Do most of you bring two or three rods with you? One set up for crankbaits, another slip bobber, and possibly a third set for walleyes? Or do you use a leader and just change over as you go with one rod?

I bring 3 or 4 rods on my BWCA trip. May seem like overkill to some but it does not hinder us at all with portages and I'm always glad I bring all of them. I usually have a rod rigged up for slip bobber fishing, once for jigging (8 or 10lb braid to 8 pound mono), one for topwater fishing (stiffer rod and heavier line, and then one set up for trolling lindy rigs or crankbaits.

Two rods. One for slip bobbers and the other for everything else.

At least 3 rods. One slightly heavier trolling/topwater rod with 14lb braid or fused line and titanium or tieable steel leader. One medium power fast action rod with similar braid and a fluorocarbon leader, and one medium/light rod with light mono or braid/fluoro for walleye/finesse fishing. I also stash a quality travel rod and reel in a pack in case of a failure. Multiple rods avoid constant rerigging. If I were only fishing for walleye, or only bass, etc. I would probably be satisfied with 2 rods but I love multispecies angling.

Three rods in the boat at all times.

LF rod with bobber.
MLF rod with soft plastics (ned rigs, senkos, swimbaits on jigs, etc).
MF rod for crankbaits, spoons and trolling.

We usually bring 2 rods per person.

As others have mentioned it's nice to have multiple setups ready to go to switch back and forth quickly. I usually Jig fish, so my extra rods are just to have multiple presentations ready to go in case I run into a school of fish, or a known hotspot and they're not biting. I'll have Jig-n-raps, plastics, jigs, beaver flicks, or lindys setup on different rods.

It's also an insurance play. Over the years we have lost a couple of rods on trips and it's critical to have a backup in those situations. One time I was reeling up a fish and the handle on my reel snapped. Another time we were doing a quick 2 rod portage and a tree branch took out one of the rods.

I'll be bringing 3 setups in Sept. One for slip bobber, one for jigging, and for the first time a baitcasting setup for throwing heavy spoons and trolling.

jwettelrin89: "We usually bring 2 rods per person.


As others have mentioned it's nice to have multiple setups ready to go to switch back and forth quickly. I usually Jig fish, so my extra rods are just to have multiple presentations ready to go in case I run into a school of fish, or a known hotspot and they're not biting. I'll have Jig-n-raps, plastics, jigs, beaver flicks, or lindys setup on different rods.


It's also an insurance play. Over the years we have lost a couple of rods on trips and it's critical to have a backup in those situations. One time I was reeling up a fish and the handle on my reel snapped. Another time we were doing a quick 2 rod portage and a tree branch took out one of the rods. "

ALWAYS carry fishing rods reel forward tips behind you and you will almost never damage a fishing rod. I have done this for 40+ years and have only ever damaged one when the line caught a branch behind me and I impatiently tried to yank it free.

jwettelrin89: "We usually bring 2 rods per person.


As others have mentioned it's nice to have multiple setups ready to go to switch back and forth quickly. I usually Jig fish, so my extra rods are just to have multiple presentations ready to go in case I run into a school of fish, or a known hotspot and they're not biting. I'll have Jig-n-raps, plastics, jigs, beaver flicks, or lindys setup on different rods.


It's also an insurance play. Over the years we have lost a couple of rods on trips and it's critical to have a backup in those situations. One time I was reeling up a fish and the handle on my reel snapped. Another time we were doing a quick 2 rod portage and a tree branch took out one of the rods. "

We do the same averaging 2 rods per person. Two of us bring a third in case of losing one overboard or breakage. Both have happened once in 30 years of tripping.

3-4 rods with me on my trips. You never know when something goes wrong with one. If there is anything that is going to break on a canoe trip it’s going to be a fishing rod. One is none, two is one.

mgraber: "

jwettelrin89: "We usually bring 2 rods per person.



As others have mentioned it's nice to have multiple setups ready to go to switch back and forth quickly. I usually Jig fish, so my extra rods are just to have multiple presentations ready to go in case I run into a school of fish, or a known hotspot and they're not biting. I'll have Jig-n-raps, plastics, jigs, beaver flicks, or lindys setup on different rods.



It's also an insurance play. Over the years we have lost a couple of rods on trips and it's critical to have a backup in those situations. One time I was reeling up a fish and the handle on my reel snapped. Another time we were doing a quick 2 rod portage and a tree branch took out one of the rods. "

ALWAYS carry fishing rods reel forward tips behind you and you will almost never damage a fishing rod. I have done this for 40+ years and have only ever damaged one when the line caught a branch behind me and I impatiently tried to yank it free."

I'll have to try that next time I carry on portages.

When we broke ours we were out fishing on a day trip and we just carried the canoe over the short portage with all the gear still in the canoe - one guy on both sides through a set of shrubs. Like you we caught a branch on what we thought was the canoe, and we just tried to yank it through. Turns out one of our fishing rods was hung up on the branch and that didn't work out well. We learned a few lessons there. good thing we had the extra rods with!

I bring 3 rods. One set up for jigging, one set up for trolling crankbaits/spoons/topwater with heavy braid. The 3rd is a backup rod. I would not want to go with any less than 2 rods.

We bring three; one for each of us and a spare. We just swap out if we want to do something different (although I'd say we bottom bounce probably 90% of the time)

For 2 people (in a canoe) that fish we'd normally take.....5 rods total. So 2.5 per person I guess.

One "main" spinning rod that does all casting and jigging w/ a snap swivel for easy changing. One collapsible rod BDB'd to both thwarts already rigged w/ slip bobbers. Then one extra regular rod just as a backup and sometimes a backup reel in a pack. If we're staying in one spot for more than a day that usually gets rigged up for lakers or pike or something specific if we want.

As for portaging....if it's a "travel" day with portages the long rods are all tied into the canoe and in a homemade cloth/fleece sleeve. They're protected and stay right where they are for all portages and paddling. I try to never walk a portage with loose fishing rods....asking for trouble. When portaging, all 5 rods are still tied into the boat where they were and the paddles get lashed in too w/ BDB or gear ties. No one portages with crap in their hands other than possibly a small tackle bag if it's loose.

Speaking of rod breakage; we attach our rods to the thwarts of the canoe with BDB's when portaging. Yes, we bring multiple rods/reels. Reels, also, can be damaged, line tangles, etc. Accidents do happen.

I bring 3 rods like many have said, rigged in much the same way. They are all one-piece because of the better feel I get. To store them(without reels) I have some bungees attached half way down, on the inside of my canoe. I just have to be careful loading and unloading.

Because I’m a cheapskate, my latest purchase is a dedicated trolling rod with a line-counter reel. I’m always afraid of losing my $8 rapalas so I am probably rarely fishing near the bottom. I figure that between my depth finder and GPS which allows me to monitor my trolling speed I should be able to stay near the bottom without snagging too often.

Of course I need to learn/test the depth that each crankbait runs. According to my fishing-expert brother, he trolls between 1 and 1.5 mph, so I’ll probably plan for 1.25 mph. That way I have a chance of remembering the depth each diver runs at without a spreadsheet :)

Of course, it will probably be years before I re-coup the cost of the outfit in lost rapalas. But I’ll use any excuse to buy another fishing item.

Fritty

I bring 3 rods and two reels. All rods are two piece.

Yes. I learned that trick crashing through heavy brush on the North Shore streams hunting Brook trout. Reel forward, always..

It depends!

If I am 3 to a canoe with my 2 adult kids, we will each have an 8lb mono med for everything and an extra 12lb mono med heavy for bigger lures, tops, etc..

If I am 2 to a canoe, it is a 3 pole setup but 2) 8lb meds and 1) 12lb med heavy.

If I am 1 to canoe, it is 2) 8lb med and 1) 12lb med heavy.

That keeps everything manageable in tight quarters with no people snags or line tangles. And I don't like fishing topwater 2 to a canoe because I think it is too noisy so i try to get everyone fishing a different style until we find fish.

agree, foxfireniner. We BDB them into the canoe for the day's travel, and making sure they are well out of the way of packs being loaded is key. We created a nightmare once when bundling 6 rods into a 3-man canoe. Not every rod made it back whole...

3 at least

Three rods. I will sometimes cast with one, on the very next cast, cast with another, and then, again on the next cast, cast with the third.

missmolly: "Three rods. I will sometimes cast with one, on the very next cast, cast with another, and then, again on the next cast, cast with the third. "

I have 3 go to lures rigged up for the lake I’m fishing and will work a spot with those 3 lures that are on 3 different rods. If the fish aren’t biting on those 3 it’s time to move to a different spot.

Basspro69: "

missmolly: "Three rods. I will sometimes cast with one, on the very next cast, cast with another, and then, again on the next cast, cast with the third. "

I have 3 go to lures rigged up for the lake I’m fishing and will work a spot with those 3 lures that are on 3 different rods. If the fish aren’t biting on those 3 it’s time to move to a different spot. "

Agree with you, If I cast a Whopper Plopper and get nothing, my follow up will be a wacky worm or a creature bait. I see a spot and say that will hold a fish. Then after I cast with a bait that has been hot and get nothing I’m usually surprised. I grab my creature bait setup and bam, fish on. We’re they spooked on the first bait? Softer presentation on the second bait? We’re they too lazy to come up to my topwater lure, and the creature bait was in front of their mouth on the bottom. Too big of a bait, too noisy of a bait, moved the bait too fast? No idea, just be ready with a different follow up bait at every spot. In my sit on top fishing kayak I have 4-5 rods rigged up ready at all times.

I'm going fishing with four rods tomorrow morning.

One for TGO Method (hook, bait, and split shot)

One for Molly Method (trolling a Mepps)

One for Whopper Plopping

One to troll a crankbait