Long Crankbait Rods...

[Cheetam]

Is anyone throwing a 7'6" or longer rod for deep divers?  I'm curious what model(s) and your likes/dislikes.  Thanks...

[joshimoto son]

For DEEP divers, I'm throwing the quantum PT "Paul Elias" 7'-6" cranbait rod.
I like it... it really heaves them out there, great sensitivity too.

I have an extra (brand new) if you're looking to buy.

joshimoto son

[Cheetam]

For DEEP divers, I'm throwing the quantum PT "Paul Elias" 7'-6" cranbait rod.
I like it... it really heaves them out there, great sensitivity too.

I have an extra (brand new) if you're looking to buy.

joshimoto son

Is that a graphite blank or fiberglass (I could probably look it up, but I'm feeling kinda lazy...lol).

[dartag]

i think i have some cane poles in the attic if you want to try one.  some day you will leave your crankbait ways and cross over to the finess side.

[BryanP]

I built myself a couple Loomis CB 845's that I extended to 7'6" and I think I finally found the perfect rod for rattle baits and crankbaits (mid-sized on up to the deep diving Lucky Crafts and Strike King series 6 baits).

[Cheetam]

I built myself a couple Loomis CB 845's that I extended to 7'6" and I think I finally found the perfect rod for rattle baits and crankbaits (mid-sized on up to the deep diving Lucky Crafts and Strike King series 6 baits).

How do they handle DD22's and similar?

[Langer]

Jason Quinn was on Bass Pros this morning and his segment was about deep diving crankbaits. He was using a 7' 10" rod and some weird shaped bill (Luhr Jensen?) deep diver.

[Cheetam]

Jason Quinn was on Bass Pros this morning and his segment was about deep diving crankbaits. He was using a 7' 10" rod and some weird shaped bill (Luhr Jensen?) deep diver.

I've seen that episode.  He was throwing Luhr Jensen Hot Lips Express cranks.

[BryanP]

Jeff, I haven't tried DD22's on it yet, but I would say it should handle them no problem.  It handles the series 6 baits just fine and they're good sized, hard pulling baits. 

[thedude]

i have 7' S-Glass Higley (now patriot) that i love. its good for up to a DT16. if you can find an s-glass they are the way to go... very light and lots of bend.

[Skulley]

I use a 7 and a half foot American Rodsmiths fiberglas rod for throwing deep divers.  I have always loved DD22 crankbaits.  The rod is great for throwing them.  The action is excellent for big cranks.  Being fiberglas the tip helps set the hook.  I wouldn't use anything else.  I have used them for years or at least since the design was sold to them from Browning.  The rod is the David Fritts Cranking Series.  The same design that won Fritts the Classic back in the early 90's.  Back then it was a Browning Silex Rod.  Now it is made by American Rodsmiths.  Bass Pro sells them.

BD               

[MadWags]

When considering a new rod we would appreciate that you consider supporting the board sponsor, Grandt Rods. Grandt makes cranking sticks in Graphite in both the All American Tournament Series and the High Modulus XLH70 Series. I know you can get the XLH70 in a 7'6" cranking stick. They also make an E-Glass Series with crank sticks in both 6'6" and 7'.
I personally have 2 of the All American crankin sticks that I use for Lipless Cranks and divers up to 10'. I use the E-Glass for all my big cranks and am extremely pleased with the performance not to mention the warranty on all these rods. If you have questions regarding Grandt Rods, feel free to contact Jim Grandt directly.

[joshimoto son]

Jeff,
I was wrong about the length, it's 7-11" actually, and it is graphite.
I don't know what you like better.
If you can make it over on saturday, I'll take you fishing and let you throw one...

joshimoto son

[djkimmel]

I've been using 7 footers for a while now. Tried longer ones in the past, but 7 foot seems like the best all around compromise as I try to lower the number of different rods I use down a little (and jcheetem - keep throwing those cranks - don't listen to those who just don't know ).

I like the 7 foot because I can still use it somewhat in close quarters and when doing some heaves over the flats. I'm not 100% sure I'll not start using more rod actions again and try the longer rods for open water/extra deep cranking since I do get bored easy. For now, I like having similar actions with different line sizes.

I have a Grandt medium light crankbait rod - All American - that I'll use a lot for some of the smaller and 'finesse' crankbaits I will throw more in particular. It gets away from my thing about similar actions, I know, but the tiny crankbaits can be tricky to throw on a 'big' crankbait rod.

I haven't tried Grandt's longer crankbait rods yet since I haven't use longer than 7' in quite a while... but since I get bored easy... it's only a matter of time

[bigjc]

My favorite crankin' sticks are Kistler Mag TS 6' 6" and 7", but I do keep a BPS Extreme series 7'6" Medium, for the occasional DD22.  I really prefer the Kistler for about 90% of my crankin applications, the are the sweetest crankin stick actions I have ever used, even sweeter than my old David Fritts crankin rods from BPS.

[Cheetam]

My favorite crankin' sticks are Kistler Mag TS 6' 6" and 7", but I do keep a BPS Extreme series 7'6" Medium, for the occasional DD22.  I really prefer the Kistler for about 90% of my crankin applications, the are the sweetest crankin stick actions I have ever used, even sweeter than my old David Fritts crankin rods from BPS.

Before the move to the new (now old...lol) blanks in 2005, the first series of Helium blanks (especially the 7'0 medium) had beautiful actions for throwing cranks, not saying that the newer blanks don't.  Right now, I'm actually leaning towards a fiberglass blank, only because I miss the slow, parabolic action of a 100% fiberglass blank, but, who knows, that could change in a hour or two...

Dude, isn't s-glass supposed to be stiffer than e-glass?  Does that affect the actions of the blank?  It seems like most fiberglass rods are using e-glass.  Is this because it isn't as stiff, or just a cost thing?  Just curious...

I want to thank everyone for all of their input and suggestions.  I always like to see and hear what other people are using for similar applications.  If anyone else has suggestions, please, keep them coming!

[BryanP]

Jeff, those first edition Heliums were built on Rogue Blanks from what I was told.  I checked them out side by side and they were identical.  I'd check out the Rogue MB703 blank if you liked the standard He70M.