How much is too much?

[NYWayfarer]

I have about 2 dozen combos, more if you count my saltwater stuff. And more if you count the loose rods and reels I have “retired”

 

I typically carry 1-4 combos on shore excursions. 2 when kayak fishing (kayak has 2 rod holders) 4-8 on a boat.

[Dens228]

I have 13 setups.  I fish from a kayak and could bring 10.  I usually bring 6-8.  What I bring depends on where I'm fishing and the times I bring 8 is usually when it's new water and I have no clue what it'll look like when I get there. 

[redmeansdistortion]

I have a number of setups but usually take two with me at the most.  If I had a boat, canoe, or kayak I'd definitely take more, but being a wader and bank buster, more than two is a bit much to carry.  Especially because I move around a lot.

[Log Catcher]

I usually take six combos. Four baitcasters and two spinning setups. I have one for crankbaits, one for spinnerbaits and topwaters, and two for jigs and soft plastics. The spinning rods are for finesse fishing. I keep a couple of extra reels in the boat in case I mess one up really bad I can switch out the reels.

 

I don't use A-rigs, super big swimbaits or glide baits, or any really heavy baits so I don't need anything for them. I would rather take a little extra time and change out baits if needed than deal with so many rods and reels. My rod box is only big enough to get maybe nine in it anyway.

[NOC 1]

16 hours ago, jbsoonerfan said:

I take way too many, but they all have their own purpose (for the most part). I take 18 combos with me, but there are times where I only use 4 or 5 in a day. I keep 10 rigged up for soft plastics, 1 spinnerbait, 1 chatterbait, 1 swimbait, 1 jerkbait, 1 frog, 1 jig and 2 crankbait set-ups. This is what is on there 90% of the time at least. If I know I m going to be on a frog bite, I might get 3 combos ready with frogs the night before I go. I also may have a spinnerbait on my spinnerbait rod and tie one on my chatterbait rod if I am trying different sizes or colors. I don't mind re-tying and it doesn't take much time, I have just found that for my style of fishing I am a lot more apt to switch a technique or color if I can just lay a rod down and grab another one and keep fishing. 

 

There have also been times where they wanted the first thing I started with and I would just use one for that day. 

Where is your trolling gear? Just kidding, but seriously your set up isn't outrageous considering that each type of bait has a particular type of rod which is going to work best for you when you are using it. Then, to keep from spending the day swapping baits, you might want a variety of sizes, colors, etc of the same type of baits.

 

I usually take 10 combos when I go out, but like you say, some days I might use most of them, other days I could have all but one at the dock.

[NOC 1]

9 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

I see no reason to buy anymore, unless 1 breaks, or I decide I want to throw heavier swimbaits. FWIW, I'm not a believer that a person needs 1 rig for every technique. In the old days, we made due.  

I can respect that, but on the other hand, I didn't work my rear end off for 40 years so that I could penny pinch myself on my hobbies. These are not the old days, and why "make do" when I can do so much better than that with nothing required other than a simple decision to do so?

[Dwight Hottle]

Well everybody should have one:

megabass rod of your choice

loomis nrx

st croix legend extreme or elite

kistler z bone

just so you can compare what is best. That's 4 combos minimum.

[Shimano_1]

I have 15 or 16 combos. 3 spinning rest casting. My boat can comfortably handle about 12 in the rodbox. Usually take around 8 for fun fishing and 10 or so for tournaments.  Usually carry 2 or 3 flippin sticks cause I love flippin and in case I break one or something I've got another. Carry 2 or 3 jerkbait rods cause I love fishing those too. I could get by with 4 to 6 but why get by if you can throw in some over kill lol. No right or wrong answer to this. Take whatever makes you happy

[Bankbeater]

Walking the bank I carry 3 rods.  Usually some kind of combination of spinning and bc.  When I fish out of a boat I'll have 4 or 5 bc and spinning rods.

 

[lynxcat]

I’ve got four that I use and I can see about 6 being my upper limit. I need to get a frog/heavy jig rod and a medium spinning combo.

[soflabasser]

On 1/22/2021 at 6:39 PM, NavyVet1204 said:

How many setups do you think is enough?

Most of the time I bring 1-2 rods with me when I am bass fishing and see no need for more than 5 rods, even on a boat. The truth is a bass fisherman can do well with just 1 rod and reel if he knows what he is doing and the fish are biting good.

[Hammer 4]

14 hours ago, NOC 1 said:

I can respect that, but on the other hand, I didn't work my rear end off for 40 years so that I could penny pinch myself on my hobbies. These are not the old days, and why "make do" when I can do so much better than that with nothing required other than a simple decision to do so?

I wouldn't call what I spend on fishing gear " Penny Pinching " I buy what I need/use. 5 or 6 years ago, I probably had more $$$ tied up in spendy swimbaits than most guys have invested in rods and reels. At my age, I came to the realization that I don't really need the most expensive gear, nor an over abundance of gear either. 

Years ago when I was roadracing motorcycles, I was spending about 2k per month, after about 14 months I realized just how much it was costing me, even though I made pretty good money. Sometimes some of us just want to cut back. Those who want to spend 6 to 800.00 for 20 rigs, that's fine, I catch just as many fish with what I have. 

[Junk Fisherman]

To answer this question, you have to think about what bass species and what cover/structure you typically fish.  I use just about every fishing style throughout the course of the season while fishing for largemouth and smallmouth.  So I have 5 spinning combos and 6 casting combos that I routinely use and covers everything I do.  The only techniques I do not use are punching and 1 oz+ swimbaits.  So I would say that 12 combos would cover just about everything in the bass fishing spectrum.  

[evo2s197]

Only you yourself will know when it becomes too much, i have nearly 4 dozen combos that I have accumulated over the years and countless spare reels still new in boxes, they are all fun to use, some have sentimental value and I have a dedicated room just for tackle and rods so its not a problem, my wife doesn't care as we both have our own spending money, hers being her muscle cars we like to restore, so she can't complain.

 

If storing them becomes a problem or you start suffering financially because of a hobby or causes marital stress then maybe then its too much.

 

 

[NOC 1]

13 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

I wouldn't call what I spend on fishing gear " Penny Pinching " I buy what I need/use. 5 or 6 years ago, I probably had more $$$ tied up in spendy swimbaits than most guys have invested in rods and reels. At my age, I came to the realization that I don't really need the most expensive gear, nor an over abundance of gear either. 

Years ago when I was roadracing motorcycles, I was spending about 2k per month, after about 14 months I realized just how much it was costing me, even though I made pretty good money. Sometimes some of us just want to cut back. Those who want to spend 6 to 800.00 for 20 rigs, that's fine, I catch just as many fish with what I have. 

Like I said already, I respect your view. My post was more about how I see it from my point of view. Neither one of us, or any of the rest of us for that matter, have any need to justify to anyone else how or why we choose to do what we do.

[PhishLI]

With most hobbies, according to your means, you can play hard, or you can play easy, but you can play. Fishing is by far the least expensive big boy hobby I've had. It's not even close. When I'm fighting with myself over a spendy-er fishing purchase my wife is always amused. If only I could put into words the look on her face once she's heard the price. It's good for her because now my gifts are orders of magnitude less expensive.   

 

Enough is simply whatever you decide it's going to be. Unless you fish with a weird, judgmental clique, nobody gives a crap what anyone else fishes with. They're too busy fishing. I love fishing and I love cool gadgets. I overindulge in them, just like everything else I like. The day will come, as it always does, that I'll stare at it all and wonder what I was thinking. But in the meantime, Tally Ho!                                                                                    

[Boomstick]

I have a total of 9 rods and 8 reels. Two reels are paired with a specific rod, and the rest all have different line on them for different situations. I plan to add one more setup for this year, and would also like to add a M+/F rod for finesse jigs as well.

 

I will usually carry no more than three if I'm shore fishing as I'll bring the three appropriate to the location although I'll often carry more of them in my truck in case I decide to change tactics.

 

Out on the kayak, I will usually carry between 3 and 5 and sometimes 6 if I want to carry one up front with me. A large deciding factor for me is if I'm fishing a lake has patches of cover (cover is generally area specific in most of my lakes) then I'm likely to bring more rods.

 

As far as what's right for you? How much time do you spend on the water? How serious are you about it? What assortment of lures do you fish regularly? I'm no pro by any means (my title is not a lie), but fishing is one of my hobbies and passions.

 

 

[OkobojiEagle]

On 1/22/2021 at 5:55 PM, jbsoonerfan said:

 I am a lot more apt to switch a technique or color if I can just lay a rod down and grab another one and keep fishing. 

This!  From shore I'm perfectly fine fishing only one rod/reel.

 

oe

[MAN]

I get by with 2. 

*Medium 

*Heavy 

 

There isn't anything I can't fish and catch with these 2 rods.    

[The Maestro]

I draw the line at having identical setups for different baits. I usually bring 10-12 but no 2 of the same rod.

[A-Jay]

2 minutes ago, The Maestro said:

I draw the line at having identical setups for different baits. I usually bring 10-12 but no 2 of the same rod.

I'm just the opposite.

When I find one I like,

I Load Up !

?

A-Jay

 

[J Francho]

11 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Load Up !

Same.  I have 6 virtually identical drop shot rigs, and I have had them all on deck at once, especially io a tournament where my day will be all drop shot.  I have a couple jig and worm rods that are doubled as well for the same reason.  While you're retying, I'm reaching for the next rig.

[A-Jay]

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

Same.  I have 6 virtually identical drop shot rigs, and I have had them all on deck at once, especially io a tournament where my day will be all drop shot.  I have a couple jig and worm rods that are doubled as well for the same reason.  While you're retying, I'm reaching for the next rig.

Same for me when the jerkbait bite is on

Front AND back decks and set up with multiple rigs 

All ready to go.

A-Jay

[The Maestro]

23 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

I'm just the opposite.

When I find one I like,

I Load Up !

?

A-Jay

 

I have multiples of a bunch of my rods but I keep them as backups. I will have rods with essentially the same bait just in a different weight but the rods will be matched accordingly.

[jbsoonerfan]

4 minutes ago, The Maestro said:

I have multiples of a bunch of my rods but I keep them as backups. I will have rods with essentially the same bait just in a different weight but the rods will be matched accordingly.

This is very similar to how I approach it. I might have a 7'2 MH Expride with a 1/4 oz Texas rig and a 7'2 H Expride with a 1/2 oz Texas rig. Both could very well have a sweet beaver on them. Right beside them could be a 7'2 MH Zodias with a 3/16 oz and a 7'2 H Zodias with a 3/8 oz and a baby brush hog on both. 

 

Heck I might even pitch all 4 at the same stump before I move on. LOL