Rod selection help...

[Bucketmouth1010]

Hey I was wondering if you could get five rods, what would be your choices for the most complete set? How many of them would be spinning or bait casting? ( action, and what they would be used for also) thanks!!!

[bassfishkansas]

7'6" Heavy Baitcast-65lb Braid-Flipping Rod
7' Medium Hvy./Medium Tip Baitcast-12lb Fluro-Crankbaits
7' Medium Hvy./Fast Tip Baitcast-15lb Fluro-Plastics, Jigs, Traps, Carolina, Swimbaits
6'6" Medium Baitcast-10lb Fluro-Small Cranks, Spinnerbaits, Jerkbaits, Senkos
7' Medium Light Spin- 8lb Fluro-Tubes, Dropshot, Shakey Head, Grubs

[ZHerman330]

Everybody is going to have a different answer for you because rod choice is very subjective. It all depends on the type of fishing you prefer, shore vs. boat, even height of each fisherman has an effect on rod choice. Personally I have 8 rods that always go out with me. If I had to narrow it down I could leave my 7'3'' mag. heavy/ xf frog rod and my other 7' mh/ f. I have one 6'6'' medium action spinning rod for finesse baits. A 6'6'' mh/ f I use for spinner baits and some top water. A 7' medium/ mf crank rod, a 7' mh/ f that I use for buzzbaits and a 7' heavy jig rod. My other rod is my 7'6'' flipping stick that I will never leave home without.

I prefer 7' rods for general use. The extra length is useful for frogging and flipping/ pitching. On the flip side I like a shorter rod for finesse and spinner baits as casting accuracy is improved. Once again, all based on trial and error and a heap of personal preference. My advice, try out every rod you can get your hands on. Dont worry about brand, just action and length. Find out what you like for specific applications of for general purpose and go with it. There is no all encompassing answer or right/ wrong.

[Jrob78]

7'3" H/F - jigs, heavy flipping, carolina rigging, frogs
7'3" MH/F - t-rigs, small jigs, flukes, Senkos, spinnerbaits
7' MH/MF - crankbaits, spinnerbaits, swim jigs, topwater
7'3" Glass MH/M - big sq bills, deep diving cranks
7'2" spinning M/F - finesse, shaky head, drop shot, etc

4 casting and 1 spinning would cover all my needs. What I would do to broaden my rod selection is have multiple reels with different lines. Some would have fluoro, some would have copoly, some would have braid and some would have the same line type but in different lb tests. This way I could be a little more versatile.

[bassboogieman]

With rods, everyone will have various preferences, especially on length. Those in states where they fish for largemouth bass and they grow large - the south and Calif. - will show (generally) a preference for longer, heavier rods. States with both species and the averager fish is smaller - less powerfull rods and possible shorter length. States where smallmouth are the main target species, more spinning rods and casting rods of lighter power. All that is in general terms - there's always a couple that have a preference that varies, it's just the nature of the beast.

Bait preference will also influence rod selection. Someone that throws a lot of plastics will have different rods than someone who's favorilte bait is a crank or another who likes spinnerbaits, and don't forget the finesse guy. Time of year will also factor in where one of the above mentioned baits will be better than one of the others.

So it's a loaded question. As rod lengths and actions vary among anglers my preference would be based upon the lures I like to throw in my home water where a good bass goes 3 pounds. They likely duplicate the previous choices others have listed as to the baits they use them for, but as you see the above have difference length preferences for the same baits.

1 - casting for heavy baits (jig, frog, etc) 7'0" or longer, MH - H, f or xf.
1 - casting for plastics 6'6" - 7'3", MH, f or xf
1 - casting for spinnerbaits 6'6" - 7'3" MH, f
1 - casting for crankbaits 6'6" - 7'2", M, mod or m/f
1 - spinning for finesse applications. 6'9" - 7'6", M, f

[DVT Mike]

You really only need 3 setups to cover basic bass fishing techniques.

6'6"-7' MH/F casting for single hook lures>1/2oz (jigs, T-rigs, spinners...)
6'6" - 7' MH/Mod casting for crankbaits and other trebel hook lures
6'6"-7' Med/Fast spinning for lighter baits <1/2oz

If you want to start adding technique specific rods the first two I'd add:

6'3" ML/XF spinning for dropshot and finesse baits
7'6" Hvy/ModFast flipping/pitching heavy jig/frog/slop

[Rebbasser]

I keep it real simple: if the bait has treble hooks I throw it on a M action rod, and a single hook I throw it on a MH action. The M action has some give to it to keep from pulling the hooks out and the MH action is stiffer and allows for a better hookset. Length is really personal preference. Most of mine are 6-6 or 7'. The one exception is I throw the big bruisers like a DD-22 on a MH action. I find this rule of thumb works well for me.

[waldershrek]

You really only need one spinning rod for finesse. You'll use the baitcasters more anyway.

[flfireman]

Pretty much read Rebs post and you got my answer. All my rods are 7', I own a 6'6" for when Im in tight canals because I can roll cast lower to the water and not hit my tip. I also have a 7'6" that I use for frogs and swim baits. All my 7's are MH, but I have different tip speeds. Again, rods are pretty much individual preference based on the user.

[DaveW731]

7' H/F casting for frogs and extreme cover

7' MH/M casting for larger cranks, spinnerbaits and topwaters

6'6" MH/F casting for plastics

7' M/F spinning for lighter baits and finesse plastics

6'6" M/M spinning for smaller cranks, spinnerbaits and topwaters

[matt3mckee]

6'6 Med Casting Duckett for buzzbait
7 Ft Crankin Duckett for crankbaits
6'6 MH Spinning for plastics
7' MH I flip and pitch with
6' Castaway CP Pop R- For Pop R's and rattle traps
I'm short and don't use long rods lol
And you just can't beat the Duckett's love those rods