Forum | Technique Specific Rods?

OutdoorFrontiers said:

I see more and more fishing rods being marketed as technique specific, i.e. special crankbait rods, spinnerbait rods, dropshot rods, etc. 

Do you read the label to make your determination?  What criteria do you go by when you want a new rod?

My crankbait(O'l David Fritts by Fenwick) stick is technique specific as is my jig rod(sorta it's wr-1, worm rod). My finess rod was cutom made and is technique specific. My spook rod was cutom made and is technique specific. Those rods never have anything but the specific bait for which they were intended tied on. My c'rig rod is a flipping stick but it never has anything tied on but a c'rig.

Yes, I look at the lable when I'm looking for a new rod but it is not a deciding factor in my purchase. If I'm looking for a top water rod, for example, I'll spin the blank/rod on the rack until I can see the lable if it says "WR-1″ – it saves me from even pulling it out of the rack.

Generally I have a pretty good idea of the parobollic rate I'm looking for. How fast does it load up, where is the power in that particular blank – those are the things I'm looking for. Some folks grab the tip and bend it. I put the tip on the floor and gently press the tip that way I can see and feel the action of the rod and if I want to compare two rods side by side I can do that as well.