Rod For Great Lakes Smallmouth?

[Weedsnager]

Looking for a couple of new smallmouth rods for fishing lake michigan, anything but dobyns

[Waterfoul]

I prefer Shimano.  I have a boat full of Crucials and Clarus rods.  My favorite smallie rod is a 7' Crucial MH.

I probably caught over 100 smallies the last couple months on the west side, most on this rod.

[mikesmiph]

Please take a look at Grandt Rods, (a sponsor of this site). There are many to choose from and you never have to worry about one breaking (like most other brands). Unconditional life time warranty. And 100% made in the USA. Great prices too. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[bigjc]

Both great suggestions, but its still Kistlers for me.  The 7'6" MH spinning rod is hard to beat for great lakes smallies.

[djkimmel]

Are you looking for spinning, casting, both? What types of presentations do you normally fish? A little more information could help others suggest more specific rod models maybe.

[Weedsnager]

Spinning rod specifically for Lake Michigan smallmouth. Your typical Great Lakes smallmouth presentations....tubes, Erie darters, swimming a grub. Must be 7 foot or longer

[bigjc]

Here is the latest greatest Kistler Spinning:

http://www.kistlerrods.com/p/fishing-rod/c-Spinning-Rods/KLXSR73MHS.html

[Waterfoul]

This is the model Shimano Crucial I like.

http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/index/products/rods/Crucial_Family.html

CRS72MHA  7'2" Medium Heavy/Fast, 3/16-5/8 baits, EVA grips, Fuji Alconite guides and 9.5" Split Grip

Very light, very sensitive and a lifetime warranty.

[fiker]

I like the St. Croix Avids which also come with a lifetime warranty.  They cost about $180-190.

I use the ml xfast for drop shot.
The medium xfast for tubes blade baits, wacky rigged jig worms,  and small cranks.
The medium heavy for jigs, beavers, blade baits. 

I have both spinning and casting and I love them all. 

I use a Loomis for my crank bait fishing and top water.

The biggest smallie I ever caught was on the medium lite drop shot.  Plenty of backbone to handle fish.

[Got Fish??]

 Lake St Clair spinncast/smallmouth rod.Drift and drag. 7' to 7.5' med/heavy, At least 60 millions of carbon fiber, med tip. Good line guides (Fuji). The make of rod is a personal preference. Some company's have better hand grips or weighted handles A good rod is like a fine car. Buy the best one you can afford and go!

[6 lb Smallmouth]

I'm with Fiker- Love my Avid ML action spinning rods.  The 6'9" MLXF is great for detecting the subtle bite and it has a solid backbone when fighting that big one.  The 7' MLF is excellent too.  Give 'em a look!

[LennyB]

I've tried a lot of different rods, from $50 Bass Pro Shops to $365 G. Loomis Glx's. For top quality, I haven't found any rod as good as the Loomis Glx, however, dollar for dollar I think the best rod for the price is Bass Pro's XPS Extreme (Regularly $119 but often on sale for $69 ). The blank is as good as any $100 to $120 rod and has Fuji Guides but the thing I like best about it is the reel seat location. It is a little higher up the blank so it gives better leverage when fighting big smallies. I found a lot of rod makers put the real seat to close to the butt which cuts down on the leverage. I have a dozen of these I use with my clients and have never heard anyone say they didn't like them. For $69, it's hard to find a better rod without spending twice that much.

[djkimmel]

If you have some time before you buy, and you're in the area and thinking about attending, Grandt Rods will have their huge rod display at the Ultimate Sport Show in March. Rods made in the US with a lifetime warranty.

Grandt Rods has pricing close to their wholesale at the shows and when you buy there you can lock in that price. They have rods from the All American Pro Series to high end rods like the Stealth and Payara that are their own, unique materials designs.

I normally can't afford and don't buy the 'high end' rods from anyone so I have mostly stuck with the All American Pro Series. Often a little over $100 each at shows. I have 7 or 8 of them now. I'm very happy with a number of them. The C10 is the nicest spinnerbait rod I've ever owned. Lighter than rods I've used that cost a lot more. Very sensitive.

I'm hoping to pick up a good 7 1/2 foot spinning rod from Grandt this year for similar techniques to what you're looking for. I'll be at the Grandt Rods booth checking out their spinning rods in March to see what feels the best. Rods are pretty personal. I have recommendations but for some rods, it helps to feel them in your hand first.

Jim Grandt usually has hundreds, maybe over a thousand, rods at the shows. I'm hoping he has the following All American Pro models there for me to try out:

015    7'0 Med Lt   1pc  Jig, Drop Shot, Walleye, Crank  
009    7'0 Med      1pc  Jig, Bass, Lg Crank, Walleye Fluke  
076ML  7'6 Med Lt   1pc  Crank, Walleye, Bass, Fluke, Lt Troll  
076M   7'6 Med      1pc  Walleye, Bass, Fluke, Troll, Drift, Jig
076    7'6 Med Hvy  1pc  Bass Jig, Pike, saltwater Jig, Rig

I would think one of these will work for me. I will probably check out the higher end rods but those are out of my budget. Some of them are very nice to the feel though.

[Crankinsmallies]

The new Kistler KLX series of rods are the best in my opinion.  Check them out: http://www.kistlerrods.com/c/fishing-rod/Spinning-Rods.html

[Skulley]

I like the Daiwa Tony Beane Smallmouth Rod. I have only 4 of them. I would have more but they don't make them anymore. Tennessee smallmouth guide and expert designed this rod specifically for Smallie fishing. The closest thing to this that I have found to this is the KVD Signature Series Rod. Same action and you can throw just about any bait on it. Beane designed his rod so that you could throw any bait that weighed 1/16 oz. to 1 & 1/4 oz. bait. KVD's is about the closest thing to it. The Beane Smallmouth rod is a spinning rod. KVD Signature Rods come in spinning and casting models.



BD.                       

[YpsiBass]

Everyone likes what they like.  For my money, I'd get a Powell rod.  Great customer service too.  Great warranty.

[jcox7]

Get a full custom rod built try to get a Rouge blank they are rare but the best for smallies IMO there are many builders out there a few are Elite Rods out of Ohio and a newer rod to the area is Alpha both Dan fro Elite and Matt from Alpha can build with the rouge blank. 

[Weedsnager]

I ended up buying a shimano cumara. It has the best warranty out there.. if i break it, i take it into my local shop, give them  $10, and i have a brand new rod

[Waterfoul]

Great choice.  I have a couple of Cumara's and I love them!

[Mojo]

IMO the older blank Crucials, 6'8. DS rod was the best $160 I ever paid. 7 returns in 2 years, all free over the counter.  The draw back was they are brittle. So the new blanks on the Crucials are the old cumara blanks. Im sold. I got a gloomis for $189 and there seems to be a touch better sensitivity.

Either one, small mouth don't stand a chance once you set the hook with fresh 8 - 10 lb floro. They just absorb so much of the fight !!!! And that's the trick to landing smallies.