Got a new 11.5' noodle rod at Cabelas and got to my buddy's dock on the south end of the lake pretty late, around 7:30 PM just to try it out. Put on my usual crappie jig and started casting. There were tons of bugs in the air, and I could even see some coming out of the water all around the dock. Fish were rising and the ducks were skimming bugs up with their bills. I started thinking I should have brought my fly rod! I would have killed them! As it was, the white and red jig hooked a pretty large trout which jumped completely out of the water before I could get a hook set and that was that. The reason I'm posting this is I'm new to such a slow action rod, and I think I could have hooked that fish with my usual medium/fast action 6'6" rod, I'm not really into jerking the hook set really hard. Has anyone had experience with losing fish on a noodle rod due the slow action? And if so, how do you set the hook? Seems like I'd really have to lay into it to have hooked this guy, and maybe sharpen the hook. Is that the right approach?

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