Favorite Wiggle Wart Rod?

[dtrs5kprs]

A couple of years ago, while I was recovering from surgery, Hoglaw finished a rod for me made from a St. Croix Scii 70 inch blank with a medium power and a moderate flex. Best wart rod ever!

The SCII blanks are about right for cranking. Lighter and more sensitive than a glass rod, but not as stiff as higher modulus blanks. That is a short stick though.

[Fish24/7]

6'8" medium casting rod

my go to length for jerkbaits,topwater, and small cranks like a wart

A longer rod does not always mean longer casts. A lot depends on the reel you use.

I can cast a long distance w/ a 6'8 casting rod with the correct reel on it.

[mixermarkb]

My favorite Wart rods are a pair of old G.loomis IM6 popping rods, model PR-844C. Lighter and more sensitive than glass, but softer action than high modulus graphite. I just switched to lews reels, BB-1 in the 5:1 ratio. 8 pound trilene 100 percent fluorocarbon.

For what it's worth, the Berkeley cherrywood 7' medium rod for like $19.00 at Wally World has a similar action. I just bought an old shimano bantam mag 10sg reel in a second hand junk store for $15. $20 for a new set of bearings and it is a sweet little reel. That combo is gonna be my "spare/guest" Wart combo, and guess what, it casts just about as well, and doesn't weigh a whole lot more. I like to take friends and family fishing, and most of them don't have decent bass gear. I try to keep extra rigs in the boat, that may not cost as much (I've had rods and reels thrown in the lake and stepped on and broken) but still do what is needed to cast and retrieve the baits in the right way, for them to use. Gear doesn't have to be expensive, but there is nothing more frustrating then trying to learn to bass fish with poorly matched, poorly performing gear.

[hoglaw]

Glad your rod is working out well rps.

As for my wart setup, it's the cheapest rod I own. 7' berkleycherrywood that someone gave me. I just put a 5:1 lews on it. Idk the model, but it was under 100. The rod is a little softer than what I'd call perfect, but overall I really like it.

It's funny to throw lures worth more than the rod you throw them on.

[rps]

The SCII blanks are about right for cranking. Lighter and more sensitive than a glass rod, but not as stiff as higher modulus blanks. That is a short stick though.

In this case the 70 refers to feet and inches.

[drew03cmc]

I must ask, are you all fishing rivers with these rods? If so, where? Why the need for a 7' rod? I fish my cranks on 5.5-6' rods and have never found myself wanting for more rod.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Really? a special rod for a wiggle wart.

There is one fella on here that uses two different rods depending on if he is using 1/16 oz or 1/8.

You know what they saw about a fool and his money.....

[dtrs5kprs]

I must ask, are you all fishing rivers with these rods? If so, where? Why the need for a 7' rod? I fish my cranks on 5.5-6' rods and have never found myself wanting for more rod.

I use the same rods for redfins, spooks, etc., and the length is nice there. A lot of the cranking I do is not visible target focused, but long stretches of rock banks, points, rock piles. I also pull the wart along with the rod, rather than actually cranking it. Sweeping it with the longer rod is just more comfortable to me. Can pull it the same distance as with a shorter stick, but without having the rod tip in a bad position to react to the fish.

[Old plug]

I have no doubt there is someone like that. That what I mean by extreme.