The MOST Productive Rods Of The 2024 Season! | Ethan Bohlman

What's your economic and fishing fans? This is Ethan. I'm the social guy here. I run our Facebook, Instagram, and I make our YouTube videos. So if you do like the work of that I'm doing, please show me your love and support and follow all of our social channels. I greatly appreciate it. You all are the best. If you guys haven't been keeping up with what's been going on with our channel, Pete has recently taken a new opportunity in the fishing industry. We're very happy for them. We wish them nothing but the best. We do miss them and especially with the rod bending, we got some pretty big shoes to fill. If you haven't checked out Pete's last rod bending video, we do have a giveaway going on through our YouTube channel. We really want to hit 7,000 subscribers. So if you aren't already, please subscribe to the channel. Do it below right now if you haven't. Like that video, drop a comment. You know, we want to hear from you. Once we hit 7,000 subscribers, one lucky winner will be picked to win a $200 on the fishing gift card. It takes about five seconds to do everything that you need to do and you could be entered to win $200 free dollars to spend at on the fishing. We will link to that video right up here. If you haven't watched it, please do. So 2024 is a really special year for me. I got to do a lot of fishing. I caught some big bass. I've weighed in some big bags, cashed some checks and some tournaments. But I want to take you through the five best rods that I use throughout the entirety of the 2024 fishing season and why I like them. So one of the rods that I had on my deck for probably two thirds of the year was this lose custom pro speed stick. This is a six foot eight medium power fast action. It's a very light rod. It's rated as their top water special. It came in at 3.9 ounces. And I use this for multiple different applications, mainly jerk bait and then also throwing top water as it is in the name of the rod. But I really liked using this particular rod for a jerk bait because one, it's light. I love the sensitivity of the rod. And even though it's a fast action, it really loads up nice, especially when you're throwing treble baited hooks like a jerk bait. I've got a lot of bass on this particular setup throwing a jerk bait this year. And then, you know, once the water warmed up, that's when I switched over to throwing top water with this. So I really like to throw my lighter top waters, you know, your popper style baits, your shower blows. And once in a while, even throw a whopper plop around something like this type of setup. And once again, I really do feel like the rod with treble hooks loads up very nicely. My waning percentage is really high . And I have a lot of confidence in this type of rod. I also have it paired up with a custom white reel. This is one of my favorites also makes this just a really lightweight setup. It feels really good in the hand. So if I am throwing top water, I will get rid of the custom light. And then I will switch it out for the pro TI. Just the only difference same rod though. But without further ado, let's go bend the lose custom pro speed stick six foot eight medium fast. So we're on the wall with the lose custom pro speed stick six foot eight medium fast. This is the rod that serves as both my jerk bait rod and my top water rod. So when you kind of play with the rod, you know, just on the floor, it definitely has a medium feel to it. And the tip almost feels extra fast to an extent. But that's one thing that 's good about having the rod bending wall is is we get to really see if that's true. So when you load into the rod, you can see that we got plenty of backbone. And we're definitely not extra fast on the action. This is more of a this is definitely a fast action. And honestly, depending on how hard you load into the rod, you could almost argue that it may be even moderate fast. But I really do feel like lose kind of hit the nail on the head with this one. Definitely a fast action. Medium power for sure. And it really does make sense to me why they they would rate this as a top water special, because this is this is everything that I like and look for when I want to throw a top water. And then, you know, when the colder months hit, then then this is really something that I like to rely on, especially with a jerkbait. Obviously, this fall, we got to do some fishing. I'm sure you have seen a couple videos on our social media. So from some fish catches, catching some small mouth on one 10s. This is this is the same exact rod. And you can see here, why it is such an effective setup for both of the combos. So now it's been rod number two. All right, back with rod number two of my top five rods of 2024. Next, I want to take a look at another rod that I used for top water this year. I have to, I switch them up based on the size of the bait I'm throwing. So this is the top water rod that I like to use when I'm fishing larger top water baits. So whether that be spooks, whopper ploppers, shower, larger shower blows, those are all the kind of baits that I like to throw on a rod like this. So this is the lose custom light. This is their previous version of the custom light. They changed the look of the new custom lights. They're now all black. They have foam handles. Very good rods also. But I still do like to use the previous version because I don't need to buy new ones yet. But this rod is six foot 11. It's also medium power, but it's moderate action. So I really like to use a moderate action with my bigger top water baits because, you know, when a fish comes up and eats my bait, I don't want to set the hook right away and pull the hooks out of the mouth. I kind of want my rod to just load up and let my treble hooks do all the work and get in the fish hook. So this is the rod that I truly feel like does the best job of that for me when I'm throwing these type of top water baits. This rod comes in at 4.2 ounces. So it is a little bit heavier than the custom pro speed stick. Still a very light rod. It balances really well in the hand. I have another high speed gear ratio reel on here just so I can pick up some slack. But I like to also take into consideration, you know, throwing these baits that extra three inches in the rod over the custom pro speed stick just helps me pick up line a little bit quicker. That way I can keep a minimal amount of slack in my line. That way I'm not losing fish as often. But let's go take a look at what this rod looks like when we bend it on the wall. Alright, so here we are at the wall with the loose custom light. This is the 611 medium moderate action. When you take a look at the rod on the wall, when you bend it, you can definitely tell that the action is most certainly moderate. It's definitely not fast once you, you hit the back bone of the rod a lot deeper in the blank. And that's exactly what I thought would be the case. So this kind of just reiterates why I like to use this for my larger top water baits because having that, having that load, you know, deeper in the blank is is very key to keeping these treble hook baits hooked on these fish because top water baits are notorious for being, you know, baits that that loose fish. So, you know, having a having a little bit more moderate bend just helps, you know, not yank those hooks right out of their mouth as much. But this is a, you know, this is certainly one of those rods that you can, you can also throw like a square bill on or even a blade engine. It's definitely got plenty of power in it. You know, it is only a medium power rod, but you know, you're not getting shorted, you could almost argue in some, in some ways that might be even like a medium heavy. But I think medium is a better way of putting it. It's also why I've kept this, this rod on my deck for the majority of the year when I, when I want to throw those bigger baits. So let's take a look at rod number three. So moving on to rod number three, this is probably my all time favorite out of the five in the lineup. I had this rod on the deck for about 80% of the open water fishing season in 2024. Anytime I went to a body water that I thought I could use something on this particular setup, I had it out on the deck. This is hands down my favorite rod to throw the Carolina rig. There's something about it that every time I pick it up, I just have the confidence that when I throw that bait, I'm in hook a fish and I will land it almost every single time. So this is the lose signature series line of rods. In specific, this is the seven foot three, the medium heavy, moderate fast. For some reason, this rod is, is honestly, they say it is a light jig slash ochre rod. In my opinion, they should just call it the Carolina rig rod because this thing's an absolute killer with the ball and chain. There's something about it like every time I set the hook, I seem to have the fish pin in my landing percentage is incredibly high when I throw it on this particular rod. I do like to have a little bit of a moderate bend in my rod, especially when throwing Carolina rig, because, you know, a lot of times your bait is 12 to 20 inches behind your weight. And I feel like having a faster action rod, maybe pulls the bait away from the fish a little bit quicker and you can't get as good of a hook set. Maybe not. I just have a lot of confidence when I use this rod for the C-ring. So let's go take a look at what it actually bends like on the rod bending wall. So we're back on the rod bending wall with the lose signature series, seven foot three, medium heavy, moderate fast. Once again, this is the rod that I love to use for the Carolina rig. It's the only thing I throw on this thing. So looking at looking at how the rod bends on the wall. For my angle, it definitely looks like when you really load into the rod that 100% looks like it could be moderate fast. You know, from a different perspective, this looks like this could be a fast action rod. But I think when you when you really load into this thing, it's where you start to see the moderate fast action in it. And, you know, when you're using this type of rod for, especially for the Carolina rig and, you know, you're making a sweep as a hook set from, especially from a distance. Like, that's where you're really going to start to see that. That's where you're really going to see the start, the rod to start loading up a little bit deeper into the blank is especially on those longer casts. But you know, this is, this is exactly what I love about this rod. And this is why I feel like I'm so successful when throwing the Carolina rig is because I just have that little bit of a moderate action to it. So that way, you know, when my , when my leader, when I'm time, my leader length really long, I still feel like I'm confident that when I start to get into it, I feel like I'm confident. That when I, when I give that sweeping hook set, like I'm going to have these fishpin. So this is, this is absolutely why I kept this rod on my deck for 80% of the year. And I absolutely will be doing it again next year. So we're back with rod number four in my top five lineup from 2024. And I would not be a Northern angler without a minimum of one spinning rod in my arsenal. So without further ado, we finally have one. This one in particular is the loose custom light seven foot medium fast action. This is their previous model in the custom light. Like I mentioned earlier, lose has updated their lineup of custom white rods, but I still rock the previous version and I love them. I have about 12 of these rods back at home that I use all are the same seven foot medium fast action for good reason to. I feel like I can get the job done very well with just the same rod. I have so much confidence in a seven foot medium spinning rod to do anything. I feel like I can drop shot with it. I can throw a net rig with it. I can skip docs with it. Throw a wacky worm. I can crack a big old tube with it. Also, I really feel like this is the the all around utility player of spinning rods. And I feel like there's almost nothing you can't do with it. So let's go take a look at what this rod in particular looks like when we bend it on the wall. Back on the wall with the lose seven foot medium fast custom white spinning rod. You know, when I was when I was bending it in my hand, it looks like it had a very fast tip to it. But good thing. That's why we got the trustee old rod wall to see if that's still the case. So when we load into the rod initially, you can tell the rod is most definitely a fast action. And I really love that about this particular setup. I really do like to keep things simple when it comes to fishing with a spinning rod and, you know, a seven foot medium. You know, it's got the overall right length for all the different fishing that I do when I when I choose to use a spinning rod. You know, it's got enough power to really help me get a good hook set into the fish. And, you know, the fast action helps me to detect even the lightest of flights. So, you know, for good reason. I use this for everything when I want to when I want to pick up a spinning rod. And as I mentioned earlier, I have so much confidence in in this setup in particular. That's why I have a lot of 10 of them because, you know, for as many different spinning applications that I use, even though I'm using the same rod, it's nice not always having to retie. There's a lot of different directions you can go when picking out a rod, specifically a spinning rod based on the technique you're using. You know, you could use a longer, lighter rod if you're throwing a hair jig or you can use a little bit heavier of a rod if you're fishing a little bit bigger of a finesse tactic. But, you know, for a guy like me that that fishes a lot in the north that rot ates between fishing for large mouth and small mouth a lot. I really do feel like that when I need to go down the finesse tactic approach that I can really get everything done with just the 7 foot medium fast action rod. And I'm most certainly going to keep using a bunch of these rods heading into the 2025 season. To wrap things up, rod number 5, this is a rod that I use also in multiples, just like the spinning rod. A lot of the fishing I do, like I mentioned earlier , I love to keep things simple. I don't really feel like I need to complicate the setups that I use for a lot of the techniques that I apply when hitting the water. So, for me, one of the most popular rods I also had on my deck throughout the 2024 season is a 7 foot medium heavy. You've seen it everywhere all over the internet. If there's one rod that guys can use for the majority of their fishing tactics, they're going to pick a 7 foot medium heavy fast action rod. For the majority of all the fishing I do, this rod is perfect. I like, in specific, this is the loose custom speed stick. It's one of their more budget friendly rods. It's around $150 retail. It's incredibly light, comes in at 3.9 ounces. It's also really sensitive. And I feel like this is really a budget friendly rod for someone that's looking to get the most out of their dollar. So, if you don't want to spend $4 or $500 on a rod and you just want to spend $ 150 or so, consider looking at the custom speed stick. This is actually becoming one of my favorites. So, with the 7 foot medium heavy , the majority of the fishing that I'm going to use this particular rod for is j ig fishing. This rod in specific is my jig rod. I am able to flip wood with it. I can skip docks with this. I do a lot of river fishing. So, I like to throw swim jigs too. I really do feel like I can fish a swim jig effectively with the same rod. And this is ultimately why I have about 7 of these at home as well. Because I don't really need to complicate things. If there's a technique that I really feel like I need to dial in a little bit better, I'll veer out a little bit. Like the Carolina rig rod that I use. But for the most part, 85% of the power fishing that I'm going to do, I'm going to do it with a 7 foot medium heavy. So, let's go take a look at what this rod in particular bends like on the wall. Taking a look at the lose custom speed stick, the 7 foot medium heavy, fast action. One of my go-to jig fishing rods. When you look at it immediately on the wall, it's definitely got a fast action to it. It loads up quick on the front end of the rod. And then we got a large amount of backbone at the end. This gives me a lot of power. And also a very good amount of sensitivity as well. This is exactly why I also like to have this to skip docks with it. I feel like having that faster tip just gives me a little bit more accuracy and enough backbone to really lay the wood to them. Because I sometimes not afraid to do it. Sometimes I like to be a slack liner. So, I can really kind of get away with that when I'm using this type of rod. This is also a really good option to use if you're fishing a swim jig or throwing a spinner bait. I know some guys will go down to a medium with a spinner bait, but I really also like to use the medium heavy. I just feel like I can do just about anything with this rod and I feel like I can do it effectively. Like I said, if you have a bait that you have a lot of confidence in, that might be where you look for a little bit more of a specific setup. But for me, I do a lot of junk fishing with river fishing. So having a bunch of these rods in my lineup just makes me a really efficient angler on the water. And I really do feel like my success on the water is pretty high. Just keeping things simple. There's no reason to complicate it. Everything I've shown today is ultimately very, very simple. These are my top five rods from the 2024 fishing season. As I mentioned earlier in the video, if you guys aren't already a subscriber to the channel, please do me a favor. 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