Just like a golfer has a driver for hitting the ball off the tee, and a putter for putting the ball in the cup on the green, bass fisherman has rods available to them for pretty much every fishing technique that they can do to catch a bass. Why is this?
Each fishing rod on the market is comprised of different materials and is constructed in various ways, based off designs from the rod builder to best allow the bass fisherman to have success in both presenting the lure properly for that certain technique, two hooking that bass when it bites, and lastly battling that bass to boat and getting him in your hands.
Let’s look at eight bass fishing rods that every bass fisherman should have.
We won’t make you sift through 20 paragraphs to get to our list, here it is. Click the orange to see why it was chosen, click the green to shop. 6 of the 8 rods below have affiliate links in them where we earn a 3% commission at no additional cost to you, the Witch Doctor and Vocelka are only found on their website and do not have an affiliate program.
When you are using a ChatterBait or spinnerbait, you need to use the right rod, and the primary reason for this is that as you are bringing the lure back to the boat, a bass will hit that lure and start going the other way with it. This means the rod you are using needs to load up, so the bass will hook it’s self as it turns and swims in the other direction, then when you feel him, set the hook and get that bass into boat. You also want a rod that you can make long casts with, while still having it be sensitive to feel the baits vibration.
Rod of Choice:Phenix M1 Casting Rod 7’4” Medium Heavy – Fast – A one piece rod blank delivers improved sensitivity, and the custom designed reel seat keeps this rod in your hand all day as you reel in that ChatterBait for big bass.
Even though a crankbait has more hook points than a single hook bait like a jig, spinnerbait or ChatterBait, more bass come off on a crankbait, why is this? The rod that the angler is using is likely incorrect. Bass’s mouths are fragile and the area where a treble hook has stuck a bass can get bigger as you are battling the bass to the boat if the rod you are using is too stiff and doesn’t have any give to it. A good crankbait rod will load when the bass hits, and then give for when that bass makes a last second surge down to the bottom of the lake, or away from the boat as you reel them in.
Rod of Choice:Dobyns Rods Champion Crankbait Rod 7’0” Heavy – Mod Fast– Besides crankbaits, this rod can be substituted in when needing a rod to fish a jerkbait or lipless crankbait. A high modulus graphite blank provides a sensitive delivery platform for a bass fisherman to cast a shallow running or mid-depth diving crankbait.
With the increased fishing pressure that bass get put on them from the number of anglers fishing, and the advancements in technology, anglers are having to downsize their offerings more often than they used to. When it comes to smallmouth bass fishing, this is especially true when fisherman need to fish small soft plastic swimbaits or small marabou hair jigs for cold water, or finicky biting smallmouth. The difficulty with these baits is that they are very lightweight, so throwing them is difficult, and throwing them to a distant target can be hard. This is why a specifically designed rod for these techniques is needed, so you can put that small swimbait or jig, right where the smallmouths are holding. At the same time, you need a rod that has the power to get a hookset into the bass and be able to control them as you battle them to the boat.
Anytime you are fishing with a spinning rod, whether you are fishing a wacky rigged Senko, drop shot, or a Neko Rig, you want to make sure the spinning rod you are using is long enough for the technique you are using to catch bass. Being that spinning rods don’t have as much backbone as a casting rod, the length of the spinning rod allows you to pick up the slack of your line and get a good hook set into the bass. Since the hooks of these finesse bass fishing applications are small, you don’t want to stiff of a rod, otherwise you’ll tear the hook right out of the bass’s mouth.
Rod of Choice:Phenix M1 Spinning Rod 7’2” Extra Fast—Built on a Toray Carbon Fiber blank and using the Phenix proprietary Nanolite resin, this rod is super light, strong, and incredibly sensitive, making it the optimal choice for finesse fishing applications where feeling every little nuance of the bait is needed.
When fishing with a topwater plug, the rod you use is important. Both because this is how you impart the action into your bait, and battling a bass with a mouth full of treble hooks requires a rod with some give to it. I like to use a short rod with a soft tip while still having some backbone to it. The shorter rod will aid you in making your bait walk-the-dog, and then the rod’s soft tip will give when the bass inhales your plug, so the treble hooks won’t pull out of their mouth.
Rod of Choice:Dobyns Rods Fury Casting Rod 7’3” Heavy – Fast – From working a Spook, or a popper in open water, to a buzzbait around shallow vegetation, this strong and balanced rod makes a great topwater rod.
Fishing a jerkbait for bass is a prominent technique for anglers in the spring and fall of the year when the water is cold, and a bait suspending in front of hungry, yet lethargic bass will get them to strike. But with Forward Facing Sonar (FFS) technology, fishing a jerkbait has become a more year-round approach to targeting bass. Fishing a jerkbait requires short, quick downward snaps of the rod, so you want to keep your rod length below 7’, and you want to use a rod that has a nice parabolic bend to it, so when a bass hits the jerkbait, the rod will load up and the hooks will effortlessly get into the bass’s mouth.
Rod of Choice:Witch Doctor Tackle Surman 50G 6’10” M– this rod is 50% graphite and 50% carbon, making it the ideal rod to fish a jerkbait, as the rod will give when a bass inhales the jerkbait, and when the bass makes a run, so the hooks don’t tear out of the bass’s mouth.
Fishing big baits, like swimbaits or Glidebaits, justifies the angler to have a dedicated rod for these lures, as they are big, heavy, and require larger sized reel and line. A longer and stiffer rod is needed to cast these baits out, yet you want a heavy rod, as you don’t want to wear your arms out in the first ten minutes if you plan on fishing all day. A rod dedicated to these bass fishing techniques should be a fast or extra fast action so you can work the bait as it was designed to be, mimic a bluegill or shad in the water.
Rod of Choice:Dobyns Rods Fury 7’9” MH Fast – being that this technique isn’t many anglers’ day in, and day out way of fishing, you don’t need to break the bank on a rod, so the Fury line from Dobyns is a great choice, as you get high quality components, but won’t break the bank. This rod also works great for tossing Alabama rigs around.
Bass live in places that require a rod to get that bass out of heavy cover and battle them to the boat. This is especially true when fishing with a jig and topwater frog. A jig can be fished around stumps, laydowns, boat docks, or vegetation, as a jig allows the angler to put the bait tight to the cover the bass live in. With a topwater frog, you are not only putting your bait in/on the thickest and nastiest cover available, but you are also needing to battle a bass that wants to bury themselves in that cover once they are hooked, this is why you need a heavy powered rod. But with both fishing techniques, you’ll want a rod with a soft tip, so with a jig you can work it along the structure and then feel that bite. With a frog, you need the soft tip, so you properly have your frog walk-the-dog back to the boat.
Rod of Choice:Phenix Feather Casting Rod 7’3” Extra Heavy – Fast– A cross weave of 36- and 40-ton carbon fibers makes this rod strong, yet sensitive, a well-balanced rod that keeps you feeling that bite with a jig or battling a bass out of the slop.
If you have some of these bass fishing rods in your arsenal, that is great! But like a golfer, you can start to fill in the holes in your golf bag (rod locker) with these specialty wedges (fishing rods) so you can round out your bass fishing rod set-ups for this next fishing season.
Selecting the Proper Weight
If you have spent any time casting small baits that don’t weigh much, you know that it is tiresome to put all your effort into casting them any great distance, especially if the wind is blowing towards you. By using a rod that isn’t designed for these small baits, you will be fatiguing yourself cast after cast and by the end of the day you will be physically drained and setting yourself up for shoulder aliments.
By using the proper rod (medium action), you’ll be able to cast that small balsa crankbait further, meaning you can cover more water in a short amount of time, and you can fish that presentation all day without feeling tired or taking a break to let your shoulder rest. Using the right rod will not only aid in your fishing success but also keep you casting and fishing longer without feeling fatigued.
When it comes to flipping, pitching and especially punching mats or heavy vegetation with a heavy tungsten weight Texas-rig or jig, it is paramount that you use a rod that isn’t too lite. If you pair up too lite of a rod with a heavy weighted lure, you’ll absolutely wear out, by using the right weight rod for flipping in these situations you’ll be using the strongest muscle in your arm to do the work, your bicep, instead of your wrist.
The above scenario is how many anglers develop tennis elbow or bursitis in the shoulder, from years of flipping with a rod that is too light, resulting in the rod tip wanting to always be up.
When Selecting a Bass Rod, Keep in mind these 3 major things…
Perks of a Longer Rod: Depending on the type fishing you are doing, especially if you are making long casts, you need a longer rod to pick up more slack in your line prior to setting the hook. Using a longer rod, also aids in an angler being able to make longer casts with monofilament line especially. If you are fishing shallow water or wanting to keep your bait up in the water column above submerged vegetation, a longer rod will bring your lure up in the water column as well.
Butt Length: When selecting a fishing rod, pay attention to the butt length, as a longer (typically 11”) butt allows you to get two hands on it, resulting in more leverage to make long casts. A rod with a short butt (9”) is good in tight quarters to make pinpoint casts when using a lighter action rod.
Casting Lite Lures: If you are casting small lures that don’t weigh much, you’ll want to use a slower action rod as you’ll be able to cast that lure farther.
Don’t stop fine tuning your set up here, head on over to best bass lures and see what I selected to go with your rod of choice.
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I began fishing at the age of two at our family cabin in Prairie Du Chien, WI, located on the mighty Mississippi River. In 2001, I fished my first bass tournament and took first place, from this point on I have been hooked on fishing bass tournaments. I continue to fish tournaments on the Mississippi River, but now also fish tournaments in Minnesota, as well as regional events in KY, TN, and OK. Besides fishing, I take pride in passing on my fishing knowledge on to others through articles, videos, and seminars.
