Packing for a day on the water

[GoneFishingLTN]

Let’s say you are going fishing for 5-8 hours would you pack all your bait in the category you plan on fishing ex jerkbait or would you just make a day box with two jerkbaits? 
 

assuming your taking roughly 5 to 8 different styles of fishing jerkbait, crankbait etc

[Choporoz]

I fish from a kayak and usually limited to eight rods.   I'll pick the eight I think will best suit the expected conditions.   And the I pack 10 to 20 times the amount of lures I could reasonably expect to use.   I have carried baits out in probably a hundred trips this year that I haven't used once....but...I might need one tomorrow...lol

[Dens228]

3 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I fish from a kayak and usually limited to eight rods.   I'll pick the eight I think will best suit the expected conditions.   And the I pack 10 to 20 times the amount of lures I could reasonably expect to use.   I have carried baits out in probably a hundred trips this year that I haven't used once....but...I might need one tomorrow...lol

Same here......but I bring anywhere from 6-8 rods.......I have 6 3700 boxes in my crate behind me.  I have a 3600 under my seat with the lures I think I'll use that day.  95% if the time I never have to reach behind me unless it's to get more plastics..  I still bring it all though.  

[Mbirdsley]

I try to make my fishing excursions atleast 4-5 hrs at a minimum. ideally I like to fish 8-12 hrs. My closest place to take the boat is 30 minutes away which, is the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers.

 

 Depends if it is a new lake. if I’m fishing a new lake I take everything but, the kitchen sink. If it’s some where I have been before I generally have an idea of how to be successful that day and I plan accordingly.  I really don’t enjoy bringing the kitchen sink with me, it gets heavy and messy after a while 

[TnRiver46]

Gotta have about a gallon of water to drink on the full days! I can deal with forgetting anything else 

[Bankbeater]

When I go out in a boat I fish anywhere from 5 to 12 hours. I usually take several boxes of plastics, jigs, crankbaits, and spinnerbaits. I’ll bring from 4 to 6 rods with me. 
I usually end up fishing one or two baits on one or two rigs. 

[Bankc]

18 hours ago, Dens228 said:

Same here......but I bring anywhere from 6-8 rods.......I have 6 3700 boxes in my crate behind me.  I have a 3600 under my seat with the lures I think I'll use that day.  95% if the time I never have to reach behind me unless it's to get more plastics..  I still bring it all though.  

That's mostly what I do.  Except its with 4 rods and I keep two 3600 boxes under my seat.  

I typically limit myself to what I might use.  That's mostly based on water clarity, so I have my stuff divided into two groups based on color.  So if I'm fishing a dirty lake (most of the time), I'll bring along a bunch of chartreuse and black and blue lures.  If I'm fishing clearer waters, I'll take along my more realistic looking lures.  If I don't know what the water is going to be like, I'll bring them all in the car, and just pack what I think I might use in the kayak once I get there.  But I always bring an assortment of cranks, jigs, spinnerbaits, plastics, spoons, topwaters, etc.  You never know what's gonna bet bit until you throw it.

 

I try not buy new stuff unless it's to replace old stuff.  I don't have any lures that I haven't thrown in a year.  If it goes a year without getting wet, I'll just give it away.  That policy keeps me from wasting money on magic bullets, keeps me organized so I can find what I need, and keeps me from collecting a bunch of junk I'll never use.  Plus, it gives me more courage to throw into places that I might lose a lure.  I always have a few lures that I'm not too fond of, so I have incentive to try to lose them to allow me to buy something new and different that I hopefully will like better.  

[Fishes in trees]

My goal when I go fishing is to have enough of everything I might need without having too much.   I generally err on the side of having too much. This goes for gear & baits. but also applies to other stuff.

 

Why bring half a cooler full of  water & beer when you can fill it up.  Why bring just one sandwich, when you might run into someone and want to share?

 

I've had some interesting times on the lake when a random encounter with another guy in a boat turned into a little bit of chit-chat and a couple of barley pops later I was finding out stuff about the lake I didn't know.  This would not have happened had I bogarted my barley pop.

 

A couple of guys I met doing this has turned into a decades now friendship, where we share fishing information, lodging at different charity tournaments, just basically made new friends.

 

I totally recommend if you think you might swill a couple or three while you're fishing, buy a 12 pack and be on the look out for someone to share it with while on the water.  

[Log Catcher]

Fishing from a boat I usually have a lot more than I need. I usually have 4 baitcasters and 2 spinning setups with me. The only things I take in or out of the boat would be baits I consider seasonal. Everything else stays in the boat until I clean it out in the late fall when I quit for the year.

[r83srock]

In my 18 foot bass boat I bring 6 rods, and a medium tackle bag with 4  3600s, one for terminal, one for all jigs, one for frogs/hardbaits, one for Spinnerbaits/buzzbaits. And a small bag with a dozen bags of plastics. I have equipment and safety stuff that I always keep in the boat. Rods and tackle usually come out every trip to get re organized/cleaned/maintained for the next trip. It’s the same setup I bring when I fish from someone else’s boat, except I may cut it to 4 rods. From my kayak I cut it in half, from the bank I cut it in half again. I probably bring more food than tackle.

[DitchPanda]

I'm a bank guy and most of my outings are in the 2 to 4 hour range. I usually bring 3-4 rods...1-2 3600 boxes with baits and terminal stuff and a few bags of plastics.

Also ill second the water...especially if its gonna be a longer outing.

[MN Fisher]

I guess I'm a tackle hog in a way

14' Canoe

This year it'll be 10 rigs, 2x3700 size bags (5 standard-depth boxes, 6 thin boxes...hard lures/terminal tackle), 2x3600 bags (7x3607 in one, 4x3607 in the other...plastics) and a 16qt cooler with ice that has some snacks and drinks in it...plus any crappie or 2#-3# LMBs I decide to keep.

 

32 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

I'm a bank guy and most of my outings are in the 2 to 4 hour range. I usually bring 3-4 rods...1-2 3600 boxes with baits and terminal stuff and a few bags of plastics.

Also ill second the water...especially if its gonna be a longer outing.

If I go bank fishing - it's 3 rigs and my 7-box 3600 bag...3 boxes of plastics, 4 of hard-baits/terminal tackle...and the cooler.

[NoShoes]

4 to 5 rigs. Catch all my fish on two. 5 or 6 plano 3600’s, but catch all my fish on trick worms. Makes me wonder if i wouldn’t be better off with one rig and one bag of worms. 

 

If its sunset fishing there will be a couple beers too. 

[Michigander]

My Triton has more gear than I need, I want my kayak to be more of a minimalist experience. I take a Medium rod, and a Heavy rod. One deep tray of soft plastics and a regular tray of terminal and lures. Other than that, water, coffee, and a snack makes me good for the day.