Photo: B.A.S.S.
Bassmaster Elite Series pro Keith Combs has amassed over $1 million dollars in career earnings in B.A.S.S. events, pocketing $100 grand for a 2013 win on Falcon Lake in his home state of Texas. Combs is a seven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier and the winner of the 2017 Bassmaster Angler of the Year championship.
His on the water cred, shows he knows how to catch ‘em and here he shares his insight on the gear he throws to catch ‘em with.
REACTION WORKHORSE
For fishing reaction baits, Combs has a tried-and-true combo spooled up and ready to fish anything from swim jigs and vibrating jigs, to working topwater plugs or jerkbaits.
“The Shimano Expride A 7’2”, a medium-heavy rod is just a great all-purpose bass fishing rod,” explained Combs.”
The Expride has a fast tip allowing you to impart action in the bait, but still plenty of backbone for when you are fishing around heavy cover. It works regardless of what type of fishing line you are throwing.
“I always have a few of these rods in the boat, as I know it will work for the majority of presentations I’ll be using,” commented Combs. “This way rigging up rods is easy and takes up a lot less time.”
The Texas pro will go down to the 6’10” medium-heavy when he fishes a jerkbait or topwater plug, as the shorter rod allows him to work the bait with a quick downward motion of the rod.
To complete his all-around rod choice, he goes with the technologically advanced Shimano Curado 150 DC reel.
“This reel is virtually backlash free, which is important should you need to be casting a bait into the wind,” he said.
The 7.4:1 gear ratio is a great all-around gear ratio as Combs can slow his retrieve if needed. Even if he is reeling in a bait at a normal pace, the amount of line coming in is enough to catch up with a fast-moving hooked bass.
READ RELATED: New for 2020 from Shimano
VERSATILE CRANKER
Combs a well-known and successful crankbait fisherman. The 7’, medium, fiberglass Shimano Curado cranking rod is Combs’ go-to rod for throwing any type of crankbaits, from shallow running squarebills to lipless crankbaits and up to 6XD’s.
“The fiberglass rod allows me to make a long cast, which allows my crankbait to hit its maximum diving depth,” said Combs. “Also, with the fiberglass, the rod loads up and has a nice parabolic bend; so, it gives when a fish bites the crank and then makes a surge at the boat.”
On his cranking stick, Combs pairs the Shimano Curado 200K reel, as it can hold 110 yards of 14 -pound-test line. This large amount of line aids in making long casts. The 7.4:1 gear ratio allows him to bring any crank in with a nice steady retrieve.
READ RELATED: Matt Allen Breaks Down Three Popular Reels
FLIPPIN’ AND PITCHIN’
As Combs heads to the bank, to pick apart cover, such as laydowns, boat docks or scattered vegetation, his favorite rod and reel for flippin’/pitchin’ is a 7’5”, heavy Shimano Zodias 175.
This rod has the backbone to get a good bass out of the thick stuff; but has a soft tip and is nimble enough to be used in tight quarters.
“This isn’t the rod I’ll use when punching mats, but this is the rod that I’ll use 90 percent of the time, when I’m covering water,” commented Combs.
He adds the high-end Shimano Metanium DC reel to this rod, as it is super-smooth for making effortless pitches, has a 7.4:1 gear ratio to pick up line as a bass runs off with his bait and only weighs 6.7-ounces to reduce fatigue
The reel doesn’t hold as much line as some of the other models he uses; but for flippin’ and pitchin’, so that he can quickly spool up fresh line and not have to strip off a bunch of unused line.
READ RELATED: Rod and Reel Development at Shimano
FINESSING A SPINNING COMBO
When Combs needs to turn to finesse fishing with a spinning rod, his choice is a Shimano Expride 7’3”, medium-heavy or the shorter 7’ medium-heavy.
“This rod is a great all-purpose spinning rod for bass fishing,” Combs explained. “This is ideal for the bass angler who primarily relies on casting tackle but needs to keep that lone spinning rod in the rod locker.”
The longer 7’3” allows, Combs to make long casts with his baits, which is key in situations when the water is clear. The shorter 7’ rod is his rod of choice when needing to skip docks.
On either of these rods, Combs utilizes a Shimano Stradic Ci4+ 2500 spinning reel. This reel is super-smooth with seven bearings and only weighs 6.7-ounces; so, you can make cast after cast with ultra-light baits.
“Plus, it won’t break the bank,” added Combs. “So, if you aren’t a ‘spinning combo guy’, you can still use a top of the line reel, and not have to worry about it sitting in your rod locker unused.”
These are a few of the go-to rods, Combs put to use this season.