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| I'm about to purchase as 8-6 rod.
I've thrown the 8-6 Heavy (Diamondback) and a 7-6 Heavy (Toothtamer) [I went to a Heavy after breaking three 7-6 MH Toothtamers and am just tired of having to call and wait for replacements.
I also have a 7-2 Toothtamer in Medium Heavy.
Here's what I notice:
With the Heavy action rods, there is little or no 'whip' or 'loadiing' of the bait when casting. It's kind of like 'tossing' the bait with only 2-3 feet at the top of the cast that propells the bait. That to me is a bit unsetteling b/c I feel accuracy is comprimised.
With the MH I feel there is more accuracy.
Here's the catch...whatever 8-6 I purchase will be my 'go to' rig. I toss alot of bucktails to begin with...and will be doing so with my 8-6...I often wind up lobbing mag-dawgs as the pattern emerges.
Am I best off sacraficing the accuracy of a MH for the strength needed to lob mag-dawgs and go with a Heavy or X Heavy 8-6?
Your thoughts are apprecieated.
Thanks in advance,
Rick,
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Posts: 2686
Location: Hayward, WI | There are other here with a lot more knowlege than I do, but I'll give you my opinion. I'm going to say you're the only one that can answer your question. What type of fishing are you usually doing? If you usually just cast to a weed or rock flat where accuracy isn't important, maybe pick the rod that casts Mag Dawgs well if you use them a lot. If you fish tight to shorelines or cast to small pockets in the weeds, you'll want that accuracy. However, if you are going for accuracy, you shouldn't be making super long casts, and might want something like a 7' rod anyway to cast to those small targets.
I have a feeling a lot of guys are going to come along and tell you that you really need more than one rod to do what you want. A rod that will cast big baits like Mag Dawgs probably isn't going to throw lighter bucktails very well. Add in having to cast into the wind or some other hitch, and you'll have a tough time with a rod that doesn't load at all.
Probably the closest thing to an all purpose rod is a 8' H rod rated for something like 2-6 ounces. I'm guessing it would be as light a rod as you would want to throw big baits with, but maybe light enough to do okay with bucktails. I think some rods are rated for 1-8 ounce baits (Tica?) but always wonder how well they really throw 1 ounce and 8 ounce baits.
Like I said, there's a lot of guys out there that know a lot, and maybe some of them own rods that can cast light bucktails as well as heavy Dawgs, but you might be making more of a compromise than you want to make.
Good luck, hopefully somebody can point you in the right direction!
curleytail |
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Posts: 401
| Curleytail is right.
I think you are left with only one option. You are looking for something to throw 6-8 ounces which leaves you with a heavy action. Keep in mind that all manufactors ratings are different. The action on a Diamondback heavy is different then a St Croix heavy which is different then a Loomis which is different then a Fig Rig. Some manufactors heavy is made like a broom stick to avoid breakage while others build sticks you want to fish with.
I would then suggest getting more lure specific with your second stick.
Hope that helps.
Keith |
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| I use one rod...it is an 8'6" XH rod that can cast my little early season bucktails, all the way up to the pounders. I think we get caught up in thinking too long and hard about rods to throw different baits.
Jusy my 2 cents!! |
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Posts: 22
Location: Twin Cities | Don't confuse rod action and rod power. You can have a heavy power rod with a fast action. Or a heavy power rod with a slow action. Power dictates the loading the rod can handle; action is where that rod bends or loads -- and you can have a multi taper action as well, which tend to handle a wider weight range than a single taper action. A fast action rod built with guides off-spline is a nightmare to cast with accuracy. A mod action rod with misplaced guides is frustrating due to the line slap... Talk to a good rod builder, they may be able to build a rod to suit your needs. (It sounds to me you like a slower action rod so you can feel the loading)
Edited by deanj 8/11/2007 10:22 AM
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Posts: 20281
Location: oswego, il | I have two 8ft rods. One is a MH and I use it for bucktails, bulldawgs, basically everything I use with a flourocarbon leader. The Heavy, i use for bigger stuff but mostly glidebaits. To be honest though, I have not noticed a huge difference in accuracy, nor a huge difference working the baits i through. Granted, I don't fish giant lakes with pounders but i will throw a 10" jake and both rods will handle them. |
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Bait Loading on the cast with 8-6 Rods...MH or H or xH?