Best Tube and Worm Rods for Kayak Striped Bass Fishing

We spent 15 minutes on the phone with Eric "Slappy" Harrison to discuss the best tube and worm rods for kayak striped bass fishing. Here's what we learned... 

Eric recommends using different rods for trolling tubes and eels than tossing plastics. 

"I want a much more responsive rod to fish plastics," Eric said. 

Eric recommends using a 7-foot to 8-foot quality graphite rod. For big plastics on jig heads, you want a fast action rod, but not an extra-fast action rod. 

Eric prefers a short foregrip.

"The only time I use a foregrip on a spinner is when fighting a big bass," Eric said. "The most comfortable butt length is usually the length to your elbow when you are holding the reel stem."

From a kayak you don’t need a big reel. A shimano sustain or stradic in the 6000 series has a quality drag and holds more than enough line. You don’t need the extra weight of an 8000 or larger series reel, even with the heavy line.

You could make a short pitch rod for high fliers, a 5.5′ rod casts pretty well, short rods are not great for distance, but are great for accuracy.  Don’t put too many guides on and keep the butt short, that way you have more rod in front of the reel for casting. Eric recommends using a west coast style butt with a length of about 8-inches, a reel seat and a 12-inch foregrip. The longer forgrip is more comfortable should you "accidentally" hook a tuna.