Not to sure about the differences in these so called technique specific rods? how much difference is there really? I can see if something takes a big difference in action from slow to fast or a really soft compared to a really stiff rod, but all these newer rods and blanks that come out for each different type of crankbait or lure makes me want to think its a clever marketing thing more than something a guy really needs in the boat. I know one rod cannot do it all, but does it really take two dozen different rods to go bass fishing these days???

Hal,
best answer i can give is look to the guys who make their living out of catching more fish than the next man.
Say Pro Bass:at least 5 or more rods on deck.
If 1 rod would do it when their paycheck is on the line why would they have different rods? You know an extra 5 minutes in one day with your lure in the water can result in more fish and equal more money.
Those miniscule differences add up.

Redfish or walleye tour has a few differing rods per angler too.

I have several weights of fly rod for nymphs, streamers, dryfly etc.

I can see standardizing on one or two rods for spider rigging for crappie maybe, but that is because its the only way i know to catch them. bet i would need more if i knew more.
Of course some folks catch enough fish with an ugly stick and reel combo for 49.99 to satisfy themselves and they are not my customers.

Hal,

Are 2 dozen rods necessary? No, but it takes more than one. Ideally, one would need 1 or perhaps 2 rods, depending on lure sizes to cover the spectrum of crankbaits, topwaters and other treble hookes lures, a flipping stick, a rod for A-rigs and large swim baits, a standard worm/jig rod, a finesse rod. With these rods, one could reasonably handle most situations. From there, you can start adding in some specialized rods, maybe a frog rod if you find your jig rod or flipping rod isn't perfect for the task. Maybe you would like a second finesse rod because you like a little softer tip for swimming grubs and casting 1/8oz. buzz baits than you do for shaky head fishing. Maybe you like a short rod or two for fishing around docks and shoreline brush. Perhaps you need a second more powerful flipping rod for punching grass. The list goes on and on.

If I were to start fishing waters regularly that aren't my local waters, I would start with the list outlined above. My local waters are reservoirs that were impounded in the '30s, and are aging. The lack of dense cover and heavy weed growth put me in a situation where I don't feel the need to have heavy powered rods and flipping sticks. When I set out for my trip, I typically have rods built on an RFLE 765 trimmed to 7', a Batson RX8+822.5 and 823, a Batson MB783, a Cabela's 5'8" ML XML, an MHX MB782, and occasionally a Batson IP840 trimmed to 6'8" (for UL cranks and panfish). Realistically, these represent variations on a few rods from the basic set, but are tailored to suit my style and my waters well. Each rod has its applications, and the use of a number of similar style rods doesn't require me to retie as often when I want to change lures, I pick up another rod. If I fished some of the waters to the north of me, the rods I would need would look a bit different, as a number of them are natural lakes with much more weed growth and heavier cover, and if I went to Florida, Texas, or Mexico, I would need different rods still.

The bottom line is that a handful of rods are needed to cover the bases for a fisherman fishing a variety of waters, and from there, the fisherman can start adding specialized rods that suit his/her style and/or home waters.

Joe

Lou, the reason they have five different rods is not for different techniques, but so they can have different lures on their rods so if one lure is not working for them they can pick up another rod with say a worm, or spinner bait without having to stop , cut off one lure and re-rig with another lure.

I agree with Randolph with the following comments: The casting rod for frogging will not be the optimum casting rod for cranks, the spinning rod for jigging will not be the optimum spinning rod for small cranks, the casting spinner bait rod will not be the optimum rod for rattletraps. Where this leaves me is that tomorrow I'm going to a small bass lake with seven rods on the deck. Call it Randolph + technique specific. A bit of both.

Funny, I'm not a big time bass fisherman but I understand the need for a bunch of different rods a lot more than I do for a tackle box with 500 different crank baits! As you might guess I'm more of a worm/jig/spinner bait guy.

You find bass in a lot of different type of waters. Could be more a reflection on where I have fished (mostly FL and Tenn). Big difference in what I'd pick to fish the everglades, the canals, the natural lakes, and the rockpits.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Joe, got to love your selection of rods there!
I use each one too as my basics.
Because of my 6ft 3 build my RFLE 765's are all stretched to 7 ft 11 and spinning.
But that is why we use and build custom rods!

Lou,

Thanks! Being only 5'8", I tend to feel more comfortable with the fish at the side of the boat with a shorter rod. The 765 is an incredible blank, and aside from the little UL cranks is all I need for the sizes of cranks I fish locally. There are a myriad of reasons for our preferences. As you said, that is why we use and build custom rods.

Joe

Aren't all our custom rods task specific to some degree more so than factory rods?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2013 05:41PM by John E Powell.

Actually, in spite of the previous post -
If you want you can cast about for a decent average rod, and replicate it a dozen times.

Then, if you want to quickly change baits or methods, just put the different bait on one of the other rods. No, each of these other rods, will not be the absolute best rod for that application, but it will generally work pretty well.

Even when you look closely at the different "types" of "technique specific" rods - you find that for many cases, the differences are rather slight. Is there a difference - sure. It is an absolute fact that you can't use the same rod for a thousand different uses - of course not.

When you look at the deck of a tournament fisherman who has a dozen rods laying on the deck, will generally see a couple of spinning rods and several bait casting rods.

But if you wanted to generalize a bit, you could likely go down to a soft and a stiff spinning rod, and a soft and a stiff bait casting rod and do nearly as well as having a dozen other rods laying there.

If you could transfer a bait from one rod on another in a fraction of a second, you could likely reduce the rod count by at least 2/3rds.

I know that when I fish, I will often have several rods with very similar action in the boat, that are simply rigged with different baits for quick and easy choice. But will one rod work as well as another - generally pretty well.

Be safe

I'd say the minimum number of rods to have in the boat for bass fishing when it's just for fun is four. I want one rod for "regular" worm and jigs, another for topwater or smaller crankbaits, one for "finesse" fishing a small straight worm or grub type bait, and one for larger crankbaits. If I'm fishing more seriously, like in a tournament (even just a local club type and not "big" time tournaments), that number would move up to 6 or 8. A lot depends on the type of water you fish most. It is nice to have a dozen or more rods, and when I was fishing more seriously a few years ago, I had as many as 14 rigged up with different stuff so that I could just reach down and grab what was applicable to the situation I found at any given moment in time.

But if I wanted to keep it at a minimum, I'd have the following:

A shorter rod in a medium/medium heavy action with a fast tip for topwater baits and crankbaits that run less than 6 feet deep. I'm a short person, so that rod for me is a 5'6" pistol grip rated for 1/4-3/4 oz. I can accurately throw lures into heavier cover with this rod and hold it down while standing up in order to work the topwater lures more effectively (walking the dog/popping) and also the medium sized shallower running cranks. I'll load this with 12-14lb test Hybrid line.

A 6-6 1/2 foot MH with a fast tip rated for 1/4-3/4 oz that can do double duty as either a Spinnerbait or Worm/Jig rod. This one will have 14-17lb test line.

A 7 foot MH Moderate action (bends a bit more towards the middle of the rod) for heavier and deeper running crankbaits. I'll have a bit slower reel on this one and load it with 10-12lb line.

A Spinning rod around 6' long for worms/grubs/finesse lures, rated for 1/4-5/8 oz lures and load it with 8-10lb line. This rod can also double as the main worm rod if I've got a Spinnerbait tied on the 6' MH Fast rod mentioned above.

Keep in mind that the waters I fish most are relatively shallow (<15') and there is often heavy cover in the form of downed trees, stumps, or weeds. If I fished more "open" water, the lengths of the rods might be a bit longer.

If I had to pick just one rod, it would be a 6-6 1/2 foot MH Fast in the 1/4-3/4 oz range. Something akin to the Loomis "Mag Bass" type blank. That's a real "do it all" blank, IMO.

If the sky is the limit, I'd add a longish jerkbait rod, a lighter weight spinning rod, a dedicated Spinnerbait rod, a dedicated swimbait rod, a moderate action crankbait rod, and some sort of pitching/flipping rod in a 7'6" length.

So, 10 rods or so if I was seriously fishing tournaments and time with a lure in the water is of the essence. Otherwise I can take 5 minutes to change a lure if necessary. I have seen situations when a color change made a HUGE difference in my success rate, particularly in crankbaits. Also the action of a crankbait can make a big difference...tight wobble/wide wobble/rattles/no rattles, lip design, running depth, etc. I've got cranks that run from a few inches deep to 22 feet deep. I like to throw a medium sized crankbait in a bluegill looking color/pattern that will run up to about 6 feet deep into heavy cover like downed trees, simply because a lot of folks won't do that for fear of hanging up all the time and losing baits. The fish don't see them a lot in that type of cover...they're used to topwater, worms/jigs, or spinnerbaits.