Rods/ Lures

[sidsmith03]

I know this is sort of a broad question, but I am having trouble learning what action rods to pair with certain baits...for instance..I beleive I need a md action rod for cranking, Heavy for pitching and flipping in thick cover, which type of rod should I use for spinnersbaits? Top Water baits? Rattle traps? Jerk baits? any help is greatly appreciated...

[endless]

Maybe this can help

Bass Rod Buying Guide

http://www.basspro.c..._32921_TITLE_50

For like my Setups I have Baitcasters

7' MH-F Carbonlite for spinnerbait and buzzbait. I also use for my walk the dog lures.

7'6 H-F Carrotstix for frogs,

6'6 MH-F PQ rod for pitching,

7' M-MF Crucial for cranks,

Spinning

7' M-F Citori rod for 3/8 or lighter chatterbaits. I just love how it handles chatterbaits.

6'8 M-XF Carbonlite for shaky,

My other two are one of those Gander Mountain combo sets so the rods aren't the same when buying the rod only off their shelf.

6'6 M tournament combo for topwater like poppers, I was using this for wacky last year and held up great.

7' MH-F Titanium for T-rig/wacky maybe haven't tried it yet.

These are my rod setups and I like them for these purposes. I tried the Titanium since it's a MH with chatterbaits last year after I bought just didn't like it for that.

[smalljaw67]

The basic actions of a rod are fast, extra fast, moderate or medium, moderate fast of medium fast, and slow. I also include ultra light in that aspect and using the right rod for the lure and presentation is based more on how you fish rather than science. For example a medium heavy , fast action rod in a length of 6'6" to 7' is like an all around rod, it will fish everything in its weight range pretty good, the only thing is I wouldn't use it for crankbaits but that doesn't mean you can't, it is just that there are better options. Most of the single hook lures used for fishing bass are going to fished with a medium, medium heavy, or heavy fast action rod but this is for casting rods, for spinning it would probably include medium light fast action as well. Crankbaits and most lures that use a treble hook are going to be fished with the same medium, medium heavy, and heavy powered rods as the single hook lures but the action is going to be either a moderate or moderate fast as a rod with those typs of actions will flex deeper and further down the rod as compared to a fast action rod which only the top 1/3 of the rod bends. The reason for this is the rod is easier to bend so it isn't as fast to snap back to straight as the fast action rod. The deeper bend along with the rod getting back to stright mean it is less likely the fish will ever be able to put slack in the line and that meas there will always be pressure on the fish so it is less likely to throw the hook. The rod being more flexable and easier to bend also allows the fish to get more of the crankbait into its mouth resulting in better hooking of the fish but it also hels that there is less backbone in the rod so it makes it harder to rip the smaller treble hooks free from the fish compared to the fast action rod which has a lot more backbone than a moderate action rod. Where the lines get blured is lures that have treble hooks but require rod movement in order for them to work well such as walking and poping style topwaters and jerkbaits. There are some like myself who like using a medium powered rod with a fast action, this allows us to work the bait very easily and along with the medium powered rod it has some forgiveness to fight the fish without overpowering it but you still probably lose more fish than you would with a softer action rod. The other side like using the same moderate to moderate fast rods to fish these baits and while they have the better ability to fight and land fish, they lose a little in terms of contol over the bait and how it moves as the water resistance on the lure will make the rod flex more than the fast action rod and therefore the user must move the rod a little further to get the lure to move the same distance. The most important factor is you, there are no rules set in stone that you need a certain kind of rod for one type of lure or presentation versus another rod for something different. Enthusiist have rods for certain lures so imagine having a rod for indivdual lures, you would need a warehouse to store all the rods...lol. Use the rod that makes fishing the lure or technique that you're using more enoyable and productive for you and don't worry about it, as I said, there isn't any rules, only some guide lines to help you choose. Some rod manufacturers have even gone to labeling the rods as for there inteded use, I for one am not crazy about it but for someone getting started it can give them an idea of the type of rod that a lot of people use to fish a certain kind of bait but in the end it is up to you.

[roadwarrior]

For enthusiasts, technique specific gear is fun

to collect. However, three rigs cover all the

basics:

#1 6 1/2' or 7' MH baitcaster for jigs, some

soft plastics and spinnerbaits

#2 6 1/2' or 7' MM baitcaster for treble hook

lures

#3 7' MF spinning rod for lighter lures and a

variety of techniques

[bayouXpress]

Its nice to have a rod/reel combo for each lure type but certainly not necessary.

IMO you can fish nearly everything on a 6'6" MH fast tip rod. Now you may have to adjust the way you fish, but they will definitely handle 99% of what you throw.

Also remember that each rod manufacturer rods are not built and rated the same. A kistler MH (more of a medium )is nothing like a veritas MH (true MH) just my opinion though.

[sidsmith03]

Thanks for the info guys....I have been confused about rods for some time now. I am looking for a cranking rod now and I should be set up to cover mostly everything.