Rod Picking Help

[basssnatcher99]

I am newish  to bass fishing and  i was wondering how many rods i need to start and what kind of rods for different techniques. I want too be able to expand once i get more serious 

[EvanT123]

Hello and welcome to the forums. You may want to introduce yourself over in the introductions section.

Your post was pretty open ended there are alot of variables such as price the techniques you want to fish if you have a boat etc.

To start though I would suggest a 6'6-7 foot medium heavy fast casting rod and a 6'6-7 foot medium fast spinning rod. With those two rods you can cover many powe and finesse techniques and those in between.

[Marty]

  On 6/8/2013 at 8:20 PM, basssnatcher99 said:

I am newish  to bass fishing and  i was wondering how many rods i need to start and what kind of rods for different techniques. I want too be able to expand once i get more serious 

 

The obvious answer is that you only "need" one rod to start. More rods will allow you to keep lures on and change lures faster. It's a little early in the game to be talking about technique specificity. I agree with the previous poster's advice. Get some all-purpose rods to start and as you gain experience you might decide that your current equipment is not adequate for certain techniques and can increase your arsenal accordingly.

 

I personally have been fishing 40+ years and use just general purpose rods. Getting technique specific never held an appeal for me. That's just me; lots of guys use different equipment for different techniques.

[TNBassin']

Get a 7'ft MH fast action rod and you can do anything you need to do with it. 

[Bluebasser86]

  On 6/9/2013 at 12:23 AM, TNBassin said:

Get a 7'ft MH fast action rod and you can do anything you need to do with it. 

When I first got into bass fishing with baitcasters I only carried one MH 7' rod with 15lb test, the rest of my rods were spinning rods. 

[basssnatcher99]

  On 6/8/2013 at 9:49 PM, et525i said:

Hello and welcome to the forums. You may want to introduce yourself over in the introductions section.

Your post was pretty open ended there are alot of variables such as price the techniques you want to fish if you have a boat etc.

To start though I would suggest a 6'6-7 foot medium heavy fast casting rod and a 6'6-7 foot medium fast spinning rod. With those two rods you can cover many powe and finesse techniques and those in between.

 

 

  On 6/8/2013 at 11:28 PM, Marty said:

The obvious answer is that you only "need" one rod to start. More rods will allow you to keep lures on and change lures faster. It's a little early in the game to be talking about technique specificity. I agree with the previous poster's advice. Get some all-purpose rods to start and as you gain experience you might decide that your current equipment is not adequate for certain techniques and can increase your arsenal accordingly.

 

I personally have been fishing 40+ years and use just general purpose rods. Getting technique specific never held an appeal for me. That's just me; lots of guys use different equipment for different techniques.

 I have new bass boat,  and my price range is about 70-100 $ each and I want to start out with at least 6 rods each for different techniques

[WRB]

Cut that number in 1/2 and invest in higher quality.

I own and fish with about 20 rods and use 3 year around; 3, 4 and 5 power rods in fast action.

Rods rated by power are Dobyn's, Loomis, Lamiglas and ALX, 4 excellent brands with lifetime warranty.

Rods rated by line weight, lure weight, bending rate are called medium, medium/heavy and heavy fast action.

A 3'power is between medium and med/ hvy, good all around bass rod, 4 power is equal to med/hvy and good for worms and light jigs to 1/2 oz, the 5 power is another between med/hvy and heavy, good for jig jigs 1/2 to 1 oz and other heavier lures. I would stay with one rod maker for the 3 rods mentioned and opt for longer rods in the 6'10" to 7'3" range.

More application specific rods would be a cranking rod for the big deep divers; 5 power moderate action E glass in 7' to 7'6" range. A swimbait rod like Okuma Guide Special 7'11" heavy. You can use the 5 power jig rod for pitching and frogs. If you are into finesse a spinning rod in 3 power will do about everything.

St Croix and Shimano would be a good choices if you opt for the rods not rated by power.

I am currently using the 3 rods from ALX in 3,4 and 5 power and they are superior to most rods on the market today and in the $175-$225 price range.

Take your time and look at all the above rod makers and any others that offer life time warranty.

Tom

[Arv]

I would also suggest investing more money into fewer quality set ups. Building an arsenal takes time, unless you just have money coming out of your ears. Quality gear will last you a longer time, perform better and be much more enjoyable to fish. If you start out with 3, maybe 4 rods, you should be off to more than a solid start. If we are just talking about rods, I would look in the 150 - 200 dollar range as that will be, in my opinion, the best bang for your buck. Most of my rods fall into this category and they perform up there with my more expensive rods. Rods I would take into consideration at this price point would be the Powell Endurance or Powell Max, St. Croix Avid, Phenix Recon or Phenix M1, Duckett Magic or the Shimano Crucial. You can also find great deals in the flea market on quality gear.

 

If you get 3 different rods you should be able to have a general purpose rod. Usually a 7' MH/F will cover most applications. Spinnerbaits, jigs, texas rigs etc. can be covered on this rod. A finesse rod, usually 6'6 - 7' M/F for lighter presentations, weightless worms, shakey heads, etc. And a moderate action rod, either M/M or MH/M, 6'6 - 7' for treble hook presentations, crankbaits, spooks, hard jerkbaits, etc.

[Teal]

Tom and Arv are on point on this one.

The rod builders that both men named are excellent choices and will last a long time.

I can personally tell you that Powell, Dobyns, St. Croix, and Shimano are great values and outstanding rods. As for reels, take a hard look at the Lews line up as well as the Shimano Curados, and Chronarchs. They are all work horse reels.