A lot of people start with a medium action 7' rod and use it for everything. Slowly but surely, many people expand their rod arsenals to include some technique specific stuff.

I would say the first step for a lot of folks is a heavier rod for jigs/flipping/pitching, maybe even small swimbaits.

From there maybe a medium light for smaller T-rigs, senkos or shaky heads.

So, how far do you take it?

Crankbait setup (or 3)?

Swimbait setup?

Jerkbait setup?

Senko setup?

Drop shot setup?

What's the most specific setup you have?

I have a couple crankbait rods and a couple swimbait rods along with a frog rod. All other rods fish multiple techniques.

I have three specific flipping rods....for different types of cover.

I have 4 worm rods (for weightless, weighted, c rig etc), two drop shot rods( deep and really deep), 3 cranking rods( lipless, deep, and shallow/square),1 frog rod.

Only thing I have that is technique specific is a glass cranking rod. Other than that everything can throw a few different lures. Just like my flipping stick doubles as my swimbait rod or deeep football jog rod also.

Interestingly enough, for years Rick Clunn has advocated using one rod for all techniques. Supposedly He just carries many copies of the same rod. A Google search for Rick Clunn One Rod Theory will return lots of interesting reading

Yeah but KVD can "Whip him like a yard dog".

KVD said something close to that in response to Clunns one rod approach.

Any time they come up with new technique I gotta get a new setup of that tells you anything.

Both have 4 classic wins and they are the only 2 to ever win back to back. But KVD Has more 3rd place finishes than anyone.

When Clunn tried to win his 3rd consecutive classic he finished 2nd. Clunn has 11 top 5 finishes while KVD has 9.

And Clunn has the record at 32 Classic appearances while KVD has 26. Clunn made it 28 consecutive time while KVD made it 22.

But...that's getting off Topic...buts also interesting reading

The first setup I purchased was a Heavy rod for flipping, but I like it for most Texas Rigging because of the sensitivity. Followed quickly by a topwater setup. After that I stuck with 7'3" MH Fast Action for all-around use. I then purchased a frog/jig setup, and an A-Rig/Heavy Swimbait setup, acquired a heavy punching rig, and a dedicated trap rod. I then thought about spinnerbaits, so I purchased a slow reel for that and deep cranking (although I seldom use it), Oh, mustn't forget my evolution in dropshot setups... Other than that I have several of my favorite setups 7'3" MH Fast with a 7.1:1 or so for all around.

Yeah, looking back it is quite a few, but to be honest, I keep 6-7 rods on the deck with the same things tied on based on the type of fishing I plan to do. I need to change out baits more often than I do to get them dialed in. I guess that is part of the reason my biggest struggle is finding a real workable pattern for QUALITY fish...

KVD was speaking of his casting ability versus Clunns.

But that brings up a good point, your gear is meaningless if you cant find the fish. You can have 100K in boat and gear and still get beat by Clunn with one style rod and reel and fishing out of an aluminum boat.

7'6" deep cranking and 7'6" flipping and 7' Heavy flipping

I think the Clunn concept could be true for all finesse applications. But, even there it'd require powering down one notch for some of the techniques; and, powering up one notch for some others. So, I'd dial "it" in at a medium powered rod, 7 footer to cover most finesse presentations . . . and it'd be a little bit over-powered for drop shotting, a little under-powered for a larger T-Rig.

One more rod and reel for flipping/pitching/punching.

And, one more for long casts . . . top waters and crankbaits?

3 rods might get the job done in a minimalist sort of approach.

If I had to choose one line? I'd likely think defaulting to monofilament might actually be the ticket. Weird.

Brad

I started out with a m/h Veritas about 6 years ago when i really got into fishing other than fishing ponds. That rod is long gone now but i have mainly what i would consider technique specific gear. 2 crankbait setups, 2 jig setups, flippin setup / frog, Drop shot, Spinner bait / chatterbait, then just utility rods for texas rig and c-rig. Honestly it also helps with organization, this way you dont end up throwing a weightless fluke with a 7'3" mag heavy

Crankbait rods,spinning rods for finesse. The rest get used for a variety of applications according to action of rod

One of the reasons for starting this thread was I bought a new frog setup from TW. Glad to see I'm not the only

one