Lipless Crank rod, Deep diving crank rod for weed edges

[TonkaBass]

Yeah, I agree too cecil, but he did say that he had 27 bites on his lipless one day and caught 26 of them using a stiff rod.

For sure the heavier line would affect the lures running depth. He said that the main reason for using the heavy rod was so he could tell really easily when he hit a rock,stump, gravel, sand, mud, etc. Makes sense to me, I will have to give it a try, not gonna lie. He really got me thinking on a lot of stuff, because he backed everything he talked about by real life examples.

[NCLaker]

Used 6'6" MH this summer, rigged with 12# Gamma. Caught a ton of fish on a redeye shad lipless crank. I couldn't believe how many fish spit the hook. I figured it must be the hooks, I got some feedback on FM that I should try a cranking rod for better success with keeping them hooked. I plan to give that a try this summer. I have a 6'6" Shimano TC4 - it it works well, I'll be upgrading to a 7' version.

[champion198elite]

Saw that article. Like I said, I think Dudley is for sure in the minoroty on this.

Or maybe he knows something we dont???? We need to remember its "whatever works for the individual" Dean Capra was at the show and there was several guys talking about cranking rods and he said "you can take a glass rod and shove it up your @#@" He doesnt believe in them either.

[Cecil]

I don't like glass rods either, I would rather use a moderate action graphite rod.

[RK]

Hiya -

I'm with Cecil and some of the others - I don't like glass either. It deadens the feel too much for me, and especially on deep weedlines, I really want to feel what's going on.

I don't think graphite and keeping fish hooked are mutually exclusive. It's about the combination - line (and line stretch or lack of it), rod power and action, and what you're pulling with it. My big CB rod is probably a Med-Heavy in terms of power, but it's a moderate action with a very soft tip. I rarely burn big cranks - most of the time I'm fishing them really slowly in fact - so the rod isn't loaded up very much at all when a fish hits; my drag is set fairly lightly; I usually have a 5' mono leader. (If you don't think 5' of mono makes much difference, tie 5' of braid and 5' of 12# mono to a table, and give each of them a yank...) I also get a little uptight about hooks. I replace stock hooks on a lot of baits. Combine all that, and even with braid as a main line, I lose very few fish.

But it is definitely a case of 'your mileage may vary...'

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[NCLaker]

Interesting ... I have a 7' Gander ProSelect (IM8) with Moderate action. I literally snagged at the bottome of the lake trolling for walleyes. Haven't used it at all, I'll have to use it and the TC4 and see how they compare. Thanks for the food for thought on this one.

[Muddog]

I have a 7' gander mtn ultimate Med rod with an old bantam corado reel spooled with 14lb fireline. It is my dedicated lipless cranking rod. If I didn't read forms like this I wouldn't know there was a problem with fish throwing lipless crankbaits. Now if you can tell me how to keep northers form cutting them off, I'm all ears (eyes??).

Oh yea. red over yellow. Two thumbs up.

Maybe a lipless crankbait with a hook setup like a J-plug is what you need!

[RK]

Hiya -

Muddog -

Man, pike do love rattle baits don't they? It's part of the reason I don't use them that much. Lakes in my neck of the woods are rotten with pike, and you get mauled by them.

Easy solution to not getting bitten off though - go get some Cortland Toothy Critter knotable wire. The stuff is really thin, and you can attach it to your main line with back to back Uni-knots - 3 turns on the wire, 4 on your main line. Trim the tag ends close and dab some superglue on it to smooth it out and you won't pick up weeds. 4 inches or so is about all you need to prevent 95% of the bite-offs and I don't think it makes a bit of difference to the bass, especially with a horizontal, reaction strike presentation. I use it with rattle baits, swim jigs (another bait pike REALLY love) and sometimes even jig and pig and lipped crankbaits on weedlines - any bait where pike are likely to eat the whole thing is a candidate.

About the J-plug idea - Rattle Trap did that maybe 10-15 years ago actually. The line went through a hole in the top of the bait and you tied a treble on below the bait, then the whole thing slid up the line when a fish hit. I think they called it a Pro Trap or something. I probably still have some someplace. Didn't lose many fish on them, but without a back hook you missed quite a few too.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Muddog]

Thank you for the tip. I'll give it a try.

It sounds like the "Pro Trap" needed a feathered stinger hook.