Hanna Robbins and Jennifer Combs with a cooler full of crappie from Lake Sam Rayburn

The Outdoor Gear We Recommend

We may have a little bit of a hoarding problem. Good gear need not be expensive, but it has to improve the experience in some way. Whether it’s the right rod, a certain bait, or the world’s best rainsuit, we’ll give unfiltered opinions on what we use and why we use it.


No tackle shop on earth provides more specialized gear for bass than Tackle Warehouse. If you want it, they've got it in stock — whether it's a proven winner or the newest items on the market — and their service is exceptional.

Gear Pete Robbins Gear Pete Robbins

Have Swimbaits, Will Travel

Swimbaits require special gear. When it comes to truly big baits, you can’t depend on most lodge/outfitter sticks, nor are they likely to provide the lures themselves. That means you have to come up with strategies to get your stuff to where the bass live. Full-sized rod tubes are an increasingly difficult proposition, and when you’re talking about rods 8 feet or longer, the odds get slimmer, so you need to find alternatives. That may mean three- or four-piece sticks.

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Gear Pete Robbins Gear Pete Robbins

High-End Travel Rods to Covet and Buy

Now that I’ve caught the bug and gotten over my fears that multi-piece rods would feel subpar, I’ve started to explore additional options. If you look to foreign markets like Japan and Europe and Australia, there are many more models than you can find here – including some at bespoke prices – but for purposes of this piece I’m going to limit it to items that are fairly easy to acquire within the U.S.

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