I picked up a fiberglass 10' long "west point crappie rod" from the clearance rack at walmart for next to nothing. It's basically a 4-10# noodle. I figured it might be a fun change of pace for bass fishing with my SS700 (or maybe I'll use it as a home for my SS650?)
But in looking it up, the website describes it as a trolling rod. This thing came with a reel that looks like a dinky fly reel. No anti reverse, no free spool, just a drag. I find myself very confused by the intended application of this rod. I know what I wanna use it for: throwing shiners a bit further while increasing the odds the hook makes it out as far as the fish does (my fast taper rods see shiners and hooks part ways more than I like. Ive gotten better at it so it's not so bad, but it still sometimes happens). But I'm just very confused by this thing in general.
I figure with some cork grips and fuji hardware, this could be a fun one.
It's for spider rigging for crappie- google it. Guys use 10-15 of them trolling at .5mph with trolling motor- the point being with say a 7 foot beam, you are covering 25 feet or swath of water at diffferent depths- enough to work a drop off to see whats what.
can accomodate tiny conventional, small spinner, or fly reel but not really ideal for any of 'em
can cast small termial weights reasoably well when needed, but not too convenient for prolonged/repeated casting
when "rod-in-hand" mostly used for pitch/flip type applications around brush piles
trolling for crappie is pretty slow... closer to floating... look up "spider rigging" -- all lengths from <5' to >15' are needed
BASICALLY:
it's all about line control before you hook 'em;
swinging 'em in w/ no net, after you hook 'em;
minimal expense on all other considerations
They work great when slip-bobbering, and since they're a wimpy stick they're just plain fun. Kind of like using a cheap fly rod. Some guys use one piece bamboo poles with no reel at all, just the line tied to the eyelet at the tip. ;)
I loved crappie fishing in the spring when I lived up in Georgia when I was a teenager. Light action rods and lots of crappie. We'd have all night fish fries by the lake and those crappie are some of the best eating freshwater fish out there. Good times.
Ok this is making more sense. Ive been wondering why people would target something so small. "They taste good" is a great answer. I think this one's gonna be fun. I'm very curious to see how it'll cast. I'm not gonna waste a I series set to find out, but a set of lesser fuji is about $10, I'll throw that at the project. The biggest investment is always time. I just probably shouldn't high stick it.
Your crappie might frequent 1/2 to 2 pounds or better. People spend a whole lotta dough getting excited about rainbow trout I'd use for bait, and bijillions fish for spot, pompano, sea mullet, croakers, etc. in that weight class. Sea bass only have to be 12" and it's not hard to find a 12" crappie, and crappies run larger than most sunfish, except maybe a shellcracker, routinely.
I have one 10ft crappie pole with a Lew's 1000 series spinner on it, I have had a blast catching small bass on it with a roadrunner, feels like jaws on the other end when the pole bends over double or I can use as a cane pole, to get under low lying limbs with a stump knocker lying in wait to ambush a big red wiggler.