welding rods for crappie fishing..?

has anyone ever used these ? I had a elderly gent that I know give me a couple of these all rigged up.
he explained how to use them, and how back in his day he used to whack'em in the deep brush.
Actually pretty cool how they work, just wondered if any of you guys have ever used these..?

I used them all the time in the 80's as a kid minnow fishing the creeks from a boat @ Lavon. We switched to jigs and I haven't used minnows or welding rods since. It really worked though because it allowed you to get that minnow into super thick brush and it keeps the minnow from tangling the line around that super thick brush. If I was using minnows in the creeks, I wouldn't hesitate to use those welding rods again. They allow you to get into places you could never drop a minnow otherwise.

I used them back in the day on the corp pile on Ray Roberts when the lake 1st opened. welding rod with a 1 or 2 ot hook for minnows. It worked well.

I'll probably regret this but, OK, I'll bite. Explain fishing with welding rods. I didn't even find that one on Google.

I'll explain what I was told,..you take a welding rod; flatten and round the ends; drill small holes in the flattened rod end and attach small split rings to each end. attach a small swivel to the bottom end with a crappie hook, the hook attaches directly to the swivel. Tie the non swivel end to your line. It is supposed to be used to penetrate the thickest tree tops or brush. He says many years ago thas all he used, he gave me two of them...

Can you post a picture of this? Sounds interesting.

I'll try..

They use to have them for sale at the Dam Store on Ray Roberts and they where painted different colors....

Wow that is interested ! Would love to see that in action. Anyone still use these?

.

I have always had the worry of the fish seeing my line, this should tell me something.

I used them in the 60's when canoeing the east Texas rivers a lot and working brush and blowdowns. Never went hungry !

Fish the cedar trees with minnows for crappie and you'll wish you had one tied on.
So easy pulling them out versus without its not even fair..

For a good comparison, hang a jig on the welding rod and fish some place besides dense brush. When fishing those cedar trees, the welding rod sorta looks like another limb. Used them many yrs ago on Lewisville after the new lake filled and the brush was thick. That was minnow fishing back then.

take a welding rod and smash both ends flat with an anvil and ball peen hammer. drill a hole in the center of each smashed end and attach a small key ring to each end. thread a hook on one end, and tie the line on the other. rod acts as the weight.

Gman

I thought you was going to crank up the juice to it, like the old telephone trick!

Just proves, you're never too old to learn. Got a shop full of welding rods and I know a good lake to try it on. Only one problem....WHAT'S A MINNOW?

Thank you for the pics JIM SR. Can you feel the fish hit the minnow? Curious if you can feel the thump through the welding rod or how do you know when you have a hit?

Havent used them yet,..I was told that you feel everything with the weight right above the hook,..we'll see over the holidays...

Thank you. Looking forward to your report.

You feel the hit just as good with the rod. I never used it with a jig. Only a minnow. I would say it would be better with live bait vs a jig. Sure it would work well with a jig I suppose.

I need an illustration. The hook would still hang up right?

Yep, they work!! Try them, crappie unable to get into the brush.

That's old school right there

Hey paint some up to makem look fancy and I see a money opportunity ! Lol!

It keeps your minnow from swimming around limbs . Fished with or without a bobber.
When lake Meredith came on line it had untold acres of flooded mesquite . These were the ticket to fishing heavy cover.

Mo

When I was a kid my grandfather and I would build brush piles all summer and fish them with these all winter on Lake Whitney and Aquilla when it finally opened in the 80s. We used to weld o-rings on them so they would not open up and used the old cotton braid with them and rarely lost a rig and caught a ton of crappie with them. Nice thing is with the weight right on the hook if you do get hung up you just bounce them until the rod pops the hook loose do any repairs and get back to fishing.

How long is that, 15"s?