Crankbait rod

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

3 hours ago, Bill Babler said:

I know they have been way improved. Those things used to break faster than a teenagers heart.  

I believe Champ had a deal with them at one time, but I think he had some problems. Please correct me if I'm wrong.   

I know Denjak busted more than one.  Beck also had a 1/2 dozen of them one of the tackle reps gave him and I saw him snap one on about a 10 inch jaw. 

Bill Beck was a pressure hook setter. Never saw him jerk or snap set a bait in the 20 plus years I knew and fished with him. 

The most pressure he ever put on a rod was long lining a heavy jig in deep water or fishing a blade.  He flipped docks on the Rock with 8 pound Maxi and 10 pound Invizx. Never saw him break one off or lose one. 

I told Champ about this 15 years ago and he thought we were nuts fishing that spiderweb around docks. 

I can't say the same for myself. I can remember getting a time out for snapping a couple off one day. 😆😆😆

I get off track easy. 

That was a long time ago. Ducketts were not as bad as the old carrot stick, but just a bit worse than a Loomis. 

I know that's all been corrected, but it left a pretty bad taste. 

Hey, you know me. Anything good enough for Wheeler is plenty good enough. 

I actually prefer my duckett micro magics over my caras and megabass rods. Not sure why but i always end up with a duckett in my hand when cranking, not a fan of the guy himself but i do like that rod.  I also have a Denali Kovert in heavy and absolutely love it for throwing heavy jigs or spoons. They sell Koverts at Fin and Feather in Springfield. I did have one break and they replaced it on the spot. 

[Bill Babler]

Fish24/7,   I used Fenwick rods for years and years. Mom sold them in our tackle shop on Lake O.  First fly rod was a Fenwick it was in a clear plastic tube with a reel and assortment of flys. I wanted it so bad I would beg her till she finally gave it to me. Had to clean the minnow tank and all the rental boats for a month before she did. 

Only problem I have now is they are HEAVY. That Lunker Stix  weighs 3 times as much and is 2 times the diameter of the Cara Cranker, At 6'8" it has the same bait weight and length as the Cara Head Turner, but still way heavier. 

Depending on the reel you put on her, you can get a serious handful of fishing equipment. 

I totally agree with you on the number of rods. If your a guide you need 4 of everything, but just bass fishing I use 2 spinning rods and 4 casting rods. Total of 6. 

Enjoyed your post, brought back nice memories. 

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, Bill Babler said:

 I used Fenwick rods for years and years. Mom sold them in our tackle shop on Lake O.

Which shop did your folks have?  

Do you remember Smitty's on the strip ?   Bought my first Electric Blue Gene Larew worm there.   Sold individually!  @.10 apiece.  😅 

It's amazing how many fish you can catch on ONE plastic worm when 3 is all you can afford.  😂 

All you needed back then to put on a clinic at Lake O was an Electric Blue worm, and a Moss Boss.      Man, those were the days !!!!   

[Bill Babler]

Wrench she sold them out of the Marina up at Climax Springs.  

My Dad died in a accident in 1960. Mom took the insurance money and their savings and built it at Pine Cove. 

4 cabins, restaurant, bar, bait and tackle and at that time one of the biggest gas docks on the lake. 4 pumps of regular 2 pumps of what we called Marine gas. ie high test. 

Ran it till 1972, sold/leased it but still managed it till 1982.  The cabins have been torn down for years.  They turned it totally into a restaurant the last 30 something years. I saw over deer season its for sale. Pretty much a shell of what it was at its hayday in the 60's and 70's. 

[Fish24/7]

13 hours ago, Bill Babler said:

Fish24/7,   I used Fenwick rods for years and years. Mom sold them in our tackle shop on Lake O.  First fly rod was a Fenwick it was in a clear plastic tube with a reel and assortment of flys. I wanted it so bad I would beg her till she finally gave it to me. Had to clean the minnow tank and all the rental boats for a month before she did. 

Only problem I have now is they are HEAVY. That Lunker Stix  weighs 3 times as much and is 2 times the diameter of the Cara Cranker, At 6'8" it has the same bait weight and length as the Cara Head Turner, but still way heavier. 

Depending on the reel you put on her, you can get a serious handful of fishing equipment. 

I totally agree with you on the number of rods. If your a guide you need 4 of everything, but just bass fishing I use 2 spinning rods and 4 casting rods. Total of 6. 

Enjoyed your post, brought back nice memories. 

I actually sold all my falcon casting rods, even my Cara cranking rods. For what I paid, and sometimes it was full price because our supplier didn't carry a certain model, I found rods that cost way less that actually performed better so I sold the Falcons. don't care where the rod is made either if it meets my needs and is priced right.

I held dozens of Falcons in my hand over the last 25 years and never found one that could throw every pretty much every treble hooked bait in my box and performed to  meet my very high expectations . I don't care if a rod weighs less or if the diameter is small if it doesn't do what I need it to. I use lightweight reels so the overall package isnt heavy in my hands at all.

 your All  Capps HEAVY makes it sound like it's too heavy to use. Maybe it is for you but not me. It is a composite rod so it will be a heavier rod. It has enough backbone to turn a 30lb stripers head  with ease. 

You comparing a $80 rod to one that costs 3x as much it better be lighter and smaller diameter for that kind of money. I can buy 3 Fenwick for the price of 1 Falcon . 

The mark up on Falcon rods is insane imo!! I used to sell them for 18 years.  We paid less than half of what they sell for , easily a  $100+ profit on every rod we sold.  Idk what you pay for yours but your asking price is the same as what we sold them for.  I'm sure there are many rod makers who have rediculous mark up on their product besides falcon . But for $80 I thought  the Fenwick was the best deal I could find at the time. 

Thanks for the trip down memory lane ! 

Trust me, I've cleaned my fair share of minnow tanks and rental boats too in my lifetime 😆

[Bill Babler]

The Falcon price range is hard to deal with as it fluctuates constantly. Most of it is geared on how many you buy and the time of year you buy them on a wholesale level. I have had them since they started. 

Know for a fact I've never made $100.00 on a rod so you must have been at a different buying level than me. 

At one time the T7's got into the middle $300.00 price range with the old Expert series and Centuri series pushing $400.00

Both the Centuri, which is a fantastic rod and the original Expert went by the way, the Expert was expensive to build with the mat graphite and really was a full flex parabolic rod. No good it was a failure. 

The Centuri was priced on a Loomis scale and just to expensive  A fantastic rod however folks were not going to pay that and instead bought a Loomis.  I still have 6 that Mike M. gave me and use them everyday, they were way ahead of their time. 

Right after that time the Cara's then the signature Cara's, then back to a different foreign made Expert and now back to the foreign made Cara. 

It all started with the Original and then the number one selling casting rod that has ever been produced the Falcon Lowrider.  Along the way the Bucoo got thrown in by Jason Christie as a price rod. 

Falcon wants a single order per year with your entire years inventory on it regardless of how long it takes to sell them. That of course was pre-covid. As you noted the retail I have on them is less that the Big Box stores, and has fluctuate little over the years.  Tackle Warehouse especially as they are the number one rod retail store in the world. 

Pre-covid TW always had a year end sale dumping them at great prices as their next year order was due. Now we are all, TW included scratching for product. 

As you know Falcon sets the retail price on their rods and know exactly what we retail them for by the sales receipt and the warranty card.   Really for the last 7 years or so they have been really serious about the retail price and want it to be what they tell you. I have always tried to be a bit under that but not enough to be punished. 

You can look back on your old promo's and see how it is possible for TW to pay $75.00 to $100.00 less per rod than I do. 

Most I ever sold in a year was 50 some odd. TW has had years they sold over 100,000.  And, I'm proud to say I'm still less than they are. 

[TRRANGER]

On 11/28/2021 at 8:28 PM, fowlthing said:

Temple for rods, the professional series are 100$ and I really like them. 

https://smile.amazon.com/pc-Fuji-Guides-Professional-Casting/dp/B01KYG364Q/ref=sr_1_14?crid=QR5QBMW4DDKS&keywords=temple+fork+rod&qid=1638152768&sprefix=templefork+%2Caps%2C248&sr=8-14

 

Or go to the templefork site.

I agree, TFO rods are top quality and reasonably priced. I have 8 or 9 of them and several that are 8 or 9 years old and have fished them very hard. 

[rps]

I bought several Falcons in the early days at boat shows and later bought several others for purpose. They were great rods.

All are gone now except for one. I cannot make a rod to replicate it. It is perfect for smaller trout jerk baits and trout bait rigs. I would post a picture but it is too nasty and beat up. I have a Stella on it. It was the rod my father used to catch his last trout, a  brown in the 4 pound range.

Pause.

I say, with commitment, you can build what you want, on your own. Try it.

 

[Champ188]

On 12/1/2021 at 2:56 PM, Smalliebigs said:

I know a bunch of you will laugh at this suggestion but, my Duckett White Ice cranking rods are simply badass for cranking.

No laughing here. Just wish the ones I have didn't have those cursed, dainty micro guides. I swear that I stared at one with a mean look one day and it fell off. Rod sleeves don't help much coz the dang things just poke thru the webbing. 

I bought a newer model a couple of years ago that has the solid metal guides and I really love it ... enough that it's my primary spinnerbait rod. 

[Champ188]

On 12/1/2021 at 3:25 PM, Bill Babler said:

1. I believe Champ had a deal with them at one time, but I think he had some problems. Please correct me if I'm wrong.   

2. I told Champ about this 15 years ago and he thought we were nuts fishing that spiderweb around docks. 

1. Yes, there were definitely some problems with the early models. Broke a couple myself. I'm using mostly Denali stuff these days but still have some newer model Ducketts that work well. My biggest complaint with the older ones was not breaking the blanks but those dastardly micro guides.

2. Don't think for a minute that I don't hear everything you say, Mr. Bill. Yes, I thought it odd that you were pitching docks spiderweb line. But whatever is good enough for you and the late Mr. Beck is good enough for me to go out and try. These days, it is others who cast a sideways look when I pick up a spinning rod and thread a leadhead worm, Ned (aka The Little Guy) or teeny tiny jig back into the dark corners of those docks.