I have 10 setups and they are always on deck. Half are technique specific and the other half a general use that will be for different techniques depending on the lake I fishing.
I have 10 setups and they are always on deck. Half are technique specific and the other half a general use that will be for different techniques depending on the lake I fishing.
Last edited by contium; 09-25-2017 at 08:51 PM.
- 2019 Ranger Z185 - Mercury 150 Pro XS
I have 15ish or so in the boat
1 for spinnerbait
1 for swim jig with keitech trailer
1 for 130 size plopper
1 for an umrella rig (rarely ever gets used)
1 for jig
1 for a c-rig/t-rig soft plastic creature bait or something like that
1 for a zero gravity jig
1 for weightless soft plastic
1 for large cranks
1 for med cranks
1 for small cranks and small square bills
1 for a walking bait like a spook
1 for lipless crank
1 for jerkbait
1 for a fluke
1 for tube
1 for a wacky/drop shot
Depending on the lake depends on what I will have on the deck, but generally I will have a spinnerbait, jig, creature bait, crankbait of some type and a topwater lure
I want minimal rods on deck, but I don't want to be constantly re-tying either. Lot depends on time of year. For example during winter I've got a jig, A-Rig, jerkbait, and a wiggle wart. That's pretty much it. I keep the spinning outfits to a minimum and don't get em out unless I need em because those things find ways to get tangled like no other and make me cuss.
You haven't said whether you fish tournaments or not. For me, tournament fishing changes things in multiple ways, and one of the less obvious is that line size and type is not easily changed out on the water, so to be able to react quickly to any conditions or situations you might encounter, rods specifically rigged for particular presentations save a bundle of time. For some baits/techniques, I believe the most effective presentation is with light test fluorocarbon, for other presentations heavy fluorocarbon, for other presentations heavy braid, or medium mono, or medium braid with a light fluorocarbon leader, etc. Mono floats more readily than fluorocarbon, and its larger diameter also causes it to sink more slowly, even with weighted baits. Braid floats more than fluorocarbon, and also drifts more in the wind or current, but it has less stretch than either mono or fluorocarbon. I fish small tournaments a lot, because I enjoy the challenges of tournament fishing, learn more from dock talk with other anglers than I would when fishing as a single, and enjoy the anticipation of knowing that I will be fishing on certain days. Part of the fun is getting prepared for as many potentialities as I can, so I typically have 10-12 rods in the boat. If a certain dominant pattern is expected, I usually will have duplicates of one or two setups on hand, just in case of breakdown. All the other rods will be tailored, in action and line type/size, to specific presentations. As you've seen from previous responses, there are quite a few "basic" lure types, and each has an optimum rod/reel/line setup, depending upon whom you ask.
An example: Fished tubes for medium-depth bass on Erie for years with a medium action 7' rod and 12 pound fluorocarbon. Caught hundreds of good fish on the same outfit, but on days when all the strikes came way out at the end of a cast, I would lose 10-20% of those fish when they jumped and threw the jig. Plugged in a heavy action 7' rod this year, and stepped up to 14 pound test: virtually eliminated any lost fish doing the same thing. But I still have the medium rod, still with 12 pound line, for when I'm making longish casts in tighter quarters, like around docks. The more flexible rod, with lighter line, casts easier and more accurately, for when those traits are important. Fun fishing, I might laugh and say "quick release!" When the big fish of the day gets off at the boat. But I might say a dirty word if that happened in a tournament.... And some rod/reel/line setups help you catch more fish every day, which is always fun.
John Clark — Findlay, Ohio
Good info jc and it makes sense. I fishs recreationally and sometimes catch a tournament for fun. I will slowly gain more skill and require more setups but for now I have set my goal for 7-8 combos with 2 of those being rigged with a new to me setup. I feel I should effectively learn how to fish a spook or the spinnerbait before I have to many setups I cant actually fish if that makes sense.
Of the rods I use I am able to multi purpose a couple given the season. Examples being my jerkbait rod spring and fall becomes my jig dock skipping rod, just have to pull half the fluorocarbon off. And my flipping rod can be anything from a-rig to a heavy cover spinnerbait rod
Mercury 250 proxs 2B115089
As many as it takes!
Well, before I retired, I'd go to a club Tx in Eastern WA and sometimes would take 2-3 more days after and just go exploring lakes in N. Central part of the state. Since I didn't know what I might need there, I took some extra combos and maybe 30-50 lbs of extra tackle that stayed in the truck, just in case it was needed, extra line, and maybe a few spare reels. Got home from one of these deals and pulled 22 combos out of the single rod locker of my Nitro 180TF POS. Rod sleeves and reel covers make it work, easy-peasy, no snarls or snags. If it wasn't for the exploring deal, then probably 10 combos, probably 3-5 would be used. I hate to waste fishing time while tying on a different lure. I've seen guys do that. It tells me that they don't have confidence in what they are using. Keep your line wet!
FWIW, this year's heavy lifter was my shakey-head outfit, a Chronarch/Shimano Compre/10 lb FC. I paid $30 for the rod, used, and um, something like $200 for the reel. Probably #2 would be my Denali Jadewood J-2 7' Med. "crankbait rod"/old green Curado, 40 lb Power Pro braid for spinnerbaits. That rod was $100 new and is a joy to use. Made me looking for spinnerbait opportunities for a change.
Same here. Some I would call seasonal outfits. Frog rod, Jerkbait rod, Topwater rod. Etc..Originally Posted by No hot foot
Man there is a lot of science to this it seems.
Yeah it's funny stuff but they have fun
I enjoy the mental challenge of keeping many rods, reels lines and lures sorted out for there best use and well maintained
Mercury 250 proxs 2B115089
I personally think if you had to many options you might lose confidence in a setup prematurely but idk. Just seems like you would experiment too much and not give a certain setup a chance to work.
I've seen guys who I consider to be really good fishermen who re-tie constantly to find the answer and I have seen those that keep grindin with the same baits to find success. To each his own, I guess. Nothin like "time on the water" to better answers and solutions.
I have too many rods (if possible) but usually keep about 25 in the boat and start most days with 8 on the deck unless I am really dialed into a pattern then usually 3 or so (2 of the bait I am on and 1 of a similar bait to alternate in from time to time to see if it improves or decreases the catch rate/size).
Where are the BIG ones? When are we going?
LOOKING for a Great deal on a Slightly used 20-21' Boat.
I usually have 4 to 8 out of the rod box on any given trip. Since I fish alone most of the time, I put 2 or 3 spinning rods/reels where the passenger would keep his/her rods. I keep 4 BC on the port side of the deck and 2 or 3 on the starboard side.
I won't go into exactly what model rods I have, other than to say most are either Fenwick or St Croix.
1 for deep diving crankbaits
1 for medium diving crankbaits
1 for shallow crankbaits
1 for texas rigged worm
1 for jigs
1 for spinnerbaits
1 for topwaters
1 short BC for tight cover and various lures, usuallly some kind of shallow square bill
1 Spinning for drop shot
1 Spinning for Neds
1 Spinning for shakey heads
1 Jerkbait rod
All my reels are Shimano...most of the bait casters are the Citica, Curado, Chronarch, all Japan versions. Spinners are Symetre, Sustain, and one I just got that I can't think of the name right now.
Time of year and lake conditions determine what I have out of the box. I throw a lot of crankbaits to cover water faster, so I like to have different rods rigged with the various depths I will encounter without having to retie. Usually the only reason I'll retie is to change color.
BassCat '17 Sabre DC FTD Advantage Elite
175 Yamaha SHO
MK Fortrex 80
Well im up to 8 combos now. 5 baitcasting setups and 3 spinning setups. One spinning setup is ultra lite for when i get depressed and need to catch brim because i cant catch anything else lol. I feel pretty solid with this so far.
Too damn many for the knowledge about bass fishing I have
Lol thats how I feel with 8. I watch my buddy flip all kind of stuff where ever he wants too. If he only knew hiw many times my casts were more luck than skill lol.
Respect no wake zones, Evinrude guys need a place to race too ;)
This one really got me thinking. I have 8 BC's and 5 spinners. I started tournament fishing this year (that means that I need more). As others have said the fewer set ups I have on deck means the more dialed in I am. I tend to have duplicate rigs for my most popular baits. I'll have one on deck and one in the locker so that I don't have to re-tie. Based upon the waters we fish I always keep the following rigged up:
- shaky head on spinner
- senko t-rigged on spinner
- square bill on bc
- chatterbait on bc
- spinnerbait on bc
Like I said I usually have dups in the box for most of these set ups. The rest are changed out depending upon season and weather conditions.
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