Follow The Stiff Rod Rule (Story And Video)

I am always looking for new and interesting ways to catch fish. Whether it’s pouring over endless hours of youtube videos, reading dusty old copies of fishing books, or talking to experts on my podcast, Aptitude Outdoors, I always end up hearing about some funky new way to potentially get a fish to bite. I’ve heard of everything from drop shotting for panfish, to finding, caring for and fattening up your own worms, then fishing them weightless on 4lb test for lunker bass. If you can dream it, it exists online, and likely, I’ve been dumb enough to go out and try it. Recently on a podcast episode with Texas’ own Troy Fowler, better known as the Ranch Fairy on Youtube, hit me with one that I’ve never heard before. 

He talked me through why I needed to get a medium heavy to a heavy fiberglass rod, string it up with monofilament line and throw big crankbaits at varying depths to up my odds of catching large bass. I was immediately intrigued because up to that point in my obsession with fishing and exploring the outdoors, everything I’d read, heard and saw was based around fishing sensitive rods that allow you to feel every tick, nip and tap that came in contact with your bait. The method outlined previously seemed to be in opposition to everything I knew. 

 

https://youtu.be/CifjqECgz0A 

 

The thought process goes that, oftentimes a hookset is missed because the angler “feels” the bass and goes to set the hook, but in all actuality what is being felt is the surge of water rushing out of the bass’ mouth as it is being opened. We’ve all been there, we go to set the hook and there’s nothing at the other end. I’ve also watched videos that say that bass eat lures so fast that you should not hesitate when you feel any bite and to set the hook immediately. There’s nothing to say that both options aren’t correct. If you read or watch anything on fishing, there are rules, and exceptions to just about all those rules and they all depend upon a million separate factors that will drive a person (me) insane the longer they contemplate them. 

Learn more about the “stiff rod rule” on this Aptitude Outdoors video.

The only way I know to see what works best is to head to the water and see what happens, and that I did. I ordered a medium heavy rod, slapped on my fastest baitcaster, loaded it up with some 12lb mono, grabbed my box of crankbaits and hit the water. I only had a few hours to spare so I kayaked out to a nice steep drop off that met up with a nice even weedline and casted, and casted and casted. As always happens when you either need to film something or write an article, you get the worst conditions possible, in this case a beautiful bright sunny afternoon.

 

After about 2 hours of casting and nothing to show for it besides an impressively aggressive bluegill that absolutely smashed a crankbait about a third the size of itself, I decided to start wrapping it up. I made a few last ditch effort casts on the way back in some nine foot water that was on the opposing edge of the weedline I’d been fishing. I decided to throw on a jerk bait and see what happened. As I repeated the same casts I’d been making for hours, I felt resistance and thought I’d been hung up on the weeds for the twentieth time, so I yanked up on the rod and I felt actual fisklike resistance. 

I started reeling, and since I had never fished on a rod that heavy before, I wasn’t quite sure how to gauge the size of the fish on the other end of the line. On the bass rods I grew up I had a good sense of how big a fish was by how it felt and how much the rod was bending, but I was in uncharted waters here. The fish fought hard and I finally managed to haul it up to my kayak. There’s always a huge burst of excitement when you finally see the fish next to your boat for the first time. I expected to see a decent bass and got ready to lip it, but to my surprise, it was a northern pike! The game plan changed very quickly. 

I got its head up out of the water, grabbed it under the jaw to avoid slicing my hands open and busted out the pliers to remove the hooks from its mouth. Not quite what I was going for but I wasn’t going to complain after such a fishless afternoon. Nothing beats a hard fighting fish, even if it’s not the species you are targeting. I snapped a quick picture and let it back into the water to fight another day. 

What I learned from this experience was that Troy’s explanation was correct. As I reeled the jerkbait, I felt little to no resistance when the pike bit the lure. To add to the lack of feeling, the mono was able to stretch as I continued to reel. I never set the hook, I never even knew there was a fish on the line until it was already fighting to get away. In this instance I have first hand tested and proven that this method of a medium heavy, fiberglass rod, will catch you a fish in the non-traditional way I’d been taught to think about fishing for bass. Although the “feel” of the fish grabbing your bait is essentially gone, the hookup on the fish seemed to be excellent and there was still a great fight.

Will I always fish like this? Likely not, but it is a new way of thinking about how to fish and a great method if you know there are large fish in the area and you want to make sure you’re using heavy enough gear to get them in your boat with no issue. I love the thrill of trying new methods and it helps keep me from always tossing the same Texas Rig or Ned Rig until the end of time. Finding new ways to fish, although likely unnecessary most of the time, is a great way to keep the sport fun and entertaining and also gives you an excuse to go back to your favorite outfitter to grab one more “I swear this is the last one” lure or rod. 

Maybe this is old news if you’re a fan of Rick Clunn, and maybe this is your first time considering this method, like it was for me. Either way, I encourage you to go give it a try. It might just become your new favorite method, another tool to add to your fishing arsenal or simply another excuse to get another rod to throw in the collection that can sit on your rack of awesome rods. That’s up to you. Either way, have fun fishing and make sure to share the experience with someone!

 By Paul Fuzinski