sucker rods

[clm]

Its almost that time again. I am just curious about what rod everyone uses for sucker fishing? I don't have a specific rod for it and am looking to buy one. Any suggestions? thanks!

[Nick Kuhn]

I would guess that any heavy action rod would do the job. You could probably get by with a catfish rod, though that might struggle driving the hooks home. There's no sense spending big bucks for a rod that just sits in a holder 99% of the time.

[BrianLucky13]

Something very heavy, cheap, or under warranty. I've never broke a bulldog rod...

[50inchpig]

bulldawg rods are good for suckers. i use one of the gander rods, think it's 8.5' heavy and has great backbone but slower action.

[RK]

Hiya -

I have a mish-mash of sucker rods, but the all more or less have the same characteristics - a moderate or mod-fast action, and heavy or x-heavy power. You need the power for sure, but the power in a fast or x-fast can sometimes make it actually harder to get hooks I think. I want the hard snap at the outset, but then steady pressure without any slack line. I honestly think sometimes the hookset just gets the fish head-shaking, and they hook themselves.

If they still make it, the bass pro live bait rod is actually pretty good. I also have some saltwater rods - a stand-up type rod is usually pretty cheap.

[Vrmln Tr]

Most 8ft Trolling Rods work fairly well, as long as they are HeavyAction with a Moderate flex. You will want to look for a combination of Graphite and Fiberglass. St. Croix has a nice one in the Premier Line that is decently priced,Works well for trollling and also for livebait rigging. I have one with a line counter on it, that pulls double duty through the fall.

[wbliceman]

Musky Innovations bull dog trolling/ livebait rod. Love mine great action for suckers and trolling

[clm]

Thanks for all the replies. What i have been using is my fenwick elite tech 8'6". it has worked great but i feel that the few i lost were due to a tip that is too stiff. plus i am worried i may break it in the cold. looks like i am stopping in at thorney world on the way up.

[smeese]

A cheap option is the Ugly Stick Tiger Tail I think the heaviest they make is a Med/Heavy and it is a unbreakable beast

[mainbutter]

I've got an ugly stick tiger lite (i think?) in MH.. not stiff as a pool cue like my rod I use to huck mag dawgs and pull double 10s.

HOWEVER, I consider it to be a superior rod for fighting fish. Rods that don't load up during a fight cause more hooks to be tossed. Ugly Stick tiger anything are beefy rods that will haul in big fish wonderfully, and that's what I want most when fishing with bait for big fish.

[smeese]

I like em all and all are good but there is a huge difference between the Tiger Tail and the TT Lite edition.

[clm]

I ended up buying the Musky Innovations trolling/live bait rod. caught three fish on it so far and it as worked out well. thanks again.