Lure rods

[john step]

As posted in HDYGO I had a short session with my light lure rod today.
Its a Drennan 8ft6ins drop shot rod but seems a great all round light lure rod to me.

Now Mr Drennan knows far more than I do about rods but I must say I am a little puzzled by the casting weight and max line ratings.
4 to 20 grams recommended but I must be abusing it at casting lures nearly twice that.
6 to 15lb lines . I have 10 on one spool which seems about max to me. 15 seems excessive for such a whisper light rod.

Perhaps the normal limits go out of the window with lure rods. Any regular lure anglers out there who can comment?

 

[Ray Roberts]

As posted in HDYGO I had a short session with my light lure rod today.
Its a Drennan 8ft6ins drop shot rod but seems a great all round light lure rod to me.

Now Mr Drennan knows far more than I do about rods but I must say I am a little puzzled by the casting weight and max line ratings.
4 to 20 grams recommended but I must be abusing it at casting lures nearly twice that.
6 to 15lb lines . I have 10 on one spool which seems about max to me. 15 seems excessive for such a whisper light rod.

Perhaps the normal limits go out of the window with lure rods. Any regular lure anglers out there who can comment?

The weights quoted on the rod are probably the ideal weights and not the maximum and minimum.

I have done the same at both ends of the spectrum and not come unstuck although I did invest in a proper jerk bait rod and reel as I wanted to use lures that my lighter set up definitely would have been hard pressed to cope with.


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[John Aston]

I've had a lot of fish on the 7-6 version and use 15lbs bs. But it's braid , of course ,so the conventional maxima (if you'll excuse the pun ) on line strength don't really apply . Lighter braid can be a bit blowy in the wind , can tangle easier and even the 15lb is very fine diameter. I use it with a leader of 8/10 lb flouro or 11bs knottable wire and can put on as much , or even more pressure than the rod will take with those strengths .

I use , typically , single hooks or jigheads in sizes 2-8 , and casting weights usually in the 3.5 g to 8g range . It feels 'balanced ' with that , but if I were using big lures of the size OP mentions, I wouldn't be entirely comfortable, as big lures tend to have much bigger and coarser hooks needing a far firmer strike than a little dropshot rod can apply . If I do use big single hook shads , or ones with trebles I use 40lb braid , a 5000 spec reel and a Savage Bushwhacker lure rod rated 10-40g which is ideal for better size pike. I've had many pike up to low doubles with the Drennan , often while perch fishing, and it's fun alright , but a bit one sided with bigger fish

 

[steve2]

I always take at least 2 rods when lure fishing my lightest 2 to 10 gm rod would struggle to cast much heavier lure. My other would depend on where I am fishing but normally be a bit more of an all round which although rated at 20 to 40 gm with line rating 15lb, will cast heavier lures this will normally have a reel with 50 lb braid. The best fish I had on the light rod was over 20lb and that was a tad under gunned but was an exciting fight.

 

[john step]

I use , typically , single hooks or jigheads in sizes 2-8 , and casting weights usually in the 3.5 g to 8g range . It feels 'balanced ' with that , but if I were using big lures of the size OP mentions, I wouldn't be entirely comfortable,

Thanks for your reply. What I should have said is that I have used heavier lures not a a regular thing but to ring the changes now and again when trying something different from the lure box.
Interesting about the braid. I bought a cheap one to try and couldn't get on with it due to frequent wind knots.

This is my first foray into having a proper (light) lure rod having previously given myself arm and back ache casting heavier jobs with an old avon rod now and again when all else is failing.

I have enjoyed this rod catching small perch on tiny rubber jobs mainly but last winter I tried it with a tiny dead roach on a jig head. That resulted in my biggest pike last winter of 23lb plus. I was surprised how well the light rod coped and never felt out of control.

 

[John Aston]

Light braid can be a nightmare, but good braid makes a huge difference to how well you fish and how positively takes are felt . The only person who uses nylon seems to be Des Taylor, with his dropshot 'walking worm' technique. I still don't know why he recommends nylon - I did try it, purely out of interest ,and it felt just awful after the immediacy and intimacy of braid .

Juts checking in my tackle room (aka the spare bedroom ) I use Ron Thompson Hyper 4 braid in 15 lb bs and Berkeley Whiplash in 20lb bs . I have used the latter for years and it's totally fit for purpose .

Lures- I've got gazillions , but if I was picking one it'd be a Fox Spikey Shad (ie paddle tailed ) in a range of colours and sizes for jig fishing. This Summer and Autumn they've caught me perch, chub , trout , ide , carp and pike . For drop shot fishing I prefer the small curly tailed jobs and more natural fry patterns.

Two hints - if fishing a river with much flow I prefer to fish upstream as it allows a more natural movement of the jig - if downstream it tends to kite towards the surface . If dropshotting in still waters and canals the tenor of most advice is fish as light a weight as possible. That is fine if there's no wind , as it's easy to stay in touch with the weight on a tightish line. But if it's windy that can be much harder , and it's easy to fish badly by pulling the dropshot weight above the bed - it should always be kept hard on the deck. Typically I will use a 4 -6g lead in calm conditions , but switch to 8-12 g in windy conditions , especially on wide and open canals .

 

[David Gane]

I've never had any difficulty casting lures over the recommended casting weight for a variety of my lure rods. Time gives you confidence that the quality of carbon fibre means that you can abuse it. I have to admit that I much prefer lighter weight rods too; I hate that feeling of casting with a steel girder and I want it to bend so I can get some power into the cast.

So, whilst fishing with a relatively inexperienced friend on The Broads last year he offered me a try with his new 8' lure rod fresh from a well-known chain of fishing stores. The lure wasn't that big and when I cast I did give it full welly. It shattered into four parts. I'd literally only had it in my hands 20 seconds. There was a long silence, as you might imagine.

So, in answer to your question - you pays your money and you takes your choice....

 

[steve2]

Two hints - if fishing a river with much flow I prefer to fish upstream as it allows a more natural movement of the jig - if downstream it tends to kite towards the surface . If dropshotting in still waters and canals the tenor of most advice is fish as light a weight as possible. That is fine if there's no wind , as it's easy to stay in touch with the weight on a tightish line. But if it's windy that can be much harder , and it's easy to fish badly by pulling the dropshot weight above the bed - it should always be kept hard on the deck. Typically I will use a 4 -6g lead in calm conditions , but switch to 8-12 g in windy conditions , especially on wide and open canals .

Agree with this, on rivers I have always caught more casting upstream than down. When you think about fish tend to face upstream and the food come towards them. Just like trotting a float.