I am aware that there are not a lot of poles out there for crappie. BnM makes quite a few, then there are others,, Zebco makes one...etc etc.

I have had three BnM poles....one of them broke in half, i think it was just a defective pole. The other two I have seems to be pretty tough. Some say the top eye falls off sometimes but I havent had those problems.

Thought I would share this with y'all.

I am profoundly deaf,as the majority of our family is. Also, I have some visual problems, and for this reason, I tightline for crappie (we call them sacalait) exclusively. I do use a jig and float, but not for crappie.

Because of my deafness, my sensitivity to vibrations and any kind of tap or tick on the pole is extremely sharp.

True story........

I used to use a Lew's bream buster for years, but they dont make them any more. I bought a Master Crappie Grabber jig pole for vertical fishing. I am not sure what yall call these,, they have only one eye at the tip of the pole, and it is a telescopic pole. You can look at them, they are part # 3910, I believe...Master crappie grabber.

This pole is extremely sensitive, and I can feel the most delicate tap.

I had already bought the 10' Jigging pole from BnM, and I went to Bass Pro in Denham Springs to get a new vertical jig pole. I saw BnM's original Bream Buster, and purchased it. I am not sure if it is the same as Lew Childre's, but it is quite similar.

I did somehwhat of a comparison with these three poles...the BnM jigging pole, the BnM Bream buster, and the Master Crappie Grabber.

In all honesty, the Master Crappie Grabber was much more sensitive than the jigging pole and the BreamBuster is a little too flimsy.


One day, last week, on a Monday, I was fishing at the Bonnett Carre spillway and felt a bite, which I know was a goggle-eye, and I set the hook but he must have ran my line around a stump. As I was lifting, the pole broke in half. This pole was pulled in numerous fish and I know I was a little abusive with it, trying to straighten hooks of my jigs that were snagged...

So, the Master Crappie Grabber broke in the middle section.

I was stuck with the two BnM poles..which are tough poles, and I am not going to rag on them and say they are junk, but the Master Crappie Grabber is a more sensitive pole.

I know what all the reviews say and so forth..but for me, the Master pole is a better bite-sensing pole than the others.

Today, I was back at the spillway, and I actually watched my rod tip move on the Bream Buster and it was a bit, but I could barely feel it.

Just my .02 worth.

Tim