I'm looking to add one more combo to the arsenal this year if the wife allows it.  Well maybe something BFS as well.

 

Fall fishing is by far my favorite time to fish and it seems like topwater, squarebills, and lipless cranks get mentioned a bunch for this time.

 

Can you throw them all on the same rod effectively? I don't really have a rod for any of them.

 

I was originally going to just say topwater and squarebills but then lipless cranks also popped in my head. Not sure if that rod would be a little different since you might be ripping baits through grass.

 

I have a crankbait rod for mostly deeps 10 foot and down and it's way too long for topwater/squarebills. 

 

Topwaters I'd be mostly throwing poppers and walking baits. Squarebills would be something like the KVD 1.5's.

 

One more thing, IF I got a rod for say topwater and squarebills, would straight mono work???? Might not get the most depth on the cranks but the mono would float for the topwaters.

 

Thoughts?

 

Thanks!

I use a med/heavy for an topwater rod and a medium fast for a squarebill and lipless. You could get away with using the squarebill and the lipless on the same rod but I like a little stiffer rod for topwater myself.

30 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

I use a med/heavy for an topwater rod and a medium fast for a squarebill and lipless. You could get away with using the squarebill and the lipless on the same rod but I like a little stiffer rod for topwater myself.

 

Thanks.

 

I also just realized I posted this in the wrong forum.  Ugh!  

Yeah, you can definitely do it, though it depends on your preferences.  Some people like a more moderate action for squarebills and lipless.  Some like a fast action for that.  Some like short rods for topwaters and other don't mind a 7'3".  So a little input from your side would help guide.

 

For me and my preferences, I know what of my rods would be the one I grab for those but that might not be what you want.  

I’m using a GLoomis GLX 802c JWR medium extra fast for topwater, jerkbaits and lipless. It works well for what I use it for. I don’t need/want a rod for each bait. 

10 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

Yeah, you can definitely do it, though it depends on your preferences.  Some people like a more moderate action for squarebills and lipless.  Some like a fast action for that.  Some like short rods for topwaters and other don't mind a 7'3".  So a little input from your side would help guide.

 

For me and my preferences, I know what of my rods would be the one I grab for those but that might not be what you want.  

 

Good question.

 

I guess I don't know exactly what I want or like.

 

I figure a rod around the 7 foot length would be decent for shorter more accurate casts since most will be tossed at banks. Under trees, around laydowns, etc.

 

I have an older rod that I throw swim jigs on that is 6'6" which I'm really accurate with.

 

Not sure about the power or action, that's why I'm hoping for some help from everyone here.

 

Thanks

7’ MH mod fast works great for those techniques.   You could go a little longer or shorter but 7’ works best for me.

Falcon or Dobyns are good choices available at several different price points.  

I use a 7’ MH Fast for all of the above, I recently picked up a BPS Tourney Special that I absolutely love for slinging lipless and shallower cranks on. The tip loading on this thing is amazing - can put a 1/2 oz Rat-L-Trap into orbit with it, and holds its own in the fight. I have a BPS Formula on it spooled with 14lb Izorline Platinum and wouldnt change a thing. 

28 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

Good question.

 

I guess I don't know exactly what I want or like.

 

I figure a rod around the 7 foot length would be decent for shorter more accurate casts since most will be tossed at banks. Under trees, around laydowns, etc.

 

I have an older rod that I throw swim jigs on that is 6'6" which I'm really accurate with.

 

Not sure about the power or action, that's why I'm hoping for some help from everyone here.

 

Thanks

 

You're in the right overall ballpark.  Something 7' +/- 2" depending on preference shoud give you a good combo of distance (which I find important for lipless and some topwater) and accuracy (other topwater and squarebills).  I love my falcons and the 6'10" finesse jig is where I would go for all of that.  I bought it as a walking bait rod and it excels there (14# skinny mono).  I throw poppers on it the few times that I fish poppers a year.  It is a good lipless rod.  I prefer a little more length, but the fast action still lets you pop them out of grass.  It is a good squarebill rod for the short range around cover types.  On the whole it is a really versatile rod on the lower end of the MH power range.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, the 7'2" swim jig rod is a fantastic lipless rod (with mono) and an incredible long distance walking bait rod if you don't mind a 7'2" for that.  It is good enough with a squarebill.  Also makes a dandy light texas rig rod, and of course swimjigs.  

If I could only have one rod for these 3 applications, I would go with a 7’ MH/F. I don’t love these exact specs for any of the individual applications. But if I could only have one rod for all 3, that’s what it’d be. 

My preference for fishing subsurface horizontal moving baits

always leans a bit toward the moderate side.

However, topwater treble hook deals all get something Fast action with a decent tip to work the baits.

I will admit that line choice (type & size) also plays a rather significant role in this for me as well.

So it's at least two different sticks on my rig. 

But if I HAD to do it all with one stick, I'd go @Jar11591 recommendation. 

So a St Croix Avid 7 ft MH Fast casting rod with 12-15 lb mono.

(note; I have 3 of these rods and they come in as 'soft' as any 'fast' action stick I've fished - still graphite but surely not a pool cue).

Good Luck

A-Jay

My one rod for those apps is a 7ft st croix med/fast avidx with 12lb yozuri hybrid. I like to get into the backbone faster around shallow cover and imo fast is better than mod-fast for ripping traps. I favor the better hooksets of a fast over "keeping em pinned" with a mod-fast and  have no issues with landing ratio, it's all preference ymmv. I'd say err monkey says experiment with both.

Depending on the weight of those baits, I would be casting them on either a M/F or a MH/F. 

I never throw a lipless bait so I can't speak to that. For 1.5 squarebills and 2 hook topwaters like the chug bug I would go with a medium fast in the length of your choosing.

I personally use a Loomis 802 and a witch doctor surman 6ft 6.

I toss them all on a 7 foot mh rod. I dont get caught up in having a rod for every lure catergory. 

The main obstacle I see here is the lure weight(s) you’ll be throwing. Finding a rod to cover all three could mean either a medium or MH depending on the exact baits and the manufacturer definition of each power. Fast or medium fast action depending on cover. 

I use the same 7 foot medium power fast action rod for square bills, lipless crankbaits, medium diving crankbaits, jerk baits, and topwater baits. 

18 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

The main obstacle I see here is the lure weight(s) you’ll be throwing. Finding a rod to cover all three could mean either a medium or MH depending on the exact baits and the manufacturer definition of each power. Fast or medium fast action depending on cover. 

This is an important spec to look at.  We all know some rods fish lighter than listed while some fish heavier.  When I started back into fishing, I came to consider 1/4-3/4 and 1/4-1 oz. to be MH power rods.

 

However, I have a 7'2" MF rated 1/4-1 oz., a 7'2" M-Med-Fast rated 3/8-1 oz., a 7' MF rated 1/4-1 oz. and two 7' MF rated 1/4-3/4 oz.

 

Plus a 7' MF rated 1/4-5/8 oz. that a TT reviewer said he "spent a lot of time throwing a weighted paddle tail (which probably weighed about an ounce) and thought it felt acceptable".

 

This is why I depend on reviews before buying a rod.

9 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

This is an important spec to look at.  We all know some rods fish lighter than listed while some fish heavier.  When I start back into fishing, I came to consider 1/4-3/4 and 1/4-1 oz. to be MH power rods.

 

However, I have a 7'2" MF rated 1/4-1 oz., a 7'2" M-Med-Fast rated 3/8-1 oz., a 7' MF rated 1/4-1 oz. and two 7' MF rated 1/4-3/4 oz.

 

Plus a 7' MF rated 1/4-5/8 oz. that a TT reviewer said he "spent a lot of time throwing a weighted paddle tail (which probably weighed about an ounce) and thought it felt acceptable".

 

This is why I depend on reviews before buying a rod.

 

This is why I have settled into one brand.  Even another person's impression of a rod might not match mine.  And then a lot of sites have different reviewers doing the review so it isn't a single consistent person.  At least I have a pretty good idea with a falcon what I'm getting.  It's then weird to pick up one of my dad's shimanos with the same rating that throws the exact same lure and it feels so incredibly different.  

12 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

The main obstacle I see here is the lure weight(s) you’ll be throwing. Finding a rod to cover all three could mean either a medium or MH depending on the exact baits and the manufacturer definition of each power. Fast or medium fast action depending on cover. 

 

Well dang.

 

I knew there wasn't going to be an "easy" answer but it looks like it's more complicated than I was hoping for.

 

The main reason I was hoping to just have one rod is because I'm in a kayak and am limited on storage.

 

Hopefully, in the next 12 months or so I'll have a boat and storage will not be an issue.

 

I could always get a rod now that say works great for topwater that I still throw some shallow cranks with even though it might not be "ideal".

1 hour ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

I could always get a rod now that say works great for topwater that I still throw some shallow cranks with even though it might not be "ideal".

Not 'ideal', but I used a MF with mono or co-polymer lines for treble lures until I finally picked up a few crankbait rods.

2 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

I could always get a rod now that say works great for topwater that I still throw some shallow cranks with even though it might not be "ideal".

 

That's the path.  If you're going to have more in the future, don't get one that's average in all things.  Get one that's great for one and works fine for the rest.  

 

4 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

That's the path.  If you're going to have more in the future, don't get one that's average in all things.  Get one that's great for one and works fine for the rest.  

 

 

Probably where I'm leaning. Not what my wife wants to hear though.   

 

I've kinda been going down the technique specific combo rabbit hole, why stop now.

 

So that leaves the questions:

 

What's a good rod for topwaters and

What's a good rod for shallow cranks

 

I'll have to do some searching on here.

23 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

Probably where I'm leaning. Not what my wife wants to hear though.   

 

I've kinda been going down the technique specific combo rabbit hole, why stop now.

 

So that leaves the questions:

 

What's a good rod for topwaters and

What's a good rod for shallow cranks

 

I'll have to do some searching on here.

 

I'll say the same thing I said above- for hardbait topwaters, I love the falcon I use. Put it on the consideration list.

 

Shallow cranks and lipless- depends what you like in that rod- faster or slower.  Lots of people love the falcon mansfield (7', medium power, moderate action) but it is a buggy whip to me and there is no way I could ever fish it.  And I like different things in my crankbait rod and my lipless rod.  I can make one rod work for both (and do given how infrequently I throw them these days) but if I was throwing either of them a lot I'd do things a little differently.  

You've already received a ton of excellent advice and varied answers, but I'll throw my two cents in for whatever it's worth. I throw a lipless a huge percentage of the time I'm fishing. I love them, I have too many of them and I'm constantly on TW's lipless section looking for standouts. I've tried them on a handful of different rods from MH/F, M/F, M/XF, and finally settled with a Dobyns Fury 705CB. Threw it for a long time with braid and caught a lot of fish but lost a lot of giant LMB on it as well. Paired it up with 15lb fluoro and she's right as rain now. The graphite is snappy enough that I can still pop the bait pretty aggressively but it loads deep enough to keep those fish pinned. I fish mostly open water with some sparse vegetation but typically tick the tops of it.

 

If you were in thick vegetation and really needed to rip it, a stouter rod or braid could be a better option for you.

 

I've been playing around with squarebills a bit and I throw them on a 6'9" M/MF currently, and my topwater rod depends on what I'm throwing. Poppers on a 7' M/XF spinning rod, walking baits on a 6'10" M/XF or 7' MH/F depending on the size.