Ok, so I got a new to me boat, nothing fancy, tracker 170. My question is what rod and reels can you guys not live without? I have fished off the bank for years but now the lake has opened up and I can fish where I couldn't before. Seems like endless possibilities. I'm only asking about bass set ups, I have crappie and catfish rods covered. As of right now I have A Lew's 7.1:1 reel on a Lew's laser 7' MH fast action rod, I use it mostly for Texas rigs. I have a Lew's laser mg 6.4:1 reel on a 6'6" Berkeley lightning rod I use for mostly crankbaits and rattle traps. Then my last bass rod is a shimano slx DC 7.2:1 on a shimano slx 6'10" MH extra fast action rod, and to be honest I don't know what this rod would be best suited for but right now I throw everything on it. What should my next one be? Heavy for punching/frogging, a medium light for finesse, or something completely different? I will mostly be fishing on lake guntersville in Alabama, thanks in advance.

Fishing from a boat I find it handy to have 2 different tx rigged baits ready to go.  Different weights, different shapes, different colors, something different, just to give yourself a quick option when you're pitching at stuff.   That is what I'd use that 6'10" rod for.

Ask yourself, what is my favorite technique OR what is it that I see guys catching fish on that I don't have.   Then get that.  Rod arsenals are built up over time.

Option #b - A good way to find decent rods inexpensively it to wander into any pawn shop you see, just to see what they got in terms of tackle.  Every so often you will find a gem relatively inexpensively.  This is the one situation where I will buy a rod and then figure out what I want to use it for.

Sooner or later, from what I hear about Guntersville, you're going to need a frog rod, probably going to need an A-rig rod.   A decent spinning rig to throw shakey heads, drop shot, stuff like that can save the day.  It has been a long time since I've had a great day throwing lighter baits/finesse stuff.  However, many days the finesse gear can turn a stinking day into an ok or decent day and that's why always make room for it in my boat.

As much as I would rather power fish (chatterbait, jig, Texas rig, frog, etc.), I always have a couple spinning set ups in the boat.  These have not only saved the day a number of times just catching lethargic bass, but we have won some money with big fish in tournaments on them as well.  A senko, as cliche as it is, is a bait I will ALWAYS have tied on.  I use it as a finesse bait, a follow up bait, Weedless, wacky, everything bait.  So, I would grab a 6’6”-7’0” spinning rod with 10-15 lb. braid and fluoro leader and add another new element to your fishing. 

My favorite way to fish is hands down Texas rig, but frogs in pads is a close 2nd. To me it seems like throwing a frog is for certain times of the day but Texas rig is anytime of the day. To me it sounds like both of you are leaning more towards a finesse set up to be the next one to get. I do like the idea of having 2 Texas rigged rods on the boat and that probably is what the 6'10" rod will become, the dc reel it is paired with would be great for skipping under docks with jigs and stuff too. I guess my next 2 will be a finesse set up, then a heavy set up for frogs, and jigs in thick cover, after that probably get something for heavier crankbaits bc my crankbait rod is just a medium. Not sure what to do after that, but by that time I'm sure I will have found out what I need to fill in gaps. I haven't been able to fish on boats a whole lot so I don't have much experience with finesse or heavy set ups and didn't know which would be more important. I appreciate it

 

Most rods are capable of successfully fishing several types of lures.  For the most part it is us that are pigeon holing rods for specific techniques.  I'm sure my dedicated frog rod would have no problem fishing some other types of lures.  I just don't need it for anything else.

 

MF and MHF are versatile rods.  I feel that Moderate-Fast or Medium-Fast actions are also quite versatile.

 

Take a look at the Zolo Toadface, Deputy, Dream and McSmalls.  All versatile rods.  We have so many excellent options today that trying to narrow our choices to one or two brands is tough.

 

It need not say G.Loomis, St. Croix, Dobyns, Shimano, Daiwa or Megabass on the blank to be an excellent rod.  Especially if you take price into consideration.

18 hours ago, Corey91 said:

Ok, so I got a new to me boat, nothing fancy, tracker 170. My question is what rod and reels can you guys not live without? I have fished off the bank for years but now the lake has opened up and I can fish where I couldn't before. Seems like endless possibilities. I'm only asking about bass set ups, I have crappie and catfish rods covered. As of right now I have A Lew's 7.1:1 reel on a Lew's laser 7' MH fast action rod, I use it mostly for Texas rigs. I have a Lew's laser mg 6.4:1 reel on a 6'6" Berkeley lightning rod I use for mostly crankbaits and rattle traps. Then my last bass rod is a shimano slx DC 7.2:1 on a shimano slx 6'10" MH extra fast action rod, and to be honest I don't know what this rod would be best suited for but right now I throw everything on it. What should my next one be? Heavy for punching/frogging, a medium light for finesse, or something completely different? I will mostly be fishing on lake guntersville in Alabama, thanks in advance.

Congrats on the boat!  That is what I have, bought it last summer.  Like you said nothing fancy, but a very good boat!  Good luck!

I use the same rods in the boat that I use on the bank cause I spend a lot of time in shallow water to me ain’t much difference good to have all around use rods use whatever’s comfortable for you 

I have a tracker 170 also.

Being a smaller boat I don't use very long rods because of the space available. My longest rod is 7'3". Most of my rods are 7'2" or less.

I usually carry rods for what I plan to fish or what is hot at the moment. If the crankbait bite is hot, I'll carry several different cranking setups. If its topwaters, then several different topwater setups. And so on.

If I'm testing the waters, I'll carry one for each technique I think the fish may want. Of course each lake is different. Stick to your favorite techniques and fine tune them as you go.