Rods/reels for kayaking- there can be only 3!

[Scrapiron]

I've started kayak fishing (love it) and with that goes the minimizing of gear. I'm fishing in NC (Falls Lake /Beaver Dam /Jordan)- water isn't clear- especially with all the rain we've had.

 

Right now I've thinking:

 

1. For CBs, Traps, SquareB, Jerks(?)--- Loomis GLX 845C- 7' MH Mod rod with a Curado 200 (6.3:1) and 16# Sniper FC

2. For spinners, chatterbaits--- Kistler Mag2- 6'8" light MH, Fast Mod with a Curado 70 (8.2:1) and 30# braid with a FC leader

3. For Drop, Ned--- Avid X- 6'9" MLXF with a Symetre and 10# braid with a FC leader

 

Not sure what to do about topwater (if and when). I could swap the Curado 70 with a Curado 200 (7.1:1) and use the 70 for top (MXF rod), but was trying to keep the rod count to 3 (or 2!).

 

I've used all three a couple of time and seems good. I'm missing a carolina rig/jig/worm rod though. OR am I overthinking?

 

 

[lmbfisherman]

I think you should exchange number 1 to a MH/F rod that would take over spinners, chatters baits and then move the CB's, Traps, Squarebills and Jerks to number 2.  MH/F rod then can double as your pitching rod and sub as a frog rod.  Also since you're tring to "maximize with less".  I'd up the Avid X to a M/F spinning reel, if it has a soft enough tip though.  My M/F Aetos previous generation ranges from 1/16 to 3/4 oz, so it can handle more and not be "specific" to one technique.  So it can act as a back up in a pinch and also sub as your lighter jigs/texas rig rod. 

[Turtle135]

Welcome to the wonderful world of kayak bass fishing!

 

I have some buddies who actually pack 9 to 13 rods on their kayaks and then there is me (minimalist, I carry two identical 7'1" MH baitcasting combos). Oddly enough, when we fish together we catch about the same number of bass.

 

There is no wrong way to go about it.

[CenCal fisher]

2 minutes ago, Turtle135 said:

Welcome to the wonderful world of kayak bass fishing!

 

I have some buddies who actually pack 9 to 13 rods on their kayaks and then there is me (minimalist, I carry two identical 7'1" MH baitcasting combos). Oddly enough, when we fish together we catch about the same number of bass.

 

There is no wrong way to go about it.

Just think about how many you would catch if you had ten more rods 

[Scrapiron]

@lmbfisherman - good suggestions. I have either a Shimano Expride or St. Croix Mojo SCIII 7' MHF I could swap for the GLX. I'd love to add in a 7' M/F Avid X to switch with the MLXF.                                                                                                                   and I can't imagine carrying 9-13 rods on a bass boat, much less a kayak.

[Darren.]

Number of rods is entirely dependent on the fisherman/woman.

I will carry up to 4, but often only take two.

 

Unless you're trolling or live baiting, you can only use one rod

at a time. Decide what your primary techniques are and base 

rod/reel choice on that.

 

I'm a finesse fisherman, mainly take spinning gear. Heaviest is

Medium power. ML used most often. Croix MLXF rods are excellent.

If I want to change to a technique I didn't bring a rod for, I will 

still do it (say a heavier TX rig or such) and change out my leader

from 6,8,or 10 to 15lb test and a larger hook. I've done it enough

to know it will work, may not be "best" but it works and keeps my

kayak sanity in shape. Too much stuff is a nightmare waiting to happen

in a yak (IMHO).

[lmbfisherman]

I fish from a yak most of the time and I carry 5-6 rods.  On a good day I will only use 1 rod all day, on a bad day I'll use all the rods that I tied on, since it's bad I would've probably changed lures multiple times.  I like carrying this many because less time retying and having for me the 5-6 rods pre-tied the day before makes me enjoy my time on the water.  I find if I brought only 2 to 3 rods I find myself kicking myself that I need to change a lure that I may want to keep tied on, but want to change and have retie again.  I think 5-6 is a good number for me on a kayak. 

 

I usually carry -

 

2 - MH/F BC Rod

1 - M/F Spinning Rod

1 - ML/XF Spinning or BC

1 - M/MF Rod

Last one maybe a H/F or a MH/MF rod. 

[Turkey sandwich]

I can carry up to 8 on my kayak with the way it's currently rigged.  Sometimes I'll take that many.  Sometimes I won't.  Ultimately it all comes down to what I'm likely fishing that day.  There is no solution that's perfect for everything, and frankly, I'd rather have something and not need it than need it and not have it.  

[J Francho]

I carry three to five.  I have places to hold 8.  It's important to have extra holders around.  They come in handy when rigging and unhooking/releasing fish.  What rods I bring depends on the where, what, and how of each trip.

[Turtle135]

3 hours ago, CenCal fisher said:

Just think about how many you would catch if you had ten more rods 

 

It doesn't work that way for me. I operate better with limiting the number of presentation options. I'm not versatile, I'm just persistent! 

 

 

2 hours ago, Scrapiron said:

and I can't imagine carrying 9-13 rods on a bass boat, much less a kayak.

 

They put 3 flush mount holders down each side of the rear tankwell and line 3 sides of their crate with rod holders. The loading and unloading for every trip would drive me to drink.

[fishwizzard]

I usually try to limit the number of rods I carry, with four being the max.  

 

2 @ 6'8" MH/F casting rods, Fenwick Smallmouths, they have a nice short butt section. They cover all non-finesse stuff, one usualy has a spinnerbait tied on, the other a worm or jig. 

 

1 @ 6' ML/F spinning rod, a custom from Smalliestix, also with a short butt. This starts with a Ned Rig tied on but covers all "lighter than a senko" plastics.  It also will throw inline spinners if I give up on bass to chase panfish.  

 

The last rod is the wildcard, being whatever will best cast my current lure obsession.  

 

My main criteria for a kayak combo is a rod with a short butt and a total combo replacement cost in the ~$300 range.  I use rod floats and have yet to turtle, but I know that day will come. 

[.ghoti.]

I take two. I have one rod holder behind the seat where I store the rod I'm not using. A second rod holder is between my feet. I use it when I need both hands free for something.

 

The two rods I take depends, on what I think I need for that day. They are chosen from the rods I have and use for boat and bank fishing. I have no yak specific gear.

 

I use two short lengths of small diameter nylon rope to secure the rods. Long enough movement is not inhibited, short and light enough I almost don't notice them. 

[Raul]

1 Medium spinning

1 MH F casting

1 MH M cranking casting.

[Caliyak]

On 6/1/2017 at 8:41 AM, Scrapiron said:

I've started kayak fishing (love it) and with that goes the minimizing of gear. I'm fishing in NC (Falls Lake /Beaver Dam /Jordan)- water isn't clear- especially with all the rain we've had.

 

Right now I've thinking:

 

1. For CBs, Traps, SquareB, Jerks(?)--- Loomis GLX 845C- 7' MH Mod rod with a Curado 200 (6.3:1) and 16# Sniper FC

2. For spinners, chatterbaits--- Kistler Mag2- 6'8" light MH, Fast Mod with a Curado 70 (8.2:1) and 30# braid with a FC leader

3. For Drop, Ned--- Avid X- 6'9" MLXF with a Symetre and 10# braid with a FC leader

 

Not sure what to do about topwater (if and when). I could swap the Curado 70 with a Curado 200 (7.1:1) and use the 70 for top (MXF rod), but was trying to keep the rod count to 3 (or 2!).

 

I've used all three a couple of time and seems good. I'm missing a carolina rig/jig/worm rod though. OR am I overthinking?

 

 

3 or 4 rods for me. I'm a little different. 

1. Heavy rod for swimbaits 

2. MH rod for flipping and pitching creatures, jigs, texas rigs, frog 

3. M rod for small swimbaits, buzz, chatter

4. Spinning reel for worm and light lures 

 

#2 and #4, never leave home without them. I don't fishing all applications just the ones I like. I'm thinking about getting rid of all cranks because of swimbaits. I'm weird but I enjoy swimbaits more.

[susQbassman]

I carry five in my Native Slayer 12'

top water jerk bait rod med pwr 6'8" casting

spinner bait large top water mh 6'9" casting

small jigs and soft jerk baits mxf 7'3" spinning

crank bait rod med pwr 7' casting

large soft plastics buzzbaits 7'1" mxf casting

my spring & fall smallmouth setups summer low water I go l to ml setups 1 spinning 4 casting.

[Angry John]

My top 3 that go most often are 

610mlxf spinning with 10 lb braid 2000 reel

 

70mhf casting 15 lb flouro baitcaster 

 

Avid 66mf sol reel 10 lb yhb. 

 

I sub out the line on the 66 avid to go dedicated topwater sometimes.  If I am headed to a good frogging punching area I will leave it behind for a heavy setup with 65lb braid

[MassYak85]

I can carry up to five but I usually have 3 or 4. The three that pretty much always come are a 7' MHF spinning setup with 15lb braid for stuff like weightless worms. A 7'2" HF baitcaster with 40lb braid for T-rigs, Jigs, frogs if I don't feel like bringing my frog rod. A 7'2" MHF baitcaster with 30lb braid for stuff like spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, topwaters. 

[Chrisran99]

I usually carry three. 6'9" M XF spinning rod for sinkos and weightless flukes, 7' MM casting rod for cranks, and a 6'8" MH F casting for heavier baits. I usually like shorter rods for kayak fishing but I like the 7' cranking rod for the leverage, I've tried shorter moderate rod and can't seem to control the fish as well when I get them closer to the boat.

[bigfruits]

On 6/4/2017 at 7:48 AM, susQbassman said:

I carry five in my Native Slayer 12'

 

 

i have the same boat. you should check out the rudder. the backpack and and bow cooler are way overpriced but worth it IMO.

 

i usually carry 3-4. i choose depending on where i will be fishing and what i plan on throwing.

 

might do this on an unknown lake:

Med XF spinning (NRX 852s) - finesse, light jig/t-rig

Med Fast (NRX 842) - trebles, small paddletails

MH Fast (MB Daemos) - single hook moving baits, 1/4-3/8oz jig/t-rig plus plastic

Heavy XF (MB FMJ) - jigs, t-rig to cover, small swimbaits, frogs

[HeavyTwenty]

On 6/1/2017 at 11:41 AM, Scrapiron said:

Right now I've thinking:

 

1. For CBs, Traps, SquareB, Jerks(?)--- Loomis GLX 845C- 7' MH Mod rod with a Curado 200 (6.3:1) and 16# Sniper FC

2. For spinners, chatterbaits--- Kistler Mag2- 6'8" light MH, Fast Mod with a Curado 70 (8.2:1) and 30# braid with a FC leader

3. For Drop, Ned--- Avid X- 6'9" MLXF with a Symetre and 10# braid with a FC leader

 

 

I agree with lmbfisherman. For the sake of versatility while yaking, I don't really see the need to go outside of fast action, but I guess that could be a personal preference.

[joe chum]

I fish in a 8' pontoon boat and find all I can handle is 4 rods. I will rotate rods/reels due to the lake, time of the year and present weather conditions. I feel closely related to yakkers. 

 

1. NRX 852S w/ Stradic Ci4+ and #10 yellow PP w/ #8 Sunline Sniper: Tubes, light T-rigs, soft stick baits, grubs

 

2. GLX 822 DSR(2016) w/ Stradic 2500FJ and #10 yellow PP w/ #8 Sunline Sniper: dropshots, finesse

 

3. Dobyns Champion 702SF w/ Shimano Symmetre 2500FL and #10 yellow PP w/ #8 Sunline Sniper: tubes, light T-rigs, small swimbaits; w/ Pfluegar President 6930 and #8 clear Yo-Zuri Hybrid: small jerkbaits, topwater, crankbaits

 

4. St. Croix Mojo Bass(SCIII) 68MXF w/ Chronarch 50E and #8 clear Yo-Zuri Hybrid: jerkbaits, topwaters

 

5. Fenwick  Elite Tech Smallmouth S74M-F w/ Symmetre 2500FL and #10 green PP w/ #8 Seguar Invisx: Ned rigs

 

6. Shimano Clarus C70MB w/ Shimano Calcutta 50B and #8 clear Yo-Zuri Hybrid: medium crankbaits

 

Plan on p/u a MH 7' - 7' 6" crankbait rod with a Diawa Tatula 100CT in the near future

 

[Scrapiron]

@HeavyTwenty- I guess it's that I have the 845C and it's a super nice rod- I can feel everything that's happening- hate to leave it. I guess I should pick and choose what I want to fish with and rotate rods/reels.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

2 here both short 6' 1 casting mh and one spinning med...and also i do both in same day freshwater/pond/ lake then 20 mins later im on the cheasepeake bay same lures same combos im a real life minimalist.you want  more Water as opposed to fishing rods took me a few  yrs to figure this out.

[Frenchman83]

I have found that line type affects how versatile a rod is.  For example a 6'6" med mod with fluorocarbon is really good for shallow cranks but not so much with topwater.  If you change to a similar strength copolymer you can fish crank baits or top water.  I generally carry 2 casting and 2 spinning.  I casting is for single hook baits and the other is for treble hooks.  1 spinning is for tubes and other small jigs and the other is for weightless. Generally 10-15# copolymer on the casting and 15# braid with 8-15# leader on the spinning.