I am mostly a bass fisherman but have gotten into some crappie fishing in the summers while I have some time off. (I'm a teacher) I always just use my bass spinning tackle when crappie fishing but recently bought a cheap 10ft rod and enjoyed it. I believe that if I had a high quality "crappie" rod, I would enjoy that even more.

While I know this is a Ford v. Chevy v. Dodge kinda of conversation, I need some help on picking the right rod and somewhat reel.

I pretty much exclusively fish brushpiles on my local lake. I do not have livescope but I do have mega 360 and high quality graphs. Most of my fishing is pendulum fishing a jig or vertically dropping jigs on the brushpiles.

My questions are:

What is the ideal length for that type of fishing?
What reel seat is the best?
Cork or foam?
Spinning reel or baitcast?

Sorry if these are dumb questions. I am very knowledgeable on rod applications in bass fishing but the lengths and reel seat options of crappie rods are confusing to me.

Thanks!

its not the cost of the rod,...it's the "thump", Crappie fishing doesnt have to be expensive...

My crappie rig is a cheap zebco 202.
It feels like you have 3 times the fish than you actually do.

If I could only keep one set up in my current inventory it would be the following:

1) ACC Crappie Stix 8' mid seat rod, cork handle
2) Pflueger President micro reel spinning
3) Fireline Crystal 14 lb test, braid

You'll get any number of answers for this. None are right or wrong necessarily. It really just comes down to personal preference, confidence, and versatility of your set up.

I like the 10' rod and have used a 12 ft rod but too old to handle the 12 now. I do a lot of BP fishing and have found staying off the BP as far as possible usually means more crappie. I also use a short rod with a spinning reel, I will stay back 20+ feet and pitch to the BP, let the crappie jig fall. Almost just like pitching a jig when bass fishing. I like 6lb mono. I like spinning reels and rods with cork mid handles. Like has been said, personal likes & dislikes.

The ACC CrappieStix or ProAngler rod in 10 ft would be my choice. Cork handle w/ mid handle reel seat. I like spinning reels as I also pitch to the fish at times. Hard to pitch a 1/16 oz jig with the bait caster. Any good spinning reel will work. I use the Quantum Optix 10 ($19.99 Academy) on most of my rods. Staying off the pile helps with the catch rate.

I just got my hands on a jenko kevin rodgers rod (11 footer) and love it. I would spend more money on my rod than my reel. You can use a low dollar Mitchell or quantum reel for $20 to $30 and love it.

Oh and you didn't even mention the type of line! Let the debates begin!

I have called me to go to a 7’6” acc as it is one piece and very light. Works great when fishing trees or bridge pilings. I pair it with a 1000 size spinning reel.

I use a falcon slab series 12 footer (on sale on falcon website for 34.99 for reaching out jigging or a falcon bucco spinning 6’ ultralight for pendulum. Both with shimano Sedonas 500 or 1000 size are perfect. I use 8lb power pro and tie an 8lb fluorocarbon leader about 12” to the jig.. been doing well in 15-18’ of water, crappie suspending in 10-12

If you are chasing the big fish I say the Epic 8, Todd Huckabee Rod, with the Mad Crappie Jig "Shankensien" with braid on a Pflueger reel.
For boat flipping the big fish into the boat, this one gets the job done...

pro angler rods are great, they will also sell a replacement top if u break one,., the tiny deadbolt from academy is a good micro reel, also abu garcia cardinal series are good reels. berkley cherrywoods rods are super light and cheap. just not too durable, but on sale u can get them for 15.00 or less sometimes. an ultra light ugly stick is a great rod, if your rough on your equiptment. havent tried the ACC crappie rods but the get good reviews.
all a crappie rod really needs is a soft tip, and decent backbone.