glass or graphite

im lookin to buy a powell rod for throwin rattle traps and cranks….wonderin if i should go glass or graphite. Anybody own a powell that they use traps with, i thought about the technique specific “spook-trap”. thanx for the thoughts

It will depend on how much Grass rippin you are going to do with the traps. To me most all of the glass rods that I’ve used were way to soft and mussy to rip the traps or cranks free from grass. If you are looking to mainly fish open water areas the glass rod may be a good choice. They tend to let the baits work better and they also allow the fish to get the bait better without you ripping the bait out of their mouths. I guess it just depends on how and where you plan to use it.

personally I will always go with graphite…getting the most sensitive, lightest rod I can get…it’s the action (softness) that makes it a ‘cranker’ or not…

I’m currently using one main rod for cranking: a high modulus graphite 7-foot Cabelas XML, medium action…handles up to 1/2 ounce baits just great…for the big DD-22’s I use a 7 foot MH action graphite…need the power to cast them…

The key for me is the hook set…it’s a reel/sweep to keep the rod loaded up…I often feel the fish nipping/swiping at the crankbait…but until that rod loads, there’s no sense in ‘SETTING THE HOOK!’…and even when I do set on crankbaits, it’s a ‘pressure’ set…a sideways sweep to increase the rod bend/load, slightly speeding up the reeling…but careful not to sweep too far…which can throw slack in the line as an angler ‘recovers’…and lose fish…

technique, I believe, is more important than which pro is pimping which rod…

It’s still about matching the equipment to how you tend to respond…to get maximum effectivness…

I got a Dobyns glass rod this spring, MH, and have been using it for trap fishing and it has been awesome. MUCH less “floppy” than the last glass rod I had, but still has the give and parabolic bend to keep the fish buttoned up.