Professional bass anglers travel with plenty of fishing rods, and their boats and trucks are stocked with everything they may see on the water, plus backups in case one gets damaged. But sometimes, they must downsize and bring just the necessities, such as when Justin Lucas and other Major League Fishing pros travel to Team Series events and can only pack so much into a league-issued boat.
That's the situation Lucas found himself in just days before he and teammate Brent Ehrler took the win in Louisiana. Lucas packed light, chose rods and reels that do multiple things, and came up with a group of five setups that can cover just about everything.
#1 - 7-foot, 3-inch Medium Heavy Casting Rod
Lucas had no hesitation when he chose this rod, mainly because of its versatility. He pairs this with a 6.8:1 Abu Garcia Zenon MG-X reel and says the speed is suitable for any moving bait he chooses.
"This one's pretty easy for me to choose, whether it's an Abu Garcia Fantasista or Veritas, whatever rod in the lineup," he said. "That length and power is a workhorse for bass fishing, and you can fish a jig, spinnerbait, or lipless on it. You could also use it for a vibrating jig, swim jig, just all around it's a great size rod for many different lures."
#2 – 7-foot, 6-inch Heavy Casting Rod
This beefier rod does a lot for Lucas as well. "You can punch with that rod or throw a heavier Texas Rig with it, again throughout any of the rods in the Abu lineup," he said. "It's also a good rod for swimbaits, glide baits, and frogs when you are fishing over thick mats and need to make long casts."
For this combo, he reels fast and uses the 10.1:1 Abu Garcia Revo Rocket. "I mainly like a faster reel for flipping, so you can get that bait back in quickly after you make a flip," he said. "It's also good when you are throwing a frog and making a long cast because often there's just a small zone where you're going to get a bite. You can fish the frog through that area and then burn it back in to make another cast."
#3 – 7-foot Medium Casting Rod
This rod is primarily used for jerkbaits, but it's also fine for many crankbaits. "I normally like a longer crankbait rod to make longer casts, but this size is great for shallow divers, say anything that dives less than 10-feet deep," he said.
Lucas can use any Abu Garcia rod that he pleases, but chooses one of the more budget-friendly options, the Veritas, for his moving baits. "For these techniques, it's not all about sensitivity," he began. "The Veritas is still sensitive, but not as much as the higher-end Fantasista models. For a crankbait and jerkbait, you don't need the most expensive rod because you are working the bait with the tip of the rod and picking up the slack with the reel. I like the Abu Garcia Zenon MG-X in the 6.8:1 ratio; it's an excellent reel for casting lighter baits."
#4 7-foot, 1-inch Medium Spinning Rod
This is a good all-around spinning rod, and Lucas says it can handle many techniques. "That's a great size and power for most drop-shot rigs when you are nose hooking the bait," he said. "It's also what I use for my jighead minnow fishing, and it could also work for a Neko Rig."
#5 7-foot Medium Heavy Spinning Rod
A slightly heavier spinning rod also gets a lot of work done for Lucas. "I like a little heavier rod when I'm fishing a drop-shot rig, but Texas-rigging the bait when I'm fishing around cover," he said. "This rod also works very well for a Neko Rig and Shaky Head. Really, with those two spinning rods, you can cover all your bases for finesse fishing."
For both of these spinning setups, he prefers a 3000-sized Abu Garcia Zenon X reel. "That's all I throw now for all of my spinning stuff. The 3000 size is only a little bit bigger body than a 2500, but it picks up a few more inches of line per handle turn, so it's a faster reel," he said. "The main thing with spinning gear is you are working the bait with your rod, whether it's shaking a minnow or Neko, the rod is doing the work, and the reel is just there to take up the slack. By having a faster reel, you can get that slack a little bit quicker."
It can be hard to narrow your rods down to just a few, but it can be done. The five rods and reels that Lucas mentions above are workhorse rods that can handle several techniques and do them all very well.
Advertising