characteristics of the ideal spinnerbait rod?

[21farms]

something that's been confusing me here about spinnerbait rods. i've noticed that some rod manufacturers almost lump their so-called spinnerbait rods in with their crankbait rods (medium power with a slower, medium to medium-fast tip). other manufacturers' spinnerbait rods are closer to their jig rods (medium-heavy power with a fast or very fast tip). which one is it? is a rod that is "too sensitive" likely to pull a spinnerbait out of the fish's mouth like cranks? i know the old adage about treble hook lures vs. single hook lures but there seems to be just as much out there spouting the opposite. thanks for any insight.

[ash]

i have a Rich Forhan Custom Built spinnerbait rod a 7' S-Glass by seaker revolver style. This rod is the perfect balance between tippy and backbone for spinnerbaits. Casts a mile, and loads up great for fishing the blades. Oh, and very sensative, I can feel each little thump of the blade, even when a fish shorts the bait by turning before hitting it. I have yet to find an off the shelf spinnerbait rod that fits like this one.

If I were to look off the shelf I would be looking at a Lamiglass 4 power 7'rod. But I would advise looking up Rich Forhan for his rod, rumor has it he is only building a few at his leisure.

[Jason C.]

Try out the Dobyns 733C. Its an AWSOME spinnerbait rod and I also like it for Rat-L-Traps and LV-500's. Its awsome for rippin those baits out of the grass!

[scott h]

I use the Lamiglas 704j. It has great sensitivity yet plenty of backbone to muscle the big girls. In the grass and tules 50lb braid and for more open applications 15-20lb mono.

[Kevin]

Dobyns 734C

[big bass beckstrom]

Powell 734 is my favorite.

[mrfishin86]

Dobyns DX733 and DX734 depending on what size blade. For 1/2 oz I like my 733 and for the 5/8 and up I like the 734. They did work for me this past Saturday, smoked 'em on blades on the delta. Best blade bite I've ever had, got 'em up to 8 1/2 lbs...my biggest blade fish ever.

[Tobe]

Dobyns 734C

Ditto on the Dobyns 734

[21farms]

thanks to everyone who has responded so far. however, i'm not sure my question has been answered. i am not asking for spinnerbait rod recommendations...in fact, the last thing my wallet can take is me buying yet another rod the thing is, i already have a dozen or so pretty decent rods, only not one made primarily for spinnerbaits. since i don't fish spinnerbaits very often, i'd rather make use a rod i already own. of course, i could list all my rods and have everyone choose one for me and while that would be cool, i don't want to do that because then i wouldn't understand the reasons and rationale behind it and i want to learn. now, if i knew the characteristics of what makes a good rod for spinnerbait usage, then i can figure out for myself and also gain a lot of knowledge while i'm at it. thanks.

[aNNieNsaLTIE]

what is the right rod that qualifies as a SPINNERBAIT ROD? i don't know but i know i am shorter than most fisherman out there in height and my two arms!! hey we are all own own selves. a spinnerbait rod to me may not be a spinnerbait rod to you...........

me i use a few....

on berryessa and other timberless or tulleless lakes i use a IMX med hvy rod or hvy rod = IMX 843 or IMX 844

clear lake with a little more standing structure and some tulles and grass i use my glx 7'5" senko rod... works really nice!

on the river i use my powell 765 flipping stick.

good luck,
Steven

[Jason C.]

Well before I just used a crankin rod. Mainly because it allowed them to take the bait in turn with it load the rod and then me to set on them. I liked this because when I first started out with spinner baits I missed a lot of fish because I wasnt able to defer from weeds and fish. Now that I have gotten better at defering the two and listening alot of good spinnerbait fishermen they told me to use a stiffer rod with a fast tip. The Dobyns 703 C has just that. An extra fast tip to allow the fish to inhale the bait that quickly get to the back bone of the rod that to better drive the hook into the fish's mouth. Those are the charicteristics that I look for in a spinnerbait rod. Something with a fast tip that gets to the back bone pretty quickly. The 703C is a Med-Hvy Fast action rod and does exceptionally well for blades and lipless cranks.

[dgoldston7]

the powell 734c is my favorite, light enough in the tip to load up and properly pull threw grass and strong enough in the butt section to set the hook and manage fish out of heavy cover..

[parker]

i like a shorter rod (like a 6'6) when fishing it thight to heavy cover expecially the overhanging stuff

in open water i think a longer rod helps with casting distance
i think a lighter tip is good to let them get the bait better

I have always wanted to try one of those 5'6 heavy action pistol grip rods i think it would be kinda cool

[ash]

There are two styles that I prefer a small 6'6" MH fast tip and stiff mid section, strong but. I use this for small precision roll casts up close and personal to the tulles, docks etc...

The other is the 7'3" S-Glass the Glass gives me the slower action and really allows the fish to take the bait without sacraficing the backbone . It is a cut down rod that is very parobolic and very strong. This is my Lake and structure rod, it also is great for DD20's.

The truth is a MH fast tip rod that shuts down in the upper third will make a good spinnerbait rod. Too soft of a rod and you lose the feel of the blades, too stiff of a rod and you end up pulling the bait away from the fish, or getting tons of trailer hooked fish.

[Gary Dobyns]

Many anglers like a faster action with blades. I always throw a fast action rod with some power.

Cranking or jerkbaits, most anglers will want a mod-fast action. This is much slower and loads more into the mid section of the rod. This saves you a lot of fish with trebel hooks.

There is also a group of fisherman that use the same rod for both. This doesn't work for me. Fishing blades we throw into and around lots of cover, you need more power . This will also give you better hook ups. Cranking, you will do better with a rod that loads slow as not to pull hooks out. My ideas, but they don't work for everyone.

The big confusing question with spinnerbait fishing is rod length.

[Phil]

21FARMS;
I HAVE BEEN AN AVID SPINNERBAIT FISHERPERSON SINCE TH3 70'S
TO DATE, AND TO ME , A SPINNERBAIT ROD MUST BE, STIFF, GRAPHITE. THIS INABLES ME TO FEEL THE BLADES TURNING, AND FEEL WHATEVER THE BAIT HITS ON THE WAY BACK TO THE BOAT. UNLIKE A CRANKBAIT ROD, I LIKE IM7 GRAPHITE, 60 MILLION MODULES OR SO THIS ENABLES ME TO DETECT EVERY MINUTE TICK ON THE BAIT WHILE IT IS ROLLING. FOR LONG CASTS, I PERFER 7 FT RODS. FOR CLOSE UP SITUATATIONS, I PERFER SHORTER VERSIONS 6 TO 6 1/2 FT. OR SOMETIMES THE OLD PISTOL GRIP 5 1/2 FOOTERS WORK IN CERTIAN AREAS. GLASS RODS JUST BEND WAY TO MUCH FOR A HEAVY SPINNERBAIT AND DO NOT CAST WELL.
THIS IS MY TWO CENTS ONLY. I DO USE A DOBYNS 734C FOR 90% OF MY SPINNERBAIT FISHING AT LAKE DON PEDRO AND MC CLURE AND MOST LAKES LIKE THAT, BECAUSE THEY ARE OPEN WATER AND USUALLY LONGER CASTS AND MOSTLY ROCK THAT YOU ARE FEELING, MIXED IN WITH A FEW TREES..........
MAYBE THIS WILL HELP

JIGS

[21farms]

great stuff...very informative replies so thank you all.

in the past while fishing spinnerbaits with fast graphite rods, i'd miss a lot of hits and wondered if it would be better to use a slower and less sensitive rod instead. from everyone's responses, i gather that it wasn't the the rod but rather that the fish were just striking short and i'd be better served putting on a trailer hook.