Kayak fisherman's rod to reel ratio

[bigfruits]

i currently use 11 baitcasting rods and 5 reels. i only carry 3-6 rods (usually 4) when kayaking so my reels jump around depending on what rods i am taking that day. i always take at least one spinning rod, usually 2.

does anyone else do this or does every rod have to have its own reel? is ok to have a rod fetish and leave half of them naked on the rack at home? my minor OCD is telling me they dont look right but i am eyeing another rod now.

[Scott F]

I think what you're doing makes good sense. Bring the rods that suit the way you are going to fish that day. One reel can cover many situations better than one rod can. Do what works for you. Don't worry if it's not the way everybody else does it. 

[Darren.]

Agree with @Scott F, do what works for you. I have found, 
after many years of messing with my kayak rigging that 3
rods - for me - are probably the max I now take. I can get 
by really well with 2, and have even fared quite nicely with
only 1.

If you are fishing tournaments, you may need more, but 
probably not when it's just for enjoyment.

At least that's how I look at it. No tourneys for me, just out
for the love of the sport. So I tend to fish what works and 
not experiment too much these days. Oh, and except for my
casting setups, I have 1 reel per rod. For casting, which I
do not do as much anymore, I pared down to 1 reel and 2 
rods....

[MIbassyaker]

It's not what I would do, as I don't see how the marginal benefit of bringing fewer reels would offset the time-cost of swapping them around on the water and retying every time. But I can't argue at all with the advice to "do what works for you". That's almost always the right answer.

[bigfruits]

It works for me. Just bored and curious if anyone else does the same. I imagine it would only be kayakers, co-anglers or shore anglers. 

Does give a sense of emptiness when looking at the rack though

No tourneys for me neither. The pressure is the opposite of what I am looking for. Think its great for the sport/hobby though!

[new2BC4bass]

9 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

It's not what I would do, as I don't see how the marginal benefit of bringing fewer reels would offset the time-cost of swapping them around on the water and retying every time. But I can't argue at all with the advice to "do what works for you". That's almost always the right answer.

I like my rod and reel ratio to be 1:1 for the reason stated.  Fishing time is already limited so I don't want to be wasting my time switching reels around, and then re-tying lures.  Next thing you know I would have to be putting new line on the reels too. 

[bigfruits]

21 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

It's not what I would do, as I don't see how the marginal benefit of bringing fewer reels would offset the time-cost of swapping them around on the water and retying every time. But I can't argue at all with the advice to "do what works for you". That's almost always the right answer.

The swapping happens at home before heading out depending on what rods im bringing and that is decided by where I am going and  what i feel like throwing that day. Swapping on the water would never happen. I hate to even swap lures.

[MIbassyaker]

46 minutes ago, bigfruits said:

The swapping happens at home before heading out depending on what rods im bringing and that is decided by where I am going and  what i feel like throwing that day. Swapping on the water would never happen. I hate to even swap lures.

Ah! Gotcha! 

I do occasionally move reels around at home. although every time I buy a reel or a rod, I am unable to rest until I get a suitable long-term partner for it.

[Turtle135]

Kayak angler here as well. In my "active rotation" I have more reels than rods. I will switch to a different bait casting reel based on the line that reel is loaded with. I will generally carry from 2 to 4 rods.

p.s. - I do have a closet loaded with old rods that are just "not quite right"

 

[bigfruits]

Thats the only negative thing right now, not having the line options. 

I have extra spools for my spinning reels which makes swapping lines easy. baitcast spools are a little more expensive and I have no extras.

[buzzed bait]

i fish from the yak too, but i have a strict 1:1 ratio on the rods and reels.  they all have their specific pairing, but that's just what i like and/or works for me.  if what you're doing works, i'd keep it that way as you'll save some dough in the long run.

["hamma"]

I have a 16ft deep v tracker and a 8' basshunter, what I eventually did was delegate several specific rod reel combo's for the basshunter, so as not disturb my gear for the tracker. So much easier than swapping gear around for a few hours, confusing things just to go pond hopping.

 I delegate a reel for each rod, done deal.

[bholtzinger14]

4 hours ago, bigfruits said:

Thats the only negative thing right now, not having the line options. 

I have extra spools for my spinning reels which makes swapping lines easy. baitcast spools are a little more expensive and I have no extras.

 

[Poolshark]

18 rods and 11 reels. Whatever floats your boat. I bring different rods to different lakes. And usually take no more than 3 to 5 combos with me. I'm a pseudo minimalist. Lol

[Fishinthefish]

It's a nice way to save money, but personally I prefer 1 rod to 1 reel so I don't spend time rethreading a rod. I also use different types of line for different things, and to go to deeper debths. In a kayak I feel it's even more of a time saver due to more limited space and mobility.

[saamyb]

I'm new to this sight but not new to fishing. I kayak fish as well and for the areas I fish I can get by with 3, one for a jig , one for a spinnerbait, and one for a trap.

[the reel ess]

I have a kayak that came with 1 flush mount holder. I added another on the opposite side and I rigged up a milk crate with pvc pipe and zip ties to hold 5 more rods in the rear well. So I usually take 6 or 7 rods. That's 4 BC rods and 2 spinning for bass. If I'm going someplace where the panfishing is ideal or the bass are stunted badly, I'll carry a light action spinning combo as well. I never change around my combos until I buy a new reel or rod and the pairing is just better for the combo's purpose.

BC combos are for hvy treble baits like big cranks and Traps, topwaters, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, worms and jigs. Assortments of lines for different presentations.

Spinning is for weightless worm, finesse C-rig and light treble baits, like a Rapala minnow. Braid on these.

Light combo is for Beetlespin, baby craw crank, inline spinners, crappie jigs. This is rigged wioth 6 lb mono.

I have a small clear Plano box that I put baits in that I think I might want to change to. I carry bags of plastics behind the seat. You usually ahve a good diea of what you need tied on the reels when you go. Any trash, used plastics or baits I switch out go in the crate until I'm home. 

[WIGuide]

For what you do, that's a great way to save money. Sure it's nice to have them all matched up, but when you can only take a few with at a time there's no reason to drop more coin on something that's just going to sit there. If I was a kayak guy I'd like to think I'd do that as well. I live in a part of the country that has quite a bit of diversity in the bodies of water. Being that I own a boat, I match mine 1:1 for the most part even though I do have a few backup rods that don't have reels anymore. That usually happens when I upgrade a rod and don't use the old one anymore but I move the reel to the new rod. 

[fishwizzard]

I also see the wisdom of swapping rods and reels around.  I already do so for my L and UL gear, as I have different lengths and speed rods for different lures or locations.  For bass, I am trying to hold myself to two spinning combos and four casting combos.  My house is small so a double sided 12 spot rack is all I can fit and my panfish/perch/cat/surf combos take up one side, leaving only 6 for bass stuff.  Reels are easy to store, but I would rather spend money on more spools, which I can keep in the car.  

I also have a pile of unloved rods but I am not quite ready to get rid of them all.