n determining a fishing rod and reel one must consider the species you are fishing for along with the type of lure or live bait to be used. For instance your rod and reel set-up should match the fishing presentation. If you’re pursuing panfish using light lures or small minnows your outfit should be lightweight for casting and detecting bites, not a heavy baitcaster for pike or bass. There are five main basic categories of fishing rod and reel combinations, and within each there are multiple sub-categories of specialty types of outfits used for specific fishing applications, for example Walleye fisherman use rod and reel set-ups for slip bobber, slip sinker, jigging and trolling. Bass fisherman carry pitchin’, flippin’, crank baiting, and soft plastics combo’s. Muskie anglers have bucktail, jerk bait and top water outfits. In short, fishing rods and reels have come a long way over time, with new space age materials having been developed for rod construction making them longer and much lighter as well as reels with multiple ball bearings and one piece alloy and graphite frames.