Surf Cranking Rod - Hardbaits for Surf Fishing

To the naked eye, rods that are of the same length and line class may seem they were designed for similar styles of fishing, but many rods on the market today are designed with specifications geared directly for a certain fish and/or lure presentation. These specifications are commonly referred to as “action.”

In this article, I will explain the benefits of utilizing an ideal “surf cranking” rod when presenting lures such as Lucky Craft hardbaits and spoons.

Arguably, one of the best ways to present lures in the surf is with a steady/ slow to medium retrieve. Because many of the lures on the market today are equipped with treble hooks, it is important to use a rod that will enable a fish to gradually “eat” or hook themselves without detecting a significant amount of resistance. Many predatory fish with “turn” their heads immediately after grabbing hold of its prey. If a rod does not allow enough “forgiveness” or “give,” fish will often times either “spit” the lure or get hooked in awkward areas such as the top of the head, out side of the mouth and the tail- this will often result in loss of a fish.

Rod

Prior to the assembly of a fishing rod, fishing “blanks” are constructed. Most rods on the market today are constructed with fiberglass and graphite. Some rod manufacturers have gone to the length of designing “hybrid” rods with a graphite body interwoven with fiberglass to offer anglers the benefits of both materials.

Fiberglass, graphite or a mixture of both is woven into sheets. The closer the material(s) is woven, the faster the action. This fine weave is commonly referred to and measured as modulus. To give you a better idea, most fiberglass rods have a modulus count between 6-13 million while graphite rods are between 30-60 million. To further illustrate this, an IM6 graphite rod has a modulus count of 33 million where as a IM7 rod has 42 million. Rods with higher modulus counts are lighter, stiffer and more sensitive.

Now that we have a better understanding of rod characteristics, lets discuss why the use of a lower modulus crank bait rod is ideal for surf fishing.

No matter how great of a lure an angler may possess, if he or she is not able to cast this lure within range of the fish, a fantastic lure becomes useless. When I first started using hard baits in the surf, I used an 8′ graphite rod that was designed for deep diving crankbaits. Although I’ve caught a lot of fish with this rod, I’ve also lost majority of my larger fish using this rod. This rod has a medium/ fast action and when I searched for a rod with a slower action yet constructed with enough “back bone” to pull on large fish, my search ended with a rod constructed with fiberglass (E-Glass).

The fiberglass rod model XCF 705R and XCF 705 (both made by Lamiglas) is 7′ in length, line rating of 8-20# and capable of casting lures 3/8 - 1 1/2oz. A single graphite rod is incapable of having such a wide range of line rating and lure casting weight as a fiberglas rod. With this said, fiberglass rods are much more versatile. Because of its shorter length, I can use this same rod for tradtional fresh water jerkbait methods, topwater, spinnerbaits, spoons and lighter salwater swimbaits. Don’t let the shorter 7′ length discourage you; the casting distance is quite remarkable.

So why a crankbait rod when we are primarily using this rod with freshwater jerkbaits in the surf? Because the most common method in which jerkbaits are used in the surf is with a slow and steady retrieve and not a twitch and pause type method. In situations where a twich and pause method is needed to trigger bites, the shorter Lamiglas design allows for precise movement of your lure and precision casting.

The response time or sensitivity of a fiberglass rod is slower than a graphite rod. This delay in sensitivity will prevent an angler from prematurely setting the hook. Although I highly recommend setting the hook by turning the reel handle as quickly as possible and sweeping the rod in a side-way motion once the weight of the fish is felt; there are often times we as anglers will set the hook in a traditional snapping method due to the sudden surprise of a fish striking the lure. When we instinctively snap the rod back, often times we will “pull” the lure away from the fish’s mouth. With a fiberglass rod, this “pulling” of the lure is less of a problem.

Fiberglass rods are much more forgiving and when fish such as a calico bass and halibut violently shakes its head, the slower action of a fiberglass rod will prevent fish from “spitting” the hook. The choice is yours: you can use a graphite rod (often less expensive) or spend a few extra dollars on a Lamiglas fiberglass rod and have the reassurance that you are using a rod that will prevent large head shaking fish from “spitting” your hook.

The video clip above illustrates the thickness of a halibut’s outer mouth and the soft skin around the “belly” and “neck” area. When fish such as halibut are hooked, the hook itself rarely penetrates completely through the mouth giving a secure lock on the fish. Moreover, there fish are often foul-hooked and utilizing the proper rod will prevent fish from “spitting” the hook.