Hello everyone this will be my third year fishing tournaments and I’ll be going as a boate. I have plenty of rods already. I am just trying to make sure that I’m not missing anything or figure out what I should have doubles of so if anyone can list their must have rods and how many of each and why. It would greatly help me and I’m sure other anglers.
For reason I think a lot of people keep this info secret and idk why
Note I’ll list all I have when I’m home.
Last edited by GoneFishingLTN; 10-23-2018 at 08:33 AM.
Which 4-5 rods and what tackle you should carry depends on the characteristics of the body of water that you’ll be fishing, the time of the year, and the preferences of the boater that you draw.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
What do mostly fish for LM or SM ? I could get by with 5 rods, 1 crankbait, 1 texas rig, I always have 1 for a tube and 1 for a jig, 1 spinning rod. Just take what baits you like to fish.
I fish for large mouth and live in Iowa. I’ll give a more detailed list of rods but for spefic rods I have to see if anyone can help me fine tune it. I have a rod for every bait but Not all at once for example I have to take off my topwater on my 7/3 mh to fish a med swimbait like a kietech but then I’m using mono so I just wanted to know what most people own that tournament fish seriously
Last edited by GoneFishingLTN; 10-23-2018 at 08:32 AM.
I have 25 tournament combos. Still have a couple on my wish list.
On the waters I fish, might be angling in 27 feet and 1 foot on the same day. Drop-shotting with 6 pound test or punching with 50. The good news for a co-angler is that the fish often do not care that much. A top water setup also can be used to fish cranks, a punching setup also can throw frogs, etc. Think about 8-10 techniques you might employ on a given day and try to set up rods that will do at least 2 things satisfactorily. That should cover you.
Last edited by jc2bg; 10-23-2018 at 08:12 AM.
John Clark — Findlay, Ohio
^^^^^^^Perfectly Said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Originally Posted by Jeff Hahn
Example, if I am co-angling and fishing the Potomac River, in spring, I'll flip, throw a senko and some swimbait, chatterbait, and rattlebait. In summer, its Senko, Frog, swimming frog, flip, spinnerbait.....Fishing a lake, its jig, carolina rig, crankbait, senko, swimbait, shakeyhead (spinning)....etc....season and water have to be figured into your tackle and rods and line. Early season a jerkbait, fall maybe an Umbrella rig....
2017 Triton TRX Patriot w/250 ProXS Optimax
Sorry for the typos. I will not be a co angler this will be my first year as a boater. I know what baits work for what season etc so I guess what I’m asking is what rods do you have double of? Like do you have to spinnerbait rods etc?
Also do you cut off one bait and just use x rod for a different technique even though it’s not the right line size or do you have a different rod
Most of my rods are 7' or longer. I only have one MHbaitcast 6.5' rod that I use for walking topwater baits. There are 5 baitcast MH used for bottom baits, swim jigs, swimbaits and moving topwaters like buzzbaits and whopper ploppers; 2 baitcast MF fast action used for finesse jigs, larger crankbaits and spinnerbaits; 2 baitcast MM moderate action used for smaller crankbaits, jerkbaits and topwaters; 1 baitcast H action for big worms and punch baits and 1 MF fast action spinning used for drop shot and ned rig/shaky head.
If I can’t catch em on the 5 I have laying in the deck, then I’m probably not gonna catch em anyways. I carry about 6 combos with me and have won thousands of dollars that way...
Seriously not trying to be rude but if you're asking questions like this, you're still wet behind the ears and would greatly benefit from fishing with more experienced boaters for a while longer. There's nothing saying you have to jump to the front of the boat. If you think you've outgrown the non-boater in say your club or small tourney trail, try stepping up to the BFL as a co-angler to be able to fish with new guys in effort to observe and learn more before you take the reigns yourself.
Phoenix 721 - Yamaha SHO 250 - 8' Blades
I think it’s a fair question but thanks for your comment. Can you explain to me what’s wrong with gathering info from people here willing to share their set ups?
I ask because there is a large gap of differences from what each person does for example Bryan thrift has over 10 rods on the deck every single tournament. So for me to ask how many double of x do you personally have so I can campare what the more avg tournament angler does to what Bryan does, is more than fair. I have over 14 set ups now just trying to see if I should double some or not.
Also of course I have more to learn I know this but I don’t think because of this question it means I don’t have enough experience
Last edited by GoneFishingLTN; 10-23-2018 at 09:38 AM.
Only thing I can say is you yourself need to decide whether or not you have the need to double up on more rods & reels, you don't have to just because Bryan does.
2ea 7'4"HF -heavy flippin, froggin, slop
2ea 7' MHF -pitchin jigs, soft plastics
1ea 7'8"MHM -crankbait, buzzbait
1ea 7' MF -chatterbait, traps
1ea 6'8"MF -jerkbait, topwater
1ea 6'MF Pistol Grip -flukes, spinnerbait, topwater
adjust or expand from there depending on the season and/or lake
Now your question is clear. The only rods I would double up on are flipping rods or spinning rods. And I wouldn’t take more than 2 of each.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
If you can’t bit on the 14 set ups you got, adding a few more ain’t gonna matter. Lol
Man I have about 15 rods and I dont think I have enough. Rods are so specialized these days you need at a minimum 2 of each kind and if a certain technique is what catches them where you fish you may need 3-4 of those rod/reel combos. Now, I dont keep 15 on the deck I generally like to have no more than 4 on the front deck with me. I do try to stay with the same brand of rods and reels so they dont feel different when swapping from one rod to the other.
I would say whatever rods you're cutting baits off of to switch to a different technique, you need two of. Maybe one with mono and one with floro/braid etc. That will saveyou from cutting and re-tie.
I also try to keep no more than 4 rods on the deck at a time. We all have different fishing strategies, but trade offs are inevitable. I’d contend that Bryan Thrift spends as much time (and mental focus) keeping 10-12 rods perfectly organized as he would pulling additional rods out of the box if/when needed.
To answer the specific question, I double up on rods that I consider highly likely to be the main “deal” for a given day. I recently fished tournaments where a specific tube of a specific weight was 90% likely to be in my hand all day. So I had 3 rods on deck: 2 were identical setups with only the lure color different, and the 3rd was the #1 lure but on a softer rod for additional casting distance, in case the wind came up. If I’m drop-shotting open water, I’ll have 3 rods set up for that technique, from heaviest (rod action and line weight) to medium to lightest. But these are extreme cases, again where I’m 90% sure that will be my main technique for the day. If I’m fishing a lake with a lot of shallow laydowns, I might double up on spinnerbait rigs, or have one spinnerbait rig and a similar rig with a chatter bait, which could easily be switched to a spinnerbait. Bottom line, I never double (or triple) up on rigs for a specific technique unless it has an extremely high probability of being used for the majority of the day. It’s smart to have versatile, multi-duty rigs available in the rod box, even with no bait tied on! It only takes seconds to tie on a bait, so my medium drop-shot rod can make an excellent spinnerbait rod or shaky head rod if needed. Having a variety of line sizes on board is my main concern. After that, rigs with the ability to make optimum casts. Multiples is way down the priority list.
John Clark — Findlay, Ohio
In practice I have at least 1 of every technique I know how to fish that might apply to that lake. The first thing I try to do is figure out a pattern or two to catch numbers, quality or both. Then once I have an idea how to catch them, I will use the remaining practice time driving around / graphing etc to try and find as many areas as possible that have the right ingredients for the patterns.
Come Tournament Day, I will have 4-6 rods on the deck with bait selection narrowed to fit the pattern. However, the rest of my rods will be rigged in the box with “confidence baits” just in case something changes and the pattern flops. Likewise most the tackle I bring will fit the mold of the pattern I’ve established, but I will bring a few boxes of other stuff just in case.
In short, keep an open mind that things can and do change, but definitely limit what you bring to what you’ve Patterned and what you’re most confident throwing otherwise. Hope this helps!
Exactly this, you guys carry too much crap.
http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread....t=#post9525854
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