How Many Rods Should I Carry?

[Jack Hanson]

I’m a fairly new fishermen and only have a couple rods. A 5’6 Ultralight spinning setup, a 7ft medium spinning setup and I am planning to get a medium heavy 7ft bait caster. I am mainly fishing jerkbaits, spinner baits, jigs, and crankbaits. Should I bring more than one rod? If I only need to bring one rod, which one should I bring? 

[casts_by_fly]

Two. The medium spinning rod and the mh bait caster. Not much you can’t fish with those two rods. 

[Koz]

Bank or boat? And if you're fishing from the bank, will you be covering a lot of ground?

 

When I bank fish I'm usually covering a lot of ground moving from lagoon to lagoon and because I fish and move I always found it to be a pain to carry more than one rod. So in those cases I brought a single, 7' MH baitcaster.

 

On my kayak it's different. I usually limit myself to three rods and base those on where I plan to fish and what I plan to throw. If I'm a backseater with a buddy on a bassboat I usually bring four rods.

[Jack Hanson]

19 minutes ago, Koz said:

Bank or boat? And if you're fishing from the bank, will you be covering a lot of ground?

I’m usually on the bank but do fish from kayaks sometimes. I try to cover as much ground as possible but where I fish there is too much dense vegetation to walk through in most spots, so I usually can’t cover too much. 

[roadwarrior]

 

[Team9nine]

from the bank…and base it on where you are going (water/cover) or what you want to throw (fave/season).

[roadwarrior]

I carry one rod when I am fishing ponds.

[Jack Hanson]

20 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

 

Thanks for the link, it seemed very helpful. I can’t afford to buy 2 more baitcasting combos so I might just get 2 rods and one 6.5/1 gear ratio bait caster reel. I’ll put on 20 or 30 pound braid and when I need to I’ll put on a 15 pound mono or flouro leader depending on the situation.

[islandbass]

What you have already covers most basics. Any more and your simply augmenting your Arsenal. This is a no frills, minimalist approach, which I subscribe to. The most I’d take is 4, most of the time 3, from the shore but I decided a means to carry all my rods in so carrying multiple rods not an issue for me. 
 

Addendum: The only reason to carry more than you have will most likely be for convenience sake. A medium spin and an mh bc rig and a UL cover most of the bases. The downside so to speak is the cutting off and retying when switching lures— this is what extra rods alleviate but it also means more crap to carry if you are shore bound. 

 

Edited June 18, 2022 by islandbass
Additional info

[NYWayfarer]

I carry 2-4 rods when bank fishing.

 

I can really get by with just 2 to cover light to heavy baits

 

Medium light spinning combo’s 

 

Medium heavy baitcasting combo

[ironbjorn]

I carry 1-3 setups when fishing from the bank. Sometimes it's nice to just pick up a rod with a different bait without having to retie, but it can be a pain to carry more than one. Sometimes the area is too full of weeds, brush, and trees, making walking more difficult than it would have been with one rod. Sometimes I prop up the other two rods against my backpack to avoid stepping on them, but I've been an idiot and taken them out on the back swing of a cast. One time I broke a rod this way, and another time my lure grabbed a rod and threw it into the pond. Then, of course, I've had times where I haven't propped up the other rods and just laid them on the ground, and that lead to me stepping on them and flattening guides. It really can be a pain.

[new2BC4bass]

If walking around the lake, one rod is plenty.  I'd rather be over-gunned than under-gunned.  Spinning it will be a Medium power.  Baitcast a Medium or MH power depending on lure selection and type of cover along the shore.

 

If fishing in a limited area, I will usually carry 2...occasionally 3 rods.

 

But in either case there will be spare rods in the car of various power and actions.  How many depends on if my wife came along or not.  Since she now has severe dementia, I always take her with me and only carry 2-3 rods as I know I won't be staying very long.  I used to carry about 4-5 when she came with me and 7-8 (sometimes more) if she didn't.

 

 

[LrgmouthShad]

Bank fished today for an hour or so. One rod. Other times I will bring more, but never more than three. Just kinda depends. Today I knew I wanted to throw a curl tail worm with a stout rod. I never changed baits. 1 3lber and family caught some as well. 
 

Happy Father’s Day!

[redmeansdistortion]

I too am mostly a bank/wade fisherman and usually carry only one rod, and it's either a L or ML as most of my baits fall into that category.  I prefer mobility over choice.  It's much easier carrying one rod and a small box with an assortment of baits I know work well.  

[Bankbeater]

If the water around the bank is open and clear I carry 3, if there is a lot of cover around the bank I carry 2 rods.

[Hammer 4]

I carry at least 3 rigs, and depending on conditions, and the baits I want to toss I may take 3 baitcasters, or 2 baitcasters and 1 spinning rig. All my baits and terminal tackle go in my backpack.

There are city park ponds/lakes that cover 3 or 4 miles, never bothered me, even when I'd take my 8' swimbait rig.

[Bankc]

Carry however many you want.  I've carried up to three on the bank.  Any more, and it's just too much of a hassle.  Even three is hassle sometimes, especially if I'm navigating around trees.  I typically just carry one, since most of the time when I'm bank fishing I'm not spending all day on the water, and will typically try to focus on just one, maybe two, presentations. 

 

From my kayak, I always bring six.  Six is all that I have room for, and it's not really any more difficult to carry two than six for me.  Even then, I typically only use four.  

[MN Fisher]

Since my bank fishing is all in areas set aside by the local towns, I don't have to worry about wading or fighting brush to get to a spot.

 

Still, it's no more than 3 rigs I bring with me.

If it's bass I'm after - ML spinning, M casting, and MH casting - sometimes I'll do without the MH rig.

[FishTank]

For bank fishing,  I take as little as possible so usually 1 or 2 setups. I am the total opposite on a boat.  I will bring everything if I can.  On a kayak, I try to target specific techniques that I want to try out or improve. 

[Derek1]

When I’m feeling real gung  ho I’ll bring 4. Most of the time 2or 3. Sometimes 1. Sometimes I complain I brought to much, other times not enough. The bank fishing struggle is real. Lol. 

[QED]

If I'm bank fishing a lake or pond that I am familiar with, I take just one rig and at most a half-dozen proven baits in a sandwich size zip-lock bag (kept in a pocket).  No backpack, no utility trays.  During the summer, this is the best way to go.  Don't forget to apply the sun screen before heading out.

[BooshBass]

On 6/19/2022 at 7:07 AM, ironbjorn said:

I carry 1-3 setups when fishing from the bank. Sometimes it's nice to just pick up a rod with a different bait without having to retie, but it can be a pain to carry more than one. Sometimes the area is too full of weeds, brush, and trees, making walking more difficult than it would have been with one rod. Sometimes I prop up the other two rods against my backpack to avoid stepping on them, but I've been an idiot and taken them out on the back swing of a cast. One time I broke a rod this way, and another time my lure grabbed a rod and threw it into the pond. Then, of course, I've had times where I haven't propped up the other rods and just laid them on the ground, and that lead to me stepping on them and flattening guides. It really can be a pain.

 

This sounds like me lol. I don't do well with multiple rods or even just things placed on the ground while fishing. I have also left an embarrassing amount of gear next to a pond or river never to be seen again. Stepped on and broke a fly rod within about 5 minutes once. Now I decide what I want to try that day, tie it on at my car, and bring 1 rod and some other backup stuff that fits the rod which stays in a backpack on my back until I'm back to my car. Sometimes I chose wisely, sometimes not. 

[FrnkNsteen]

I don't like carrying more than a couple rigs with me when bank fishing ponds or lakes.

 

If it were me, it would depebd what I was after. If I intended to try for some pan fish, I'd bring the UL and the M spinning. That way I could fish for panfish and throw the occasional light plastuc if the cover looks good.

 

If not going for panfish, I'd bring the M spinning and a MH baitcaster.

[BrianMDTX]

My normal bank fishing go-to’s are a MF spinning and a MHF baitcaster. You can fish a lot of baits with those two rigs. 

[Jmilburn76]

If Im bank fishing usually 2, if Im kayak fishing usually 5.