What is the preferred rod length and type of reel?

[gurnie]

A side note, I don't own a whole lot of rods for crappie; I only use a 6'6 microlite combo I got a BPS a while back spooled with 4 pound test. If your a fan of floppy rods and have 25 bucks sitting around I highly recommend. Could make a good loaner rod too. Have a good one.

[bfish]

CrappiePappy gave you some good advice, however I like a slight longer rod 6-7' for casting (his shorter rods are perfect for shooting docks). I like the Fenwick Eagle GT in Light power in 6' to 7' range. It is listed as fast, but it seems more moderately fast to me (and I prefer that). I have both the 6' and 7' version so I am assume the 6.6' version to be similar. Berkely Lightning and Cherrywood also have some affordable rods, if the eagle is too expensive. If you can afford more rod, I hear good things about the ESP and St.Croix and Gloomis have several panfish models that should work well for single poling, too.

[CrappiePappy]

CrappiePappy gave you some good advice, however I like a slight longer rod 6-7' for casting (his shorter rods are perfect for shooting docks). I like the Fenwick Eagle GT in Light power in 6' to 7' range. It is listed as fast, but it seems more moderately fast to me (and I prefer that). I have both the 6' and 7' version so I am assume the 6.6' version to be similar. Berkely Lightning and Cherrywood also have some affordable rods, if the eagle is too expensive. If you can afford more rod, I hear good things about the ESP and St.Croix and Gloomis have several panfish models that should work well for single poling, too.

Yeah, "bfish" .... I use a 6'6" ESP PowerLite (xtra fast action) rod for "casting" jigs ... and the 5'6" ESP UL (fast action) rod for dock shooting. But I got to the 6'6" ESP rod from several other rods that I used to use for jig casting. I've used a 6'6" Zero Gravity Carbon rod, a 5' Shakespeare, and a 7' Sam Heaton Signature Series, progressively over the years. They all worked ... I just preferred the ESP's, after fieldtesting them for the Norsemen Outdoors Inc marketing director & designer.

Going by what the author BFV stated about his boat & lake (veg & docks) ... I figured a 5'6" - 6' rod would allow him to fish both with one good rod, and not have to get in too financially deep with specialty rods. One of my fishing buddy/partners uses Cherrywoods and UL reels, and he catches his fair share of fish. He'd probably catch (put'em in the boat) more if he'd set the hook a little more forcefully

... cp

[SpeckMaster]

My regular crappie weapon is a 6 1/2 ft graphite spinning rod with either a small underspin and 4lb test mono, or the same rod with a medium underspin and 6 lb mono. The underspins are really handy if you're casting or dropping your line frequently as you're not constantly using both hands to open and close the bail. If I need more casting distance, I use a 7 1/2 ft rod and a small spinning reel. The underspins create a little friction where the line rubs the rotor and won't cast quite as far, and the smaller ones have limited line capacity that can be an issue with long-distance casting. I don't use shorter rods much any more, but they are handy for tight quarters and for shooting (and for kids).

[Kevin22]

I have no idea, I just moved here and have only fished Quaddick Reservoir in northeastern Connecticut once before. I will be using my inflatable pontoon boat and there are docks and some vegetation north of the boat ramp on the east side. There are numerous docks and some underwater structure on the west side. So I guess I will be pitching up under the docks or jigging next to them? Do they like deep water or shade? I have a spinning reel on a broken 7 foot Ugly Stick, Yes I did manage to break it, one of the guides, in my garage. I also have a 6 foot bait casting rod and reel. I have some jig heads with yellow bodies, and assorted other spinners and lures.

That's the style of fishing I do most of the time. I broke down and bought a st. croix panfish 6'9 UL Fast and paired it with a shimano symetre 1000. What an amazing rod! I never would have thought I'd spend that much on a crappie combo, but man it was worth every penny! So easy to cast, so sensitive, so light! The whole combo weighs about 10oz total! It is one amazing rod! I am using 4# seaguar red label fluorocarbon and it is so ultra-sensitive you wouldn't believe it!

You really do not need that quality of a reel for a panfish rod, something in the order of a pflueger trion, shimano sienna, or the like would be sufficient. I just got a heck of a deal on the reel, so that's what I use!

I tried the long rods, and I tried the short rods.. they all stunk in comparison to this rod! Its the perfect balance of enough length for long accurate casts, yet short enough to fight and land a fish without a dip net. I swing the fish in the boat most of the time, has plenty of backbone!

[BFVsForever]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Now that I am retired I will have time to do some fishing. While unpacking my gear I discovered a 5ft 6in Ugly Stick spinning rod and light reel that I had thought to be long gone years ago. I don't know where the movers found it but I am now all set. 1 light and 1 medium (repaired) spinning rig and 1 bait casting rig, I am ready!!!