What a good set up for tossing 3/16 to 1/4 oz cranks up under willows? I'm looking for baitcasting gear. I want to use the same muscle memory that I use for tossing heavier cranks into tight spaces. Rod, reel, and line. What do you use for roll casting finesse cranks?

S-glass - not soft mid and butt, but soft tip to make the skip.

Mine are obscure Japan Underground rods, Smith Super Strike FO-56, and 5' Bright River Concorde (carbon-wrap butt).

Both are rated 2-power (ML) , but the S-glass tips on both rods will skip cast well below the rated rod low-end.

Simply, you need a progressive taper with a soft tip, but don't under-power the rod choice.

More-para-taper rods, typically made for distance and more flex in the mid, won't make this cast at all.

I have this one set up for salt mud marsh, skipping bunny shrimp under mangroves for redfish, SlowTaper ML, 6'4" OL matched with 2-hand grip.

14 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

S-glass - not soft mid and butt, but soft tip to make the skip.

Thanks for the reply. Not looking for so much of a skipping outfit , just accurate casting. That rod is way out of my price range but I appreciate the specs.

I don't physically skip on the water on purpose, but we're talking about a reverse spiral centrifugal cast, up, back, down and forward in a circular sweep,sending a bullet cast a foot above the water. Only a progressive taper at its low end will make this cast.

4 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

I don't physically skip on the water on purpose, but we're talking about a reverse spiral centrifugal cast, up, back, down and forward, sending a bullet cast a foot above the water.

What line do you use?

I'm 100% threadline braid, PE#1 to #1.5 - even that Ryoga has KTF Kahen spool and PE#1.5.

My favorite set up for 3/16oz cranks is a Megabass P5 Kasumi Six Eleven with a Shimano Calcutta Conquest and 6lb Sunline Invizible. It was by far my best producing set up last year. If there was a day where nothing was biting, I always caught something with it. I like the rod so much, I picked up another one.

My favorite bait, Evergreen PC-5. I can't explain it. I have tons of other baits but this one has caught fish on every lake I have been to.

Shimano SLX on a BPS Bionic Blade. 1/4 ounce is no problem to cast. Depending on the bait, a 3/16 ounce may take some getting used to.

ML BPS Crankin' Stick with Curado 50E on one setup, SLX MGL70 on another. On 10lb braid you can send a small lipless into orbit, or poke it into a tiny target.

8 minutes ago, BradH said:

10lb braid

10 lb braid wont get caught behind the spool?

12 minutes ago, scaleface said:

10 lb braid wont get caught

It has not.

20 minutes ago, scaleface said:

10 lb braid wont get caught behind the spool?

not w/o backlash - if you're worried, use 5-lb Maxima Ultragreen mono.

I'm also surprised no one has ponied Major Craft BF rods, which should have the right progressive taper.

I have both the medium light and medium powered BPS Crankin Sticks last version and I personally find the med light to be a bit soft. I really like them both and cast both KVD 1.0 & 1.5 square bills on the medium power but I don’t go above the 1.0 on the medium light. I have 10 pound monofilament on both. If you go this route you may want to check them out in person or if not possible BPS has a generous return/ exchange policy. If you offer up a budget you may find more specific options as well.

I like my 50 size scorpion. You could probably use 15 lb. braid or 6-8 lb. mono. As far as a rod... my old 6' 9" ML Avid works. Not a fan of the Extra fast action but it works. If I was looking for a new rod then probably ML to M with more of the attributes @bulldog1935 mentions. The rod that @FishTank has looks what you want spec wise but maybe a bit pricey. Love me some Megabass tho...

For several years I used a 6 10

Ark rod lancer pro and curado k with 30 lb braid worked great for 1.0 and 1.5 square bills.

This year I’m going David fritts perfect crankbait rod 6 8 with a curado mgl 151. 10 lb copoly

3 hours ago, BradH said:

ML BPS Crankin' Stick with Curado 50E on one setup, SLX MGL70 on another. On 10lb braid you can send a small lipless into orbit, or poke it into a tiny target.

I don't as yet fish what I'd consider BFS. Meaning below 3/16 oz. However, I do have 3 or 4 BFS spools and some PE #1 braid on hand to try learning to cast lower weights.

I've used an older model 7' ML Crankin' Stick with an older Carbonlite for 3/16 oz. Shad Raps. Just put an SLX MGL 71HG on a MF Lew's (crankbait rod) that's rated 1/8-5/8 oz. One of my Curado 51E reels goes on a Smallmouth 6'10" MF (not a crankbait rod) with the same rating.

Many reels can do 1/4 oz.

I only have 2 rods that...hopefully...will do down to at least 1/16 oz. And an Ace Hawk Double for 1/16 oz. or less weights. Just need to DO IT.

North Fork Composite P700 with a Curado BFS reel would work about prefect for 3/16 crankbait. I think you could shorten the blank a bit if you wanted.

There are several US style BFS rods that are basically like light Mag Light or ML crisp tipped casting rods. They should be perfect for those light 1/8-5/16 cranks that are difficult to throw on M power rods.

On 2/1/2026 at 6:08 AM, scaleface said:

What a good set up for tossing 3/16 to 1/4 oz cranks up under willows?...

What do you use for roll casting finesse cranks?

I have two crisp-tipped para pocket rockets, both rated ML, that cast 3 g (3/30 oz) into next week and both belie their relative short length:

6-1/2' (w 2-hand grip) will cast 3 g past 150'

5'11" will cast 3 g to 130'

But neither of these para distance rods is capable of making the cast he's asking for.

Only a progressive-taper rod with a soft tip at its low-weight-end will make his cast.

it's not about opinion, it's about empirical measurement.

What he calls a roll cast, I call reverse spiral skip cast, and both para rods in photos above will barely reach 20'

This 5'6" S-glass composite, however, will bullet the same cast on top of the water to 90', and it's rated for topwaters up to 1 oz

I think the JDM SLX DC (Non XT) with a ML casting rod is a slick setup and not crazy expensive. Being a cranking rod, it doesnt have to be a really expensive rod.

Being a 70 size reel with an mgl spool its highly underrated and I think its overlooked. I love mine. I also think most people don't know this reel got the mgl spool post 2023 update and it isn't labeled on the spool. If you go on Shimano Japan website it shows it having the MGL spool. It was a quiet update for 2023. I think they want to sell more XTs. I would recommend buying from Digitaka.com. They have this tariff thing figured out. Not had any issues. I have a reel on its way from them now.

My two favorite cranking bait cast rods are the Diawa Tatula (TAT701MLRB) 7' ML/R and G. Loomis (GL2 811C SBR) 6'9" L/XF. The Diawa's regular action is great for small crankbaits. The Loomis is spec'd out as XF, but it sure doesn't act like one. It's also an awesome light crankbait rod.

I use a mix of 6.x:1 reels, depending on my mood. My three best are my Diawa PXY68, Shimano SLX DC XT (6.2:1), and Lews Custom Pro (6.8:1). The Shimano and Lews have cast control systems.

3 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

My two favorite cranking bait cast rods are the Diawa Tatula (TAT701MLRB) 7' ML/R and G. Loomis (GL2 811C SBR) 6'9" L/XF. The Diawa's regular action is great for small crankbaits. The Loomis is spec'd out as XF, but it sure doesn't act like one. It's also an awesome light crankbait rod.

I use a mix of 6.x:1 reels, depending on my mood. My three best are my Diawa PXY68, Shimano SLX DC XT (6.2:1), and Lews Custom Pro (6.8:1). The Shimano and Lews have cast control systems.

My OG Tatula 7' MLR is rated 1/4-5/8 oz. Normally I like to stick in the middle ranges for my rods. Are you saying this rod will handle 3/16 oz.?

1 hour ago, new2BC4bass said:

Are you saying this rod will handle 3/16 oz.?

Sure will. 1/16 oz won't make a big difference. Your reel is the biggest factor.

No, if a rod is not loaded by a light weight, it will windage swing when you cast.

The light weight will not go where you aim, but will continue off target in the direction the rod is swinging through the cast.

The example of the "roll cast" @scaleface is seeking, if the light weight doesn't load the rod, it will arc up high and short, instead of shooting a flat trajectory across the water surface.

Adding about spiral skip or roll cast. It takes practice, and doesn't need an acre to perfect. Everyone has shrubs and bushes in their yard - you can walk around and aim at the bottom.

Look into the IMX-Pro 841C CBR, it is the best baitcasting setup I have found for smaller shad raps. With Aldebaron 18 and 8 lb mono, works pretty darn well.