Need Some Crankbait Rod Advice 2025

VABasser reply :

I'm about to pull the trigger on a new cranking rod and need some help, I've read through a bunch of old threads but still uncertain what my best option is. Cranking is probably my least developed technique, and to some extent it's because I hate throwing them on my current setup so I avoid them. It's an old BPS Crankin Stick, which really seems to struggle throwing anything under 1/2oz consistently and accurately, not to mention I can hardly feel a thing sensitivity wise. So let me tell you first what I'm looking to do with it

75% of the time it will be used to throw shallow cranks (like Manns Baby Minus), traps, and squarebills. The other 25% shallow-medium diving cranks (<10ft) and an occasional jerkbait. I fish in a shallow, tidal fishery, so there is a lot of grass and wood.

I've looked at the Abu Garcia Winch 2.0, the Tatula's, even the Phenix glass and X-series (a little more than I wanted to spend). I want a quality rod, but was hoping to keep it under $150. I'm very interested in the Kistler Magnesium TS "Crank, Rattle n' Roll" that is on sale at TW right now for $109, it's a 7' MH moderate fast, does anyone have experience with this rod? How about some of the others I listed or haven't?

Any specific insight as far as glass, composite or graphite rods for my applications I'll be using this for? I've never fished a glass rod.

Thanks for any help y'all can provide

PitchinJigz reply :

I'd go with a Powell 703 CB rod. Either the Max 3D or Inferno.

deep reply :

What power Crankin Stick? I have a maroon 7'6" medium power (casting rod) I fish small jerkbaits/ topwaters and dropshots on; either Powerpro + mono leader or Tatsu. Casts light baits great (down to 1/4 oz), and no problems with sensitivity either.

(I have an NRX, a Helium3 and a Dobyns Champion to compare against btw...)

P.S. I hardly ever throw lipped cranks (I do fish jerkbaits and liplesses a lot), but I think you might want to look at fast action rods in addition to *crankbait* rods.

RyanFishing reply :

I would definitely look at the St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass series crankbait rods. Glass is a lot different but it's different in a great way for using crankbaits. The mojo glass is also an extremely sensitive rod and surprised me with how sensitive it was when I first started using it.

roadwarrior reply :

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/perfecta-lte.html

smalljaw67 reply :

There is a rod that will be perfect for your situation, the Okuma Scott Martin TCS 6'9" MH-MF, it will handle all your weight ranges plus it is the right length for jerkbaits and is under the $150 price point.

desmobob reply :

I have two of Kistler's KLX cranking rods; both in MHMF. I wish I had bought one of them in MMF for those smaller cranks (and probably will in the future). I came VERY close to picking up one of those Kistler Magnesiums you mentioned at Tackle Warehouse's excellent price.

Anyway, the point I was going to make was that I, personally, feel the KLX MH cranking rods don't start to really shine until I put a larger or deeper diving crank on them. I can cast a small crank easy enough, but I don't get the really good feedback and sensitivity from those MH rods until I put on something slightly larger/deeper diving.

You may want to consider a medium power for smaller/shallow cranks... but this is my rookie opinion and hopefully some of the more experienced guys will weigh in.

Tight lines,

Bob

Puggz reply :

Ok lets spend a second discussing what makes a "Crankbait Rod" rather than just throwing out the make/model of our favorites..

It has been my experience that crankbaits, either trolled or cast, are better served with a moderate action rod. Many labeled as such come in a Mod or Mod/Fast action. Also in this case, sensitivity is not a paramount concern as cranks are typically reaction style baits and you will instantly know when you get a hit.

With the slower action, the rod blank loads up when pulling a crank. This action helps with keeping the small trebles "hooked up" until you can respond. For example, for smallmouth season opener I troll 2 crankbait rods with scatter raps. The rods are in holders and I troll just under 2mph. When a fish hits, I have plenty of time to get the rod out of the holder and to set the hook. Something I was far less successful with using a fast action rod.

Regarding jerk bait fishing, this isn't the best setup as most hits come from the pause and you'll want a fast tip and sensitivity for it. Also, there's a huge debate on whether mod/fast is best for spinnerbaits as well. Some think yes, others think a fast tip is better because of the large single hook (like a jig)... My mission next season is to come up with an answer on this that works for me.

I use the older model graphite Mojo Bass MH 7'. It works well for both casting and trolling mid sized cranks.

Therefore, IMHO, a 7' or longer, medium fast, Med-Hvy, glass or graphite, should fit the bill.

Mono, floro, or briad? well that's an entire different discussion..lol

VABasser reply :

Haha, as could be expected everyone has their favorites, and I'm sure they are all solid options. Looking around on TW I've realized just how many choices there are out there. I previously hadn't looked at the Mojo glass rods, but I see they recently got a revamp. I'm kind of leaning towards the 7'4" Crankster model, gotta make a decision tonight...

ww2farmer reply :

On 12/14/2015 at 10:02 AM, VABasser said:

75% of the time it will be used to throw shallow cranks (like Manns Baby Minus), traps, and squarebills. The other 25% shallow-medium diving cranks (<10ft) and an occasional jerkbait. I fish in a shallow, tidal fishery, so there is a lot of grass and wood.

Thanks for any help y'all can provide

Based on what conditions your going to be cranking................I would avoid a cranking rod specific rod. A good M or MH powered fast action rod with a soft tip will serve you much better, especially in and around grass. I started cranking years ago in much the same conditions you describe, lots of grass, some wood, little bit of rock here and there, and nothing much more than 10-12 feet deep. I started with a 7' M power, fast action graphite rod, and it worked and worked well. But having little exp. with cranking, I listened to all the talking heads and believed I needed to get a "cranking" rod. Well 10 years later, and many many cranking rods later, I decided all these "experts" could keep there cranking rods, and went back to what I started with. The #1 reason.................I was never ever happy with how cranking rods performed in grass. They just load up too much, and instead of a nice clean pop out of the grass, you end up just dragging the bait further into it, which in turn gets the bait all wadded up and you have just wasted time. Do this all day and it adds up to tremendous amount of frustration and time spent not fishing. Your going to get a lot of people blabbing about ripping hooks out, or pulling baits away from fish, or any other ..........IMHO..............nonsense on why you shouldn't fish crankbaits on "non-cranking" rods. All I have to say to that is.................these are problems that I have not had, and I go against the "conventional" grain, I crank with graphite, "non-cranking" rods, and I crank with braid. I'd like to invite these people who spout off about how wrong I am, to spend a day on my boat cranking with me so I can show them.

Logan S reply :

Sounds like you fish the same or at least similar waters as I do....I would lean heavier on power, at least a MH and I agree with WW2Farmer that a traditional 'cranking' specific rod is not a necessity. One of my favorites for the Potomac is a Powell Max Squarebill rod, which is a 6'9" Heavy/XF. You need some beef to the rod for popping out of the grass and for banging around the trees/docks/barges we find on tidal water. That's not the only rod I use, I do use MH/MF cranking style rods...But that Heavy/XF Powell is an awesome stick for this type of fishing.

I fish all over and not just the Potomac, so outside of tidal water I do go with the standard moderate action cranking rods, both glass and graphite....But on the river these stay in the rod box. FWIW I use flouro in either situation.

A MH/MF would probably be the more versatile choice, if you're only getting one I'd probably go that route. It could do shallow cranks plus spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, topwater, and probably a few other techniques.

Sam reply :

Please check out Roadwarrior's post.

To continue the conversation, please consider a "crankbait specific" rod of the manufacturer of your choice.

You can find different brands of cranking sticks at your local BPS, Cabela's, Academy Sports and on the Internet at various web tackle outlets.

I love my BPS and my G. Loomis cranking sticks.

And I am going from one end of the rainbow to the other with these two rods!

gulfcaptain reply :

I found I have a few different cranking set ups. Each has its purpose, none are an ALL DO IT rod. The rod I fish Baby 1-Minus and smaller cranks on won't fish larger squarebills or work well with lipless baits. rod I fish those on doesn't perform well on deeper diving 6-12ft baits. And the rod I fish deep divers on doesn't throw any of the above very well. Some are graphite, some are composite. One of them happens to be a BPS Crankin Rod as well in the 7'6"MH. If you have too stiff of a rod you will loose out on lighter baits and too "whippy", well you can't fish bigger baits. And none of my cranking rods fish jerkbaits since they aren't the right action. I fish braid on everything, which isn't for everyone but the rod actions are spot on for what I need for each bait, so you need to decide on what you're wanting. If you want a rod that is a bit stiffer, can fish squarebills and lipless baits from 3/8-5/8, I'd look at something in the 7ft MH Med-fast/Mod-fast action. But as for a do all rod, well unfortunately there isn't a do it all rod for cranking every way possible. Comes down to having the right tools for the job. I don't think I'd trust a mechanic that only used a cresent wrench even if it worked 75% of the time, and tried to make it work the other 25% when a good tool set would have all the required tools needed to do the job correctly 100% of the time. Just my opinion.

HoosierHawgs reply :

On 12/14/2015 at 11:37 AM, deep said:

What power Crankin Stick? I have a maroon 7'6" medium power (casting rod) I fish small jerkbaits/ topwaters and dropshots on; either Powerpro + mono leader or Tatsu. Casts light baits great (down to 1/4 oz), and no problems with sensitivity either.

(I have an NRX, a Helium3 and a Dobyns Champion to compare against btw...)

P.S. I hardly ever throw lipped cranks (I do fish jerkbaits and liplesses a lot), but I think you might want to look at fast action rods in addition to *crankbait* rods.

I'm curious to know about your Crankin Stick experience as well. Was gonna buy one possibly in the spring

shaggydog reply :

try this, 7ft st croix avid mf. if it has to be a cranking specific then get a sticker that says crankbait and put it on it. technique specific rods dont do much for me though.

deep reply :

On 12/15/2015 at 9:47 AM, HoosierHawgs said:
I'm curious to know about your Crankin Stick experience as well. Was gonna buy one possibly in the spring

What do you want to know? Obviously it's not the latest or the greatest. Kinda heavy too. But works well for what I use it for- small treble hook baits, dropshots, blade baits. Usually with braid + leader, sometimes with fluoro.

Carterjig68 reply :

I'd go with a Dobyns Champion 705CB glass. It's a great all around cranking stick with the exception of maybe some deep divers but other than that it's extremely versatile and a great rod.

Carterjig68 reply :

Sorry, didn't see the $150 but in that case I'd go with the Dobyns Fury.

desmobob reply :

On 12/15/2015 at 7:29 AM, Puggz said:

sensitivity is not a paramount concern as cranks are typically reaction style baits and you will instantly know when you get a hit.

I wouldn't have any problem knowing when my crank got hit if I was using a broomstick. I don't need sensitivity to tell me when I'm hooked up with a fish!

I do want to know when there is a piece of weed hanging on my hooks, or I'm barely ticking the tops of the grass, or a fish tried to suck it in and missed.

In other words, sensitivity is a paramount concern. To me, at least.

Tight lines,

Bob

poisonokie reply :

For what you're wanting I'd consider a Daiwa Tatula 701MLRB. They can be had for around $120 and will not disappoint. That said, this is the crankinest crankin setup that ever cranked a crank: Tatula 711MRB-G + TD Luna 103L + 30# braid. Sensitivity, castability, and catchability abound.

VABasser reply :

I appreciate all the feedback, it definitely helps me think through what exactly I'm looking for. Logan, I fished the tidal Potomac for about 6 years but now I'm down in VA Beach and have been focusing on Back Bay. It's got a fair amount of grass coming back but nothing like the Potomac a few years ago. I guess I'm not so concerned about getting a rod to rip baits out of the grass because I've already got a couple that do that well, although I usually throw spinnerbaits or chatterbaits on those, I guess I shouldn't be scared to put a trap on them too. Anybody have experience with a 7' or 7'4" medium power/moderate action for throwing square bills?

A big thing that is important to me and my biggest complaint about the crankin stick was sensitivity. Where I fish I need to know if I'm ticking the tops of grass, if I'm bouncing off a piece of wood or the bottom, if I'm catching the top of an emerging lily pad, etc. Maybe I'm just used to fast or extra fast graphite rods, but that was near impossible for me with the crankin stick (~8 year old one). Granted I never tried braid with it and maybe that would've solved a lot of my frustration.

poisonokie reply :

I use a 7'2" mh/mf glass composite rod for squarebills and traps, as well as deep divers and swimbaits less than 2oz. I've used a 7'1" mh/mf carbon rod for squarebills and vibes with good results, but I use that mainly for spinnerbaits chatterbaits and swim jigs now.

Toeshots reply :

Hmm, I guess I'm one of the few that really likes the Crankin' Stick. Hard to beat for the price, especially when it's on sale (like it is now).

gulfcaptain reply :

On 12/15/2015 at 11:00 AM, VABasser said:

I appreciate all the feedback, it definitely helps me think through what exactly I'm looking for. Logan, I fished the tidal Potomac for about 6 years but now I'm down in VA Beach and have been focusing on Back Bay. It's got a fair amount of grass coming back but nothing like the Potomac a few years ago. I guess I'm not so concerned about getting a rod to rip baits out of the grass because I've already got a couple that do that well, although I usually throw spinnerbaits or chatterbaits on those, I guess I shouldn't be scared to put a trap on them too. Anybody have experience with a 7' or 7'4" medium power/moderate action for throwing square bills?

A big thing that is important to me and my biggest complaint about the crankin stick was sensitivity. Where I fish I need to know if I'm ticking the tops of grass, if I'm bouncing off a piece of wood or the bottom, if I'm catching the top of an emerging lily pad, etc. Maybe I'm just used to fast or extra fast graphite rods, but that was near impossible for me with the crankin stick (~8 year old one). Granted I never tried braid with it and maybe that would've solved a lot of my frustration.

I fish a few Falcon Bucoo's, the 7'MH Mod Fast will work with lipless baits as well as squarebills, but also purchased a 7'2"MH Mod Fast and it has a little lighter tip and have used it a bit for chatterbaits and dragging a small football jig with great success, but feel it would work well for a 1.5 size squarebill if needed. The 7'M is a great smaller crankbait rod and one I fish a Manns 1-Minus on only due to the action of the rod and feel I have when I fish it I can tell what my bait is doing, and if it's got grass on it as well. Not good for ripping it clean due to the action of the rod but I can tell without a doubt if a fish short strikes it or not. If I'm gonna throw a squarebill on a M rod though, I have a Smoke 7'6"M Moderate action that does fish them well. I did have a 7'6"M Crankin Stick in the older model of which I did return because I thought it was too whippy, but the 7'6"MH has a good action and feel. Actually use it to fish smaller A-rigs to keep from pulling hooks on the smaller jig heads.

thebillsman reply :

Fury 705cb or Mag TS.. great prices at TW.

VABasser reply :

On 12/15/2015 at 12:37 PM, thebillsman said:
Fury 705cb or Mag TS.. great prices at TW.

Do you have any experience with the two Magnesium TS cranking models TW has for sale right now? At first I was leaning heavily towards the 7' MH one, but began to have second thoughts after someone earlier in this thread said he thought the sensitivity on the Kistler MH crankbait rods wasn't so good with lighter cranks. It also seems there are mixed reviews on customer service with Kistler. The Dobyns Fury 705CB is definitely one I'm interested in too

IowaHusker28 reply :

I use 3 CB rods right now and about to add a 4th in the spring for those 8xds and 10xds but I have two of the Abu Veritas winch rods and I love them. I have the 7' for square bills and shallower cranks and the 7'6 for the deeper cranks and soon to be 7'11 for the super deep divers even thought the 7'6 handled them, I think the extra casting distance is worth it. I also fish a Falcon Bucoo 7' heavy for lipless cranks suggested by the lipless master Chris McCall and it is sweet being able to rip it out of the grass so fast. All under 100 but I own 4 Mojo Bass rods and was very temped to try their CB rods out, because I have heard nothing but good things.

Also if you want to hear McCall talk about lipless rods, he is on the FLW podcast, I think episode 87.

HoosierHawgs reply :

On 12/15/2015 at 10:10 AM, deep said:
What do you want to know? Obviously it's not the latest or the greatest. Kinda heavy too. But works well for what I use it for- small treble hook baits, dropshots, blade baits. Usually with braid + leader, sometimes with fluoro.

I was thinking about getting one (7ft M Fast) for mid diving Crankbaits. Wiggle warts, Bomber Fat Frees, 3DB, 3XD, Little Johns, ECT. I like my other BPS rods, especially the PH Grip and I like their value for the money, especially used or on sale. Never been worried about latest and greatest. The trailing edge is usually cheaper.

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