Don't Make These Cranking Rod Mistakes
Most Anglers Make This
Cranking Rod Mistake
Crankbait fishing isn't one technique — it's three or four, and each one needs a different rod. Get this wrong and you're losing fish, wearing yourself out, and leaving bites on the table every time you go out.
Falcon Pro Jason Christie has made a career out of cranking. When he breaks down rod selection mistakes he sees from other anglers, two come up every time: the wrong handle length and a rod that's too stiff. Fix those two things and your crankbait game changes overnight.
The Two Mistakes Christie Sees Most
Short Handle
If you're deep cranking with a short-handled rod, your wrist and arm are doing all the work. A longer butt lets you pin the rod against your side and leverage it from your body — so you can crank for an hour without getting tired. That long butt on Falcon's cranking rods isn't cosmetic; it's functional.
Broomstick Stiff
A rod that's too stiff rips the bait away from fish before they can get it. You need some tip so the fish can grab the plug and commit before you even know the bite is happening. But you also need backbone to drive hooks home on a long cast with fluorocarbon. Finding that balance is the whole game in crankbait rod selection.
Fluorocarbon Changed Everything
Twenty years ago, cranking rods were built like pool noodles because everyone was using monofilament — which has a ton of stretch. Now that fluorocarbon is the standard, you don't need that much give in the rod itself. You can crank with a stiffer blank and still load the fish properly. That's why modern cranking rods perform so differently from older designs.
Matching the Rod to the Depth
Christie's rule is simple: the crankbait you're throwing tells you which rod to grab. Shallow runnners, mid-depth cranks, and deep divers each demand a different setup. Here's how he breaks it down:
Shallow Cranking & Square Bills — Up to 6–7 Feet
For square bills and shallow crankbaits under about 6 or 7 feet, Christie reaches for the Cara All 'Round. The name isn't an accident — this is the rod he uses for square billing around cover, wintertime cranking with Bandit 300-style 8–10 foot divers, and anything where he needs to yank a fish away from a log. It has tip to give fish time to commit, and backbone to drive the hooks when you lean into one.
The tip also helps you cast into the wind more easily and get longer, more accurate throws. It's a rod that works harder than its name implies.
Medium Cranking — 8 to 12 Feet
When you step up to medium-running crankbaits — anything in that 8–12 foot range — you want to gain a few inches of rod length. More length means a longer cast, and a longer cast means more time at depth where the bait's actually working. Christie describes the Cara Deep Runner as essentially the same rod as the All 'Round, just longer. Same action, more reach. That extra length also helps load the fish on the hookset when you're fishing crankbaits in that mid-depth zone.
Deep Cranking — 15+ Feet
Deep cranking is the most physically demanding technique in bass fishing, and the wrong rod will wear you out fast. You need a long handle to lock against your body and leverage the rod without using your arm — Christie pins it in his side and barely has to exert any effort to keep the bait working. On a 60–75 yard cast, you have so much line out that you also need real backbone to drive hooks home when you set. The tip still matters here for loading the fish, but the long-handle leverage is what separates a rod you can fish all day from one that leaves you sore by noon.
A Cranking Rod Needs to Be Light Enough to Fish All Day
The most overlooked factor in crankbait rod selection is weight. You're going to be reeling for hours. A heavy rod will wear you out long before the fish do, and tired hands make sloppy casts and missed sets.
When Christie talks about his cranking rods, weight comes up every time. A rod that's perfectly designed for the technique means nothing if you can't fish it comfortably for a full day on the water.
The Bottom Line
Crankbait fishing starts with the right rod for the depth you're working. Fix the two mistakes Christie talks about — short handle and a broomstick-stiff blank — and you'll feel the difference immediately. One rod for all your cranking is the third mistake. Match the rod to the bait, and each setup will perform exactly the way it should.
Find Your Cranking Rod
Browse the Cara and LowRider series and dial in the right cranking setup for your depth and technique.
