Hi All,

Looking for an inexpensive (<$125) casting rod for small top water lures, unweighted flukes and the odd small crankbait.  I wade fish for smallmouth and looking for a general purpose casting rod.  Tired of the line twist with spinning rods and these lures.  I can build an MHX blank for what I want for around $125 for comparison.  If I can get one already made for that price or less that would be good.  Not needing a BFS rod at this point.

Thanks

you're basically looking at a ML power to get down to 1/8 oz.  Not a bad idea to look at BFS rods.  The phenix rods are highly rated and about that price on sale.  Incidentally there are two in the for sale pages here right now that would do what you want at nearly your price.

 

Another thought for stream fishing is the Falcon bucoo SR ultralight.  Its very light and only rated to 1/4 oz but its rated down to 1/16 oz so you'd be in good shape on the lighter end.  At 5' it would be a really cool small stream rod.  I've thought about picking one up just to play with it.  I haven't pulled the trigger yet though.

 

I assume you already have a reel picked out that can handle 1/8 oz.  

45 minutes ago, Recurve1 said:

Hi All,

Looking for an inexpensive (<$125) casting rod for small top water lures, unweighted flukes and the odd small crankbait.  I wade fish for smallmouth and looking for a general purpose casting rod.  Tired of the line twist with spinning rods and these lures.  I can build an MHX blank for what I want for around $125 for comparison.  If I can get one already made for that price or less that would be good.  Not needing a BFS rod at this point.

Thanks

 

I use a Major Craft Days 692 M/F for those ranges and techniques.  Topwater, jerks, jigs, spoons, and free rigs are all effective and this rod ably casts 1/8oz with a diawa alphas 800s.  The 2 piece makes it free shipping from Japan (digitaka) and comes in around $130.  I'm continually impressed by the sensitivity, action, and build quality for that price.

 

scott

I used an older BPS Crankin' Stick 7' MLF as one of my rods to learn how to cast a #5 Shad Rap (3/16 oz.).  I was getting enough distance that I think the rod could handle 1/8 oz. if I had the ability to cast that light.  No idea how it handles 1/2 oz.   Weight range is 1/16-1/2 oz.  It's an $80 rod.

 

Another rod of mine that should handle that weight range okay is no longer in production.  Look for a used Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth 6'10" MF.  It's rated 1/8-5/8 oz.  The Smallmouth series fished above their full price.  However, they all have short handles should that be important to you.  At least the 5 different casting rods I have in that series do.

The old Tatula Elite AGS M/MH will do 1/8 to 3/4 comfortably. I’ve thrown a 1oz swim bait with it but I wasn’t loading the tip.

Dobyns Fury 733c, comes in at around $120-130.

Its called a MH but its really inbetween a M and MH.

Its ratings are 1/4-3/4. But its good for 1/8-1oz.

Ive throw big whopper ploppers and other big baits on it without issue, but now i use it for 1/8-1/4oz texas rigs and 3/8oz chatterbaits. Ill also throw Strike King 1/2oz lipless cranks on it and weightless senkos/flukes.

5 hours ago, Recurve1 said:

small top water lures, unweighted flukes and the odd small crankbait. 

The rods description right from Dobyns is "Senkos, Flukes, Spooks, Spinnerbaits, Toads"

 

The rods great at balancing being able to fish lighter lures and then the heavy ones.

Are we talking 1/8 oz as in an 1/8 oz lure or 1/8 oz peice of lead on a bait? 

Thanks for the suggestions - Liking the idea of a 2 pc in the Major Craft.

 

!/8 oz total up to around 1/2

OP, just noticed your username.  Bow hunt much?  Hopefully this isn't so far off topic it gets deleted.

1 minute ago, new2BC4bass said:

OP, just noticed your username.  Bow hunt much? 

Yep!

3 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Dobyns Fury 733c, comes in at around $120-130.

Its called a MH but its really inbetween a M and MH.

Its ratings are 1/4-3/4. But its good for 1/8-1oz.

Ive throw big whopper ploppers and other big baits on it without issue, but now i use it for 1/8-1/4oz texas rigs and 3/8oz chatterbaits. Ill also throw Strike King 1/2oz lipless cranks on it and weightless senkos/flukes.

The rods description right from Dobyns is "Senkos, Flukes, Spooks, Spinnerbaits, Toads"

 

The rods great at balancing being able to fish lighter lures and then the heavy ones.

A Dobyns 3 power will work just fine. Their Fury model is on sale at ALF for $103 with free shipping. I'd take @MediumMouthBass advice. I throw weightless 4" senkos with a Kaden 713 with no problem and a Fury 3 power would probably be even better suited for that.  

https://www.americanlegacyfishing.com/dobyns-fury-casting-rods.html 

My favorite 1/8-1/2 rod that I have is the 6'10" Shimano Curado. I believe I picked up a used "mint" condition one on ALF for ~$140. They often have a lot of mint condition shimanos for significant discounts. Would be worth looking into. I use it for the same thing that you're talking about - wade fishing creeks for SM. Another option that I haven't used but looks good is a TFO Professional. I believe it's a 7' rod and has the same 1/8-1/2 range. It's a mod fast action, which may be better if you're throwing trebs like you allude to. I have the 7' MH in that line and like it a lot for moving baits. It's a solid rod for $100 and I really like the looks of it with the cork grips and locking nut which you often don't find on rods at that price point

There arent a ton of ML+ rods available at that price range that would do everything really well.  You can get a 6'10 ML F muse (1/8-3/8) from TW for 130.  Awesome rods, but its not going to fish a 1/2 really well.  Honestly if you know MHX's blanks well enough and are comfortable building your own rod, I don't think you can do better than that.  

The Majorcraft Benkei 652ML is worth considering.  

Also a 4" senko weighs 1/4 oz and the OP is looking to cast down to half that weight.

Thanks guys - recently got one of the lightweight, small capacity spools for my Fuego CT reel and tried it yeesterday with a size 60 whopper plopper (1/4 oz) and it casts very well with my current cheapo rod.  Will also be looking into some of the nicer rods mentioned in this post since some are on sale now.

I’ve got a BPS carbonlite 2 in 7’ ML. I use it as a semi-bfs rod for light cranks/topwater and an occasional Ned rig. Works like a charm and fits your budget. 

Lews Mach 2 M2APC.   All purpose, 7 foot, medium power, moderate fast action.  Works great for light stuff, but has enough backbone, to hook and keep big fish pinned.   $79.97 right now at Tackle Warehouse.   https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-LEWRODS.html?from=basres