How many rods/reels do you actually use

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chrisg_sdcf
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How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by chrisg_sdcf » Sun Aug 04, 2019 9:26 pm

I've been going a little crazy the last few months (or what I think is crazy) and bought 8 rods and reels. I mean it was one at a time and before I knew it my room started looking like a sporting good store. I just had to back out of a purchase today because it's starting to get a little ridiculous.

Anyway I know there are a lot of enthusiasts on this site with quite the collection of rods and reels. How many do most of you really fish with? I mean is it normal to have 8 rods ready to go in the rod locker? Fishing for fun not tournament fishing.

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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by Aquaftm45 » Sun Aug 04, 2019 10:22 pm

Not bieng a tournament fisherman. I can get away with 2-3 combo's all day long, freshwater or saltwater.
Everyones requirements, finances and desires are different. But for me, If I had of know 2 years ago what I know now, my arsenal and purchasing pattern would have been much different. I was on the same path as you for the first 18 months of my "enthusiest level" trek.
In hindsight, I should have bought (1) $700 rod, over (2) $350 rods and ultimatly (4) $1000 combo's over (8) $600 combo's. Also, would have also jumped off of the Megabass Rod train much sooner, or at least been much more selective as to which ones I purchased. Some MB rods are great, but there are a slew of rods available that are a step above. Budgets vary, so again, I would have bought a well taken care of used rod whose original value was $500 for $350, than buy a new rod at $350.

I've often thought, if I was a tournament fisherman..I would have the same reels and the same series of rods across the board. I wouldnt want to have to re-adjust to every set-up I grabbed. I also would probobly be a straight fluro guy ](*,) ..no thanks!

Oh by the way from the Morethan thread, the Steez A is a top notch reel and one of my favorites. One that I am keeping as I have shed others that are collector and just couldn't bring myself to use.
There are people on here that have 15-20-30 or more super high end combos, more power to them. I hope someday to have the finances to do the same. In the meantime, enjoy the best that you can afford.

And obviously, there are no right or wrong answers to this thread.

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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by chrisg_sdcf » Mon Aug 05, 2019 12:52 am

Aquaftm45 wrote:
Sun Aug 04, 2019 10:22 pm
Not bieng a tournament fisherman. I can get away with 2-3 combo's all day long, freshwater or saltwater.
Everyones requirements, finances and desires are different. But for me, If I had of know 2 years ago what I know now, my arsenal and purchasing pattern would have been much different. I was on the same path as you for the first 18 months of my "enthusiest level" trek.
In hindsight, I should have bought (1) $700 rod, over (2) $350 rods and ultimatly (4) $1000 combo's over (8) $600 combo's. Also, would have also jumped off of the Megabass Rod train much sooner, or at least been much more selective as to which ones I purchased. Some MB rods are great, but there are a slew of rods available that are a step above. Budgets vary, so again, I would have bought a well taken care of used rod whose original value was $500 for $350, than buy a new rod at $350.

I've often thought, if I was a tournament fisherman..I would have the same reels and the same series of rods across the board. I wouldnt want to have to re-adjust to every set-up I grabbed. I also would probobly be a straight fluro guy ](*,) ..no thanks!

Oh by the way from the Morethan thread, the Steez A is a top notch reel and one of my favorites. One that I am keeping as I have shed others that are collector and just couldn't bring myself to use.
There are people on here that have 15-20-30 or more super high end combos, more power to them. I hope someday to have the finances to do the same. In the meantime, enjoy the best that you can afford.

And obviously, there are no right or wrong answers to this thread.
Well I think you kind of went right to what I was thinking. I started off trying to by decent lower price point gear so I ended up with like $100-$150 rods and $75-$100 reels and then moved up in price a little at a time until I hit the $400 reels and $300 rods (still haven't been able to bring myself up to the $500-$600 rods). But I think I should have jumped right to the higher quality more expensive gear and had 4 $1000 combos. I'm happy with my stuff and for right now I don't know what I'm missing on the high end rods. Once my kids learn baitcast reels I'll be glad I have some cheaper stuff and so many rods.

Funny you mention the megabass rod thing because I just started heading down that road. I was going to buy another one today but stopped myself.

Ive never thought about tournament fishing but I've kind of wondered if I should have just bought a bunch of tatula sv's in different speeds and called it good instead of a variety of expensive reels but I'm really happy with some of the ones I have now. I've pretty much switched over to all fluorocarbon but I've had some issues with it and it's not always my favorite. I want to try some lighter braid and maybe some other stuff too.

Glad to hear you like the steez A so much. You have a steez sv tw also right? Is your sv tw smoother than your A? It might be because my sv TW has been used for a while but the A is brand new.

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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by poisonokie » Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:03 am

For the past two months? ZERO. I've got two rods and a reel that I've never even used. ](*,) Don't ever buy a new house, kids!
Last edited by poisonokie on Mon Aug 05, 2019 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by OkobojiEagle » Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:31 am

I usually start the season with 2 spinning and 2 casting outfits in the boat... by mid-season I have 3 spinning and 3 casting along.

oe

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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by hoohoorjoo » Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:33 am

Recently cut back from 22 baitcast and 4 spinning combos, all the way down to 10 bait cast and 3 spinning combos. I realized it was time to thin out the collection when I found 4 nib Sols stashed in my closet that I forgot I had lol.....or rather my wife found them while looking for something else. I then went out to my rod rack and counted 7 rods with no reels, 4 of which still had tags hanging on them. It was then that I noticed the layer of dust on the reel covers of several of my combos, because they hadn't been used in such a long time. So I sold off some stuff......only to buy more stuff lol. Only difference now is that I buy based on a need, rather than an impulsive want. I have some high end stuff, sure, but that doesn't make up my entire collection. I am trying to use what works for me for a specific technique. My jacked-up right shoulder does demand that I use lightweight stuff, which usually steers my purchases towards the expensive stuff. Lightweight rods and reels are usually the most expensive, assuming you want quality and longevity from your gear.
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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by MountainMan 83 » Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:40 am

I have about 8-9 baitcasting reels and 6-7 rods. I usually take turns and experiment with combos plus different spools throughout the year depending on technique I'm trying for.

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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by chrisg_sdcf » Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:41 am

poisonokie wrote:
Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:03 am
For the past two more months? ZERO. I've got two rods and a reel that I've never even used. ](*,) Don't ever buy a new house, kids!
That's probably what I should be saving my money for.

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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by edwelch1 » Mon Aug 05, 2019 6:13 am

2 spinning combos currently, and one of them is more of a backup. I have a baitcasting musky rig as well, but that stays at the cabin and I'll maybe use it once or twice a year, so I don't really count that. I primarily target walleye, crappie, bluegills, and other panfish, with the occasional smallmouth bass, rock bass, or northern that will hit when I'm going for the others.

Primary rig is my St Croix Legend Elite Panfish 6'4" LXF, mounted with a Daiwa Tatula LT 1000, spooled with 15lb YGK Admix PE Slow Sinking Braid and usually 6lb fluoro for a leader. I got it this spring, it covers 90%+ of my open water fishing, and I've been really enjoying it all around. It's a bit light for some of the fish I have gotten into, but the challenge of bringing in a 20+" walleye or northern on this light rig has been super fun when it happens.

Since getting that, my G-Loomis 6'10" GL2 DSR Mag-light XF, mounted with a Pflueger Patriarch 25 and Yo-Zuri Super Braid, has become a backup. It's still a good combo, it just feels heavy and sluggish compared to my new combo, so I don't care to use it much anymore. So far this summer I've only used it for a nighttime lighted slip bobber fishing over one weekend so that I didn't have to keep changing my main rig every night, otherwise it's been used more by my GF.

I do plan on replacing the GL2 with something on the level of the LEP, because the feather weight and increased sensitivity has been a game changer. I'll likely either go with a comparable length/power/action St Croix Legend X, or I really want to try my hand at custom building using high-end components. And I'll probably be putting a Daiwa Kage LT 1000 or 2000 on it, since that seems to be a slightly upgraded Tatula. Once that replacement happens, then the GL2/Patriarch will either be the GF's or my dad's if either want it, or it'll just be a cabin rod for other people to use.

For my own use, I don't see a need to have more than 2 rods, and a L/XF and a ML/F or ML/XF are pretty much perfect for covering my bases. LXF for 90% of my fishing, MLXF for when I need to use 1/4 or 3/8oz jigs to get down to the bottom in current or a fast drift.
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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by Hobie-Wan Kenobi » Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:32 am

I usually have around 13 setups, all baitcasting. I fish a variety of species so, a few setups wont work for me.

I got 5 BFS setups. Covers trout, panfish and bass:
1 for cranking
1 for the extremely small lures/fish
1 bass/panfish
1 "power" BFS for all-round use
1 for trout/panfish.

The rest are bass, walleye and such:
Deep crank
Shallow crank/moving baits
All around MH (spinnerbaits and such)
2 flipping setups (different powers)
1 jig rod (severely neglected)
1 Texas Rig rod (also neglected)
1 All-around medium (all things 1/8-1/2oz)

I cover all my bases. Its nice to not have to swap lures around too. The overlap with some of my setups is nice in case someone is using my setups. I have considered selling some of my less used setups.
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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by Dalleinf » Mon Aug 05, 2019 7:45 am

I fish for many different species in fresh and salt. Still, most of fishing - 90% or more - is in streams for searun brown trout (or salmon).
I have more than seventy rods (recently counted and a few added since then) plus a similar number of reels.
When going for trout, I only bring one setup. At home, I use many of my of rods/reels, which I clean often and pack down after each outing. For next trip, I typically find a different combo.
Travel / multi-piece rods are used on vacation and some work-related trips. Just now, I am in Norway with 8 setups.

I guess I could get by with 5 setups and do fine for life.

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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by Hogsticker2 » Mon Aug 05, 2019 1:58 pm

2 lights
2 medium lights
2 mediums
2 medium heavys
2 two piece travel rods. One medium light, one medium heavy.
8 casting reels - 7 Daiwa, one Metanium DC

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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by chrisg_sdcf » Mon Aug 05, 2019 2:34 pm

OkobojiEagle wrote:
Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:31 am
I usually start the season with 2 spinning and 2 casting outfits in the boat... by mid-season I have 3 spinning and 3 casting along.

oe
Seems reasonable to me.

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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by chrisg_sdcf » Mon Aug 05, 2019 2:48 pm

hoohoorjoo wrote:
Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:33 am
Recently cut back from 22 baitcast and 4 spinning combos, all the way down to 10 bait cast and 3 spinning combos. I realized it was time to thin out the collection when I found 4 nib Sols stashed in my closet that I forgot I had lol.....or rather my wife found them while looking for something else. I then went out to my rod rack and counted 7 rods with no reels, 4 of which still had tags hanging on them. It was then that I noticed the layer of dust on the reel covers of several of my combos, because they hadn't been used in such a long time. So I sold off some stuff......only to buy more stuff lol. Only difference now is that I buy based on a need, rather than an impulsive want. I have some high end stuff, sure, but that doesn't make up my entire collection. I am trying to use what works for me for a specific technique. My jacked-up right shoulder does demand that I use lightweight stuff, which usually steers my purchases towards the expensive stuff. Lightweight rods and reels are usually the most expensive, assuming you want quality and longevity from your gear.

I think I'm going to end up right around what you cut back to. I'm definitely worried I'm going to see dust covering a few of my rod/reel covers but I guess that's when you know you don't need it haha. I wish I found 4 brand new Sol's in my closet. I recently picked up a nib Sol and that thing is one of my favorites. That's one I'm going to need a duplicate of because I catch my son looking at it all the time.

I would like to add a Bfs setup but I need to wait. I think part of the reason my collection is growing is because of the cost to ship rods. There are a few I know I don't need or won't use often and I'd sell them if I wasn't going to take a big loss. It's funny but I started off wanting to try to throw bigger baits and now I'm interested in the lighter lures.

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Re: How many rods/reels do you actually use

Post by chrisg_sdcf » Mon Aug 05, 2019 2:50 pm

MountainMan 83 wrote:
Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:40 am
I have about 8-9 baitcasting reels and 6-7 rods. I usually take turns and experiment with combos plus different spools throughout the year depending on technique I'm trying for.
I have a hard time doing that. If I have a rod/reel by itself I feel like I need to find a rod/reel so I can put it to use. I guess it would be nice to move things around and see what works best though.

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