Baits are definitely a different story.  They are going to use whatever they think they need to use to win.  I'd say most use sponsors products the majority of the time but not 100% of the time.  For example, Edwin Evers won on the Alabama River this year with Bomber crankbaits even though he was sponsored by Megabass and not Pradco anymore.  In his interviews he said he caught a lot of his fish on a "medium diving crankbait," he didn't lie about what he was using but he didn't tell the whole story either.

I don't have have any of the channels right now that carry the fishing shows but when I did, I noticed a few guys using Loomis rods with the tag still wrapped around the handle.

 

For example, the young guy that won a tournament at Okeechobee, his dad was murdered at the convience store that he owned near Lake Okeechobee, he was using a Loomis flippin stick with the tag still wrapped around the handle. Whenever I see a used Loomis on ebay that still has the tag on the handle, I always wonder if it was used in a tournament and they are selling to recoup some money.