4 Top-Rated Bass Fishing Rods You Need Around the Spawn

What do you do when you’re committed to fishing during this late winter and early spring weather, but the conditions keep you guessing about what to throw? If you don’t want to end the day empty-handed, here are four top-rated bass fishing rods every angler should have around the spawn.

Rods to Have Ready

The fish could be shallow or deep. They might be aggressive or you might need to really convince them to bite. You might easily see them or you might not. With all this uncertainty considered, it’s good to have options on deck so you can make the most of your time on the water.

Here’s where to start to cover the spread:

1. Multi-Purpose Casting Rods

Theoretically, you can throw just about any bait with about any rod, but when you don’t have the right match between your rod, reel, line, and bait, it’s not likely to be sustainable or successful. That means less accurate casts, less hooksets, and more casting fatigue, to name a few issues. Besides, if you’re squeezing in time to fish on the weekend, efficiency is key!

However, you do have options with superior quality rods that are designed to cover a range of baits and techniques. Take the Cashion ICON Multi-Purpose Rod, for example. It’s a second generation rod, born from the success of Cashion’s F90474b ELITE Series Rod. It has the same qualities that anglers loved about its ELITE Series predecessor plus the following improvements:

An upgraded blank with our most advanced carbon fiber material
A raw finish blank, encapsulated with propriety-engineered epoxy, providing maximum sensitivity and durability
Premium guides, hook keeper, and other upgraded features
A lighter build
Increased sensitivity

The ICON Multi-Purpose rod can easily handle a long list of techniques and lures, including jigs, worms, lipless crankbaits, buzzbaits, and so many more you have to see the full list to really get a the full picture of how versatile it is. That makes it the perfect rod for covering a range of needs around the late winter / early spring spawn.

ICON Multi-Purpose Rod

2. Spinnerbait Rods

Spinnerbaits are always a great choice for this time of year. They’re especially effective when you have limited sun and you can really count on a flash of the blade to attract fish in cold and murky water.

It also helps that they’re incredibly customizable. You can throw spinnerbaits of various weights and rig different bait types, blade colors, blade sizes (especially for different depths), and much more than we could summarize here.

Now that your selection of spinnerbaits is ready to go, with options to match the hatch and the conditions as close as you can, all you need now is the right spinnerbait rod. Newly released in the last year, Cashion’s ICON Spinnerbait Rod is tuned to be your ideal choice for this technique. Between its ability to help you get perfect casts, its sensitivity, and backbone for setting the hook, you’ll be able to feel the difference immediately.

ICON Spinnerbait Rod

3. Squarebill Rods

Got fish up in the shallows? Get yourself a box of squarebill baits with a variety of colors and actions to match what the bass are eating. Also known for their versatility, these shallow water crankbaits are routinely top-performing options for tournament anglers.

If you have a crankbait rod, then you’ll be all set to throw these and get some bites. But, if you’re looking to buy just the right rod for this technique or you’re ready to upgrade to a squarebill rod that has tireless testing behind it and hours of design work to give it elite performance, take a look at the John Crews ICON Squarebill Rod.

Like all John Crews ICON Series Rods, it’s been built to match John’s meticulous standards so it’s not only tournament-tough, it’s designed to be one of top-rated bass fishing rods you’ll ever own. At 7’ long, this Med-Hvy, Mod-Fast rod has enough backbone to pull them away from the laydowns with the perfect amount of parabolic bend to keep them pinned.

ICON John Crews Squarebill Rod

An Honorable Mention for Kayak Anglers

Also, as an honorable mention for kayak anglers, check out Cashion’s CK (Cashion Kayak) Series Cranking Rods. At 7’3”, this rod is perfectly tuned for kayak fishing.

Cashion Kayak Series Cranking Rod

4. Forward Facing Sonar Rods (NEW)

For anyone using Forward Facing Sonar, these rods are a must because we’ve taken the ICON Series, added a number of premium features, and optimized the build so it complements the Forward Facing Sonar techniques, casts, baits, and bait movement so you have every advantage when enticing the bite.

When you’re using advanced graphs and fishing with Damiki rigs, minnow-profile baits and jigs, and jerkbaits between 5/16-1/2 oz, you’ll want these rods to help.

ICON Forward Facing Sonar Rod

Get Top-Rated Bass Fishing Rods and Much More

Casting accuracy, ease in moving your baits just right, feeling every bite, setting your hooks like a pro, and durability that pays off in the long-run: that’s how your rods level up when you buy them from Cashion.

From just-for-fun outings to professional tournaments where winnings are on the line, anglers count on Cashion to improve their fishing experience. And they’re all made right here in the U.S.A., so it feels even better using Cashion as you feel every bite!