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Making Sense of Your Bass Outfits

Bass fishermen are a funny breed. Psychiatrists would call us obsessive for all the fretting we do about equipment. Weather forecasters might think us imbalanced to fish in rain and wind. IRS auditors may use the word “compulsive” to describe the money we spend on our obsession.

Fortunately for our sport, we just don't care what any of these people think. We behave this way because we just can't help it.

A few bass fishermen buy identical reels and stick with one brand of rod in various actions and lengths for all their fishing needs. The people mentioned above would consider these fishermen the sane ones.

However, most fishermen have accumulated a hodgepodge of brands over the years due to their irresistible urges to try something new and spend more money. This describes most of us.

Every winter I go through a ritual, caused mostly by the boredom of Illinois winters, which involves matching my reels and rods together for the coming season.

At the end of each season I assess how my outfits worked. Last year, for instance, I felt the combinations worked well for me. The year before, I was disappointed because I wasn't satisfied with my overall fishing success and lure presentation.

Much of this opinion is based on my fishing success for the year, how many reels malfunctioned, how many fish were lost or not hooked, how many rods broke, etc. It's human nature to find excuses for a lack of success, but each year I try to reevaluate my rod and reel combinations.

Prior to each fishing season I promise myself that I will try more techniques, such as fish more crankbaits, spend more time pitching jigs, try a drop shot rig, or use a wider variety of soft plastics. There is a different list each year, but there is always a list. Thus, the way I pair up my rods and reels changes, at least slightly, every year.

There's nothing magical about my choices. They fit my preferences, the water I fish, and my past experience. I prefer to fish a buzzbait on a medium light action 5 1/2-foot rod. Many choose longer rods for buzzing. Most bass pros recommend a high-speed reel for worm or jig fishing, but I prefer a slower reel that helps me slow down my retrieve.

My first step in matching rods and reels is to decide what task that I want each combination to accomplish. These tasks include casting and flipping/pitching worms and jigs, casting spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, shallow crankbaits, deep-diving crankbaits, soft plastic jerkbaits, and topwater lures.

Of course there is some overlap. I use similar combinations to cast spinnerbaits and shallow running crankbaits. My rods for casting jigs and worms are interchangeable with my pitching rods.

After selecting the job of each combination, I choose the rod with the appropriate length and action for each task. My 6 1/2-foot fiberglass rod is reserved for deep-diving crankbaits, several 5 1/2-foot rods are for casting buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and small cranksbaits, and a medium-light action 6-foot rod is for topwater. I prefer a heavy action 6 1/2-foot rod for soft plastic jerkbaits. The rods that are longer than 6 1/2 feet are used to fish jigs, worms, and Carolina rigs.

Next I turn to the reels. I maintain a list of my reels and their retrieve ratios so I can easily match them, based on the task, to the rods. My higher ratio reels are reserved for casting buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and shallow crankbaits. The slower retrieve reels are for deep cranking, soft plastic jerkbaits and worm and jig fishing.

Finally, I consider the weight of the reel and how it feels on a specific rod. Once you have narrowed down the possibilities, it is a matter of trying reels on rods to see how they feel. A heavy, old Ambassador 5500C reel may be suitable for a 7-foot Carolina rig rod, but could feel cumbersome on your 5 1/2-foot medium-light casting rod.

Some rod lengths and fishing techniques are better suited to using bulkier reels than others. I don't mind using a larger reel to slowly fish topwater lures, but I don't want to pitch worms or crank deep divers all day with an outfit that is heavy and unbalanced. Shoulders and elbows do eventually feel the wear and tear. If your reels are nearly the same size and weight, you may not need to consider this.

I also keep an extra reel spooled with braided line in the boat for Carolina rig fishing. Sometimes during the summer I may switch one of my jig rods to a Carolina rig to start the day, but that isn't necessary if I already have braided line on my jig combo.

Another consideration is putting the appropriate line on each reel. I like to experiment with new lines at the beginning of each season. Last year I tried several colors and types of line for jig and worm fishing, including braided, fluorocarbon, and monofilament.

I maintain a record of the line size on each outfit so that if I fish a lake with different water color later in the year, it is easier to decide which combos to fish unchanged and which ones to switch to different line.

Your fishing combinations need to efficiently perform each task you require of them and they should feel comfortable. Matching your rods and reels isn't a requirement for catching fish and it surely isn't an exact science, but it might be worth your time while you wait for the Illinois winter to go away.