AKRISONER Posted June 11, 2015 Report Posted June 11, 2015 Hey guys, Im newish on the smallie chase and have been slowly building my arsenal for targetting GB smallies. I know we have some serious bass fishermen around here, I was just wondering what set ups people are using for walking and popping top water smallies. I know a lot of people say they like a shorter rod, some with more flex some with less, perhaps some have even tried the whole swath of rods and have found one that they feel gives the perfect walk. Currently im using a low grade bob izumi pro series medium heavy (was my all around fish catcher until i got serious into fishing) Let me know what your preferences are for Rods and maybe even reels, sizes, power etc! I know the pros have the good details!
EC1 Posted June 11, 2015 Report Posted June 11, 2015 (edited) Quite possibly the easiest rod in anyone's arsenal. Casting or spinning doesnt matter, as long as it's not too fast for treble hooks. Don't worry about even going down to an M because they are coming up to take it and won't be able to drag your line down to the zebra mussels. So... M / MH doesn't matter either. Sensitivity doesn't matter. Glass / Graphite doesn't matter. Length is a personal preference, and depends on how far/accurate you need to cast. 6'6 would be my ideal. Mono / Braid w. mono leader / straight braid comes down to personal preference. Reel: any reel will do as long as you've got a good drag to let big smallies pull line. Don't let people sell you that you need the ultra high end rod to do this. Get yourself a rod that works for you, and one that you enjoy fishing. It could be a high end rod, but you're getting it for your pleasure and that's all. The wal-mart 30 dollar specials are nearly as capable. (Just don't use the reel that comes with it) The best topwater fishermen just have the patience and believe that there is a fish looking up at your bait every cast. Edited June 11, 2015 by EasyFish
AKRISONER Posted June 11, 2015 Author Report Posted June 11, 2015 (edited) Quite possibly the easiest rod in anyone's arsenal. Casting or spinning doesnt matter, as long as it's not too fast for treble hooks. Don't worry about even going down to an M because they are coming up to take it and won't be able to drag your line down to the zebra mussels. So... M / MH doesn't matter either. Sensitivity doesn't matter. Glass / Graphite doesn't matter. Length is a personal preference, and depends on how far/accurate you need to cast. 6'6 would be my ideal. Mono / Braid w. mono leader / straight braid comes down to personal preference. Reel: any reel will do as long as you've got a good drag to let big smallies pull line. Don't let people sell you that you need the ultra high end rod to do this. Get yourself a rod that works for you, and one that you enjoy fishing. It could be a high end rod, but you're getting it for your pleasure and that's all. The wal-mart 30 dollar specials are nearly as capable. (Just don't use the reel that comes with it) The best topwater fishermen just have the patience and believe that there is a fish looking up at your bait every cast. great tips indeed, curious what you are using as a rod then, I personally like stiffness when walking the dog, I dont like the tip moving much at all with each twitch. I find the difference between low end rods and higher end stuff is that the action displayed on the rod reads true. on cheap rods the rod doesnt provide that action either until something actually yanks on the rod. All of the cheapies i use seem to just fold up, the power although rated M/H or M is more like M/H once the rod is fully tourqued but still weak, while at the same time the tip is flimsy and is more like L/UL Edited June 11, 2015 by AKRISONER
Christopheraaron Posted June 11, 2015 Report Posted June 11, 2015 I like a fast medium 6'6". I'd agree with everything stated above, a topwater rod isn't something you need the best for. I like the 6'6" so I can work poppers with the tip low and I can still get some decent distance on it. Medium power because you aren't always throwing 1/2 oz poppers but may want to throw something tiny. I like responsiveness in a topwater rod so I can get the bait to work exactly how I want but nothing more than a fast so I can keep trebles in fish. As for spinning vs casting, that's your call, I prefer the casting when walking but it won't toss those super light baits easily.
SuperDave Posted June 11, 2015 Report Posted June 11, 2015 I use a St. Croix mojo bass rod specifically the drop shot version or the tubing version. The drop shot is super sensitive and I find with topwater smallies the key is just letting them slurp the popper up off the surface. I don't set the hook just raise the rod up and reel in. As far as WTD baits, I haven't had the same luck with them but use my baitcaster for that application. Already had a great day of topwater popper fishing on NY waters a few weeks back. Tons of fun!
ecmilley Posted June 12, 2015 Report Posted June 12, 2015 Also depends on platform your fishing out of. All my topwater rods are 7ft plus fishingnout of bass boat
singingdog Posted June 12, 2015 Report Posted June 12, 2015 GBay probably means open water fishing. I find that long casts can make the difference when fishing open water. I really like the 7' M Compre. It has a slower tip than the same power 6'6", so it throws lighter lures a bit better and helps keep them stuck when you get hit. It is also a great senko/fluke rod.
AKRISONER Posted June 12, 2015 Author Report Posted June 12, 2015 Anyone around here ever use the St Croix Mojo MBC68MXF Looks like a bit of a quiver killer. I am a huge fan of 2 techniques when bass fishing, 1 being walking the dog and 2 being long casting and popping weightless tubes. Bass cant resist the slow circling swim down of a tube. Aparently this rod does all of these things.
Lape0019 Posted June 12, 2015 Report Posted June 12, 2015 I used to use a 7" compre and it worked quite well. I bought a Megabass XX Jerkbait Special last year and found it even better. It is a 6'8 rod so it kind of gets the most out of casting while still being short enough for tip down presentations. I bought this for jerkbaits but quickly realized how versatile this rod is. I had been using a G. Loomis GL2 for this and it was just too whippy. The Jerkbait special is a little stiffer than most rods I have used that were designed for trebles but it just seems perfect to me.
AKRISONER Posted June 12, 2015 Author Report Posted June 12, 2015 I used to use a 7" compre and it worked quite well. I bought a Megabass XX Jerkbait Special last year and found it even better. It is a 6'8 rod so it kind of gets the most out of casting while still being short enough for tip down presentations. I bought this for jerkbaits but quickly realized how versatile this rod is. I had been using a G. Loomis GL2 for this and it was just too whippy. The Jerkbait special is a little stiffer than most rods I have used that were designed for trebles but it just seems perfect to me. Ive actually got a GL2 but i specifically have never used it for walking or popping for that reason. I love the GL2 for finessing tubes and even the odd small crank, but prefer something stiffer when im the one putting the action on the lure.
Lape0019 Posted June 12, 2015 Report Posted June 12, 2015 Let me clear this up a bit more. I'm sure there are some gl2 rods that are good but the 784C CBR was not the rod for me. I thought it would be great for jerkbaits and it just wasn't what I was looking for. The jerkbaits special on the other hand had just the right amount of well, everything to make me happy.
BillM Posted June 14, 2015 Report Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) I use my Dobyns 704CB glass for topwater a lot. I realize it's a crankbait rod, but the softness of the tip has really helped my hookup percentage on topwaters increase quite a bit. Plus you can load that rod up like crazy and bomb a 1/4oz topwater a mile. Edited June 14, 2015 by BillM
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