Rod question

[Slow Burn]

I have always wondered why the bass guys carry so many rods and I was reminded of this seeing a few pictures in the gallery.  Since I don't bass fish and have never done it more than on the pond behind my parents house, why do you guys roll with so many rods and just lay them next to you when fishing?  Im assuming to throw another bait quickly without having to waste time changing a lure out?

[Muskygary]

Yes, That's part of it. Fish rods are like golf clubs. Different clubs for different shots. Different rods for different baits and different presentations. Even different line types for different lures! A surface lure works best with mono because it floats and has some stretch to it. A flippin rod works best with braid; as you have to get that fish out of the junk now. Drop shot works best with florcarbon, not much stretch, it sinks and blends in with the water.

[Lamar]

  I do it for several reasons. The biggest is I keep my rods inside a rod locker for storage and when I take them out they lay on top the rod locker with a strap holding them down when I run the boat. So to get a different rod out I would have to move them all then grab a new rod and put them all back. Kind of a pain.  As a bass fisherman going down the bank I may come across a log to pitch to a rock pile to crank or maybe a point to toss a shaky head to. So having multiple rods to do each thing is important. I will if I have time put the top water rods away later in the day just to clean the front of the boat off a little. As a rule I have two flipping rods, one shaky head rod and a spinnerbait rod on the top deck. Then as the summer comes on I'll have a top water rod there too.

[ctom]

In my own boat and alone I'll carry maybe 5 or 6 rods and that is for crappie fishing. Each has its own use and the line that's spooled varies according to need. I'll generally pare things down to 3-4 rods when I am in another boat or if I have company in mine.

[Lamar]

  I remember about 20 years ago in a Federation tournament I drew a guys that showed up at the very last minute with two pistol grip rods with Zepco 33's on them. He also had two small brown paper bags of which one had his lunch. He was wearing a buttoned up flannel shirt and a pair of black wingtip shoes. He got in my boat and said I forgot my hat. I gave him my extra hat and thought great. Back them the Federation had a three bass limit. In the first hour this guy had 9 plus pounds and was cull up. At the end of the day he had 16.3 and I finally caught my third fish for a little under 8 pounds. I learned then you don't need all those rods and all those lures to catch fish. You need black wingtip shoes.

[b.eipert]

I personally only carry three or four rods. A lot of the tournament guys I know carry a boat full of them. It is nice to not have to tie on a new bait every time you want to change. It is a lot easier to just grab a different rod.

[Muskygary]

Also, guys like me, that fish multi species will carry extra rods. I usually carry a trolling rod (for walleyes) two crappie outfits, and two bass rods rigged with soft plastics. I also have a flippin rod that I sometimes fish with a big spinnerbait for pike.

[Botanophilia]

4 rods for me.  1 top water plastics, 1 other plastics usually c-rigged worms or tubes, 1with a wire leader  for spinners, spoons, cranks etc, & 1 ultralight for panfish. 

[Slow Burn]

Makes sense. I have several rods but only carry 2 whether it's my boat or not. Same rods and reels with one as a backup. Occasionally I will have a plastic on one and topwater on the other just for a quick grab off the boat before I bail out to wade. Not much need for all the varity in 3ft of water

[kevin]

It's an addiction!!!!!   sometimes i wonder why???
  i am going to have to get another boat  or truck to carry all my gear!!!!! It's funny  Lamar said about the guy who brought pistol grip rods with zebco 33 on them ..I fish a local tourn up  here in Pa. an these 2 ol timers fish the same setup. Heck they have won several tournaments also.Just go out an have fun!!!!! You don't need all that fancy  stuff to be successful  but it sure is nice!!!!!!!!!!

[bassinfool]

I carry between 8-12 set ups depending on what I plan on fishing.  My usual set ups are :T rig, jig/flipping set up (sometimes I have two rods set up with a jig on one and beaver set up on the other), spinner bait/chatterbait, cranking rod, square bill rod, two spinning set ups with shaky head/drop shot on one and wacky rig on the other, I always have a frog fishing rod spooled with 50lb braid minimum as well as another top water rod with something like a Sammie tied on.  Do I need this many rods and set ups?  Of course not, it's just convenient for me since I don't get much time to fish nowadays the time I do get I don't want to spend tying and retying lures each time I want to change presentations.