How many of you use more than 3 rods consistently on a kayak?

[Riazuli]

Hey everyone, I'm rarin to take my kayak out as the weather gets warmer and I'm extra ready to put new gear I purchased over the winter to use.  I've stuck with my older setups for the winter as I wanted to wait until the Spring to break out the new stuff - I ended up with 3 new rods and reels this winter.  I've got two older setups I can keep using too, but I'm wondering if I should just stick to the 3 new ones...part of me is thinking that I might want to at least keep using an older setup for snakehead, which is pretty much what I'll get if I toss a frog into slop where I'm fishing.  That would be on a medium heavy/fast action rod (I've considered a dedicate heavy/frog rod for this purpose).  

 

My new setups are a M/M for cranks, MH/F for spinnerbaits/chatterbaits/jigs/spooks, and a MF for all-round applications/jerkbaits/plastics/topwaters.  The old setups are a MF and a MH/F.  If I kept the older setups on the kayak, I'd probably keep the MF as a dedicated plastic worm fisher and again the mh/f as a dedicated frogger - it would have a wire leader on it for the snakehead.  

 

That being said, is 5 just too many rods?  Worse comes to worse, I could cut it down to 4 and just take one older setup for the froggin as I mentioned before.  I don't want to tear up my new stuff on snakehead...those things can get pretty big and crazy.  I'll have two triple rod holders on a crate behind me.  The extra rod holder (if I use 5 setups) will carry a decent sized net.  For those of you who take 5 out, do you end up consistently using all 5 and does this at any point seem like it's just too many to manage?  I'm not worried about loading and unloading and all that...I've got a 8 rod/reel bag that should make that part easier.  It would add probably another 10 mins prep total for the day if I used 5 instead of 3 (and really you can cut that in half as I'm leaning toward keeping the 4th for the froggin).  

[flyfisher]

i take anywhere from 3-7 depending on the lake and my mood.  I am more of a fan of grabbing a new rod with a different bait than tying something else on.  My kayak also has plenty of space for them so that isn't an issue.

 

I usually have 2 spinning rods-one weightless plastics and one smaller top waters or finesse baits

5 bait casters-one with a frog, one with a jig, one texas rig of some sort, crank bait that isn't a square bill and one for spinnerbaits/chatterbaits.  All are MH except the frog rod which is a H but the others are each different in their characteristics so even though they say MH they all aren't the same.

When i take fly rod only trips i usually take three of those

[MassYak85]

You could say I keep things minimal...

 

 

...but that would be a complete lie 

 

 

Technically, I could carry 8 rods if I ditched my net and flag/light pole. But I don't even have 8 active setups so there's no point. What you see is what I carry at maximum. Some lakes I know I am not going to be punching or frogging so I can sometimes leave that at home. Some days I might just go out for a couple hours, leave my crate at home and just use the two built in rod holders. But I like to have the option to bring everything lol. 

 

[Dens228]

I started with two figuring why would I need more..now I carry 4 and am fighting the urge to add one more

 

1. M/Moderate, jerks, cranks, small spinnerbaits

2 MH/Fasts, plastics, jigs, spinnerbaits

1 H/fast,  Frogging, Whoppers, big swimbaits

 

If I add one it'll be another MH/fast 

[Riazuli]

Ok, you guys are definitely making me feel better about wanting to take more than 3 now lol...I guess I'll take 5 my first trip and if it seems like too much I'll cut back.  If it seems manageable, then why not?  Better to have too many then not enough as the old saying goes (says the bait monkey). 

[flyfisher]

9 minutes ago, Riazuli said:

Ok, you guys are definitely making me feel better about wanting to take more than 3 now lol...I guess I'll take 5 my first trip and if it seems like too much I'll cut back.  If it seems manageable, then why not?  Better to have too many then not enough as the old saying goes (says the bait monkey). 

it is all about your budget and space management in your kayak.  I didn't start out with this many rods but i picked them over the years and it is a nice thing to have.  Much easier to grab a different rod than cut and retie because that letdown is begging for a square bill  

[68camaro]

I usually have 6-8 rods, sometimes less. I don't like to keep switching lures/bait when I think I see specific opportunity so I just grab rod I need with bait pre-rigged for that rod/technique.

 

Its probably unnecessary but it keeps things interesting. I have a HobiePA12 and it has horizontal rod storage for 8 rods (2 per internal tube), plus 4 for my Hobie crate, plus 3 rod holders so I can easily carry 15, so at 6-8 I think am showing good restraint...LOL

 

 

[Riazuli]

6 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

it is all about your budget and space management in your kayak.  I didn't start out with this many rods but i picked them over the years and it is a nice thing to have.  Much easier to grab a different rod than cut and retie because that letdown is begging for a square bill  

See, I use snaps but might reconsider using them if I take this many setups.  I'm not worried about them being visible but they are a weak point if I were to catch a monster...the wire leaders have held up to some 8+ pound snakehead, but I'm not as sure about these snaps.  Even with snaps though, it takes time to get a new lure out of my bag/boxes which isn't the easiest (but not the hardest either) in a kayak. 

[flyfisher]

I can tie a bait on about as fast as a snap so i never use them plus i feel like they change the action.  

 

[Riazuli]

2 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

I can tie a bait on about as fast as a snap so i never use them plus i feel like they change the action.  

 

The action is definitely something I didn't consider as much, but I think definitely would make a difference with some baits...I'm thinking crankbaits would get hit the hardest here.  I'm starting to like the idea of 5 rods now ...without snaps...more and more!

[flyfisher]

Crankbaits are the one bait i do use them actually, i just remove the split rings or just clip direct to the bait.

 

[Riazuli]

1 minute ago, flyfisher said:

Crankbaits are the one bait i do use them actually, i just remove the split rings or just clip direct to the bait.

 

Ah yeah, that's a great idea.  Thanks for reminding me - I had just read about doing that recently and thought about doing it.  Where do you think it affects action the most - anything without a ring already attached?  

[Darren.]

I would say I use 2 normally, 4 max....

[flyfisher]

1 minute ago, Riazuli said:

Ah yeah, that's a great idea.  Thanks for reminding me - I had just read about doing that recently and thought about doing it.  Where do you think it affects action the most - anything without a ring already attached?  

anything else really.  topwater, jerk baits, any type of weightless plastic etc...I also fish a lot of areas that have a decent amount of grass and they grab more of that too.

[Riazuli]

56 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

anything else really.  topwater, jerk baits, any type of weightless plastic etc...I also fish a lot of areas that have a decent amount of grass and they grab more of that too.

Makes sense...I've always been 50/50 about snaps and it's mainly a convenience thing...also I've only been using two setups since the summer and am just now expanding to 5.  More the reason to steer away from snaps I guess (I'm apprehensive because I prefer to never retie at all lol, but what you're saying about action definitely is clicking).  

[Czorn]

I will take 5-6 unless I have them dialed in from the day before. Then I take 4-5 out. I lay two on each side of me. (With a strap over them) and I'll have one in my rod holder and one in my hand. 

[Dens228]

Remove the O rings and use VMC Crankbait snaps.....

[J Francho]

3-6, which depends on the water.  I have some diverse places to fish, all close by.

[Choporoz]

11 hours ago, flyfisher said:

i take anywhere from 3-7 depending on the lake and my mood.  I am more of a fan of grabbing a new rod with a different bait than tying something else on.  

 

10 hours ago, flyfisher said:

Much easier to grab a different rod than cut and retie because that letdown is begging for a square bill  

 

2 minutes ago, J Francho said:

3-6, which depends on the water.  I have some diverse places to fish, all close by.

4... Sometimes 5.   Rarely the same 4, however

[Hawkeye21]

I usually carry 6 rods on my kayak.  It can seem like a lot but I like being able to switch between multiple different lures and techniques quickly.

[Riazuli]

Thanks, gents.  You've successfully made me feel less crazy for wanting to take 5 rods on my kayak.  Go big or go home, right?  I know when I'm anchored up at a spot, I'll be glad I have several lures to run through without having to change anything. Will report back after my first yakkin of the season. 

[Preytorien]

I never use more than 2. I find that if I have too many scattered about in rod holders and such that I can too easily get tangled up during fighting fish and such. I bring 2 and use 1, so a total of 3....maybe

[RPreeb]

No kayak, but I will be using at most 3 in my canoe - 2 lying straddling the front and middle seat, and one in my hands.  I only own 3, but I doubt that I'd take more even if I had them - just gets too cluttered for me.  I see photos of some kayak/canoe setups, and I just think "No way I could fish that!" with all the stuff sticking up everywhere.

[bigbassin']

I'm surprised to see how many rods y'all take out on kayaks.  I don't have a crate system or rod holder, the extra rod just sits between my legs so that may be why, but I never take out more than two.  And I only do two if I plan to be on the water for more than 3 to 4 hours.

 

In a canoe I always do 3 to 4, unless I bring the fly rod.  Then it'll be one fly rod, one conventional for if the wind picks up.

[J Francho]

11 minutes ago, bigbassin' said:

I don't have a crate system or rod holder

I like to have a few more places to put a rod than the number rods I bring.  For example, my crate holds 6.  There's two recessed holders lust behind the seat.  Plus, two rocket launchers up front.  That's 10 total, twice as much as I usually bring.  This way, when I need to retie, unbutton, or photograph a fish, I have many convenient options instead of dealing with one or more rods in my lap.