12' Rods vs 14' rods - Graphite VS Glass

[bobothewizard]

So right now I have been crappie spider rigging for about 2 years and absolutely love it. Wife thinks its the laziest way to fish but she thinks it fits me fine

So right now I have a few 12' pinnacle cheapie rods from grizzly jigs and a few of the cheapie 14' rods that I cant , for the life of me, remember the names I want to say that they have bright orange writing on them and they say Panfish something or other.

The 12 foot rods are fine and they work well, but the 14 foot rods, whooee are they heavy and just plain unruly lol.

So my questions boil down to really this. What is the difference between the 12 foot and 14 foot cheapie fiberglass rods and some of the more expensive say B'M rods? I also notice if I am using say a 3/4 ounce weight, the tips of the rods really bend over when trolling. Would that not happen with the more expensive graphite rods? Do the graphite rods have more backbone?

Also what about weight of the rod itself? Are the graphite rods lighter, especially when you get past the 12 foot range and start looking at the 14 footers?

When i started spider rigging up here in Pennsylvania, I never had anyone to ask as it really is a rarity to see anyone else doing this on the lakes up here and I wasnt sure if I would like spider rigging in general so thats why I purchased the cheapest rods I could but now since I like doing this so much its time to refine the setup a little bit .

As always all, thank you for taking the time to read this and respond. Its greatly appreciated.

[Rees Guide]

Check out Southern Crappie rods, very reasonably price for a graphite rod and will handle the weight fine.
Yes the graphite is lighter but as far as weight it will handle that depends on the rod model itself. For instance, a BnM PST will take the weight a lot better the a BGJP from them.

[crp4570]

I am so new to this crappie thing also. However, I listened to several here on the board and they said to get southern crappie rods. I am glad I followed their advice and ordered mine in the 14 foot. I played with the idea with the 16 foot but i am glad i did not. I've almost speared my wife and dog in the boat with the 14 footers. cannot imagine trying to handle the 16s.

Ed at southern crappie is great to work with just give him a call.

[blueball]

arnt the southern crappie rods kevlar and some kevlar and carbon mix.Been looking at them pretty hard,want 8 14fters to spiderrig with.

Check out Southern Crappie rods, very reasonably price for a graphite rod and will handle the weight fine.
Yes the graphite is lighter but as far as weight it will handle that depends on the rod model itself. For instance, a BnM PST will take the weight a lot better the a BGJP from them.

[blueball]

in my experience the higher priced rods are generally lighter

So right now I have been crappie spider rigging for about 2 years and absolutely love it. Wife thinks its the laziest way to fish but she thinks it fits me fine

So right now I have a few 12' pinnacle cheapie rods from grizzly jigs and a few of the cheapie 14' rods that I cant , for the life of me, remember the names I want to say that they have bright orange writing on them and they say Panfish something or other.

The 12 foot rods are fine and they work well, but the 14 foot rods, whooee are they heavy and just plain unruly lol.

So my questions boil down to really this. What is the difference between the 12 foot and 14 foot cheapie fiberglass rods and some of the more expensive say B'M rods? I also notice if I am using say a 3/4 ounce weight, the tips of the rods really bend over when trolling. Would that not happen with the more expensive graphite rods? Do the graphite rods have more backbone?

Also what about weight of the rod itself? Are the graphite rods lighter, especially when you get past the 12 foot range and start looking at the 14 footers?

When i started spider rigging up here in Pennsylvania, I never had anyone to ask as it really is a rarity to see anyone else doing this on the lakes up here and I wasnt sure if I would like spider rigging in general so thats why I purchased the cheapest rods I could but now since I like doing this so much its time to refine the setup a little bit .

As always all, thank you for taking the time to read this and respond. Its greatly appreciated.

[wannabe fisherman]

arnt the southern crappie rods kevlar and some kevlar and carbon mix.Been looking at them pretty hard,want 8 14fters to spiderrig with.

yes

[Rees Guide]

arnt the southern crappie rods kevlar and some kevlar and carbon mix.Been looking at them pretty hard,want 8 14fters to spiderrig with.

They are and TUFF!!

[skeetbum]

For what it's worth I'll post this and see who might know more than I. I was once told that a fiberglass rod bends different than a graphite rod by design. The graphite rods were designed to bend 90* and the glass much more than that. Said it had to do with the fibers. I've broken a couple of graphite rods, all but one on a fixed object trying to free a bait of some kind. One snapped setting a hook and was a material defect that the dealer stiffed me on. I have some BGJP's and some west point crappie rods, all 12'. The glass rods do weigh more but flex a lot more than the BGJP. Sitting in a rod holder the weight isn't enough to matter and the glass are half the price, doing the job just fine. As for the length, I didn't want 3 piece rods. No real reason. All my gear does more than one task and I'm not spending the day holding a 14 or 16 foot rods while single poling. If I did a lot of dipping it might do for me to have some. My 12's troll jigs and cranks, spider rig and single pole. Specialized gear in my garage usually spends time UN-used and I already have more stuff than 3 people need so I try to keep things in perspective. Spider rigging is a ball and my 12's do just fine for me. However, keeping up with all the poles is still a work in progress.

[kingkrappie]

Graphite is stiffer, lighter, and much more sensitive. The BnM PST's are ideal for pushing 3/4 ounce weights. The 14 footers you have are fiberglass panfish specials, they are behemoths! The PST will be half the weight with twice the backbone.

[bigorange84]

I would defiantly go with the southern rods. I have used them with wiskers on the ky board and they are a fine rod. I would go with the 14ft rods, reason is if you get the 12ft you will eventually want to get the 14ft. They will really make a difference when you are fishing shallow in the spring since the rods will be further away from the boat.