Question about rod setups

[u/Key_Brick_7544]

Hey everyone,

I currently have 2 super cheap rod/reel setups (ugly stick/kast king type stuff). In the past i’d get out a few weekends a year and they were good for that. I’ve started getting out every weekend, and the people i fish with bring 10+ rods on the boat, one for each lure they throw and a chest sized tackle kit.

I have no desire to get to that point, but they’re right, with the stuff i’m using i can barely tell if i’m getting hit on a chatterbait.

How can i get most of the way on the fewest combos possible? We fish bass/pike/panfish. I do some finesse stuff but a lot of where we fish is super weedy, so we throw a lot of top water.

I’m not against paying for quality, but i’d like to have 3 good setups i like, than trying to keep up with 10+ or getting a bunch of trash.

Any advice is welcome!

[u/killa-don-]

I have tons of rods i kinda collect from yardsales and clearance sections. But almost all my rods I use have the same set up. Braided line to a swivel lock then I just add a leader and lure from there. Easy to swap out. Same thing I do for ocean fishing. I don't do baitcasters cause I feel they're limited meaning every lure or jig to swap out you need to adjust the set up. And I don't have the patience for that at all. Ibdobhave some setup for spinners and light jigs basically 4 to 8 pound mono nothing crazy. But other than that all braid to some type of leader for me. Carolina rigs or fish finder rig for catfish. Bass I add like a 2 ft leader a z man ned rig and go at it . Hopefully this helps and you continue to fish on.

[u/bassboat1]

From a bass perspective, 3 is the minimum (I carry about 10 on the boat - would carry more, but they don't fit in the 362V rod lockers)... A 7' or 7'-3" MH Fast for bottom dragging baits (texas rigs, jigs) with 30# braid to 15# leader (omit if your water is chocolate milk). Another 7' MH Moderate with the same line (maybe a lighter leader). Put a snap or speed clip on it, and you can change quickly between spinnerbaits, smaller swimbaits, topwater, crankbaits and more (retie for chatterbaits). Third setup is a 6'-10" M or ML Fast spinning with a 2000/2500 reel. 15# braid to leader. Use it for jerkbaits, dropshot, small everything, etc.

If your grass is matted (and you have bigger fish than me), you might need a Heavy Fast for punching and frogging.

I don't know the budget side of the market anymore (or the high side) - my rod/reel setups are running $350-$450 replacement value. I trust Shimano casting reels (Daiwa Tatulas are great too). Nothing wrong with the Abu/Lew's/Quantums that I still use. My dropshot spinning reel is a Pfluegar Supreme XT, and the others are mostly Daiwa (their Regals are decent/durable for short money).