Ever since Rick Clunn discussed his preference for using the same rod and reel for nearly all of his fishing (see this article), BassFans have asked for other examples of what the pros use. In the following, a few of the nation's top pros detail their three favorite rod and reel combinations.
> Bernie Schultz -- Sight fishing: Shimano Stella 4000 spinning reel on a Shimano medium-heavy spinning rod (6 1/2 ft.). Spinnerbaits: a Shimano Calcutta 200XT baitcasting reel with a 6 1/2-foot medium-heavy Shimano V rod (casting). Jerkbaits: Shimano Calais baitcasting reel with a 6 1/2-foot medium Shimano casting rod. Schultz uses 10-pound, 12- pound and 20-pound Silver Thread AN-40 line, respectively.
> Mark Davis -- Crankbaits: 7-foot Falcon Signature series LFC 417 medium casting rod and Pflueger Trion reel (all Shakespeare pros now use Pflueger reels). Worms, jigs, Carolina rigs -- Falcon LFC Signature 6-foot 10-inch medium-heavy rod, same reel. Topwaters and jerkbaits -- Falcon Expert series 6-foot 6-inch medium-action rod (it has a "really light tip," Davis says), same reel.
> Todd Faircloth -- Pitching/Flipping: 7 1/2- foot Erhardt fishing stick with Shimano Castaic reel. Worms, light jigs, spinnerbaits: 7-foot medium-heavy Erhardt casting rod with Shimano Curado reel. Crankbaits: 7-foot medium-action Erhardt cranking stick and Curado reel. Those are all long rods, which Faircloth says he prefers. "They let me cast farther, and I feel like I have more control over a fish when fighting it."
> Davy Hite -- "I don't mix it up as much as a lot of guys do," Hite says. "I use baitcasters 99 percent of the time. In fact, when I went to St. Clair, I broke out the spinning rod and found that it still had the same tube bait that I'd tied on when I was up there the last time." For "90 percent" of his fishing he uses a 6 1/2-foot Pflueger Trion casting rod (usually medium-heavy, sometimes medium) and a Pflueger Trion reel. For everything else he uses a 7-foot Pflueger rod, except flipping and pitching, where he likes a 7 1/2-foot rod.
> Peter Thliveros -- For lightweight Carolina rigs (1/2-ounce weight), Peter T. likes a 7-foot, medium-heavy American Rodsmiths spinning rod with 14-pound line. He says he uses a 7-foot American Rodsmiths casting rod for "just about everything" else, including jigs, Texas rigs, tubes and heavier Carolina rigs.
> Clark Wendlandt -- Floating worm: 5-foot 7- inch Falcon Floating Worm/Wacky Worm Special rod (No. 5167) and Pflueger Trion baitcasting reel. Spinnerbaits: Falcon 7-foot casting rod (LFC 517), same reel. Flipping: Falcon 7-foot casting rod (LFC 717), same reel. Wendlandt says he uses the same reel all the time because he likes its low profile and it fits his hand well.
