Professionals rod/ reel choices

[Dan N]

So I think the answer is obvious, but just looking for some opinions. Do the pros just use whatever brand they are sponsored by? Would they use equipment they didn’t really love because it’s free? Do they ever use different stuff and not show it?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Look at what the guys who aren't sponsored by a reel or rod company use.   

 

It's hard to find one that isn't sponsored by one or the other, but a bunch of guys don't have a reel sponsor for example.   

 

Almost all the guys I see who aren't sponsored by a reel company like Ben Milliken run nothing but Shimano or Daiwa.   

 

ETA:  Some guys work out a deal with reel companies for a steeply discounted rate, or even free but aren't a major sponsor.   They don't advertise for the reel companies, but the fact they are using the reels is good enough for the companies for what little they had to invest.   

[garroyo130]

They fish Curado Es

[DogBone_384]

2 minutes ago, garroyo130 said:

They fish Curado Es

?!?!?!??!???!?! 
 

That makes me a PROFESSIONAL.

 

Cool!

[webertime]

I've fished with guys from the BassPro tour and invitationals.  Guys with wins on those levels.  One guy, super good dude, fishes with Exprides even though he's sponsored by another brand of rods.  Another bought my OG Aaron Martin's Dropshot Megabass rods off me in the boat and still uses it, again sponsored by another company.  Of course there are guys fishing with what they are given by sponsors makes some financial sense for sure but there's a ton of Pros that out on the water use what they want. 

[Glenn]

Exclusively? Not likely.  But does that mean their sponsor's products are inferior?  Hardly.  

 

Gosh, I know so many pros.  Fished with them, shot videos with them (who do you think is the guy behind the camera for all those pro videos on Bassresource?), had dinner with many of them.  I have the phone numbers and emails of many, and they call, text, and email me too (Randy Howell texted me just yesterday).

 

That doesn't mean squat about me, other than I know what these guys use.  They all use their sponsor's products, be it rods, reels, baits, or whatever.  However none of them are exclusive (except for boats, motors, and trolling motors). 

 

The pros, if nothing else, are extremely particular about what they use. Sometimes there's an explicit rod action with a certain length that they absolutely MUST use for a certain technique, and their sponsor doesn't make one.  Also, many pros will hold onto their sponsor's discontinued rods, reels, baits because they feel it's better than current offerings, or there simply is no replacement. Same thing with lures.  There's a certain size, action, color, etc that they want, or one type of bait by a certain brand has a certain benefit that others don't have.

 

There's very few - if any - companies that do everything well and produce every type of product one needs.  It's the reason why pros have multiple brands of depthfinders.  There's just some things that Garmin does better than Lowrance and vice-versa.  And when there's money on the line, they're going to use what they feel puts them in the best position to win.

 

All this to say that, although they often do use non-sponsored products, it has nothing to do with the quality or superiority of their sponsor's products.  You shouldn't read anything into it.

[Eric 26]

I’m glad I’m fishing just for fun because my gear and tackle selection is all over the map so to speak as I feel a lot of us are. I’m probably partial to Daiwa as I feel their  braking system is the easiest to use for my style but I have rods and reels from multiple vendors and will continue to do so as I love trying out everything.

Edited November 16, 2024 by Eric 26
Spelling

[rangerjockey]

There is a discount and some incentives. I'm sure some are getting them free but its really not that big of a deal compared to boat and fuel costs and lodging and so on. Certainly not enough to make anyone fish what they thought would put them at a disadvantage.

If there was any brand or model they felt would be an advantage they all would have them.

Bottom line is they can find fish and catch them.

Tiger Woods has played 4 different brands of clubs that I can think of off of the top of my head.

He's done ok with them all.

 

[Dan N]

This is kinda what I thought. Certainly they can do it with most any equipment, as long as it’s not total junk. And I would agree that the free rods and reels are not that big of deal in the overall cost of things. 

[Sota]

10 minutes ago, rangerjockey said:

There is a discount and some incentives. I'm sure some are getting them free but its really not that big of a deal compared to boat and fuel costs and lodging and so on. Certainly not enough to make anyone fish what they thought would put them at a disadvantage.

If there was any brand or model they felt would be an advantage they all would have them.

Bottom line is they can find fish and catch them.

Tiger Woods has played 4 different brands of clubs that I can think of off of the top of my head.

He's done ok with them all.

 

I am sure golf tour players have it different than pros fishing. 
 Golf tour players don’t have of the rack clubs. The loft, lie, bounce, grind on the bounce, weight, placement of weight, shaft, grips. All setup specifically to their specs. 
 Golf tour players have the ability to go to the tournament. Go and get a club made per specs from any of the golf club manufacturers. 
 I’ve never heard of fishing rod, reel manufacturers following the tour in case a pro needs something from them. 
 It seems rod/ reel manufacturers could work with pros to get them setup. It might take a while to work out the tweaks. I don’t know if it’s financially feasible to do it though. It’s not cheap to switch out tooling to make rods/ reels. Especially if it’s not going to be mass produced. 

[new2BC4bass]

2 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

?!?!?!??!???!?! 
 

That makes me a PROFESSIONAL.

 

Cool!

Only if that's ALL you use!

[new2BC4bass]

1 hour ago, Eric 26 said:

I’m glad I’m fishing just for fun because my gear and tackle selection is all over the map so to speak as I feel a lot of us are. I’m probably partial to Daiwa as I feel there braking system is the easiest to use for my style but I have rods and reels from multiple vendors and will continue to do so as I love trying out everything.

Same here!  Fish for fun.  Gear all over the place.  Use 10 brands of casting reels and about 26 brands of rods.  Biased towards Daiwa reels.  BUT pretty much enjoy them all.

 

[rangerjockey]

57 minutes ago, Sota said:

I am sure golf tour players have it different than pros fishing. 
 Golf tour players don’t have of the rack clubs. The loft, lie, bounce, grind on the bounce, weight, placement of weight, shaft, grips. All setup specifically to their specs. 
 Golf tour players have the ability to go to the tournament. Go and get a club made per specs from any of the golf club manufacturers. 
 I’ve never heard of fishing rod, reel manufacturers following the tour in case a pro needs something from them. 
 It seems rod/ reel manufacturers could work with pros to get them setup. It might take a while to work out the tweaks. I don’t know if it’s financially feasible to do it though. It’s not cheap to switch out tooling to make rods/ reels. Especially if it’s not going to be mass produced. 

The point was that regardless of brand a good player is a good player.. Golf clubs are a lot more complex than fishing rods. If 10 guys have a GLX 844 in their boat they are all the same.

If 10 tour players have say Taylor mades in the bag they will be different. lie,loft.shaft. grip size ect.

 

[DogBone_384]

1 hour ago, new2BC4bass said:

Only if that's ALL you use!

Awwwww dambit gumby … I’m back to an amateur …. 

[Maverick2017]

Would not surprise me to find out these guys are using custom built rods with high-end blank and components but in the color scheme of their sponsors.

 

Sponsorship in golf is huge and many were using special shafts that were painted to look like a stock offering that Joe Schmoe could buy from a big retailer. Often times sponsors had retail offerings, then a “tour issue” offering.

 

I can’t see how pro fishing would be any different. Ie: Lew’s commissioning NFC, Point Blank, Rainshadow, for their blanks, painted in a scheme or printed to match an off the shelf line offering from Lew’s.

 

 

[Glenn]

^^ Um...ya, NONE of that is happening.  The gear the pros use is the same stuff that's available for retail.  NFC, Point Blank, and Batson Enterprises (they make Rainshadow) would never agree to that anyway.  I've known Bill Batson for 10 years now (Batson is 2 hrs away from me), and he is a straight shooter.  He wouldn't do anything that's even remotely ethically questionable.

 

Like I said, I've been on the boats of too many pros to remember, and looked in their rod and storage lockers....even used their gear, and there's no funny business going on.  However some DO have the top-of-the-line gear.  Shin Fukae, for example, has all of the most expensive Shimano gear has available.  I fished a sweet setup of his out of the back of his boat when we were fishing the free rig at LaCrosse. It was probably a $1,300 baitcast combo.  He has spinning reels north of $900 each.

 

That said, many pros do indeed work with rod/reel/bait manufacturers to develop signature series built to their specs.  The "signature series" gear is more than just slapping a pro's name on them.  It can take years of design and testing to get it right. During that time, yes, they have something that isn't in production, but then again, it's not ready for production yet. And when it's ready, it's released to the public.

 

The SPRO Mcstick jerkbait bait series is a good example.  Mike McClelland worked tirelessly with SPRO for 2 years to develop the first baits under that name.  And it's been that way with subsequent baits. They're coming out with a new one next year that he's been working on for several years. He showed me the prototype last spring.  He had the ONE prototype, and said there were still a few tweaks needed before he would approve it.

 

Michael Neal has several jigheads and baits he designed for Big Bite Baits.

 

Same thing with rods. John Crews works with Cashion to create his signature series, for example.

 

There's plenty more examples across the whole gambit of pros and gear.  But the "pro-only" stuff you see in golf or elsewhere just doesn't exist in bass fishing.  The market - and money - is just way too small for anything like that.  

 

 

 

[r83srock]

I agree with what Glenn says. I have a friend that fishes NPFL and he uses rods by Jewel, FX rods before that and they are 100% factory rods. 
 

I do remember years ago Gary Klein had flippin sticks I believe made by Rich Forhan that were spiral guided when that was a “thing”. He then had his quantum signature rods with that same wrap. 
 

I also remember when you could order a St. Croix avid with SIC guides and a split grip handle before that got popular, but it wasn’t exclusive to pros anyone could do that at the time, at least I knew several guys who did.

 

Rods and reels are so good now, regardless of who makes them.