Advise on buying a new flipping stick

[Ben_Daniels]

So I'm looking to buy a 7'6 Flippin stick for bass, mostly using jigs and some Texas-rigged soft plastics, maybe even get away with some pike fishing. I'm thinking of going with Medium Heavy. Not looking to spend more than $150. Anybody have one that their in love with around that price?

Thanks in advance.

 

-Ben

[Pigeontroller]

Check out the St Croix Mojo Bass Flippin' stick.

[pooch]

For another $50 you can get a Shimano crucial flipping stick. Lifetime warranty, great stick and is one of my favourites.

 

But to keep to your budget the best bang for your buck is Rapala's R-Type. They have a one piece 7'2" med heavy extra fast rod that would be good for flipping. Not sure how much but I'm guessing it should come under your budget. I checked one out a month ago, and I was impressed.

 

Med heavy extra fast is what you want.

 

Good luck! Only 5 months til bass season!

Edited February 7, 2010 by redsfishin

[JoshS]

I second the Crucial, if you can scrounge the extra 50. St. Croix legend is the nicest feeling one i've tried but $$$. Crucial is very nice and can't beat the warranty, good luck breaking it tho. I've seen the legend blow up on a hard hookset but great warranty as well. Get the Crucial if you can.

[Hellfish]

IMO when flipping, the stick really is not important. For me when I am flipping Im watching the line I could care less whats in my hands (could be a metal pole), the important thing is, it does not shatter when setting the hook. Out of all the rods I have my flipping stick is the least I care about. Im using a old quantum energy from maybe 6-7 years ago cost me 10.00 and has brought in its share of hawgs and still has plenty of life in her.

[Terry]

Oh good

I am not the only one who thinks paying big bucks for a flipping stick is a waste of money

 

a broom stick would work as well as a graphite rod

[fish_fishburn]

I just use a 7ft mh convergence by shimano, must be almost 10 yrs old but its tough been stepped on so many times, straighten the guides and carry on. hace a St.Croix mh as well.

[SRT8 smoker craft]

I second the Crucial, if you can scrounge the extra 50. St. Croix legend is the nicest feeling one i've tried but $$$. Crucial is very nice and can't beat the warranty, good luck breaking it tho. I've seen the legend blow up on a hard hookset but great warranty as well. Get the Crucial if you can.

 

I've blown up 2 crucials really like them even though I broke 2 (I'm really hard on my gear) and have a brutally hard hook set I got a quantum pt tour edition 7.6 heavy. Fast action and I am on my second one blew it up to lol its a nice rod and a lot lighter than the crucial but I still like the crucial better the pt is to light for my liking. I'm buying a 7.6 MH fast action clarus $90 plus tax with a $20 mail in rebate and a lifetime warranty. I have a 7 MH with a curado on it and I love it great rod for the $$$

[bassjnkie]

I love my Bass Pro Extreme 7'6" extra heavy non tele flipping stick (broom stick). I also use it for bigger pike with no problem at all. $119.99, but they always go on sale.

[uglyfish]

the st croix mojo is a great rod. and cheaper then u wanna spend anyways!

[steverowbotham]

the new BPS Carbonlite carries a 7'6MH and a 7'6H. Wicked sticks around 129.99

[fish-miester]

Shimano crucial flipping stick

 

as well I will be checking out the 7'6 BPS Carbon lite this year..

[MCTFisher9120]

I'm looking at a new Abu Garcia Vendetta 7'6MH to go with a Revo.

[bare foot wader]

whatever you buy flippin sticks take a beating....look for warranty...I personally dno't like telescopic flippin sticks, I'd go with a one piece, lighter and more sensi....

[Uttley]

I would also go with the Mojo Bass 7'6" MH. I am a st. croix addict. Life time warranty, good price, very sensitive and VERY durable. Great rods!

[mikeh]

The BPS Carbonlite rods are on sale at BPS for $20 off, at least they were on the weekend. For flipping into lilly pads I'd get a heavy action or extra heavy to pull the fish out quickly.

 

their is a store in Markham that currently has a sale on Kistler rods, I think they have some models around the same price as the crucials.

Edited February 9, 2010 by mikeh

[fishindude]

The BPS Carbonlite rods are on sale at BPS for 20 % off, at least they were on the weekend. For flipping into lilly pads I'd get a heavy action or extra heavy to pull the fish out quickly.

 

their is a store in Markham that currently has a sale on Kistler rods, I think they have some models around the same price as the crucials.

 

The sale is actually $20 off, but I'm sure it's roughly the same give or take some change

 

I've had my eyes on these Carbonlite's for a few weeks now, still debating between the 7'6MH or H...

[Syn]

The sale is actually $20 off, but I'm sure it's roughly the same give or take some change

 

I've had my eyes on these Carbonlite's for a few weeks now, still debating between the 7'6MH or H...

 

Usually when I go rod hunting, I bring my reel and ask permission to seat in on the rod and thread the guides. Then I get my loyal buddy to hold the line while I judge the rod under tension. Went to BPS last summer helping my buddy pick his first higher end rod and I had my work glove on because he spooled powerpro. This gave him a great indication of how much hookset power vs rod flex he was comfortable with.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Syn

[waynec]

Re: Post # 16

The Markham, ON store is Bass City Bait & Tackle

This is a link to their Kistler fishing rod sale with no taxes* ending February 28, 2010 (* first 50 Kistler rod customers)

http://www.smartanglers.com/main/node/8008

[bassjnkie]

I agree with Syn 100%, bring the reel in and see how it feels with your rod choice. If it doesn't feel right in you hands, remember thats 8 -12Hrs of casting, your going to be hurting. I've done it, never again. All the places I've brought my reel to, they had no problem with me putting them on the rod.

[JPD]

Ben, a well balanced flipping stick will make you a better fisherman. Tip heavy broom poles are not conducive to feeling your bait which on the days where the fish aren't swimming off with your lure will help big time not to mention drastically reduce arm and wrist fatigue.

 

When fishing any soft plastic Texas rigged bait or flipping and pitching a jig, your rod position should be in the 10 -11 o'clock position. This is done for a couple of reasons... firstly it allows you to work the bait through and over the cover more efficiently and secondly will put a bit of slack in your line which is very important when fishing with stiff blanks.. that slack will allow fish to pick up the bait without knowing something is on the other end. This position will also allow you to drop the rod when you feel a bite and slack set on the fish which gives you the most speed, getting that bigger and thicker hook through the bone sections in their mouth.

 

When a flipping stick is very imbalanced it forces you to constantly try and hold the rod tip up with force rather than have a soft, relaxed grip on the combo which allows you to feel what's going on much better. I have gone through more flipping sticks than I can remember trying to find the right one and of the few that I have loved to fish with they all had good balance, a softer tip section and a lot of back bone. Those are the 3 things I look for when picking out a rod for this technique. You will not find one that is completely balanced without some tail weighting but some are drastically lighter than others. Also, one piece flipping sticks are a lot lighter than telescopic models.

 

One thing to also remember is that the longer the rod, the more tip heavy it will naturally be... that's due to the fact that the balance point is further down the rod... unfortunately the only way to combat that is by getting a higher modulus blank which often times means more money. You don't have to blow the bank by any means and you're bang on looking for a medium heavy power. Look for that with a Fast or Extra Fast action and you should be good.

 

My personal recommendation would be a Crucial 7'6" Medium Heavy Extra Fast Rated 10-20 lb line. I used this rod for a number of years and found it to be great value and super durable (actually never broke any that I owned!) but having the Lifetime warranty doesn't hurt either. If you search you will probably find someone selling them for around your price range. One of the best Jig fishermen I know, Jarrod Dean swears by this rod., not a bad guy to take the word of...lol

 

Spool it up with 50-65 lb braid and a 7:1 gear ratio reel and have some fun. Hopefully you have a great year flipping big pigs out of the junk this summer!

 

Best of luck

JP