Rods for heavy plugs

[dsitka]

At my age, I wonder why I ask these kinds of questions. Most of my life I used light - medium tackle. My heaviest rod is a St. Croix Premier MH spinning rod. I usually cast 1/2 to 3/4 oz plugs. This year I made and bought some 1 1/2 oz plugs/crankbaits. I decided to get a Heavy rod. I do a lot of casting and these plugs are large. Any comments on what other's use would be helpful.

[Redfish12]

The Shimano Teremar rods have been my go to for big plugs over the years. I have a love hate relationship with these rods but I keep buying them so they clearly fill a gap. The first thing I hate (which is a good thing for this purpose) is the ratings are all over the place. If you get a medium power rated rod, it feels too soft. If you get a MH it's like a telephone pole. You can easily fish 1/2 oz - 4oz and if you're bottom fishing probably up to 10oz with out feeling like it's not overloaded. They are not the most sensitive, but you can absolutely wail on them and I haven't seen one break yet. My favorite use for the MH 7ft extra fast spinning rod is for large poppers/spooks or plugs for 30+" blues. If C19 would finally end then this week many of us would have been camping at JBay and catching these as well as rock, flounder, and weakfish.

[Slobber Bob]

I have 2 Tsunami Five Star rods I've very much liked for heavier plugs, and heavier fish. The model is TFSS-701MH and it's very affordable at $50. It's rated 1/2 - 2oz., but I've throw 3oz Hopkins with it in the surf before. I use it mostly for bull reds, citation sheepshead, the big 30"+ blues like redfish12 mentioned, or in areas with heavy current and structure where I need to lock down on fish to crank them out hard.