I feel naked and underprivileged.   Please list them.

5 minutes ago, cyclops2 said:

Please list them.

 

I would like to see this list?

 

Sounds cynical, but one spinning and one casting set up will do the job

 

now, if you’re taking about tournament bass fishing , taking the time to retie or change baits is a clock burner 

 

can’t catch em unless your baits wet 

I have my share of rods. This bass fishing is a disease. A sickness. Hope I stay sick. 
 

But there is a lot of hype to it. And truly would hate to see anyone get bit real hard and start to buy everything and anything in site that comes along only to struggle with bills, kids and family obligations. We are in a weird economic situation right now. 
 

I’m overkill and admit it. I’m not on a pro circuit. I could do what I do with a lot less. Nothing I can do now. Sell stuff off? Sooner give it to my kids, grandkids and son-in-laws. 

Thanks everyone. I have enough bass rods for different conditions.  4 alone are for trolling in very different waters.   

Geezeritis rules in old age.

58 minutes ago, cyclops2 said:

I feel naked and underprivileged.   Please list them.

Then you definitely don't have enough.  The Bait Monkey never has too many friends.    And you also have to have multiple rods of each type or you haven't made it. 

 

I'm a long ways from an Elite Bassman, so I guess I don't qualify to leave a list.  It would be too long anyway. 

Depends on where, when, and how you are fishing. Ironically, the more "elite" you are, the fewer rods you can get away with...

MF spinning rod

MH casting rod

H casting rod

XH casting rod

 

Change line for different conditions and baits, adjust drag accordingly, and there isn't much you can't do with these four, but BLEEP that.

 

 

I have 5 casting rods and 4 spinning rods. I feel like I have everything I need for the techniques I use.

6

Amateur bassman here, I've got about 15 setups.

The mindset of what is needed to be an elite angler and have it relate to gear is what will make someone never reach elite angler status

35 minutes ago, ChrisO91 said:

I have 5 casting rods and 4 spinning rods. I feel like I have everything I need for the techniques I use.

For bass fishing - I have 6 casting, 4 spinning for the boat; 1 casting, 2 spinning for bank fishing,

 

I also have 3 dedicated crappie spinning rigs and two of the boat-spinning rigs can be used there too - so 5 spinning for crappie fishing.

 

16 rigs in total.

8 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

The mindset of what is needed to be an elite angler and have it relate to gear is what will make someone never reach elite angler status

 

I promise you'll never become an elite bass angler with a 6' medium-light action spinning pole as your only weapon...

Just 1.

You can only fish 1 at a time.

I believe Bill Murphy states he used 2 rods in his book In Pursuit of Giant Bass ... that's as elite as it gets in my book 

Elite tournament bass pro’s only need what is working at the moment plus a spare. Every lake a traveling pro fishes may require a different rod/reel/line combo plus a backup.

Eg, it’s a heavy cover flipping, pitching, punching bite, need those combo’s. It’s a heavy weed mat frog bite, need that combo. It’s a clear water drop shot bite, need that outfits. A jerk bait bite, a deep, medium, shallow, big, small crank bait bite, structure spoon, dog walking bite, a popper bite, a buzz bait, spinner bait, plooper, Jig, worm, small, medium , big swimbaits, wake baits.....you need all of the above. 

Elite bass pro could get by with 20 combos.

Tom

 

Rick Clunn, whom I would consider elite, stated several years ago that he fished with a 7 foot heavy rod for ALL applications.  He uses/d the same rod with the same reel so every setup felt identical in hand.  The only item that varied in his setups was the line used.  He believed he could effectively fish any technique he used this way, including crankbaits.

 

He's right about this too.  I have noticed that the same rod with different types and sizes of line produces completely different actions.  

 

 

Rick Clunn is the GOAT during his career time period when B.A.S.S. tournaments were held in the heartland states where you only needed heavier action rods and casting reels.

Denny Brauer, Roland Marten, Dee Thomas*, etc could get by with few rods because they only needed a few rods.

Today the traveling tournament pro needs to add spinning outfits for example to be competitive fishing deep clear water structure lakes for Smallmouth bass and LMB.

Rick Clunn competed in the U.S. Open at lake Mead using spinning tackle for example. *Dee Thomas only needed 1 flipping combo, that is all he used.

When a Elite bass angler is fishing lakes in his wheel house a few combo’s is all that is needed. Today’s Elite anglers travel all over the country, no longer fishing the same circuit of lakes as they did in the past.

Tom

 

 

1 hour ago, flyfisher said:

The mindset of what is needed to be an elite angler and have it relate to gear is what will make someone never reach elite angler status

Oh good, so it's not just me. 

46 minutes ago, Mr. Bassin II said:

Rick Clunn, whom I would consider elite, stated several years ago that he fished with a 7 foot heavy rod for ALL applications.  He uses/d the same rod with the same reel so every setup felt identical in hand.  The only item that varied in his setups was the line used.  He believed he could effectively fish any technique he used this way, including crankbaits.

 

He's right about this too.  I have noticed that the same rod with different types and sizes of line produces completely different actions.  

 

 

I remember when he went through this phase (although I thought it was all MH's).  All it showed me was that no matter how old you are,  you continue to go through different phases in your approach to bass fishing.  

50 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

The mindset of what is needed to be an elite angler and have it relate to gear is what will make someone never reach elite angler status

A person will need more than an elite mindset to punch mats or pitch jigs into heavy cover. 

2 hours ago, Deleted account said:

Depends on where, when, and how you are fishing. Ironically, the more "elite" you are, the fewer rods you can get away with...

...says the man with 300 rods.?

4 hours ago, PhishLI said:

...says the man with 300 rods.?

Only a hand full are bass rods, let's not get crazy...

My dedicated LI sound porgy rods on the other hand...  

6 hours ago, ajschn06 said:

 

I promise you'll never become an elite bass angler with a 6' medium-light action spinning pole as your only weapon...

And i promise you that has zero relevance to my comment.  I'd also make a guess that not many elite fisherman refer to their fishing apparati as poles either.  

Your skill, ability and techniques used will dictate what gear you need if you want to get to elite level in anything.  Your gear will never make you elite in anything.

5 hours ago, PhishLI said:

A person will need more than an elite mindset to punch mats or pitch jigs into heavy cover. 

...says the man with 300 rods.?

yup but if you don't know how to use that technique and when to use it, you can have 50 punching combos of the highest level and it won't even matter.   Elite guys can catch fish, period.  The gear is important, sure but it isn't as important as we think it is.