My Abu Garcia Black Max rod is M/M. I can see that with it being moderate action, it has less backbone than if it had a fast action.

 

I have a M/F Hank Parker 6'10" rod, and while it's a great rod, I don't understand what the benefits are of the fast action over the moderate action I've been using. I can tell a difference in casting, as the fast action doesn't cast the same. I wouldn't say it's harder, just different. Perhaps with less distance.

 

Okay, I get that the Medium part is the power of the rod, which the amount of power to move a fish and power on a hookset. I get that the F part is how fast the tip moves back from a load. And I get that these are subjective to the maker's notions.

 

Is there any reason why anyone would prefer a M/M rod? What is a M/M best suited for?

Very often a moderate taper rod will be able to load lures lower than its rating, and i do love them for walleye. For bass i like them for topwater stuff and shallow diving cranks. 

Just a softer tip rod compared to fast. Fast action is more sensitive; xfast is the most sensitive. If you have sparse cover and a more open area and want to protect against pulled hooks…moderate action works

Generally speaking, It's a crankbait action.

I look at it as how fast the bend gets into the backbone of the rod, as in the image Ski presented. 

 

I like a more moderate action for lures with treble hooks especially due to having more bend range to absorb a fish running or lunging and less likely to lose tension long enough for those smaller hooks to come loose.

 

I also like them for moving baits to slow down the hook set and allow the fish to fully close down on the bait before the hook gets set so I am less likely to rip it out of their mouth.

 

I saw one source describe the benefit of a slower action like this. They said there are times we are retrieving a moving bait and what we initially "Feel" is the bass inhaling the bait, but they haven't necessarily closed down on it yet. They said a more moderate rod helps give you a tiny bit of delay when you set the hook for them to close down it.

 

Kind of like people saying they count to one or two, or take a step back, or just wait to feel the weight of the fish. It's all intended to give the fish a second to get closed down on the bait.

 

Some believe that, some don't. I personally believe it it to a point that I believe you can set the hook too fast and pull it away from them. Especially on topwater, but I believe it to be true on moving baits as well. I use more moderate actions for crank baits and topwater, but also for spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and swim Jigs. Basically any moving bait.

^^^^

This for me as well ~

 

A-Jay

For the most part, MM is geared towards top water and baits with treble hooks.

BUT you also have to consider the weight rating stamped on the rod.

And lastly...... there's the bait monkey 🐒.

Do I have the perfect rod for the technique being used ?

So now you need a plethora of rods to accommodate the many techniques present today 😁

Interesting. Along with the responses here, I've also been reading a bit about it. Thank you all.

 

So the Hank Parker M/F rod I have is better suited to worms and jigs, and the Black Max M/M rod is better suited to crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

 

I've been using the M/M for everything, as my all around bank fishing rod, and I'm not unhappy with it for texas rigs and jigs. I have felt it as underpowered though occasionally.

 

I am going to use the M/F as my all around for a while, taking note of how it works. I often carry 2 rods with me when fishing, and I almost always rig one for texas rigs and one for crankbaits or moving baits.

I have a Proficency Retro, which is only marked Medium best I recall, but it's lighter, and more for panfish. It does fine with things like small crankbaits. It's mushy with texas rigs and jigs. I have to really give them the business on the hookset. I've been just noticing and experimenting with what works with the different rods I have and why.

I am a firm believer that you should use the most moderate rod you can get away with for the presentation.

The action is 'where' the rod bends when you're casting.  The power is 'how much force' it takes to bend it there and beyond.  Keep that straight and all will be right with the world.  

 

You mentioned 'how fast the tip moves back from a load'.  That is NOT correct.  That would be called the recovery speed or just recovery and that is something that isn't categoried by manufacturers.  You might hear a rod be called 'crisp' or 'responsive' and that's what they are trying to imply.  You can measure the recovery speed (tru resonant frequency is the rechnical term I think), but since no one publishes those numbers it wouldn't help you much unless you had a bunch of blanks' or rods' worth of data.

 

With the definitions squared away, you can have moderate actions with low or high powers.  A noodle rod for salmon and steelhead is a good example.  They are designed with very moderate or even slow actions where they will bend into a complete U shape on a fish (just point the butt at the fish and keep cranking) but they have a decent amount of power when you really bend them.  Conversely, you can have an ultralight (power) trout rod with a really fast action.  When you cast it with the rated lure weight, only the very tip top bends but hook into an angry brown trout and it will flex the blank well into the bottom 1/3rd.

 

Bass rods are similar- you can have fast action ML or M powered rods and you can have heavy powered rods with a moderate action.  A fast actioned rod is going to have a light, quick loading tip, often lighter than a more moderate actioned rod of a similar power.  But then that light tip is going to give way to a lot of power right behind it, usually about 20-25% of the way down the blank.  A more moderate rod will flex into the top 1/3 or so on a cast but the actual top 6" of the tip isn't doing much flexing.

 

As to what you want to use each for?  That's personal preference.  A bladed jig rod is a good example.  AJay's pictures above show a quite moderate rod loaded up with a (presumably) big smallmouth.  He loves a moderate rod for chatterbaits and I think swingheads.  For me, I fish my chatterbaits on a fast action.  Same with spinnerbaits.  Everyone has a preference.  Moderate actioned rods for trebles?  I'm throwing most of them on a fast action for topwaters and a moderate fast for crankbaits.  Then again, I am fishing mono which has a bit more give so that the total system has enough give to fight a fish but enough sticking power to set the hook in the first place.  

I enjoy a moderate fast or fast personally. One thing to keep in mind as well is every brand is a lil different. None of its set  in stone. 

On 7/18/2025 at 6:52 AM, FrnkNsteen said:

I also like them for moving baits to slow down the hook set and allow the fish to fully close down on the bait before the hook gets set so I am less likely to rip it out of their mouth.

This.

 

I also like a strong power, but slower action rod for fishing heavy cover with braid, close to the boat like pitching and flipping. The strong power gives you the ability to pull fish out, but the slightly slower action helps you land the fish and not actually "rip lips". 

Your rod, reel and line are a system.  You can alter any one of the three to fine tune the system-if you want to.

I look at the technique and lure and apply the rod action, length, material and power what I think best suits my need.  Then I apply the line type. The reel is the easiest.  You know your rod is too moderate when you have to run to the rear deck on a hook set to lock up the blank.  

At a public event in the late 60’s, a tour pro named Bill described power as a measure of the strength (and he may have added “of the fish” but I don’t recall) the rod is designed to handle.  ‘Speed’, or action, he said is how quickly the fight could be transferred from the tip to the backbone of the rod.  He also talked about implications for casting and as visual aids, held up a broomstick and a cane pole.  
The technology of rods, like everything else, has become incredibly advanced in the last few decades.  But I think Bill’s explanation remains right on, and is still the one that guides my choices.

Rod technology has changed a lot with graphite materials introduced in the mid 80’s. The terms used today predate modern rod materials plus no industry standard outside of bending rates under unspecified loads; ie subjective! Power initially was lifting a dead weight until the blank bottomed out in pounds 1 through 6 being light to heavy.
Rod builders use a bending formula I am sure will introduced.

To me it’s a touch and feel evaluation unless I know the rod blank used.

Tom 

This is what I'm figuring out Tom, thanks.

 

I've been using the M/F Lews Hank Parker rod, and so far I am really liking it. It is slightly larger in diameter, and I guess, slightly stiffer of a Medium power that the Abu Black Max. Which I like. A bit more power, without being heavy and hard to handle.

12 hours ago, Columbia Craw said:

You know your rod is too moderate when you have to run to the rear deck on a hook set to lock up the blank.  

While like moderate rods and I do fish sticks that meet my needs,

I used to think this too.

But BIG FISH can swim very fast, faster than you or I can ever reel.

So after losing a few DD LMB bass and 6 lb plus pound SMB

because they bolted right at me on the hookset,

I came up with a different plan.

And yes, sometimes I reposition myself during the hookset

to help take up the hookset defeating slack.

Always thought IKE was a freak for doing it years ago.

Turns out he was just a little ahead of his time. 

YMMV

🙂

A-Jay

 

22 hours ago, A-Jay said:

While like moderate rods and I do fish sticks that meet my needs,

I used to think this too.

But BIG FISH can swim very fast, faster than you or I can ever reel.

So after losing a few DD LMB bass and 6 lb plus pound SMB

because they bolted right at me on the hookset,

I came up with a different plan.

And yes, sometimes I reposition myself during the hookset

to help take up the hookset defeating slack.

Always thought IKE was a freak for doing it years ago.

Turns out he was just a little ahead of his time. 

YMMV

🙂

A-Jay

 

Nope,... I think Ike is still a freak! LOL! I understand the intent as you mentioned, but I think he over exaggerates it at times. 😁

16 minutes ago, FrnkNsteen said:

Nope,... I think Ike is still a freak! LOL! I understand the intent as you mentioned, but I think he over exaggerates it at times. 😁

Agreed, but I'm pretty sure that's part of his shtick.

A-Jay

Ike is full of energy for sure. He's got a different personality than other pro bass anglers, and most people. He did win a classic though, among some other things.

There's something satisfying about fighting an aggressive bass with a treble hook in its mouth on a high quality moderate rod.