Could You Make Do With Only One Rod...??

[Crow Horse]

Just curious, but could you make do with only one rod? I'm betting the general consensus will be no. I buck the trend by using only one rod. Actually I take 2 rods out one my yak but they are identical with identical reels. The second rod is primarily used as a back up in case I develop an issue with #1.

 

 

[GreenPig]

No. I've tried driving nails with Channellock pliers and it's no fun.

One of these lures is different. 

[casts_by_fly]

could?  sure.  did it for years when we fished ponds and when I backboated.  But right now I have no need to and thus won't (aside from if I go to a pond).  

[PaulVE64]

I do.

But I'm looking for river and creek smallies, so it's more about location than presentation.

If I am in my canoe I bring 3 or 4 rods because I have mobility.

[Functional]

I did for years and could survive if I fell on rough times. Ideally a "light" kit would be 2-3 rods. 2 casting and 1 spinning. 

[JN94]

It's impossible to do every single technique out there properly with one rod. That being said, a MH can cover about 70-80% of techniques. If you add a ML to the mix, it can cover any remaining finesse techniques. Then you're pretty much left with being able to do everything but big swimbaits, A-rig, and punching. Essentially just anything that weighs more than ~1.25oz

[FishTank]

For a full day of fishing with just one,  I have one rod that will throw a 5in Senko up to 6in Magdraft and can also throw a 1/2 oz deep diving crankbait.... the Megabass P5 Super Destroyer. It's like the Swiss Army Knife of rods.

[tholmes]

No. Nor would I want to.

 

Tom

[Randy Price]

I could and did for years.  I use spinning gear so any 6-6- 70 MF rod with a 2500 Stradic will bring in most of the fish I try to catch.

[new2BC4bass]

Did from 5 to 16 years old.  Now it would be a waste of my resources.  Even when walking along the shore fishing with one rod, I have more in the car.

[Eric 26]

[OmegaDPW]

I own way more than one. I fish the same two all the time. Like you, I bring both in case something happens to the main one. 

[msgf91]

Beater rods kind of  fit in this category.  My beater rod can get the job done. I even caught my PB on it. 7 ft M inshore lite. Cheap design to make it a M power. Whippy tip with a backbone that doesn't flex much at all. But the cheap design makes it feel like a tuning fork. The whippy tip allows for casting light lures like a quarter ounce crank and drop shot rig and the solid backbone allows heavy baits like weighted swim baits. I've even used it for catfish using circle hooks and cut bait. Caught my PB bass on a quarter ounce crankbait with it. It used to always be in my car while I was at work. So it got all the opportunities to catch fish. So I have to make a conscious effort to use my nicer gear so they don't gather dust. 

[JediAmoeba]

Gonna be a hell of a time throwing ned rigs on my swimbait rod. 

[bulldog1935]

I can think of 7 niches where I can make do with only one rod,

but it's a different rod for each of those niches.  

And only one of those niches where more than one rod is a chore.  

Normal kayak drill is 3 rods to have the different presentations handy and correctly matched.  

Shore fishing this coming weekend, I will have 6 rigged rods handy for change-up.  

[Bankc]

Yeah.  I do it all the time when I'm bank fishing.  Obviously, certain lures will be out of the question, depending on which rod you have.  But I can get enough variety out of any rod to get out there and catch some fish no matter what the conditions are.  Maybe not every single time.  But enough times that I wouldn't freak out if for some reason I could only take one with me.  

[Pogues2300]

I used to frog fish with an ugly stick when I was a kid and caught a ton of bass… but really enjoy using a few rods for different purposes these days. Yes I could use one rod but glad I have some options.

[Deephaven]

Almost be easier to make do with one bait.  In that case it'd be a frog and a frog rod.

[BrianMDTX]

Could I? Yes. If it came to that, yes. 
 

I can also hunt squirrels with my .338 Win Mag. 😂

[GRiver]

I could and did until I found Bass Resource site, until I found this site. I fished with one rod and retie everything, so I could go back to one rod. 

[king fisher]

Yes, but please don't tell my wife.

[new2BC4bass]

3 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

Could I? Yes. If it came to that, yes. 
 

I can also hunt squirrels with my .338 Win Mag. 😂

Personally can't handle the recoil.  Have hunted chucks with a 7x57mm.

 

Back on topic....my one rod in my youth didn't need to be versatile.  We fished mostly with what we could catch.  Crayfish and small leeches we found turning over stones at a nearby lake.  Nightwalkers caught in our yard at night after a rain.  White grubs dug (by bare hands) out of a farmers dried manure pile. 

 

[Catt]

Could You Make Do With Only One Rod...??

 

Everytime I go fishing!

 

I can cast with one in each hand, ain't figured out how to reel em. 

[Team9nine]

Absolutely could! It would be a ML spin rod with which I could throw a pretty wide variety of smaller lures for both bass and panfish, and catch a ton of fish. Would I not be able to throw a bunch of stuff I enjoy fishing from time to time? The answer there is, “of course,” too 😄

[Mobasser]

Yes. I do it a couple times a week while bank fishing. If you need to pause and tie on a different bait, no big deal. In my boat or canoe, I carry more.