bare minimum. how FEW rods can you get away with?

[Darth-Baiter]

i think i am going to target 5 rod/reel combos.   i was asked this same question about kitchen knives a long time ago.  i said, three to that question.  chef knife, paring knife, bread knife.  i have a few more than three currently, but i could if i was being honest with myself get it down to three and not live horribly.  i imagine the same fate with fishing rods..target 5, end up with 8.  i can live with that.  as a kayaker, i would like to fish with mininum gear.  

 

5. 

lighter bottom contact,

heavier bottom contact,

reaction bait rod,

spinning,

and a punch/frog combo.

 

my list is based on how i fish.  my own thing.   heck..i see a flaw already!!  i need a few travel rods   and i can see myself falling in love with big swimbaits. 

[PaulVE64]

I bring 1 rod. I enjoy simple stress free wade fishing and I handpick my lures before i go.

The rod I choose is always based on the location and lures I'm using.

It's not ideal and I often use inadequate (but expensive) equipment for alot of techniques.

If I fish from a kayak or boat I probably have 5 rods.

[king fisher]

I can get by with one rod, but more is better.

[MN Fisher]

Bare minumum? 2 - MH/F baitcaster and M/F spinning.

 

I could do 80% of my techniques with that pair. Is it ideal? No, there's lots left out, but in a pinch that's what I could cut down to.

[Darth-Baiter]

when I wade-fish.  I bring one rod.  my light bottom contact and just go for it. 

to be clear.  I hope to only own 5 rods after all is said and done.  maybe a few more. .but in general, only own 5 or so.

 

I am not talking about how many few I can bring on a trip. 

[A-Jay]

At a bare minimum, I bring one boat.

Full of rods.

5 rods....fugetaboutit.

A-Jay

[ironbjorn]

I could be happy and get by with a casting rod that fishes like a MH/F, and I often do on bank trips where fewer is better. I can make it do most things.

 

When you're talking about an arsenal, I'm very convinced that anyone would be perfectly fine with a ML spinning, and M, MH, and H casting, although you might not be perfectly happy.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

2

Casting-Quantum Smoke 7' M/F 1/4-3/4 rating-ned rig to whopper plopper

Spinning- St Croix Avid 8' ML/Mod- 5"senko to 1/124 jighead +1" gulp minnow.

[Alex from GA]

When I go on another boat I bring a worm rod, a topwater rod and a moving bait rod with a spinnerbait or crankbait.  

[Pogues2300]

I usually take about five on my kayak but sometimes I’ll just grab two or three. Always grab my 873 crr, other spot or two would probably be my 852 spinning and third rod if I’m taking a third would probably be a crankbait rod. So minimum I take is two but probably more common for me to grab three.

[roadwarrior]

 

[WRB]

All you need the rod combo that is catching bass.

When I fished from shore 1 casting outfit for Texas rig soft plastics. If it is a finesse bite 1 spinning outfit for Slip Shot rig worms.

Boat, back seating I currently have 5;

MH+ custom jig & worm rod with 12# FC line.

MF MJ Splash-It rod for general use, top water, medium crank baits, spoons, lighter weight jigs & worms, 11# Mono.

MF spinning combo w/10# braid to leader for Senko’s 

MXF spinning combo w/5# copoly for finesse worms drop and slip shot.

5th combo is a back up spinning MF or 7’5” frog or swimbaits.

Back seating I usually take the 1st 4 combos has been all thats needed.

Tom 

 

[Team9nine]

The way I like to fish, I could live with one outfit (ML spin) and be fine. Add in a second outfit (MF baitcast) and I’d live “happily ever after.” Anything beyond those two would be specialized for specific presentations, some of which I really enjoy doing, but wouldn’t be overly disappointed if I couldn’t do them. The fact that I own about 35 combos is irrelevant to this topic ?

[LrgmouthShad]

Can probably do one in the kayak but often it’s better to have more

[Catt]

One but I carry a backup reel in the truck. I don't backlash often but when I do you're gonna have to get the pocket knife out.

[LrgmouthShad]

8 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

The fact that I own about 35 combos is irrelevant to this topic ?

Think I have 14 if you include the catfishing gear. Never though I’d get to this point ?

[FrnkNsteen]

I was chatting with the bait monkey and he expressed how much he does NOT like this thread and is taking notes of all of you that have posted!!

 

In all honesty, I could probably make due with a M/F spinning and a MH casting, but where's the fun in that. 

 

I can always use another rod and reel setup! (He's watching me!!!)

[padlin]

Own about a dozen but really only use 5 or 6. Normally take 3, but at times 2. I could get away with 1 if I had to but it’d be a hassle retieing all the time.

[LrgmouthShad]

4 minutes ago, FrnkNsteen said:

I was chatting with the bait monkey and he expressed how much he does NOT like this thread and is taking notes of all of you that have posted!!

 

In all honesty, I could probably make due with a M/F spinning and a MH casting, but where's the fun in that. 

 

I can always use another rod and reel setup! (He's watching me!!!)

Bait monkey is livid with me. I told him that during this fishing break, I was not going to buy any fishing gear. So he put a gun to my head and forced me to browse three fishing sites looking for deals. Coming up empty, now he’s telling me I need to go fish for channel cats instead, so I can still take a break from bass fishing

[MickD]

My philosophy is "no one can have too many rods."   Since I build, and love to build, I have rods all over the place and enjoy them all.  But to directly answer the question, when I'm in my boat I have over 10 on board.  When I go fish on my son's boat, it's hard for me to get below 5, but I do.

 

Direct answer = 5

[FishTax]

I'd say 3. I usually get a monster backlash at some point when in kayak from being careless, so if only one rod it'd be spinning which is what I did today at a local pond. But my 3 would be spinning m/f, mh/f jig rod, and then probably a mh/f that can be used pretty universally. I think line matters a lot as well, so I'll note that one rod would have mono and one braid, probably, although I'm thinking of going back to all mono but that's a different thread topic. 

[volzfan59]

I could probably get by with one rod and reel set up, but I'm not in to retying all the time. When I built the interior on my "Bass Jon", I installed six rod tubes. For bass I carry two 7' 1" casting rigs (1 m/h, 1 m). Also, two cranking rigs (1 m/h, 1 m). Lastly, two 7' spinning rigs (1 m, 1 m/l).

 

I also have a 7' 2" m/h rig for Carolina rigging, a 7'  m/h spinning rig that I swap in and out as needed.

 

[Scott804]

I could probably go down to 4-5. But I would 100% be sacrificing. Fisheries around me are very diverse, so different places call for different things as far as how I want to fish them. 

[TLHSS]

Based on how I fish and where I fish, I get by with no issues owning one. 

[J Francho]

Two: spinning and a casting rig.