Does A "do It All" Rod Exist? 2025

loudcherokee reply :

Now, before I get started, I'm not looking for a brand suggestion or a specific rod. My question is more with the action/power/length of a chosen rod.

I've been reading a lot of the articles here about how to choose a rod, and couldn't find one that specified a good rod choice that can do it all. You need this action/power for worms, that action/power for spinnerbaits, this combo for crank baits, etc.

Now, I LOVE my top water poppers, jitterbugs, torpedos, and buzz baits. I've tried fishing soft plastics, but never got the hang of it or I never could feel the bites. I just recently switched to using power pro braid in 30#, and am amazed at the difference in sensitivity it provides from the 12# mono I've been using all these years. I'm now wondering if a new rod will enhance that feel and let me finally catch something on a Texas rigged worm.

My two baitcasters are a Daiwa procaster that is about 18 years old, and an Abu Garcia Promax that is only a week old. they both sit on lightning rods, one being the rod that was purchased with the daiwa so long ago that says its a shock pro or lightning pro or something, and the other one is about 8 years old and is a IM6 cork pistol grip. Both rods are 6 foot or less.

My spinning gear is a Mitchell 300x that is around 8 years old, and a 300xe that is just a month old. both are on two piece 6'6" ugly sticks. I primarily use these for relaxed fishing, on the bottom with crawlers or suspended with a bobber. I'll occasionally throw a rooster tail with the 300xe since I can't get my BCs to cast them accurately, but that's the extent of it.

So, does an action/power/length rod exist that can handle just about all of my baitcasters needs adequately?

kylek reply :

I think a 7ft. MH rod will work for just about everything.

retiredbosn reply :

IMO, yes out would be a 7' or 6'6" MH MF

stkbassn reply :

Yeah, these specs ( 7' MH F 1/4-3/4 oz baits) .. rods seem to be the ticket for me. It has plenty of back bone and not too stiff I find. The tip is usually not too fast..just soft enough but not too soft....this could be a very good choice for you.

BassOnKlinger reply :

I feel like all I've done lately (since getting into bass fishing) is research different combos. I have to agree that it seems a 7' MH/F is a all-around universal rod. However, if I understand correctly, one rod will not suffice for all lure types. Mainly because the type of line is dependent on the style of lure. I don't believe there's a universal line that's good for everything. I can get 4 of the same rods, but each will have different line on them for different lures. That's my understand anyways.

bigdave39355 reply :

another vote for 7' MH. That'll cover alot.

tstone reply :

I came here to post 7ft MH, looks like everyone beat me to it.

loudcherokee reply :

sweet. I was thinking 6'6" was gonna be my choice. I'll look around for a 7'.

Are the one piece rods definitely more sensitive than two piece? The one pieces I have now are a bit of a pain since I don't have a truck, especially if I have passengers. I can't imagine squeezing a 7' rod in the backseat will be convenient.

tholmes reply :

On 6/12/2013 at 12:44 AM, loudcherokee said:

sweet. I was thinking 6'6" was gonna be my choice. I'll look around for a 7'.

Are the one piece rods definitely more sensitive than two piece? The one pieces I have now are a bit of a pain since I don't have a truck, especially if I have passengers. I can't imagine squeezing a 7' rod in the backseat will be convenient.

LC

I don't think you'll notice any loss of sensitivity with a 2-pc. rod. That whole thing about 2-pc. rods being less sensitive is something that's hung around since the days of metal ferrules. People keep repeating it because that's what their grandpa told 'em.

Tom

0119 reply :

All purpose to me means it needs to fit in a lot of places. Creeks, under trees, jon boats, canoes. Those tip heavy 7 footers are great on the deck of a fancy bass boat with plenty of highboard. But its hard to work your favorite lures with them when you sitting inches from the surface.

Felix77 reply :

I vote for the 6'6" MH. It's what I started with before adding to my collection.

skeletor6 reply :

On 6/12/2013 at 12:44 AM, loudcherokee said:

sweet. I was thinking 6'6" was gonna be my choice. I'll look around for a 7'.

Are the one piece rods definitely more sensitive than two piece? The one pieces I have now are a bit of a pain since I don't have a truck, especially if I have passengers. I can't imagine squeezing a 7' rod in the backseat will be convenient.

LC

2 piece rods are certainly less sensitive than 1 piece. Also, there are issues with them not being perfectly aligned or twisting while in use. 2 piece rods are more convenient than they are effective. I have driven with 7 rods maxing out at 7'5'' in my car with a passenger before. It can be done.

A "do everything rod" does not exist in my opinion. I have friends that will argue that his medium heavy (action not labeled) 6 foot rod can fish every technique. I feel otherwise. And echoing what others said and its been said many times before, true 7 foot MH/F rods are the most versatile and is always a good place to start.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

The reason 2 piece rods are perceived as lower quality is that by and large, they are marketed to individuals more concerned with convenience than performance and are built on cheap blanks. If built on a quality 2 piece blank with built in ferrules, sensitivity and casting are not negatively affected.

The 7' MH/F is no doubt the most versatile for common bass fishing techniques but I would not go as far as calling it "Do it all". There will be compromises as you expand your fishing.

Flukeman reply :

When I first got started I chose a 6'6" MH F, 6:4 to 1 reel, spooled with 14# Fireline. When I needed to I used a floro leader. With this set up I could fish 90% of the techniques out there. Obviously for really light weight lures I had to use a spinning outfit, and really heavy presentations were a little clumsy. I was able to fish topwater, texas rigs, crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, etc. It was pretty easy to cover the water column from 0 to 15' of water. I was able to catch a ton of fish and had a great time.

Today, I look in my rod lockers and see 20 different combinations and wonder what the heck have I got my self into to catch a fish that would eat a hotdog!

roadwarrior reply :

For enthusiasts, technique specific gear is fun
to collect. However, three rigs cover all the
basics:

#1 6 1/2' or 7' MH baitcaster for jigs, some
soft plastics and spinnerbaits

#2 6 1/2' or 7' MM baitcaster for treble hook
lures

#3 7' MF spinning rod for lighter lures and a
variety of techniques

livetofish28 reply :

7 foot MH Fast is the most versatile for me I throw square bills jerkbaits jigs spinnerbaits topwater you name it it can throw it.

tomustang reply :

7' MH is more like a "do most" and that's the closest it gets

lmbfisherman reply :

The closest answer as a lot of people have posted, 7' MH/F. However, it has to be a "true" MH/F...meaning some brands fish heavier/stiffer than stated.

loudcherokee reply :

I really appreciate all the replies. Gives me a much better idea of what to look for.

The reason I didn't ask for brand suggestions is that I'm pretty set on Berkley Lightning Rods. I love the way they fish. I had a 6'6" one piece on my spinning rig with the Mitchell 300x, until it got closed on the car door. I did replace the tip with a Fuji replacement, but it just doesn't seem as sensitive as it used to be.

coincidentally, when I broke the lightning rod, that's what sold me on the ugly stik since it was closed it the door at the same time, and there wasn't a scratch on it. I'll keep using those on my all purpose spinning stuff, but the they seem too flimsy for my baitcasters.

PABASS reply :

I agree, you are making compromises now that down the road you will feel, maybe regret. The rod mentioned can be a great rod for some applications but using this rod with braid is going to limit your ability to do certain techniques and limit your ability to constantly be on fish.

I fished with an ugly stick most of my life and nothing wrong with it, as it worked for reaction style baits which is all I used to have confidence in, but it does not work well for texas rigging baits, jigs, Carolina rig, drop shot, shaky head and the list goes on. I am a firm beliver get the right tools for the job at hand and I can tell you I catch more fish and loose less fish with this logic.

tomustang reply :

Ugly stiks would be better for crankbaits.

Though I wouldn't judge a rod on it's breaking strength on a car/house door.

loudcherokee reply :

PABASS, that's exactly why I don't want another ugly stick on my baitcaster for anything requiring finesse. the tips are just too flimsy it seems. I have had alot of confidence with the lightning rods though.

smalljaw67 reply :

I'm with everyone else, 6'6" - 7' MH-F, 6'6" used to be the all purpose length but more and more, including myself, have been using longer rods to the point that 7' is the norm now. That 6'6" to 7' medium heavy, fast action rod will do spinnerbaits, jigs, texas rigs both weighted and weighless, and buzzbaits really well, the catch is anything that has a treble hook will not work too well. Yes, you can fish topwater poppers and walking baits as well as fishing cranks with a medium heavy fast action rod but you are going to miss a lot of fish and certain baits the action will suffer and to get one that will work for all you would have to go medium power with a fast action and then you really limit the weight range of the lures you can throw. If you really need to budget, get the medium heavy fast action for everything else and pick up a cheap ugly stick for cranks and treble hook baits, it isn't the best but the action is soft and will make fighting a fish hooked on a treble hook much easier and you'll land a lot more you hook versus the all purpose fast action rod.

WRB reply :

The last thing I would do is suggest a particular rod for an angler who has been fishing with a pistol grip, 2 piece Ugly stick. You are used to a one handed casting rod with a nearly parabolic action that is very easy to cast.

Changing to a modern straight handle rod will be night and day difference to how it feels and cast, so I suggest you go to a tackle store and put a reel on a rod within your budget and test cast it..

There isn't any standards for rod rating....none! Every rod maker rates them differently.

Your 6'6" pistol grip rod is about the same length from the reel seat to the rod tip as a 7" straight handle rod, the extra length is behind the reel.

You may backlash your reels more often with a stiffer fast action rod, especially using braid.

You will need to modify your casting motion and slow it down when using a fast action rod.

A 7', 3 power or Medium heavy is considered the basic bass rod today and they will vary greatly from the different rod makers.

Tom

aavery2 reply :

I say no, there is no rod that I currently know of that is going to allow you to cast finesse baits one minute then turn around and cast frogs in heavy slop, think of rods as a set of golf clubs, could you play nine holes with a putter only, could you play a round with only a five iron? There are multiple powers and actions so that you can perform better at job at hand, like a driver on the tee box and a putter on the green. If you are limited to one rod only then pick a few techniques that the rod supports well and fish them until you know them inside and out, or until you can afford to purchase another rod that is more suited to other techniques.

Fishing is meant to be enjoyable, I can see no way for it to be that trying to fish techniques on a rod that is ill equiped.

loudcherokee reply :

On 6/12/2013 at 7:47 AM, WRB said:

The last thing I would do is suggest a particular rod for an angler who has been fishing with a pistol grip, 2 piece Ugly stick. You are used to a one handed casting rod with a nearly parabolic action that is very easy to cast.

Changing to a modern straight handle rod will be night and day difference to how it feels and cast, so I suggest you go to a tackle store and put a reel on a rod within your budget and test cast it..

There isn't any standards for rod rating....none! Every rod maker rates them differently.

Your 6'6" pistol grip rod is about the same length from the reel seat to the rod tip as a 7" straight handle rod, the extra length is behind the reel.

You may backlash your reels more often with a stiffer fast action rod, especially using braid.

You will need to modify your casting motion and slow it down when using a fast action rod.

A 7', 3 power or Medium heavy is considered the basic bass rod today and they will vary greatly from the different rod makers.

Tom

OK, I finally got home and looked at my rods. I have 6 all together.

My baitcasters that I use are as follows:

Daiwa Procaster from like 94-95 on a Berkley Lightning Rod Pro Series straight handle medium heavy 6'6"

Abu Garcia Promax on a pistol grip Berkley IM6 Lightning rod medium action 5'6"

my spinning rods are the only ugly sticks I have, and they all have full length handles. I do have one ugly stick baitcaster rod that I picked up at a consignment shop for $10, but I've never used it. its a 6' medium action with an older quantum ultra casting reel.

the quantum reel on the 5'6" pistol grip lightning rod is what I learned baitcasting on, but I like the feel of the 6'6" lightning rod a little better, but its gotta be near 20 years old.

Hyrule Bass reply :

some people have made this way more difficult than it needs to be. first, i will start by saying ugly stiks work just fine for me with a variety of techniques, they are not good for jigs and carolina rigs though at all. there are two rod types i can use to cover all of my bass fishing excluding really light lures like rooster tails and small crank baits as i use a small spinning reel for these.

i may have read wrong, but i get youre looking for two casting rods for your baitcasters. if thats the case, i would get two different sizes of rods. i would get one 6'6 MH rod and the other i would get is a 7' M rod. this gives you a little more versatility than getting two of the same sized rods...

if i read wrong and you just want to replace the broken rod, go with a 7' MH as widely suggested...

also, 2-piece rods arent all bad as some would have you think. i only buy two piece rods because i have a small car as well, and i can break them down and put them in the trunk. so as some have suggested, i buy them because theyre convenient for me. but i also catch my share of fish on them...

loudcherokee reply :

On 6/12/2013 at 9:07 AM, Red Earth said:

some people have made this way more difficult than it needs to be. first, i will start by saying ugly stiks work just fine for me with a variety of techniques, they are not good for jigs and carolina rigs though at all. there are two rod types i can use to cover all of my bass fishing excluding really light lures like rooster tails and small crank baits as i use a small spinning reel for these.

i may have read wrong, but i get youre looking for two casting rods for your baitcasters. if thats the case, i would get two different sizes of rods. i would get one 6'6 MH rod and the other i would get is a 7' M rod. this gives you a little more versatility than getting two of the same sized rods...

if i read wrong and you just want to replace the broken rod, go with a 7' MH as widely suggested...

also, 2-piece rods arent all bad as some would have you think. i only buy two piece rods because i have a small car as well, and i can break them down and put them in the trunk. so as some have suggested, i buy them because theyre convenient for me. but i also catch my share of fish on them...

I guess to sum up what I'm looking to do, is replace my 5'6" pistol grip casting rod with something more versatile and user friendly. It doesn't cast very far, and after awhile my hand starts cramping from the pistolgrip. I also had a backlash so bad this weekend when trying to sling a chatter bait across the lake that it snapped my 30# power pro at the spool, and it took me 2 hours to dig that out.

I probably shouldn't have even mentioned the ugly stiks, as I think I may have confused some people with that. I'm completely happy with them and what I use them for.

I do have the 6'6" MH lightning rod, but I just worry about its age and the reel that is on it. that's old daiwa isn't smooth at all. Dad gave it to me, and said it was top of the line way back when he bought it. I guess the newer stuff with more bearings has me spoiled. I could put the Abu on the older lightning rod I guess.

Blues19 reply :

I have a 6'6" M rod that I have used for plastics, jigs, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, topwater. Pretty much everything except big swim baits or the A-Rig. I say medium rather than medium heavy because you can throw some smaller finesse baits on it.

Maxximus Redneckus reply :

All jokes aside.. one rod can do it all I did it when I was younger bluegill to bass to catfish to croaker

Maxximus Redneckus reply :

Btw would you trade your pisthol grip or sell it I collect them

retiredbosn reply :

On 6/12/2013 at 12:24 AM, retiredbosn said:
IMO, yes out would be a 7' or 6'6" MH MF

I would like to clarify or explain my suggestion. A do it all rod that will work for the examples the OP provided, exists but it will not excel at any technique. I suggested a MH MF being a Medium Heavy power and Moderate Fast action. Limber enough for trebles and stiff enough for plastics, within reason.

loudcherokee reply :

Maximus, I would still keep it. being a bank fisherman, it does have its uses in tight spots being so short. I just get fatigued easily with using it trying to cast farther than the rod wants me to.

BassinB reply :

nope

Fishwhittler reply :

I'm going to go a little different than most and suggest a 7' medium-power, fast-action rod. It loads better than a MH for lighter baits and has enough backbone for bigger baits. The 7' length isn't the best for short-range casting accuracy, but it gives you more distance than a 6'6" rod and more accuracy than a longer rod.

Whatever rod you go with, practice will drastically increase your ability to handle a wide range of lures. I can't claim to be an expert, but I can cast weightless 4" flukes 30' - 40'on a 7' MH/X-Fast rod, which is definitely too much rod for such a small bait. If I'd tried to do that a year ago, my reel would have made an eagle's nest look simple in comparison. Get your setup put together and then go out in the yard and practice casting with a normal lure weight—don't try to go too light or too heavy. Making 30 or 40 practice casts a couple days a week will help a lot, and more practice will only be better.

Sam reply :

One piece rod 7' medium heavy fast action tip.

DogBone_384 reply :

On 6/12/2013 at 1:41 AM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:
The reason 2 piece rods are perceived as lower quality is that by and large, they are marketed to individuals more concerned with convenience than performance and are built on cheap blanks. If built on a quality 2 piece blank with built in ferrules, sensitivity and casting are not negatively affected.The 7' MH/F is no doubt the most versatile for common bass fishing techniques but I would not go as far as calling it "Do it all". There will be compromises as you expand your fishing.

I'm no expert by any means, but I have a Abu Garcia Veritas 6'6" M/F 2-piece holding a BPS Pro Qualifier spooled with 8 lb Trilene XL and could use it as a 'do it all' set up. I'll admit I've used it mostly for soft baits because I'm re-learning them along with bait casting, but I've tossed some spinners & crank baits pretty well too.

I guess it's like asking 10 mechanics about the same job: you'll get 7 different answers.

Best of luck with your choice.

Khong reply :

I think you can slide through this with a 6'10" spinning rod. This is not too long and probably not to short. It will give you a good enough accuracy to cast. Action has to be fast. Why fast, it will give you a better hook set if you are using plastic or single hook. I would go with med/heavy rod type just for the power too. The heavier the rod, the better back bone to pull it out from heavy weed. It just doesn't make sense to go lighter unless you want to go finest. Even though you can still finest on a heavier rod too as long as the action is there.

As far as spinning reel, I would go with a reel in the $150-200 price range for smoother casting. Probably order 2 extra spool for mono top water, FLC clear water, and braid for Rest.

SirSnookalot reply :

If I could keep only one of my set ups the choice is an easy one to make. All purpose means to me all the different places I fish and all the different species. Freshwater from bank, beaches, jetties sea walls and the flats, a 7'6 med 8/17 with a 4000 reel with 15# braided line. This combo has been doing it for me for the last 6 or 7 years, light baits to well over an ounce with a variety of lure types, fish from bluegill to tarpon, at times it feels like I'm fishing too heavy.

The Young Gun reply :

A cheap but excellent rod is the 723 powel diesel! The rod does it all!! I have 3 and I have yet to find something thing it doesn't do well

Capt.Bob reply :

Years ago as a kid, I learned how to do everything on a 6' MH, wasn't near as efficient as today with rig's for everything, but I caught everything from bluegill to Pike and catfish, from bobber to crankbait and everything in between. If I could only own one rod today, it would be my custom 7' Avid MH/XF spinning rod with my Stradic FJ4000, or my 7'2" MH/M Legend Extreme casting rod with my Team Gold, light saltwater to panfish I could do it, but I assure you I won't have to,,,,,,Thank GOD!!!!

J Francho reply :

There's a lot of "do alot" rods, but no "do it all" rods. A MH/F and M/F casting rig, and a M/F spinning rig will cover just about 99% of the bases.

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