I fish the Mississipi a lot and I will throw crankbaits when the situation calls for it. But I will fish a lake from time to time. I am looking at crankbait rods. Do I buy a 6’6″ rod or a 7 footer. I know a 6’6″ would work better on the river because your not throwing as far. But on a lake you can make that long cast. Also what kind of rod fiberglass or graphite? I want to buy just one good crankbait rod for both situations, hopefully under $100.00.
Fiberglass is my choice – I have 2 Gander Mountain Guide Series Fiberglass Crankin rods – 7 foot models and they prefor just fine for 39.99 – but the American Rodsmiths David Fritts model DF70MH (I own 2 of them also) is the definate wonder of cranking rods. Bass Pro Shops sell them for 79.99, they are 58.95 here and that is where I get them. Remember when it comes to cranking, you won’t get bit more with fiberglass, but you will put more in the boat, and that is a fact. Fritts Rod
I have two Gander rods. One is a 7 foot med/heavy that I believe is OK. The other is a 6’6″ Gander medium action that I absolutely love. Try one of these. The price is definately right, just wait until their rods are on sale and you will get one cheap. They should have their sales starting soon.
Why stop at just a rod ? Get the combo. Kizew & I got bit by the Fritts bug as he came through town giving a seminar.. Go for glass & a lower gear ratio reel. The combo at BPS will set you back about $150 includes shipping. The reel winds smooth as glass. I choose 7 foot. Regardless of where I am.. the cast is longer then I need it to be so the bait stays in the strike zone as long as possible.
I have a couple of 7 foot fiberglass rods with 2 Plueger 6740 reels. I prefer 14 pound test Fireline in the yellow color so I can see it. The rods have some give to them, this combo works for me. The hard line and the fiberglass rod..I do not seem to loose as many fish. You could go with a Graphite rod and mono but I can cast further with the hard lines and run baits deeper this way.
Good luck.
All my rods are custom made. I have two very fast fiberglass rods for the cranks. They are 7 feet.
I’m very partial to St.Croix rods so i’d suggest the Premier 7’M crankbait rod. i like longer rods myself, it’s really just personal preference as far as rod length goes. the more and more i mess around with 7 footers, the more im comfortable with them. having that extra leverage, espeically with spinnerbaits and being able to manuever them around cover helps. i’ve played with some glass rods before, but i prefer the feel of a slower graphite rod. i wouldnt use any braid with cranks, pull too many hooks out, no matter how slow the rod. trilene XT for all cranking needs in 10 or 12 lb test.
Kistler makes one heck of a rod with LTA series and the helium, but they also make the pro series which won’t break the bank plus you have to remember you get what you pay for.
If i had to pick just 1 crank rod it would be 6-6 MM.
As for the $100.00 i would put another 50 or so with it and get a St Croix Avid (ac66mm). Reason is the avids an higher end rods are life time warrranty. They stand behind what they sell. I broke one and sent it back with $20.00 for shiping and had a brand new one in days.
I align closely with Dan…
I have a 7′ Medium-Heavy Moderate St Croix Avid series… I love it for deeper divers, large spinnerbaits (yes, a great rod for spinner baits), and larger cranks. But, in case you have found yourself using small cranks, I would recommend going lighter, say the 7′ Medium Moderate St Croix Avid. This will likely be my next rod.
Of course, who’s really throwing small cranks anyway… 
St. Croix came out with a new cranking ( listed as such) rod last year that is the best on the market for large and smallmouth bass.
jc
Personally, I like the Loomis 843 crankbait series rod. Can’t go wrong with St. Croix either…
I am with JC. St. Croix has the Bass Tournament Edition rods that are a little expensive at $200 or so, but they are unreal. I garauntee you that if you fish with one (wspecially the crankbait rod) you will not go back to anything else.
Ben
I am a St. Croix guy, too. But I took a bit different tact. I
have a 7′ ML action Premier, which is a slower action
rod, than the Avid series. And it is about half the price.
I tried the lower gear ratio reel, in a Curado 201B5, but my
arms got tired, cranking fast once the crankbait got out of the
sweet spot, and I wanted to get it in to re-cast. So I went back
to the 6.2:1 Curado 201B, and just cranked slower when
the bait was in the sweet spot. I have the reel spooled with
15 lb Moss Green Power Pro, for when that sneakly little
bass swallows the crankbait, at the far end of the cast, so
I can stick it. The soft rod absorbs the shock of runs at the
boat. Once I switched to this combo, my crankbait
fishing got more bites(got deeper with small diameter
line), stuck more(low stretch line), and lost less(soft
action rod).
Crankbait rods/rigs are very subjective. I tried a few
friend’s fiberglass rods, and I felt like I was fishing with
a heavy noodle. And I could not feel the fish nipping, and
bumping the bait, which tells one that the offering is
not quite right. I also had a friend that had a faster
rod, set up with stretchy line, and I felt like I was fishing
with a rubber band, and I dropped many of the fish I
felt I should have hooked up on. So, I finally ended up
with this combo. My suggestion it to try to find a few
different friends with “crankbait” rods, and start to learn
what your crankbait rod should be.
Big Bass Bane
Quote:
St. Croix came out with a new cranking ( listed as such) rod last year that is the best on the market for large and smallmouth bass.
I will second, and third that.. 
Quote:
I have the reel spooled with
15 lb Moss Green Power Pro
Hey BBB, Just wondering…
I’ve never used braided for crankbaits ? What’s the diff between the braid & perhaps 12lb floro.. other then I guess the braid is stronger ?
just because St. Croix are made in this state doesn’t make them God.. THEY ARE FINE RODS. They are not, the end all and be all. They are not.. Falcon makes an excellent 7 foot rod in both 4 power and 5 power.. I like a lighter action.. but I use both.. I encourage you to look at all rod companies and not just the local favorite.. You might find a rod that really excells for you that you DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED..
I wish you well in your search..
that is one thing i don’t like about gander, fleet farm and such stores is there is not much of a variety of good rods to test. all of them have st.croix, berkely, and their own brand. i have no problems with those rods, i like st.croix rods a lot, but it is tough to feel out new rods when there is not many stores that have different brands. much like lures.
Wow Rat! Nobody said they were God. You are right, Falcon does make a good rod. There are many good rods out but when you have the best why mess with the rest
I am a soft fiberglass fan myself. What I mean by this is I like a really slow moderate taper. I do not lose a crankbait fish often.
My lews cranking stik has seen better days and last summer the reel seat decided to crack and begin to seperate. This rod has allready been spliced back together.
So I retired it and bought a 6’6 medium action Setyr Rod. This rod is graphite but it reacts alot like my Lews Rod. When I catch my first fish on it I’ll know right away how great of a rod it is. But right now it feels better in my hand then any other cranking rod I have looked at in the past.
It is a little cashy 168 bucks but I feel its quality in construction is well worth the money.
Dustin Taylor
TheoNugget,
I prefer braid, over fluor, for two reasons. First, the line
diameter is smaller, so the crankbait can dig deeper,
due to less drag on the line. Second, braids have less
stretch than fluor, expecially after fluor starts to absorb
water. I really like fluor for jigs, and plastics, but for
crankbaits, I much prefer braids. Like I said in the previous
post, this topic is very subjective, so test out these choices,
and learn what works best for you.
Big Bass Bane
P.S. To the Falcon Rods, versus the “God” like St. Croix
rods 
, I have spent some time fishing in Texas,
where Falcon rods are very popular. Good rods, but
to my fingers, St. Croix Avids kick their butt. I do have
one AllStar, that is a non collapsing 7’6″ MH rod, that I
use for pitching into veggie beds, that is an awesome
rod for that purpose. Like I said, one has to try all the
different offerings in fishing tackle, to find the stuff that
fits your preferences best. Falcon rods are hard to find,
to do comparissions, this far north.
I’ve busted a lot of lips off from cranks when using braid. 
I will be throwing 16lb fluoro this year.
Quote:
I’ve busted a lot of lips off from cranks when using braid.
So, you have a box full of “lipless cranks” eh? 
Yeah, yeah, that was bad… afterall, you only would have the lips… 
Getting worse, I imagine… Been one of those Monday’s… a tad bit of “relief” coming out here… 
I use 10lb P-Line CXX on my crank rod. I’ve never had it break off, but have straightened out a few hooks! 
I have a St. Croix Premier crankbait rod, the slow action graphite, not the glass. Just couldn never get used to the mushy feel of glass, I like the slow graphite a ton though. Does seem to keep the fish hooked up better.
My fingers prefer Falcons slightly to st. Croix. To each there own I guess. Never tried the Falcon crankbiat rods though.
I like the St. Croix Premier Glass crankbait rod. However, I do agree with you Moss that it is a totally different feel and something you definitely have to get use to. The reason I use the glass is I can sometimes pull the trigger a little hard after a big bass cracks my plug and pull the bait out with a more stout graphite rod. Those glass rods are like noodles and bend all the way to the grip. That makes it a perfect crankbait rod for those like myself who like to set the hook instead of sweep. But on the flip-side, it makes them trickier to cast.
– d-nort
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