Spider Rig question

[Tennessee Trey]

I am looking to get 3 new rods for spider rigging and am wonder what length I should get and perhaps a rec on affordable brands and models.
What I have is a 14ft jon that has room for one in front. I have a 5 rod holder and already have 2 12ft graphite rods. What I need to know is how long of rods I should purchase to fill this out. Also as far as rod placement goes should the longer rods be to the outside with shorter lengths out front or vice versa.
Setting this up for my home lake, Reelfoot and have recently decided to dedicate myself to catching crappie here. New to it and I want to have a good spider rig for the winter fishing.
Any advice on crappie fishing in the winter on Reelfoot?
Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Tight lines

[Cmj]

Put your longer rods in the front to keep your line as far from your TM as possible. Also on length, get the longest rods you can, i have 14 footers but lots of people use 16 or even 18 ft poles. The longer the rod, the farther your bait is from the boat and the less you spook the fish. Get at least 14'ers, YOU WILL CATCH MORE FISH!!! As for info on Reelfoot, you will get a lot better feedback if you post that question on the Tennessee board.


(C.J.)

[Cmj]

Oh yeah, welcome from AR.


(C.J.)

[Tennessee Trey]

Thanks. I will post this on the TN board as well.

[Cmj]

I guess i should mention that the long rods are especially important when fishing clear or shallow water. If you are fishing deep or in stained water like Reelfoot, then 12'er s are probably fine. But then you may need the longer ones for different conditions. That is why i just use 14s. Ozarks are the best trolling rods imo with the high tech firecast being a close second. If you just want some rods to hold you over, Grizzly Jig has 4 pinnacles for $60. But 12' is the longest they have. They are whippy, so if you want backbone you may not want them.


(C.J.)

[Tennessee Trey]

The Firecast 14's are in my budget. I need to drive over the river and check them out at Grizzly.

[Cmj]

That must be nice, i have to shop with Grizzly online. They have the pinnacles 4 for $60. Not sure if they have the Firecast rods. I sent you a pm.


(C.J.)

[NIMROD]

PM my buddy Meatgetter for good info as he is a big spiderrig guy. Also sells jigs , minnercritters, poles, and such. He will be glad to help you with how to setup and all the basics.

[Cmj]

He sells the Firecast rods too.


(C.J.)

[Hitek]

14' would probably do just fine, but I prefer 16's when fishing shallow. 18's and 20's are just too long for me though.