How many rods

Ok guys just wondering how many rods to carry in my boat for walleye fishing.I also bass fish I do multiple species if I really think about it but trying to get it down to walleye and bass and northerns Here’s my thought
2 trolling
2 bottom bouncing
1 pitching
1 for dragging
Let me know what u think.

I’m on pool 4 90 percent of the time other then that still River.
Need to know for rod holders in my boat

Well in my opinion I think a lot of rods work great for multi purpose. If you want a trolling rod with a line counter or lead core thats one thing, but a regular trolling rod (like a 7ft medium with a moderate tip) can be use for trolling and casting cranks or jigs and also bobber fishing. Now if you live bait rig you want a softer tip to feel any rock and any nibble. However those rods can still serve multiple purposes. I like a 7 FT med light for my lindy rigs and crawler harnesses or any med with a light tip. I carry a lot of rods with me but I fish bass with my walleye rods and some pike with them as well. If you want to save a little money don’t get caught up on having one rod for one species and one presentation. The main thing is finding a way to always keep the line tight and the pole bent! lol good luck.

I love to have a bunch of rods so i can quickly grab an already rigged rod to stay efficiently fishing…However, everyone’s boat is different.

So my answer would be: Bring as many rods as you can until it starts getting in the way of operating your boat or your spend more time untangling rods than you would rigging one.

My old boat, i could store 10 rods in a locker and another 4 or 5. I’d bring that many.

My current boat, no rod locker and if i have more than 5 laying around the boat it becomes a pain.

Im usually good with 3 or 4 rods fishing pool 2. Only bring two or three when fishing with someone else. Its usually one rod that doubles for trolling and casting crankbaits. The other rods are for pitching jigs, live bait rigs or dragging jigs. It tough to have only one jig pitching rod in the boat as over the course of the day Ill fish spots that have a lot of variety in current that require different jig weights. Also on those spots they are not fished completely until a few different jig combinations are fished there.

My typical load of rods on walleye guide trips consist of:

6 trolling rods with line counters for planer boards and bouncers
3 trolling rods with low profile bait casting reels for bouncers / 3-ways / long-lining cranks / pulling flies
4 leadcore rods
9 jig rods – 3 with lindy rigs, 6 with jigs

I want to have enough rods so that if a client breaks off a bait, I can just hand them another rod while I retie the one they snagged up.

If its just me in the boat: 2 long line trolling rods, 2 lead core, 2 3-way, 2 jig dragging rods, 2 rigged for planner boards, 1 for pitching cranks, 1 for pitching blades, 1 for pitching plastics, 2 for live bait rigs, 2 for bobber fishing when I’m feeling lazy, and another rod rigged up with flys. Thats for just walleyes, if you add bass you need a spinnerbait rod, top water, senko, 4 pitching rods for cranks (5′ diver, 10′ diver, 15′ diver, and a 20′ diver). For Northerns add a few rods for quick strike rigs. If there are 2 or 3 people in the boat double or triple everything. My answer is at least 54 for your question on the rod holder count. Good thing I have a pontoon with room for all of this.

I believe you are also a young kid and on a budget, just get something that works for YOU right now. Over the years you will acquire more and more gear. If you have the space and money, it’s nice having multiple top of the line rods. However, you can still catch fish with a couple low end models that can be used for multiple species/presentations.

You don’t really need line counter trolling combos on the river when you’re starting out, or ever. All my trolling is done with the same rods I cast crankbaits with. Generally i’m trolling in ten feet or less so you’re gonna know when your baits are banging bottom. Also the trolling runs are much shorter than on lakes so all it takes is a quick cast behind the boat. When i’m by myself I have four rods along.

4 rods for trolling seems too much at your stage in the game. Even though you are allowed 2 rods down there on the river doesn’t mean you should be using 2. If you don’t know what you are doing it will be just a jumbled mess trying to keep em going. Fish one and figure that out then move to 2, unless you multi-task well, which by my wifes opinion men are incapable of

With that said id recommend a line counter combo, can long line and bottom bounce, will it be perfect for both styles, no, but its a good starting point.

Then a 7′-7’6″ M-MH baitcaster combo with 10lb mono or braid equivalent, this rod will be able to troll and bounce as well, while serving double duty for bass and northerns. That way when you do become more efficient at trolling you can run 2 rods. Or if that style of fishing becomes effective for you then pick up another line counter and the baitcaster becomes strictly bass/northern.

A M and a ML jig rod should handle most river fishing, whether pitching, dragging, live bait rigs, casting cranks to dams, etc. etc. I really like x-fast tips for river on both rods, but not necessary, just feel hooksets are faster and handles current better.

If you start trolling the river that means you will need cranks, and lots of em. If you aren’t ticking bottom you don’t know where your lure is, and ticking bottom equals LOTS of lost expensive cranks. This is where the big box stores come into play for me, they always have clearance racks and go find yourself all the discounted cranks you can, even if colors aren’t ideal, it is about figuring out the technique, more than the catching, I consider fish a bonus when learning something new.

The more you fish in different styles with starter combos, the more you will be able to answer your own questions on gear. You will start figuring out where you might want a heavier rod, a lighter one, a longer, leadcore, braid, mono, etc. etc. The fine tuning comes only when you start figuring it out, so start basic and progress from there. Don’t forget to post some fish pics along the way!!

I also like having enough rods to not have to retie or switch the presentation. I bring anywhere from 3 rods to 15. Also on longer trips take in account that you may break a rod. It would suck to have two people and two rods and break one. On weekend trips take as many as you can even if you have to leave half at camp you have the just in case inventory.

Depends how many people I have with me. I’m at a stage now where I finally have a big enough boat to store a bunch of rods, so I have more than I used to run.

My typical arsenal loaded in the boat is 6 trolling rods (4 telescoping board rods and 2 7′ rods with line counters), 4-6 leadcore rods with linecounters, 2 7 foot med-heavy spinning rods for casting cranks, 2 live bait rods (one with a jig, one with a live bait rig). That’s my summer setup. Spring and fall I still have most everything above, just with 4 or 5 rods for plastics blades etc… instead of bait.

When I had smaller boats, I tried to have pre-tied rigs so I could use the 7′ trolling rods for different things quickly, like trolling cranks, then just clip on a 3 way rig or bouncer and use it for that. A lot of times you can have less rods on board if you’re more organized with rigs and can quickly change over.

Lindy, Jig, crank and bobber,,,,and a line snip hangs around my neck. Beyond that is just silly.

2 good Medium Light rods are more than enough for P4 imo. Even as my personal collection has grown I rarely find myself using them all, and with the exception of bobber setups it is pretty simple to reset them for a diff style of fishing (trolling, jigging, rigging etc.). I have some very high end rods that collect dust, next to a cheaper one I bought and “grew up” on. For a young guy I’d stay focused on getting on the water, and less time worrying about having every piece of equipment needed.

X2 on 54 rods and pontoon!

Walleye fishing 2 long line trolling rods with linecounters 9 fts 2 lead core rods with LC. 2 bb rods, 2 rigging , 2 jig rods and 1 baitcaster for thowing cranks ,blades ect. This would be the min , And if your going slip bobbering . I just rember one thing back when i had a little 14 ft er i had 3 rods at the most and caught plenty of fish just have fun don’t make fishing work . DK

Space and money. When I had less of one of those, I had fewer rods.

Now that I’ve been acquiring gear for years I have a few more to choose from. Now it’s about not overcomplicating and making a mess of everything. Too many rods in the boat = more hassle than it’s worth.

Started with one 6’6″ medium spinning – great all arounder
Sucked with I was switching to a different presentation and my buddy would already be fishing.

For years I was at 2 rods. That same 6’6″ medium and a finesse rod for jigging

Now I waffle between 2-4.

2 rods when I have two people in my small boat. 2 for my passenger aka dad

3 rods when I’m alone or in a bigger boat
Jigging
Rigging
Crankbaits

4 rods less than 5% of the time
The fourth rod is either for heavier baits or if you do bottom bouncers.

6-7 rods when I’m on Rainy lake for a week. My back corner of the boat gets a little messy with all of these.
Same 3 above for walleye
3 heavier for pike(2 baitcast/1 6′” MH spinning)
+1 for backup in case one of the above breaks but stored away

My boat has two rod boxes and they are stuffed full. I don’t want to know how many are in there.

As many as you need. Suggestions will vary from one extreme to the other and there is no right or wrong to this. I don’t troll, so that eliminates a lot for me…yet, I have on average about 17 or so rods in the locker. Doesn’t mean you need that many, but I do. Most set ups are in triplicate because I need to have that. I also have same rod/reel combo in both braid and mono. Some days i see the difference that line selection makes in crank baits or in pitching jigs. Last thing i want with a client in the boat is a day of “I wish I would have brought….”

I ;like the kiss principle particularly since all my rods cost at least $100. I use 4 rods: 1 heavy rod for the bigger pike-musky jerk-swim baits, 2 medium-heavy rods which serve as all around casting – trolling (pike, bass, walleye) and 1 medium-light for jigging and perch.