Pond Bass Fishing Tackle

[texasbassslayer]

I fish primarily ponds and was wondering other than my spinning rod, what other rod(s) should i add to my arsenal. I normally use soft plastics, jigs, chatterbaits and occasionally a topwater.

[TheRodFather]

I carry three rods when bank fishing.  One for bottom, middle and top of the water column.  That's how I differentiate what gets thrown on what combo.

So for me, if I was using those baits, it would be jigs and soft plastics on one rod, chatterbaits on the second, and topwaters on the third.   Every type of bait can be put into these classes and fished with the 3 combos.  Obviously some sacrafices are made in reguard to matching the perfect line/rod to a specific bait, but 3 is the max I want to carry while walking the bank and I don't ever feel that I'm missing fish because I have the "wrong" line on for lipless cranks VS jerkbaits.

So to answer your specific question, I guess I would use the spinning rod for the soft plastics/jigs (since they are pretty slow presentations/retrieves), then I would get 2 baitcasting combos, one for middle and another for top of water column.  The spinning rod is not ideal for jigs, but it's what you got for now, if your looking to save some coin.

TRF

 

[BigGame0892]

I too carry three rods for bank fishing, but I use my lone spinning rod primarily for shaky heads, wacky rig, light topwaters and flukes or floating worms.  I then have one medium action casting setup for spinnerbaits, topwaters and crankbaits.  My last setup is also casting, but a medium heavy to heavy action for pitching plastics and jigs and throwing a frog when needed.  To me, flipping and pitching is one of my most valuable methods when bank fishing when it really pays to put the bait where they live and fish slowly and methodically - and I want a casting setup for that for accuracy and power.  

Another thing to consider is what type of line you will be using on each setup.  By using mono on both the casting outfits, I get a little flexibility in how I use those rods.  For the spinning reel, I use only fluorocarbon or braided line with a fluorocarbon leader.  The braided line with the leader gives me a lot of flexibility with that setup too.

[Caliyak]

6 hours ago, texasbassslayer said:

I fish primarily ponds and was wondering other than my spinning rod, what other rod(s) should i add to my arsenal. I normally use soft plastics, jigs, chatterbaits and occasionally a topwater.

All you need is 2 baitcasters for the jig (MH rod) and chatter/top-water (Med rod) lures. The spinning will take care of the plastics. It's not said but I would recommend a kayak so you can get to better spots. I got a kayak because I fish ponds and reservoirs. Dude, talk about opening up a lot of options and opportunities. 

[crypt]

I carry according to which pond I'm on. normally 2 spinning rods,1 bait caster,maybe a flyrod. most of the ponds I fish are on the small size so my gear is tailored more towards lighter lures,small worms,grubs,topwater,small spinner baits,little crank baits. makes it more fun when I do get one on the bigger side.

[CTBassin860]

On 12/16/2016 at 11:24 AM, TheRodFather said:

I carry three rods when bank fishing.  One for bottom, middle and top of the water column.  That's how I differentiate what gets thrown on what combo.

So for me, if I was using those baits, it would be jigs and soft plastics on one rod, chatterbaits on the second, and topwaters on the third.   Every type of bait can be put into these classes and fished with the 3 combos.  Obviously some sacrafices are made in reguard to matching the perfect line/rod to a specific bait, but 3 is the max I want to carry while walking the bank and I don't ever feel that I'm missing fish because I have the "wrong" line on for lipless cranks VS jerkbaits.

So to answer your specific question, I guess I would use the spinning rod for the soft plastics/jigs (since they are pretty slow presentations/retrieves), then I would get 2 baitcasting combos, one for middle and another for top of water column.  The spinning rod is not ideal for jigs, but it's what you got for now, if your looking to save some coin.

TRF

 

I do the 3 combo thing too.However one of my rods is my frog rod.So i carried a baitcast reel spooled with mono in my bag and swapped out between topwater and my jig reel. Im getting a new topwater rod since swapping reels and re lining the guides is a pain in the you know what.Unfortunately im going T-Rig only on my spinning gear so now im going with 4 combos this spring.

[Raul]

In my neck of the woods you better be well armed, most of the times you will catch tons of dinks so you might be tempted to go around and play with the idea of messing with Mickey Mouse gear, after all, you catch nothing but dinks ...... until you catch your first 10 pounder out of a that cattle watering hole just as I did, my first 10 lber came from a half an acre pond.

[doyle8218]

I only carry one rod for bank fishing. I use a Tatula MH 6'10" and it works great for me.

[TheRodFather]

18 hours ago, MassBassin508 said:

I do the 3 combo thing too.However one of my rods is my frog rod.So i carried a baitcast reel spooled with mono in my bag and swapped out between topwater and my jig reel. Im getting a new topwater rod since swapping reels and re lining the guides is a pain in the you know what.Unfortunately im going T-Rig only on my spinning gear so now im going with 4 combos this spring.

 

I should qualify my first post to say that I only carry 3 around the pond.  I have 6 total in the vehicle, so it really depends on where I'm fishing that determines what 3 get taken out.  If I'm at a place where there is slop/frog bite, I will take out the frog rod.  Most likely a treble hooked topwater will be catching too much salad at a pond like that, so the frog rod will stay a frog rod, and if I do happen to want to fish another topwater, I will tie it onto my "middle" of the water column rod.  This rarely happens for me though, If it's a frog pond, I'll stick with frogs because a popper/spook/whopper plopper won't come through without a ton of vegetation hanging off it.

[hunterPRO1]

i use a 6'6" m spinning rod with 10lb mono for lighter lures and a 7' mh casting rod with 17lb mono 

 

those 2 setups can do alot of things.