The Magic Buzzword: Versatile
That word gets thrown around quite a bit in reference to bass fishing. A versatile angler can utilize multiple techniques to catch bass in any location. With a versatile lure, you can flip, drag, pitch, hop or swim it. The list goes on.
At Alpha we don’t focus on building versatile rods, it just seems to work out that way. That’s good for our anglers, and I’ll tell you why.
One Rod Todd
Years ago Rick Clunn proposed a theory that an angler would be more efficient and successful if he used one rod for every lure and presentation. Sounds far-fetched this day in age, but his point was valid. By removing variables between you and your lure, there’d be no guess work in how a bite felt or how a 3/4oz lure would pitch around. Essentially, the rod would become an extension of your body, like a baseball player and his bat… (they don’t change them often.)
Times have changed since that article came out, but the theory still has validity… to a degree. There is no question that the S2 fiberglass utilized in our Rebound will generate more bites with a crankbait and increase your landing percentage, plain and simple. But you wouldn’t flip a jig with a glass blank.
Technique Specific Underwear
So if there’s a benefit to utilizing different materials, like S-Glass, for different fishing applications, what’s the harm in very specific rods for every fishing technique? Well I’m glad you asked.
If you have three different style or brand rods for your bottom contact baits, like say a football jig, texas-rig and carolina-rig, your mind has to remember how each one feels when you get a bite. One thing is for certain, an extra-fast action, 7’4” heavy rod will transmit the “feeling” of a bite quite differently than a fast action, 7’1” medium-heavy rod, even with the same graphite. Neither rod will cast the same, nor will they feel the same in hand.
Brandon Palaniuk was interviewed about his “simplification” process for the 2017 Bass Elite Season after his Sam Rayburn victory. His explanation sounded a bit “Clunn-ish” as he described his desire to remove as many variables as possible in his fishing approach. Essentially, he felt more efficient on the water when the only thing that changed when switching from a swim-jig to a 10-inch worm, was the worm. It didn’t matter if a fish ate the bait on the fall or off the bottom because he knew exactly how that rod responded during a bite.
Bank and Kayak fishing Explosion
Admittedly, we didn’t set out to make the most versatile rods… our anglers did it for us. With the explosion of kayak and paddleboard bass clubs, our eyes have been opened to the possibilities of almost every one of our products. Put 17lb monofilament on a Zilla, and you can throw a Whopper Plopper, flip a D-Bomb, swim a jig, drag a tube... I think you get the point. The benefit of a versatile rod isn’t just for the tournament angler.
Recently, one of our customers reviewed our new Mag-Rebound Cranking rod for 1/2oz spinnerbaits on the California Delta (big fish, slop central). Admittedly, we weren’t surprised the Mag’ would perform well with a spinnerbait, but we were a bit shocked it had the power necessary for hard fighting Delta fish.
That said, what do we know. Our rod designs are the culmination of our angler’s needs, so we’ll just let them tell us how versatile they really are.
Stay versatile my friends…
