Do you truly match your rod setup to your presentation?

[RB 77]

Yes. I fish technique specific setups because I want to use the right tool for the job. My Drop Shot rod is very different than my Flippin' N' Pitchin' stick. 

[12poundbass]

I used to use whatever I could get a good deal on as far as rods and reels go. Over the years I’ve upgraded both. As far as rods go, I’m more on the side of technique specific. It tends to keep things simple for me. Boy was I missing out all those years!

[TNBankFishing]

23 hours ago, Craig P said:

If you watch any YouTube Video or Read an Article about Bass Fishing, most will tell you when you’re starting to get a nice 7’ medium to medium heavy setup and you’ll be well on your way for most presentations…..and they’re right….but only up until a point.

 

This year I spent alot of time being scientific matching rods, reels, lines and presentations.  Result, it’s been rewarding and more fun because my “tool” is doing exactly what it is suppose to do.  I cast further than I ever have, I detect more bites, and misses!   Hook-ups have increased and it has narrowed down my rod selection to just 7.  2 of those setups are specific to 2 different lakes due to vegetation and only see action when visiting those lakes so I typically only carry 5 rods on my boat.  If I can’t catch fish with these 5 setups in my region of SE PA, it’s literally just not my day!  And of course, it’s the fishes fault!  

 

Do you get super-analytical with your setups or do you just go fishing?  For a couple of years, I thought I was over-thinking this stuff as I honestly just didn’t truly understand the importance of “line weight”, “lure weight” or “action” written on the side of a rod.  I would feel a rod in hand at the store, liked it and bought it.  At one time too I thought people who bought rods online were crazy….how could they possibly know how it would feel in hand?  Now I get it….

When I was fishing out of my yak and could bring 12 combos? Hell yeah I dialed in everything. As a co angler with 4 on the back of the boat? Everything needs to be as versatile as possible. 

[new2BC4bass]

Only in certain cases.  Seldom fish a jig but I purchased a used custom built rod specifically for jigs.  I dedicated a rod/reel for frog fishing.  Originally I used a MF for treble lures but now have dedicated crankbait rods.  I have spinning and casting rods for light stuff but as yet no specific technique.

 

I consider all the rest of my rods to handle several types of lures including treble hook lures if I don't have a crankbait rod with me.

 

I may limit a reel to a specific presentation (on the rod designated for that presentation), but that doesn't mean the reel couldn't handle many other types of lures if needed.

 

I got back into fishing in March 2009 and now have more rods and reels than I can use.  I should sell at least half or more of them, but find it very hard to part with any of them...other than 2-3 possibilities.

[Columbia Craw]

I can fish just about every technique with a 7-6 flippin stick but what would be the fun of that?

[senile1]

I generally go with 8 to 10 rods although sometimes when the fish are scattered and responding to random techniques I will go up to 12.  My older bass boat doesn't have room for more than that without making a tangled mess. Logically, you can minimize the rods to a point but there are some techniques that just don't work as well with a MH or M rod.  One example is thin wire single hooks for Ned rig fishing.  They stick better when you can just reel into the fish to set the hook and I have found that a light action rod is best for this purpose.  

[F14A-B]

The only technique specific rods I could say I own are 1 895 GLX Flip/Pitch 20-25 pound line and my IMX pro 847 CBR (crank bait rod) everything else is what I like to use for whatever I’m planning to do. But I can use those rods in other ways I suppose. I’ve been using Loomis rods since about 96. I’m very familiar with them..I have others , Other Loomis rods, Kistler, 3 Edge rods.. etc

[Standard]

Only in very broad strokes.  Baitcasters - 7'4" MHM glass rod for my topwater / crank baits.  6'6" MF for jerkbaits.  7'6" MHF if I'm throwing bigger stuff or trolling.  I've got a few others but those are the main ones I use.  Also have a 6'8" MF spin setup for plastics or smaller lures.

 

I used to bring 5-6 rods, but it gets to be a bit much on the kayak and I found that there was always one or two rods I didn't end up using.  I'm usually only bringing 2-3 rods now.  

[king fisher]

On 10/22/2024 at 7:58 PM, Craig P said:

This year I spent alot of time being scientific matching rods, reels, lines and presentations.  Result, it’s been rewarding and more fun because my “tool” is doing exactly what it is suppose to do.  I cast further than I ever have, I detect more bites, and misses!

Talk like this is exactly why the Bait Monkey left my house with a big frown and a black eye.

[Spankey]

I don’t think I’m super-analytical but like you I think of them as a tool. I throw crankbaits with my crankbait rods. Both casting and spinning rods. Softer more moderate actions. Better bait performance and better hookup. I find it impossible to fish crankbaits with an x-fast action. 
My set ups for soft plastics I don’t believe I take a super scientific approach to them. For smaller baits like craws, tubes, grubs, light T-rigs, split shot and drop shot I do with ML. Some approaches like Senko’s, floating worms, shakey heads, lizards, worms 6-7” stuff, fluke types I fish Medium fast and x-fast setups. 
Longer rod lengths have always been around but in recent years they have come to the forefront as the norm. I like a longer rod for lake fishing and the deeper water. To me it makes a difference. 
But on the river I find using shorter rod lengths is best for me. I’m sure this is not the case for others. It’s probably my style of fishing the river. My overhangs and structure is different vs. the lake. I have a lot of old school in me still. I still fish the river like I did in the 70’s 80’s and 90’s. 

[TOXIC]

With experience comes knowledge.  Either you can trust the rod maker to tell you what a specific rod is for or through your own experience you can match up the various actions to make the rod work for you.  Likewise, no 2 of us are the same when it comes to feel, fishing experience, preferences, presentations, etc., so “standard” rod actions may get you in the ballpark but to refine that, you ignore the labels.  That goes both ways too both more expensive and less expensive.  When I was using all CastAway rods, their action was on the heavy side and my favorite topwater rod of theirs was actually a saltwater series.  I know some very good sticks who claim a cheap uglyStick rod is perfect for frogging.  

[WRB]

The the reason I had so many rods in my boat was when I found a rod that worked good bought a back up. When I had custom rods built always bought 3. 
Yes preferred application specific rods but also had rods with multiple lure use.

Today when bass fishing I take 5 combos that do multiple uses and it limits lure choices.

Tom

 

[Glenn]

7 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Either you can trust the rod maker to tell you what a specific rod is for or through your own experience you can match up the various actions to make the rod work for you.  Likewise, no 2 of us are the same when it comes to feel, fishing experience, preferences, presentations, etc., so “standard” rod actions may get you in the ballpark but to refine that, you ignore the labels.  That goes both ways too both more expensive and less expensive.  

^^ This ^^  There's a lot to unpack there, but this is gold.  Yes, I use specific rod/reel/line combos for specific lure types and cover I'm fishing.  

 

But going back to what @TOXIC said, I spoke about this earlier in the year and took it to new levels. I went into the individual rod components, and then about matching rods for specific lures and techniques, taking into consideration differences in brands as well as personal preferences:

 

 

 

[Tennessee Boy]

I remember in the early 90s after a club tournament several of us younger guys were standing around one of the older richer guy’s boat admiring his tackle.  He had 7 or 8 combos on the deck of the boat that were exactly the same.  Exact same reels on the exact same rods with the same Stren mono.  We were all very envious of this.  The thinking at the time was that he could put one rod down and pick up another without having to adjust to any differences between the rods.  His reels were all heavy duty Ambassadors which were thought to be superior because they would last forever.  He had no idea that he was loosing fish because his line had to much stretch or that he would have all kinds of health issues from casting with heavy combos.  No one knew that a spinnerbait rod needed to be an inch longer than a worm rod. 😲
 

I don’t know that fishing has changed much in the last 35 years but the way people think about fishing is constantly changing.  😆

[TOXIC]

@Tennessee Boy us old timers remember when Rick Clunn only used one rod reel combo setup for all applications.  He had 4 or 5 rods on deck and they were all identical.  I bought into that idea and tried one of his combos and hated it. Ultimately when finesse started dominating he acquiesced and started tailoring his rods/reels to specific applications.  Suckered me in for 2 combos.😂

[bowhunter63]

No not really.on my spinning setups there 7 ft medium fast or xtra fast ,I like a 3000 or 4000 reel . Bigger spools . I can cast them father . 

[softwateronly]

I have a little over 20 rigs that get fished heavily with no exact duplicates but there's a large overlap in what they can handle and how they handle.  I have noticed that I tend to like a long and short version of each rod category, ie 6'10M/MF and 7'8M/RF, etc.  Longer rods for bombing clear water flats and shorter rods for picking apart nearby cover, though that's not mutually exclusive.

 

scott