What else should I add?

[jitterbug127]

I have been buying rods and reels like it's my full time job lately. I am wondering if there is anything obvious that I am missing from my rod arsenal. 

 

I have the following:

6 6 m/f spinning

6 6 ml/f spinning

6 9 mh/f casting

6 6 m/f casting

7 4 h/xf casting

7 2 m/m cranking

7 mh/m cranking (spinnerbaits/chatterbaits)

7 6 mh/m cranking

[garroyo130]

Do you have any baits that your current combos don't work for? Or any you want to try? Basic bases seem well covered ... 

[MN Fisher]

Got it pretty much covered....only thing I could think of would be a pitching rig.

 

 

[jitterbug127]

29 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Got it pretty much covered....only thing I could think of would be a pitching rig.

 

 

I hadn't thought about that one. Thanks for the heads up!

[WRB]

Why the 6’6” spinning rods?

you use the 7’4” H/XF to pitch with or a frog rod.

[jitterbug127]

13 minutes ago, WRB said:

Why the 6’6” spinning rods?

you use the 7’4” H/XF to pitch with or a frog rod.

Are you inquiring about the length or why i have spinning rods at all? short answer is I use my kayak in the river, and its quicker to have 2 spinning rods to not have to retire everything all the time. I have a Fenwick eagle that I bought to bank fish and I have a st croix that is ml/f that i bought for ned rigs. I'll get longer rods in the future, I'm sure.   

[new2BC4bass]

1 hour ago, jitterbug127 said:

I have been buying rods and reels like it's my full time job lately. I am wondering if there is anything obvious that I am missing from my rod arsenal.

I'm glad someone took over for me after I got laid off.    However, you still need a lot more rods.  Add 7' models to those you have in 6'6".  Then 7'2", then 7'3", then 7'4", then 7'6".  6'8" and 6'10" are nice to have.  Duplicates are a must.  You need rods dedicated to swimbaits, jigs, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, worms, Ned Rigs, topwater, hair jigs, Carolina Rigs, etc., etc.  In several lengths and brands.

 

You've only just begun.  ?

[jitterbug127]

1 hour ago, new2BC4bass said:

I'm glad someone took over for me after I got laid off.    However, you still need a lot more rods.  Add 7' models to those you have in 6'6".  Then 7'2", then 7'3", then 7'4", then 7'6".  6'8" and 6'10" are nice to have.  Duplicates are a must.  You need rods dedicated to swimbaits, jigs, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, worms, Ned Rigs, topwater, hair jigs, Carolina Rigs, etc., etc.  In several lengths and brands.

 

You've only just begun.  ?

Your absolutely right. I think I’m august I had 6 combos, and I’m at 15 now!!!

[MidwestBassAttack]

Flipping stick…something heavy or extra heavy with a fast tip if your flipping with fluorocarbon; moderate fast tip if your flipping with braid

[WRB]

3 hours ago, jitterbug127 said:

Are you inquiring about the length or why i have spinning rods at all? short answer is I use my kayak in the river, and its quicker to have 2 spinning rods to not have to retire everything all the time. I have a Fenwick eagle that I bought to bank fish and I have a st croix that is ml/f that i bought for ned rigs. I'll get longer rods in the future, I'm sure.   

Spinning for finesse is the way to go imo.

6’6” dates the rods. Most bass spinning rods past 10 years are 6’8” or longer.

Tom

[Columbia Craw]

7-3, 7-4, mag heavy fast. Pitch, punch and frogs.

[Big Hands]

4 hours ago, jitterbug127 said:

Are you inquiring about the length or why i have spinning rods at all? short answer is I use my kayak in the river, and its quicker to have 2 spinning rods to not have to retire everything all the time. I have a Fenwick eagle that I bought to bank fish and I have a st croix that is ml/f that i bought for ned rigs. I'll get longer rods in the future, I'm sure.   

This is why I hesitated to respond in the first place. Details matter. 

 

Having a quiver that is well thought out for the unique fishing you do, and things you do more than others is much more important than having one that seems like a good all around quiver. To get the most out of it, it needs to fit only you.

 

There might certain types of rods that are popular for others, that might not be of any value to you. You might also want to invest more in a certain type of setup because that's the one you fish the most. The fact that you fish from a kayak could also be important as well as the fact that you also shore fish. When I saw your list, my first thought was, why all the short rods?

 

It's even important to know what the conditions of the shoreline is when you bank fish. Anyone that is bored by the details probably isn't going to be able to give consistently reliable advice in the first place.

 

It would be great to know such things as:

• What percentage of the time are you kayak fishing vs shore fishing?
• Are the shorelines obscured by bushes and/or trees?
• Do bushes and trees affect your kayak fishing?
• What methods do you fish the most?
• How many rods do you normally take when shore fishing?
• How many rods do you normally take when kayak fishing?
• Do you expect kayak and shore fishing to be the main places you fish from going forward?
• What do you use each of your rigs for right now?
• What kind and size reels and line are you fishing with?
• Which ones are you not happy with for what you use them for?
• What do you want to do that you think a different rig would would help you with?
• Any other info you think might help

Or, I could just post a list of what I have and tell you that since they work for me for the ways and places I fish, they should be great for you too (not that this happens here much) ;~)

[Bankbeater]

If it were me I would get a ml/f in 7'0" instead of the 6'6".  It's easier for me to cast those small moving type baits on a longer rod.

[jitterbug127]

11 hours ago, Big Hands said:

This is why I hesitated to respond in the first place. Details matter. 

 

Having a quiver that is well thought out for the unique fishing you do, and things you do more than others is much more important than having one that seems like a good all around quiver. To get the most out of it, it needs to fit only you.

 

There might certain types of rods that are popular for others, that might not be of any value to you. You might also want to invest more in a certain type of setup because that's the one you fish the most. The fact that you fish from a kayak could also be important as well as the fact that you also shore fish. When I saw your list, my first thought was, why all the short rods?

 

It's even important to know what the conditions of the shoreline is when you bank fish. Anyone that is bored by the details probably isn't going to be able to give consistently reliable advice in the first place.

 

It would be great to know such things as:

• What percentage of the time are you kayak fishing vs shore fishing?
• Are the shorelines obscured by bushes and/or trees?
• Do bushes and trees affect your kayak fishing?
• What methods do you fish the most?
• How many rods do you normally take when shore fishing?
• How many rods do you normally take when kayak fishing?
• Do you expect kayak and shore fishing to be the main places you fish from going forward?
• What do you use each of your rigs for right now?
• What kind and size reels and line are you fishing with?
• Which ones are you not happy with for what you use them for?
• What do you want to do that you think a different rig would would help you with?
• Any other info you think might help

Or, I could just post a list of what I have and tell you that since they work for me for the ways and places I fish, they should be great for you too (not that this happens here much) ;~)

Thank you for your detailed and in-depth response. I really appreciate it. I fish from my kayak exclusively these days. Kayak is the reason for the shorter rods (that and finding deals on Facebook, garage sales, or discounted). I’m a river smallmouth fisherman. My river is shallow and I take 3-4 combos in my boat at any given time. My rods if choice are pretty much m/f spinning, mh/f, mh/m and m/m for the river. I have times that I will bring the heavy rod, but we don’t have tons of heavy cover on the river, and I’ve had no luck with frogs on the river so I don’t bring the h/Xf much. 
 

I fish tubes, neds, dropshot, wacky on the m/f spinning, most of my cranks on the m/m, chatterbaits/spinners/some top water on the mh/m and drag the bottom on the with t rig or jigs.

 

my four primary combos 

6 6 m/f diawa legalis/st croix triumph 

72 m/m shimano curado k 6.2:1/Fenwick hmg

7 mh/m bps crankin stick/curado 7.2:1

69 mh/f veritas curado k 8.5:1

 

I am happy with these reels, I think eventually I’d like to get rods all from the same company (st croix mojo bass or Fenwick hmg or elite series). 
 

I primarily fish neds, tubes, grubs, wacky worms, and weightless plastics. I am wanting to focus more on my cranking and chatterbait fishing. Moving baits arn’t something I have a ton of confidence in, but I know a must for smallmouth fishing. I’d like to start throwing soft swim baits and dark sleepers as well. 
 

my kayak is a perception sound 10.5, so I don’t have a ton of extra room in my kayak for tons of gear. 

[Big Hands]

Good to have the info, and since kayak and river fishing are two things I don't do, I'll refrain from muddying up the water so to speak, sit back and learn from those that do.