I love noodle rods. Or wave rod. Gotta use the wave technique. Since it's so limber you will notice with a quick short jerk up, a wave rolls all the way down the rod to the tip. If you stop the jerk slowely you will get a positive then a negative wave, the negative wave being a mirrored image of the positive wave or upstroke. This actually slacks the line a bit. If you stop the pole quickly the energy will snap the end of the rod up with alot more force than just pulling up with a standard hookset motion. If you have sharp hooks, and you should anyways, you should easily be able to make penetration.