Best Fishing Rods for New Anglers

Its crazy how many brands, lengths, and types of rods are on the market! Tim helps make sense of it all by recommending the 3 rods that you need as a new angler. Forget all the hype and marketing, these will get you through 99% of the techniques we use in bass fishing.

As a beginning fisherman you want to purchase the best equipment you can within your budget. These are fishing rods you're going to use for a very long time. However, you do not want to exceed your budget so we recommend spending more on the fishing rod than the fishing reel. With that in mind we aren't recommending any high end reels with this video.

Tim's Recommended Rods Based on Your Budget...

7' Medium Spinning Rod:

Low $$$- Shimano Sellus
Mid $$$- Dobyns Fury
High $$$- G Loomis NRX

7' Medium Baitcasting Rod:

Low $$$- Shimano Sellus
Mid $$$- Shimano Clarus
High $$$- Dobyns Champ Extreme

7'-7'2" Medium Heavy Baitcasting Rod:

Low $$$- Shimano Sellus
Mid $$$- Dobyns Fury
High $$$- Shimano Zodias

Reel Recommendations for each...

Spinning Low $$$- Shimano Nexave 2500
Spinning Mid $$$- Shimano Saros 2500

Baitcasting Low $$$- Shimano Caius
Baitcasting Mid $$$- Shimano Citica 7:1

As a new bass fisherman your first purchase should always be a spinning rod. With a spinning rod you're able to master a variety of bass fishing techniques like dropshot, senko fishing, worms, tubes, small topwater lures, and even a few reaction fishing techniques.

Once you've got a feel for these techniques your next purchase should be a 7' medium baitcaster. This rod will allow you to branch into a few more techniques like rigging a senko texas style, fishing a jig, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, crankbaits, etc.

These two fishing rods are going to help you progress your bass fishing more than any other purchase but when you're ready, add in a 7'-7'2" medium heavy baitcasting rod. This rod will let you get into heavier bass jigs, texas rigs, large topwaters, small swimbaits and paddletails, and a handful of other techniques.

We know that getting into bass fishing and trying to purchase tackle and equipment can be very overwhelming. We hope these quick tips will help you make educated decisions while purchasing your first fishing pole. Good luck on your fishing adventure

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What Line Should You Be Using?

Ever wonder what line works best for what bait? Everywhere you turn there is a bass fisherman with an opinion about fishing line and no two anglers agree. In this bass fishing video Matt breaks down the line sizes in fluorocarbon, monofilament, and braided line that he and Tim use for a variety of techniques.

If your preferred fishing technique isn't listed below, drop us a comment and we'll be sure to respond.

Line Sizes for Various bass fishing techniques...

Large Swimbaits...

-65 or 80 lb braided line
-25 or 30 lb Mono Leader
-30 lb Fluorocarbon Mainline

Crankbaits (Including squarebills, mid range, and deep diving crankbaits)...

-30 lb braided Line
-10-17 lb Monofilament Leader
-10-17 lb Fluorocarbon Main Line

Frogs and Buzzbaits...

-50 or 65 lb Braided Line
No Leader needed and never use fluorocarbon for floating baits.

Topwater Baits with Trebles...

-30 to 50 lb Braided Line
-12 to 20 lb Mono leader
-Never use Fluorocarbon for Topwater Techniques.

Texas Rigs and Jigs...

-40 to 65 lb Braided Line
-15 to 25 Lb Monofilament Leader
-15-25 Lb Flurocarbon Main Line

Swim Jigs, Chatterbaits, and Spinnerbaits...

-40 to 65 lb Braided Line
-15 to 25 Lb Monofilament Leader
-15-25 Lb Flurocarbon Main Line

Worming/Finesse on Baitcaster OR Spinning Reel...

-10 to 20 lb Braided Line
-6 to 10 lb Mono Leader
-6 to 10 lb Fluorocarbon Mainline

SpyBaits...

-10 to 15 lb Braided Line
-6 lb Mono Leader
-6 lb Flurocarbon Main Line

Float and Fly/Hair Jigs...

-5 to 10 lb Braided Line
-2 to 4 lb Mono Leader
-2 to 4 lb Flurocarbon Mainline

Our Preferred Lines as of this writing...

-Power Pro Maxcuatro Braided Line
-Sufix 832 Braided Line
-Maxima Ultragreen
-Seaguar Abrazx
-Sunline Leader Material
-Sunline Flippin' Flurocarbon

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Are You Sure You're Using the "Right" Reel?

Do you use right or left-handed reels? Are you positive that you're using the correct reel? Have you ever considered flipping left-handed with a right-handed reel? Are we confusing you yet?

Here's the arguement... most anglers that reel with their right hand have felt pressure to switch to left handed reels for flipping and pitching the last few years. Our question is, rather than switching reels, why don't you switch flipping hands? Watch the video and you might be amazed that a right-handed angler with a right-handed reel can still be in perfect position to set the hook on a bass as his lure enters the water.

Since we're talking about reels we might as well put our 2 cents in on the actual "right" reel for the right job. Matt's list of favorite reels (In order of use)...

Curado 200: His go-to reel for most bass fishing applications. The reel is the perfect size to reach the drag control with your reel hand as shown in the video.

Curado 70: Do you have a smaller hand or using finesse techniques? You need to try the 70, especially in the 8.2:1 gear ratio. You'll be glad you did!

Calcutta 400B: This is the reel he does nearly all of his swimbait fishing with. Its a work horse! Matt says he's still using Calcuttas he bought more than a decade ago and they're still going strong.

Bass fishing is always changing and trending. New reels are coming every year. They get lighter, faster, smoother, etc... but if you want work horses that last year after year its hard to beat the Curado and Calcutta. We hope this video changes the way you think about flipping and pitching. You may not make the change but at least you'll have considered your options. Thanks for watching!

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Tips for Flippin' and Pitchin'

Flipping heavy cover has evolved drastically the last few years. A term that once meant throwing a texas-rigged plastic into brush now encompasses everything from punching matted vegetation to pitching a jig around docks. Perhaps the term has been abused or perhaps we're learning new ways to expand and catch bass that are hiding in the dark.

However you want to look at it, Flippin' has changed. In this video Matt breaks down everything from traditional texas rigged plastics on a straight shank hook to newer twists including screw locks, Superline hooks, and even jigs. The changes include rods as well so if you're flipping with a 7'6" rod you might want to consider expanding into both shorter and longer rods for different approaches.