Shakespeare rod question

[Squall Line]

We made our first trip to Wareree Sat. AM. We did ok I guess, not bad for the first time on the lake.
At the State Park ramp I spoke to a guy that was getting ready to launch. He was nice and gave me several tips on fishing the lake. I can't for the life of me remember his name ??? He had these 12 ft Shakespeare rods and we talked about them a little. Later in the morning as the fog was clearing we noticed that almost everyone that we saw was using 12ft. or LONGER rods.
I get the idea, lighter tip easier bite detection, long reach, etc. For crappie I have always used CHEAP 5-6 ft. rods off the shelf at K-Mart or Walmart with Zebco 33 reels.

I haven't fished for crappie in 10-15 years, I've been hooked on stripers at Lake Murray.

I liked the idea of the long rods for crappie and I want to buy some of but I don't know which ones to get, or what reels to match up with them?
I looked online and found the Shakespeare GWPSP12 I think this is what the guy had at the ramp, but I'm not positive.
Could this be the same rods that we saw on the other boats?
AND what REELS should I be looking at?
Thanks for any insight, followups, and tips that you can pass along.
Larry Thompson
aka Squall Line

[Crappie Snapper]

Hey Larry,There are many different types of rods and reels out there if you want to go long.Me and my partner have used several different brands.I prefer 10 ft. rods.The 12 ft and 14 ft. are just to long and limber for me,they make landing a fish hard if you don't have a teleoscoping net,etc.I,ve got some B&M West Point Crappie Poles that I paid $34.99 for and I got some Eagle Claw Crappie Poles that I paid $12.00 for.It just depends on how much money you want to spend.Check out this web site-www.monkscrappie.com for some info.This guy sells out of Wateree Marine on Hwy 97. at Beaver Creek acess.Or theres this store where alot of my friend and myself by all my Crappie Rods.If you go down I-77 south to Hwy.34, at bottom of ramp take a left toward Camden.Stay on 34 for about 15 miles, store will be on right.I cant remember the name but its beside a gas station.This place has about 6 differnt brands of rods,B/M.,Eagle Claw,Hi-Tech,Wally Marshall,and several others.He also has about 50 different types of reels in there to.I bought the Shimano xl 1000 spinning reels with drag on back for $10.00 dollars a piece.This store is like some kind of discount store or something.Its also where I got those Eagle Claw Rods for $12.00 to.Now I did have one of the Eagle Claw Rods brake the other day while a friend was using it out the back of boat,dont know what happened but I think he had trouble with getting it out of the rod holder or something cause he had 2 other fish on at same time and he got a little excited. Now I had one of the B/M pole brake several years ago also.Hope this helps,Later

[skm]

I use all BnM West Point Crappie rods. I bought all of them off of a store in Texas that I found on the internet (www.fishingworld.com/BrannansBass). They have them for about $22. Didn't have any trouble ordering them over the phone. I got 10 of the 10' poles and 2 12' poles. I hardly ever use the 12' poles because they are just too long to me. The 10' poles work good. I put some ultralite Sheakespeare reels on them that I found on sale at Dick's for $10. This is just how I am set up.

[rango]

shakespeare makes the telescoping poles and they also make 8 & 9 ft crappie rods. I have been using the crappie rods in the 9 ft length and have fell in love with em. Only problem is, the only place i think you can get em is at cabellas. at least thats the only place i could find em. I bought four at first and when they come i liked em so well i bought 6 more. They sell for about $35.00 each. guys that have fished with me have also liked using them.

[crap-king]

rango are yours ugly sticks - or are they under some other model by shakespeare - I have a 7ft ugly stick casting rod medium action - I fish live fingermullet for flounder with - it has a very sensative tip and I really like it
crap-king

[big "E"]

I like the b-n-m uncle bucks poles.Mine are 12' but the 10' are fine too.I use a med. light reel , usually a quantum but sometimes a shakephere.This set up costs me about $55-60 for the combo even though I buy them seperately.I like them and use them always , just watch the tips as they are tiny and break easily....E.

[rango]

rango are yours ugly sticks - or are they under some other model by shakespeare - I have a 7ft ugly stick casting rod medium action - I fish live fingermullet for flounder with - it has a very sensative tip and I really like it
crap-king

Crapking, they are ugly sticks. and on the rod, it says crappie rod. they making it in 8 ft and 9 ft lengths. I have 10 of the 9 footers. A friend of mine got one but got the 8 footer by mistake and he dont like it as much as the 9 footer. The only place ive found em is at cabellas. I asked bass pro if they carried em and they told me. "no, and i wish we could get em". so i dont know what the story is on why they cant. shakespeare also makes a 9 ft spinning rod, so be careful and make sure its the crappie rod you getting.

[rango]

every rod i own is an ugly stick, except for two ultralite graphites i like for jiggin with.

[rango]

I might order me one of those 9 footers to replace the one Pete knocked in the water when he caught that big bruiser of a green carp this past weekend!

once you use one, youll want to own one for sure. I like em cause they long enough to get out in the dark water without being too long like the 12 footers are. and that clear ugly stick tip. Its probably one of the most durable tips on any rod made. The four i carry when we go have been abused a good bit and still ticking.

[crappieman]

Squall Line,
It sounds like you are getting a lot of advice from night fishermen.
All of the tournament fishermen that troll use 12 foot or longer poles. When the fish are shallow they really save the day when you hook a mean one. The extra length and limberness helps the fish to run a little if he wants. You have to fish these long poles like a cane pole or a bream buster, don't reel the fish up to the end of the pole, he will be 12 feet from your hands, hold the pole straight up over your head and reel until the fish comes up then keep the pole up until he comes to the side of the boat, then if he is a lifter lift him, otherwise get the net. Sometimes you may have to point the pole behind your head to get the fish to the boat, just don't reel to much line in. I see people sliding the end of their pole down into the boat or grabbing the pole midway to land a fish , they reeled in to much line. The key to a reel is a good smooth drag. If you are fishing with a small pole or a stiff pole and have your drag set to tight, you will have to hook a big fish in a boney part of his mouth to be able to catch him. He will tear the hook out. The Shakespere poles I showed you saturday are called Wonderpole made out of IM6 graphite(GWPSP 12 2L). They make a fiberglass Wonderpole also. I got mine at A&B outfitters on highway 34 halfway between Ridgeway and Lugoff. They are the Sam's Club of fishing. He only buys when he can get a deal and can pass the savings on to his customers. I prefer B&M poles(IM6 Graphite), and thats what I use as my poles, I have 8 Sam Heaton Series 12 ft. B&M poles that I have had for several years and I would not change that. I keep an extra set of poles for people whom I take fishing. Saturday with the fish as deep as they were I fished 12 poles. It's hard to watch 12 with my set up so I took a couple of them out after a while. I hope you caught some fish. My partner took home 25 and a stripper and I took home 24. We had 10 fish that weighed 15 pounds. :D Our tournament(SC Crappie Association) this saturday weighs in at 3:00 at the State Park. If you are in the area come out and see some big fish. I remember my first tournament. Boy did I get Educated. I have seen catches of twenty pounds come out of wateree this time of year. Most of the tournament fishermen were at Santee last week for the Southern Crappie Tournament. I expect 35-40 boats saturday.