We are all at different stages in our fishing journey. But everyone is always building their arsenal of weapons of bass destruction. I could have 50 fishing rods geared toward bass and still feel like I need one more. Rod companies are getting more and more specialized with their setups because there are just so many different techniques out there. But I still find myself adding rods that are versatile. Rods that I can fish with 20 different ways instead of 2. They are ideal for so many basic techniques and can get you by in a pinch with the rest of them. This can be especially important if you are just starting out and only have a few setups to work with.

One thing that is nice about all purpose rods in the boat is that they don’t need to be the fanciest setups in the world (don’t make these 300 dollar rods in your boat). But since they could be used on bottom contact baits they better be nice enough to have some sensitivity. They’ll also see a ton of use over the years so it is best spend enough to have rods that can handle the abuse otherwise you are going to see component or rod failure over time. Length is all about preference but I would recommend either 7’ or 7’3”. All of my all purpose rods are 7’3”, but I have a preference for longer rods in all my setups. I like being able to move more line and make longer casts. One other similarity between my all purpose rods is that they are TFO Option Bass series rods. They are affordable, perform well, and that blank works great for a bunch of different things (not to mention they look cool too).

For a baitcast setup I use an Option Bass 735, it is a medium heavy fast action rod. It’s optimal for a lot of different things for me. Swim jig, spinnerbait, big topwater, and also a great salmon jigging rod. If I needed to use it for any bottom contact stuff I absolutely could. Texas rig, jig, senko, fluke, basically whatever you could dream up. I spool up my all purpose baitcasters with 30 pound braid and can make adjustments with leaders from there (if need be). Most of the time I’m running this with straight braid because I’ll be throwing a moving bait in the grass.

Spinning is a little different as we need something more finesse oriented. I’m using an Option Bass 734 for this which is a 7’3” medium rod. Ideal for ned rigging, senkos, and a ton of other finesse applications. You could also throw light moving baits or even drop shot with it. Once again I’m spooling up with braid here but 20 pound test this time and changing my leader for the task at hand.

These can be a great way to start out and build a more specialized rod arsenal over time. Or sometimes it’s just nice to have an extra rod ready to go that has a different color/weight/size of something else you might be throwing. Allowing you to have that edge to be a little more diverse and a little more efficient on the water. I know these utility rods won’t be leaving my rod locker anytime soon.

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