never could get a rod to balance out right in the arch and some would snap.
I've caught two 30" plus strikers in the past two weeks and a 26lb catfish on the 14' Southern Crappie rod with 6 lb test. No problems at all. If you would happen to break one you can buy only the section that breaks and not the whole rod. I broke the tip section on my garage door and replaced it for $12.
BnM here. 14ft Capps and Coleman are my choice.
All of the rods you mentioned would serve you well but it's hard to beat a 40% discount. B & M makes an excellent rod and offer several different actions so you can get the action you prefer. Currently I'm using Southerns for spider rigging and PST's for power trolling but that's just my preference.Quote:
Originally Posted by stlouisloui
Dang. Sounds like a resume for a Pro Staff deal. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]Quote:
Originally Posted by SlabMeister
I disagree about the C&C rods being stiffer than the BGJP tho. [emoji4]
I find the Caps stiffer than the Buck'sQuote:
Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine
I didn't see that in mine. I didn't like the parabolic bend in the Capps pole from the handle all the way out to the tip. Made the pole role around when lifting a fish. My BGJP's seem to be stiffer in the spine than my C&C's were because of the bend from the handle in the Capps.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rees Guide
Just got a set of 16' PST's and the Capps tips to put on them. Can't wait to compare them to the BGJP's. Lots of spine in the PST and the sensitivity of the Capps tip on em should be a great combo.
Or just buy a set of Southern Crappie...both companies make fine products..Sometimes I think we fishermen over think things in our quest for excellence. I know I do..
Good point knight shadow. Why buy rods and change the tip? Why have a set for tight line, a set for long line and a set for cranks? Buy one set and do it all Southern Crappie!
There isn't one set of rods that will do everything the best that it can be done. I guess I'd rather be a specialist instead of a general practitioner.
If you're going to be a bear might as well be a Grizzly! Lol! I have purchased my rods over a 7 plus year period not all at once. I just added two more bottom seat Sam Heatons Friday at Grizzly Jig for wade fishing. Lol!Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine
JMHO on the Capps and Coleman's! I have a set of 8 C & C's 16', a set of 8 BGJP's 16' and a set of 8 PST's 16'. I love the BGJP's for light jigs and up to 1/2 oz and less Capps and Coleman rigs. Prefer the C & C's for 1/2 oz up to 1oz Capps and Coleman rigs. I use the PST's for heavy weights. Big difference in the bow in the tip of the BGJP's and Capps and Coleman rods side by side with 1 oz rigs. I will snap some photos on my next outing.
I started out with PST's and used them for 2 years for everything. I then purchased a set of Capps & Colemans because they were a lot more sensitity rod than the PST's. I then made the mistake of fishing with a guide that was using BGJP's with 1/4oz jigs in 3' of water spider rigging in early spring. The bite was so light that day it was hard to detect but you could see even the slightest bump on the BGJP's. I was sold, I had to have a set. I love this rod it is just not stiff enough for heavier weights.
If I had to go back to one set of B & M rods for all applications it would be PST's. PST's are great rods and will do anything that you want to do it is just harder to detect light bites on tough days with this rod.
Lots of great rod choices out there from different companies. This is just what I have found that I like in the B & M line.
I use the Southern Crappie Rods in 14'. I've had BnM's and I used the HiTek Shooting Stars. I liked the HiTek rods except for the big foam end on the 14 footers. They are too bulky. I ended up with the Southern Crappie Rods and I'm happy with them. As far as which one to buy, get what feels good in your hand and the one you are happy with.
Put your C&C tips on your PST's. [emoji57]Quote:
Originally Posted by SlabMeister
I have a set of all three poles as well. I found that I can run more weight on the BGJP's. I use a 1 oz on them most of the time, but use the 1/2 on the Capps. I do like a 1/2 on the BGJP's as well. Makes the tip stick almost straight out, and very sensitive. Just got the PST's and the extra Capps tips from BnM. Can't wait to try that combo. Vic Finkley has been using it for the last two years. He loves it, and that's where I found out about it.