Which rods for bass fishing?

Question

In Simoncelli · Answer

The best fishing rods usually end up being the ones you use the most because they feel right and have the most application. Each angler chooses a rod a little different based on their fishing preferences, budget, size, age, etc. So one rod never fits everyone and fortunately we have nearly an unlimited supply of fishing rod options out there.

But there are certain things that will make one rod better than another. Often it boils down to materials and processes in the rod build. But it can also come down to brand, length, action, and even price. I have felt really good after purchasing a $300 fishing rod and really bad after purchasing a $99 rod. So a low or high price doesn’t always indicate value.

So let us quickly rundown a few things we consider when evaluating what will be the best fishing rod.

Materials

Obviously some materials are just better than others. Higher modular graphite, additional carbon fiber weaves, even the resin and clear coat can affect a rod’s performance, weight and balance. So higher quality materials to start generally yield a more sensitive rod with a more consistent action that won’t roll against its spline. I tend to like a middle of the road modulus for power techniques and a higher modulus material for more contact techniques.

Price

This is the main determining factor for some folks, but I often advise if the best rod is a little above your budget, just wait a bit and save for the little bit better rod. In my experience, that little higher quality rod will last you a decade if you take care of it. So you are investing in long-term use. And we all want to enjoy our time on the water. Don’t settle for the absolute cheapest gear that is always causing you problems and aggravation on your personal time away from work and stress.

But don’t mistake this advice and believe I won’t grab a $79 rod if it feels like it’s well made and has good action and sensitivity. I have had some dynamite rods under $100 over the years. But typically speaking, I’m staying away from the $29 rods on Amazon.

Length

Length can be personal but most of the time it’s functional. Now if you are doing something like say skipping a jig, then the length of the rod matters in that a rod that is too long for your height can make the technique and process a lot harder on you. That can lead to some long-term wear injuries like should and elbow tendonitis. So consider the technique when choosing your rod length.

I like a shorter rod for techniques where I am going to jerk the rod tip downward like a jerkbait or a topwater lure. So I often reach for a 6-foot, 10-inch rod instead of a 7-foot, 4-inch rod.

Same for throwing a big lure like a deep diving crankbait. I want a longer rod that loads the bait a lot better and gives me a lot more distance on a cast. And, conversely, you want a shorter rod when you are roll casting short casts into tight quarters

Action / Power

We went into depth on rod action and power in a previous article, but to briefly recap, match the rods action to the techniques you like to fish. I will give you a basic six-rod setup in the best rods section below to cover 90% of your fishing. But you want a little more backbone in rods you have to drive a single hook. And a little less in treble hook bait fishing rods. You want more action in a rod you have to work with your hand and arm and less action in a rod where you just straight reel your lure.

Brand

Brand is another one of those personal things, but it can also be a functional thing when it comes to fishing rods because some brands have long storied histories of making good rods — like G. Loomis for example. So you know you are going to get a good rod just starting with a trusted brand. Same could be said for any product you buy.

But some brands also just fit certain anglers style of fishing. Maybe you have a thundering hookset and you require a brand that makes really heavy duty blanks — like Falcon for example. Or maybe you enjoy the more finessey and ultra sensitive type rods and you might lean towards a boutique brand like Megabass.

So brand is always a consideration, but some new brands will really surprise you with their quality and lineups — like Ark and Sixgill for example.

Really there are two main types of conventional rods which are spinning rods and casting rods. Then from there you have specialty rods like fly fishing rods, jigging rods similar to modern day cane poles, travel rods which can be multi-piece versions of the common spinning and casting rods and more.

Spinning rod setups fish with spinning reels. This setup has the reel underneath the rod so there is no need for a grip trigger. So it’s just a straight handle with a locking foregrip to hold the reel in place. A Tennessee handle has two guides that allow you to place a reel where you feel most comfortable on the handle, and then you tape the reel in place with electrical tape. But for the most part, spinning rods incorporate a standard stem-holding reel seat that locks in place with a screw-locking forenut or rear nut.

A casting rod is built with a trigger in the handle that is on the underside and the bait casting or spin cast reel sits on top of it. These rods are made to palm a baitcasting reel in your hand as you fish and the trigger is in place to keep your hand locked on and give you a little more leverage on a hookset. You push the thumb bar to let line out and cast. It takes some practice to learn to cast a baitcaster, but these types of setups have much wider applications because they can manage larger and various types of lines better than a spinning reel can. And you can build higher gear ratio reels with stronger drags generally speaking in baitcaster setups. You basically have a lot more options with baitcasting gear.

We have covered the best rods for crappie fishing already. And we intend to cover the best rods for walleye fishing and the best rods for catfishing. And eventually the best fly fishing rods. But considering largemouth bass is the most commonly chased freshwater game fish, and a good all-around bass rod can be used to fish for trout, crappie, catfish, walleye and more. This best fishing rod list will focus primarily around bass fishing.

About 9 years ago, I came up with the simple 6-rod and reel system for bass fishing. You can basically have six combos of rods and reels that would cover the larger majority of bass fishing and freshwater fishing techniques. I have revamped those original articles to come up with the best fishing rods for bass fishing today.

I think a good casting rod that can handle spinnerbaits, ChatterBaits and swim jigs is very handy rod for bass fishermen. I call it the “winding rod” because these are all baits that you just wind through cover shallow. So you need some finesse to direct your bait along a letdown or through some grass stalks, but you need some back bone to drive the hook.

A 6-foot, 10-inch rod is perfect for most anglers because you roll cast a lot with these baits to specific targets and lanes. If you bomb cast more with these baits where you fish, you might want a little more length on your rod.

This rod will match well with 15-17 pound fluorocarbon line or 30-40 pound braided line depending on what baits you will throw. It can also handle some light duty frog or heavier topwaters as well.

Some guys like a medium action rod for spinnerbaits and ChatterBaits but a medium heavy rod gives you more control of the fish in tight quarters and around obstructions like laydowns, stumps, dock posts, etc.

Every bass fisherman should own a sensitive and strong jig worm rod. This rod will have a good back bone with a little bit of tip action to accurately cast worms to cover or offshore targets. Most anglers will want a Medium Heavy power and a Fast action on this combo. A little more length will give you better casting and more ability to pick up line on a long cast to set a strong hook at distance.

A longer 7-foot to 7-foot, 4-inch rod usually suffices for this technique. Medium Heavy power gives you some flexibility with casting. If you want to step up to Heavy it won’t be as accurate casting but it could double as a flipping and pitching rod too.

A 12-pound to 17-pound line fluorocarbon line is best on this rod.

Anglers should place a lot of emphasis on a solid jerkbait / topwater rod. This is one rod where it pays to have it be higher quality. A lot of the other rods you are just holding in one place most of the day. Or you are just slowly lifting and lowering when you fish. But a good jerkbait rod needs to be very precise with its casting with hard to throw lures. And same with a topwater. And then you spend all day working the rod with lots of jerks and pauses. So a heavy rod or one that is out of balance can make for a long day of uncomfortable fishing.

This is another place where a shorter rod can help because you are constantly jerking the rod down towards the water all day. A longer rod can get problematic. A shorter rod will generally respond quicker and be lighter as a result.

A 6-foot, 6-inch to 6-foot, 10-inch rod fishes well for most anglers for jerkbaits and small topwaters. If you are going to throw bigger topwaters a little longer rod with a bit more backbone might be better.

This rod will generally have lighter line or smaller braid. Something like 10 to 12 pound fluorocarbon during jerkbait season works well, and a lighter 12-14 pound monofilament or 30 pound braid fits better for topwater season.

We already covered the best jerkbait rods in our other piece, but here is our quick rundown of some of our favorite topwater rods.

Generally speaking, you will want a medium power rod with a moderate action to handle the wobble and pull of crankbaits with a lower gear-ratio reel paired with it. A 7-foot rod is a good starting place for an all-purpose crankbait rod. I will lean to a lighter medium light power and shorter rod for small shallow crankbaits and a longer medium to medium heavy power moderate action for bigger deep diving crankbaits. So a 7-foot medium is a good all-purpose middle of the road.

This rod will load when a fish sucks in the bait and give you a split second extra time for the bass to close their mouth and then load the rod to drive the hooks smoothly. You don’t have to set a hard whip crack hookset with these rods but rather just lean into the fish hard when it loads.

Normally this rod will have 10 to 12-pound fluorocarbon on it.

A good flipping rod starts at 7-foot lengths and can go all the way to 8-foot lengths for flipping in grass. And a good swimbait rod starts at about 7-foot, 6-inch lengths and goes to 8 foot or longer lengths. I will say that most of of the time I am using a different rod for flipping than I am for throwing swimbaits.

But if you want to keep the budget to a minimum you can get by with a flipping rod that can handle 2 ounce baits. That works well for throwing baits like big soft swimbaits on Weighted Beast Hooks, or pre-rigged soft swimbaits as well as big swimbaits on lead heads like the Scottsboro Tackle swimbait on a 1-ounce head for fishing offshore.

And you can punch 1 ounce weights with small beaver baits through matted grass or pitch 3/8 ounce bullet weights with creature baits into bushes.

I like 20-25 pound fluorocarbon for flipping or a heavy braided line for flipping heavy grass. And I like a 20-pound fluorocarbon for bigger soft swimbaits and a 20-pound copolymer line for smaller hard swimbaits and glide baits.

The final rod every angler should have and maybe even start with when getting into bass fishing is a good spinning rod and reel combo that can handle lighter finesse techniques like Ned rigs, Neko rigs, drop shots, wacky rigs, spy baits, small swimbaits and even cranking small finesse crankbaits like Shad Raps. And this rod can also catch crappie, walleye, panfish, catfish and more. So it’s a jack of all trades rod for freshwater fishing.

A medium power rod with a fast action with a 7-foot length gets the job done for most people. And a 10 to 20-pound braided line, with a fluorocarbon leader serves almost all the purposes well.

With these 6 rods you can cover almost all of the situations in bass fishing. You will have to change lines on some reels to use these rods for double duty throughout the different seasons. But these rods can also fish a lot of other lures we didn’t mention like blade baits, frogs, spoons, etc.

So you can do a lot with these 6 rods and obviously they way one angler fishes is different from another. So you may want 4 crankbait rods and now big swimbait rod. Or you might want all spinning rods and reels. This is just a guide to the most popular techniques and the best rods for each as well as some specific suggestions on the best rods we like in each of these categories that we have personal experience with.

1 Piece vs 2 piece fishing rods?

Used to a one-piece rod was far superior to two-piece rod because you had issues with rigidity and the ferrels fraying and breaking over time. But today’s two-piece rods have improved greatly and most of my two-piece rods are just as good as my one-piece rods but with the added benefit of being able to travel with me in a car or plane a lot easier. But generally speaking, I opt for a 1-piece for most of my main core bass fishing rods for more durability and fluid performance throughout.

What length rod is best?

I think for bass fishing, a 7-foot rod is hard to beat. Bass are fast and vicious predators so they can move quickly to take a bait and introduce slack. A 7-foot rod can take up a lot of line and drive a solid hookset even at distance. Shorter rods can be a little more precise in tight quarters and a longer rod can get you a bit more distance, but 7 feet is a great place to rest for bass fishing rods.

What rod can catch the most different types of fish?

I think a 7-foot spinning rod in a medium or medium light power and fast action can double duty as a great bass rod, crappie rod, trout rod, bluegill rod, walleye rod and even catfish rod. I wouldn’t want to fight a 30-pound blue or flathead on it. But it will catch you plenty of channel cats. But a 7-foot medium spinning rod can do a lot. A medium light can throw lighter baits for panfish better and is what I use most of the time for crappie fishing.

Jahi Bouché · Answer

This can make it difficult to throw together a good kit that’s fun and effective to use.

However, while lures, lines, and terminal tackle can be overwhelming, they’re not as impactful on your fishing experience as you think. Choosing one brand of creature bait over another because it has a slightly longer tail mostly comes down to personal taste and the good old “Well, this caught my personal record” mindset that every fisherman is bound to fall into. In reality, just about any of that can be used effectively depending on your skill level.

No, the real piece of equipment that makes a very noticeable difference is your rod. The rod dictates how fast and hard you can set the hook, how far you can cast accurately, how comfortable your fishing experience is, and yes, how your lures perform under the water; among a number of other things such as how easily you can tell what’s happening beneath the surface.

Sure, smaller factors such as jighead shapes, lure sizes, line types, and other things can have small impacts on those characteristics, but most of it comes from the rod itself.

So, we're going to lay out everything you need to know about buying a bass rod so you can start lipping your personal-best bass in no time.

Let’s get started.

First, let's get this out of the way. There isn't a "best rod" for bass fishing. There are so many bass fishing techniques you can use, and each one typically benefits more from one-rod configuration than another. So, any time you pick up a rod, it's going to excel at one or two techniques, but you'll be sacrificing performance with other techniques. Not to mention, certain features work better with some lures than they do others.

This is why many professional, and even die-hard average anglers, have a set of two, three, or even more rods that go with them on every trip. They can switch them out on the fly depending on which technique they’re using at a given time. They might have a heavy, slightly shorter, rod for skipping frogs on the surface, a medium rod for throwing weightless worms and flukes, a medium-heavy rod for jigs, and a medium-light for when they simply want to skim some inline spinners through the water for some quick fun.

While there isn’t a magic rod that will do everything you can possibly ask of it flawlessly, you can get pretty close by figuring out exactly what techniques you prefer to use and buying a rod that compliments those techniques as much as possible. You don’t have to immediately outfit yourself with several rods for several techniques and take out a second mortgage to afford it all. It comes down to finding, not the best rod, but the best rod for you and what you’re doing.

When you’re narrowing down your rod selection to one that’s truly going to serve you well, there are a number of things to consider besides the rod’s traits.

As we touched on earlier, there are tons of different fishing techniques you can use to catch bass, and each one will work better with a certain type of rod.

Because of this, you need to figure out what type of bass fishing you want to do, and that will largely be determined by the ponds and lakes you fish in.

Are your local water holes rock-bottomed with tons of natural and synthetic debris you’re likely to get caught on? Opting for something that’s best at throwing spinners and other snag-prone baits probably isn’t a good idea unless you want half your tackle box to end up wrapped around various underwater debris. Instead, you might want something more suitable for topwater baits and jigs that can maneuver around those obstacles far easier.

However, if you have relatively good fishing holes with few snag risks and plenty of weeds and visible brush piles to fish around, something more conducive for tossing flashy spinners, crankbaits, and other lures that you can zip past those structures and draw aggressive bites with will probably be a better choice than just hopping jigs across the bottom at random.

If you can develop an understanding of the fishing holes you’re most likely to frequent and the techniques that work best at those holes, you will have an easier time finding a rod that serves you better than any other rod on the market.

You’re highly unlikely to pick up a ¼-ounce jig and fall so in love with it that you only throw ¼-ounce jigs from here on out. You’ll want to try different sizes during different seasons, or you might even want to go weightless with some soft-plastic lures from time to time for a very natural presentation. This makes it a little more difficult to narrow your rod choice down to just a single rod.

If you look at the markings on the blank of the rod, you'll notice that, beyond the rod's power and action ratings, there is a suggestion label for what line and lure weight you should use with the rod. Going under that weight can easily cause your casting distance to suffer, and going over it can lead to your rod looking like a whippy noodle bopping around all over the place as you pull the lure back in; ruining your ability to detect bites effectively.

Luckily, rods tend to have a weight range for the lures they're rated to throw effectively. So, if you're stuck buying one rod, you're not just stuck with one size of the lure.

You can narrow down what size of lure you’ll be using, in terms of weight, but looking at the technique you’re focused on. If you’re throwing mid-sized jigs, you’ll usually want a rod rated for ¼ to 1-ounce lures. With that, you can easily throw the majority of jigs you’ll want to try, larger crankbaits will be within that range, and you can even throw soft-plastic lures if you take advantage of the Texas rig or Carolina rig to add a bit of weight to them. You don’t tend to get into heavier lures until you start throwing bigger spoons and swimbaits. However, keep in mind that you’ll be making a sacrifice. If you notice that the fish are biting on smaller or lighter baits such as weightless worms, you won’t get the casting distance you’re used to.

If you’re a bit on the short side, whipping an 8-foot rod around can be a bit of a hassle. It can be done, and it often is with something such as crappie fishing, but you cast a lot more often with bass fishing, and you’ll likely find yourself in a lot of on-the-bank spots that make manipulating larger rods an infuriating experience regardless of your size.

You still need an appropriate rod length to get the casting distance and accuracy you need, though. If you’re on the shorter side, a 6’6” rod to a 7’ rod is probably ideal. For taller individuals, you can really leverage a 7’6” or 8’ rod in your favor. There are some specialty rods that are 5’ or 6’, but those probably won’t be what you’re choosing from for a general bass rod that you want to use 99% of the time. It’s best to stick with the average rod lengths if you’re just starting out and looking for one rod that handles all your needs effectively.

Finally, you need to consider whether you’ll be using a spinning reel or a baitcaster. If you’re a beginner fisherman, you’ll likely want a spinning rod. Spinning reels are easier to use, and as long as you pick the right size for the rod you’re using, they can more or less handle the same lures as a baitcaster.

Once you’ve figured that out, look at your rod blank before purchasing it. Does it have a “hook” near where your hand will rest? That’s a casting rod. If it doesn’t, and it has larger eyelets, it’s a spinning rod.

Alright, you now know what you need to look at before settling on a rod. As you can see, there are a lot of considerations to make, and we cannot possibly cover rod configurations for every possibility in just one article.

Instead, here are three rod configurations that will serve you perfectly for the three most common techniques; this way, you can choose the technique you want to use, and you can pick up a rod that matches our recommendations.

A bag of soft-plastic lures in a variety of colors, some worm hooks, and perhaps a couple of light bullet weights is a combination that is sure to produce a good day of fishing. They can be used practically anywhere thanks to weedless hooking techniques, and they provide an ultra-realistic presentation. Not to mention, soft-plastic lures are cheap and perfect for beginners and pros alike.

If you want to take this route with your fishing, pick up a rod that matches the following specs:

With that setup, you’ll be able to not only toss your soft-plastic lures weightless or Texas rigged with efficiency, but you’ll also be able to begin branching out into small to mid-sized cranks and jerk baits as you develop your skills. As an added bonus, on a bad day, this is perfectly fine for tossing on an inline spinner or BeetleSpin and picking up some panfish. On the flip side, these rods tend to be a bit whippy, and you’ll have to set your hook a lot harder to pierce a bass’s lip.

If you want a really flexible rod that can handle heavier lures, this recommendation is for you.

This setup can easily throw heavier lures such as jigs and swimbaits, and it's stiff enough to handle the big blowups that topwater frogs produce. The fast-action tip will help you detect less aggressive bites, and you'll have plenty of control for making small, natural movements when bouncing your jigs around. The fiberglass blank is less sensitive compared to graphite, but it's also less likely to develop micro-fissures that will eventually snap your rod when a big bass latches on, and the fast-action tip will help offset that loss of sensitivity.

Finally, we have a rod recommendation for the really big baits you’ll want to throw when targeting record-breaking bass. These are the large swimbaits that tend to be far out of the price range of a beginner angler, and if you’re reading this, you’re likely not going to use these. However, we have a recommendation, regardless.

The blank material isn’t as important with this one. If a largemouth is big enough to latch onto a 9-inch, 3-ounce swimbait, you’re going to know it’s there. You also don’t want too flimsy of a tip, or the swimbait will drag it everywhere as it moves around; plus, a slightly stiffer tip will help set the hook without you having to dang-near rip its jaw off with your hook set. There are some major drawbacks to this type of rod, and it’s not ideal for average fishermen, though. You’ll have a lot of problems throwing some of the most common lures, you lose a lot of finesse ability, and the sensitivity of a rod like this is nowhere near on par with a lighter rod. However, if you’re patiently targeting the big boys, this is the way to go.

Gitesh India · Answer

7-foot, medium-action spinning rod. This is going to be the “bread and butter” rod for many anglers. 7-foot, medium-heavy casting rod. Versatility and power is the name of the game with this rod. 7-foot, heavy-action casting rod. This rod is going to be your “meat stick”.

Remi Nossiter · Answer