How Many Rods Are Enough? Combos That Cover All The Bases
By David Hart

Is your rod locker stuffed to the gills with rods and reels? If so, it's time to whittle down your rod selection with a little help from the experts.

When Scott Rook was still trying to make a name for himself on the professional bass-fishing circuit, he spent nearly all his time on the water with one of two rods in his hands. One was a medium-action, 5-foot-6-inch pistol-grip baitcasting rod. The other was a 5-foot-6-inch, medium-heavy pistol-grip baitcaster.

"I caught a lot of fish on those rods and did pretty well, all things considered," he recalled.
Rook, a five-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier, eventually evolved into a more complete angler. Now he carries dozens of rods when he travels the country to various tournaments. Although he doesn't use all of them during each event, Rook does admit that he carries more than he probably needs. So do many recreational anglers.

Whether you are just starting to expand your rod collection or you simply want to reduce the tangle of tackle, maybe it's time to take a close look at the stack of rods in your garage. Do you really need a drop-shot rod, a shaky-head worm rod and a finesse crankbait rod? What about that spinnerbait rod, the one just for Carolina rigging and the other rod you use solely for rats and frogs?

The truth is, many of the rods that are marketed for a single-purpose use are identical or close to others marketed for other specific uses. That's why a handful of rods can cover virtually all the situations you'll encounter in a lifetime of bass fishing. Paring your rod collection down to just a few multi-purpose rods will not only help you reduce the clutter in your boat and your garage, it will help you become a more proficient angler. It will also save you a little money.

Here's a look at five rod-and-reel outfits that will cover all the bases when you hit your favorite lake or travel to some distant hotspot.

Finesse Fishing
The running theme for the 2006 professional fishing scene was light lures and finesse tactics. Not only did more anglers rely on finesse baits to catch limits of bass, more of those same anglers realized just how important a spinning rod was to their selection of rods and reels.

Instead of using a spinning rod as a last-ditch tactic, lots of pros are now keeping at least one on the deck of their boat at all times. Both Rook and Alabama pro Tim Horton rely on spinning rods for a variety of tactics, ranging from 4-inch worms rigged on small jigheads to light crankbaits and drop-shot rigs. Spinning rods are also ideal outfits for skipping soft-plastic baits up under docks and low-hanging cover. Although some pros can skip a bait on a baitcaster, it's a difficult technique to master.

"I use a 7-foot medium-action St. Croix Avid series rod with an Abu Garcia Cardinal 500 reel for drop-shotting, finesse baits, small crankbaits and other clear-water finesse tactics," explains Rook. "I prefer the larger reels because they have bigger spools. The larger spool keeps the line from coiling real tight, and that helps prevent tangles. I use 8-pound mono for pretty much all my spinning-rod applications."

Horton, however, favors a 6-foot-6-inch, medium-action All Star rod with an extra-fast tip. Like Rook, he sticks with a single spinning outfit for all his needs. He says this is a good all-purpose length that is well-suited for a variety of applications, including drop-shotting, pulling small crankbaits, finesse worming, casting small jigs and grubs and working a floating worm. He pairs that rod with a Pflueger Presidential reel and loads the reel with 6-pound Silver Thread fluorocarbon.

"If I use monofilament, I'll go up to 8-pound line," he notes.

All-Purpose Outfit
Although John Crews carries more than 20 rods in his Ranger boat, he has numerous duplicate outfits, including a 6-foot-6-inch, medium-heavy Fenwick HMG baitcaster. He uses that rod, coupled with an Abu Garcia Revo STX baitcaster, for a variety of applications.

"I'll use that outfit for most of my topwaters, shallow crankbaits and hard and soft jerkbaits," he says. "I'll also use it for smaller spinnerbaits — ¼- and 3/8-ounce baits."

According to Crews, a longer rod is just too cumbersome for those baits and techniques. Also, when he fishes a jerkbait or a topwater, he prefers that length over a longer rod because of the way he fishes those baits.

"I keep my rod tip close to the water, so a longer rod will end up hitting the surface of the water as I work the bait back to the boat," he explains. "A 6-foot-6-inch rod is a good length for making long casts, but it's not so long that I can't cast accurately."

His pick for the best all-purpose reel has a fast 7-to-1 retrieve ratio, something that allows him to pick up the slack when a bass grabs his bait. That fast reel also allows him to crank the lure back to the boat quickly when he needs to, saving him time when he's up against a tournament's ticking clock.

"I can slow down a fast reel if I need to, but it's difficult to speed up a slow reel," Crews says. "Using a reel with a slow retrieve ratio can really wear you out if you try to fish a fast technique with it."

Crews typically loads his reels with Berkley Trilene Maxx for those baits, adding that 12-pound test is a good all-purpose line weight.

A Broomstick
Heavy cover demands heavy tackle, and no serious bass angler should be without a rod designed for throwing big baits into timber, matted vegetation or other dense cover. A broomstick-thick rod isn't necessarily designed to get a bait to the fish, it's made to wrestle big bass out of heavy cover.

Horton favors a 7-foot-6-inch All Star rod, while Crews favors a 7-foot-6-inch, heavy-action stick when he's flipping and pitching around super-thick cover. Rook also goes big. He uses a 7-foot heavy-action St. Croix rod when he's punching mats of heavy grass with big, heavy baits like Texas-rigged crayfish and jigs. He also uses that outfit for close-quarters flipping in heavy cover.

"The length is really a matter of personal preference," Rook says. "Some guys like the longer rods, but I just do everything I need to with a 7-footer. The most important thing is to use a heavy-action rod. You might get a little more accuracy with a longer rod, but not if you practice enough with the shorter one."

Although Crews tends to favor 25-pound monofilament, both Horton and Rook prefer braided line.

"The braid tends to cut through grass better than mono, and it's more abrasion-resistant, which is what you want if you are fishing around heavy wood or docks with barnacles or zebra mussels," Rook says.

In-Between Rod
Another good all-purpose outfit is a 7-foot medium-heavy rod. Crews uses a Fenwick HMG paired with an Abu Garcia Revo STX baitcasting reel. He usually loads the reel with 17-pound Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon, a sensitive, low-stretch, abrasion-resistant line that serves a variety of purposes.

"That's the one rod I have the most of," Crews says. "I use it for all kinds of different applications — pitching and flipping in light cover, casting a jig or Texas-rigged worm, Carolina rigs and sometimes even casting a big spinnerbait. I'll also use it for buzzbaits."

Because the fluorocarbon sinks, it's not a good choice for topwaters, but Crews will use that outfit loaded with buzzbaits because he tends to keep his line up off the water when he fishes a buzzbait.

Horton also likes a 7-foot medium-heavy baitcasting rod for multiple applications. He has found that it's a good rod for casting frogs and Carolina- and Texas-rigged baits. He also says it's good for moderate to light cover flipping. If he's using it for flipping, pitching and casting a frog in heavy cover, he'll load a Pflueger Supreme reel that has a 6.3-to-1 retrieve ratio with 65-pound Power Pro braided line. However, if he's casting Carolina rigs or Texas-rigged soft plastics, he'll load his reel with fluorocarbon.

Crankbait Rod
Both Rook and Crews say crankbaits generally demand an exclusive rod, one that has a much softer action than those used for worms, topwaters and other lures.

A good all-purpose crankbait rod is a 6-foot-6-inch or 7-foot medium-action rod with a soft tip — what Rook calls a moderate-speed tip. It's designed to bend more, which is an important feature for playing and landing bass hooked on a crankbait.

Some pros favor fiberglass rods, but Rook likes the sensitivity of graphite. Both work fine, he admits, but it's essential to use a limber rod.

"That softer rod will bend as the fish pulls," Crews says. "Treble hooks have a tendency to pull out or tear a large hole in a fish's mouth, and a softer rod will help prevent that. A softer rod also gives you a little more casting distance for crankbaits, which is good for covering lots of water."

He combines a 7-foot medium-heavy Fenwick rod with an Abu Garcia Revo STX reel. Rook favors a 7-foot St. Croix rod with an Abu Garcia Revo, but pairs the rod with a slower reel, one with a 5-to-1 retrieve ratio. He says the slower reel requires less work to pull a deep-diving crankbait through the water.

"A faster reel will wear you out," he says.

Will five rods cover all your bass-fishing needs? They certainly will, but then isn't buying a new rod part of the fun of fishing, even if you don't really need it?