good crankbait rods, that don't break the bank

[Chode2235]

I am looking for a good lightweight crankbait rod that can throw a wide variety of crankbaits and more or less be my crankbait rod.

I throw a lot of DTs, and other comparable bass plugs, as well as a variety of jerk baits.

Glass vs Graphite?

What are the better values out there? I would love to get one of the Loomis cranboat rods, but would like to stay under 150.

I was looking at the Mojo bass sticks, are those any good and how do they compare to the rest of the lot?

[RK]

Hiya -

For the $, the St. Croix Premier crankbait rods (@ $120) are really solid. Same for the Shimano Crucial and Compre CB rods (@ $160 and @ $100 respectively). Deitz probably has some specifics on which Shimanos he likes, so hopefully he'll chime in.

JMHO, but crankbait rods are the last thing a guy'd want to spend a lot of $ on...

[mainbutter]

To be honest, I have used two different medium power spinning rods from gander mountain. I don't know whose blanks they use, but the "gander mountain" brand rods are affordable and do the job every bit as well as a $300 g loomis or croix. 7-8' is what I like for flinging crankbaits, though if I could find longer rods I'd give them a shot.

In general any IM6 graphite rod of sufficient power and length will work for crankbaits. Save your money, don't splurge on IM8s, they're over-hyped and I don't like them any better than IM-6s.

I don't like to spend more than $40 on a crankbait rod. I splurged a little more on my current one simply because it was the longest rod available.

[Cecil]

Agreed, I would worry more about finding the right action and length vs what brand or module graphite it is. I do prefer a slower action graphite vs a glass rod though. You will notice it after a long day of chunkin and winding.

[TR21HP]

Try the new Wright McGill crankbait rod. I've not used them but have several friends out west that really like them, especially for the money, that is if you can stand the yellow color. The only thing Gander Mountain and G Loomis rods have in common is that they are both rods and thats about it.

[Larson15]

The Shimano Compre TC4 is hard to beat at 100 bucks. You can spend a little more and get a crucial TC4 which has a wider selection to chose from.

The Loomis Crankbait rods are very nice as well but will cost you a little more coin. They have a nice wide selection to choose from.

Regarding glass vs graphite I prefer graphite because its lighter and your better rod manufactures like Shimano and Loomis have figured out how to make graphite react like glass but weigh a lot less.

[Jig Master]

A rod I've never heard mentioned on here that is one of the best crankin' rods out there is the power tackle crankin' rod. They are a high end company, but for a crankin' rod, it's better than loomis, croix, or shimano. The blank is glass, but incredibly light. It doesn't have that soggy feel that many glass rods have. For a cheap crankin' rod the bass pro shops crankin' stick is probably one of the best out there.

[delmuts]

For cranking bass.I love my Crankin Stick from Bass Pro.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Chode- Really crankbait rods are really user preference. The best crankbaiter I know uses a glass rod. The guy is a master of the crank. The guy who may be the best crankbait guy on the planet Rick Clunn uses a heavy action rod. At this point, I dont know whats best.

For me, I really do like the TC4 rods by shimano, but as you and many know, I am on their prostaff. So I may be a bit biased.. The TC4 rods are the best of both worlds.. They take a very thin graphite blank and then cross wrap it with a thin layer of glass, and then re-cross that with another graphite wrap.. So you have the lightness of graphite, but the slow curve of a glass rod. For cranking I use mostly the Crucial rods.. but really, the Compre are pert near just as good.

If you see me at a sportshow, stop by and say hi.. I can show you a few rods to hold.. Or Check out the Bass forum get together at Thornes.. Should be a great time.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Just to add, for the coin, as delmuts said. The BPS cranking stick is hard to beat..

[Chode2235]

Thanks for the great input everyone. It sounds like there are a lot of really good choices available today.

I presume most of you are also using slower geared reels too?

[Deitz Dittrich]

I really only use slower geared reels on my deep crank rod. For normal cranks DT10 and less I use a 6-1 or so...

[Timmy D]

I have also had great luck with the BPS crankin sticks. I'd wait for them to go on sale and you can get them for $40-$50, hard to complain about that.

[BassNut33]

Just checked they are currently on sale for 59 bucks!

[Superduty]

Another vote for the BPS crankin sticks if you are on a budget!

[bemidjibasser]

I have to throw another option out there... Castaway makes a great crankin rod for a reasonable price.

[Chode2235]

What is the difference between the St. Croix Premiere and the Mojo series. From what I see they are approximately the same rod, just made in different places and with split grips.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

That's the difference, mexico as opposed to WI.

[JohnMickish]

Between the Premier, Eyecon and Mojo the difference is in the guides, reel seat and handle. They use the same design SCII blank but minor tweeks to the hardware make the difference. For the money they are hard to beat for a north american made rod.

[Raider4ever]

What is the difference between the St. Croix Premiere and the Mojo series. From what I see they are approximately the same rod, just made in different places and with split grips.

Another difference is that they discontinued the glass Premier (PGC70MMH) this year (check the HSOforum before you rip me a new one). The only other glass rods on their site is the big musky Premier glass crank rod, and the two Mojo's. At $120.00 per, a little pricey, but not outrageous compared to some others.

[RK]

Another difference is that they discontinued the glass Premier (PGC70MMH) this year (check the HSOforum before you rip me a new one). The only other glass rods on their site is the big musky Premier glass crank rod, and the two Mojo's. At $120.00 per, a little pricey, but not outrageous compared to some others.

Dang - that's a shame. That was actually a very nice rod if you like glass. Might have to see if they have any blanks left available...cuz, you know, I need more rods. Wonder if they just took the same blank and moved it to the Mojo line.

I'm going to be fishing a Powell glass CB rod this summer. Love my other Powell rods, and their CB rods get pretty good reviews. We'll see.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Raider4ever]

I'm sure you can get a PGC70MMH on-line still. It is a recent discontinue as I know it was still there about 3-4 months ago.

[Chode2235]

Another difference is that they discontinued the glass Premier (PGC70MMH) this year (check the HSOforum before you rip me a new one). The only other glass rods on their site is the big musky Premier glass crank rod, and the two Mojo's. At $120.00 per, a little pricey, but not outrageous compared to some others.

Looks to me like they just rebranded it as the Mojo "Crankster."

[CHM]

Rich Forhan said "If you're fishing for money use glass, if you're fishing for fun, use graphite".

Either way, you want a moderate action rod to keep the fish buttoned up. Before I knew anything I lost a ton of fish using a MH power, fast action rod for my trap rod. I went to braid, thinking I needed a better hookset, and lost even more fish.

I have three that I use now - Seeker SBS706-S glass, Batson CB70MH, and an XP3 964. By far, my favorite is one I built on the 8' Castaway 964 blank (with micros). I know four guys that would trade their dog before they let go of that rod! One friend was throwing a trap with 12# mono on his and landed a 47" muskie! It's no noodle rod!

[bemidjibasser]

CHM- I have the same Castaway and love it for square bills and other shallow cranks. Didn't use it a ton for traps seemed a bit too soft for my liking. Is yours spiral wrapped or all on top? I spiral wrapped mine with alconite micros.