Co-Anglers - What Would You Do With Only 5 Rods. 2025

Felix77 reply :

Okay ...

Looking to see how co-anglers would handle this question. If you had 5 rod/reels to bring with you what would they be and what would you have rigged on them assuming you know nothing about the lake you are going on.

Here's my crack at it.

#1 - 6' Medium Baitcaster - 12lb Mono - Topwater - Spooks, Chuggers

#2 - 6'6" MH Baitcaster 6:4:1 reel 15lb Fluoro - Spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, Swimbaits

#3 - 7' Medium Heavy Baitcaster 7:1 Reel, 20lb Fluoro - Jigs, Spoons, Large CB's (Deep Divers),

#4 - 7' Medium Baitcaster, 6.4:1 Reel, 12lb Fluoro - Crankbaits (KVD 1.5+), jerkbaits, Lipless Crankbaits

#5 - 7' Medium Spinning Setup, 8lb Fluoro - Drop Shot, Wacky, Weightless Texas Rigged Senko, Light Cranks

Wondering what you all would have in mind.

LgMouthGambler reply :

Sounds pretty good to me. You also have to consider that different regions will require different styles of fishing. The only thing is the 20# fluoro for deep cranks, you want a thinner line to get deeper.

ww2farmer reply :

I could do it with 3.........now there are a few guys on here whom I have been the non-boater with, and they will be laughing and saying "yeah right, then why do you bring 10?" LOL............because you let me that's why...........but I could do it with three.

7' MH/fast casting with 30lb braid for jigs/worms, frogs, spinnerbaits

7' M/fast casting with 20lb braid for topwater,shallow cranks, weightless plastics........and it's not ideal, but in a pinch would deep crank.

6'8" M/XF spinning with 10lb braid for shaky heads, dropshot, small stuff.

Plus one tackle bag with a 3700 size box of terminal tackle, a 3700 size box of my "go to" hard baits, and a handfull of bags of soft plastics that I have 100% confidence in , and a couple spools of fluoro for changing leader sizes when needed.

webertime reply :

7'6" Heavy fast casting 50lb braid (flipping/frogs/C-rig/bigger swimbaits)

7' MH fast casting 16lb Fluoro (spinnerbaits, swimbaits, jigs, big jerkbaits and cranks)

6'8" Med xfast spinning 20lb braid (ikas, senkos, DS, shaky)

6'3" MH fast casting 10lb YZH (Topwater, jerkbaits)

7' MH moderate casting 30lb braid with leader (cranks)

Felix77 reply :

On 1/4/2013 at 9:52 AM, LgMouthGambler said:
Sounds pretty good to me. You also have to consider that different regions will require different styles of fishing. The only thing is the 20# fluoro for deep cranks, you want a thinner line to get deeper.

Good catch ... didn't even think of that.

Felix77 reply :

On 1/4/2013 at 9:54 AM, ww2farmer said:
I could do it with 3.........now there are a few guys on here whom I have been the non-boater with, and they will be laughing and saying "yeah right, then why do you bring 10?" LOL............because you let me that's why...........but I could do it with three.

7' MH/fast casting with 30lb braid for jigs/worms, frogs, spinnerbaits

7' M/fast casting with 20lb braid for topwater,shallow cranks, weightless plastics........and it's not ideal, but in a pinch would deep crank.

6'8" M/XF spinning with 10lb braid for shaky heads, dropshot, small stuff.

Plus one tackle bag with a 3700 size box of terminal tackle, a 3700 size box of my "go to" hard baits, and a handfull of bags of soft plastics that I have 100% confidence in , and a couple spools of fluoro for changing leader sizes when needed.

You must live or die by the Albright knot. :-)

Teal reply :

7'6 H fast 50 lb spiderwire ultimate braid ( floro leaders if needed).

7'0 MH fast 15lb Floro

7'0 Medium Moderate fast 10lb mono

7'7 MH glass moderate 12lb mono

6'6 ML Xfast Spinning 20lb braid ( floro leaders if needed)

I didn't put down what I would use the rods for simply because There are so many different combinations of ways I could use them. I picked mono for the two reaction rods so I could be more versatile if I didn't pick floro. Besides these are normally the handful of rods that I carry if I'm not on my boat.

ww2farmer reply :

On 1/4/2013 at 10:47 AM, Felix77 said:
You must live or die by the Albright knot. :-)

Alberto...........lived many times, only died once. Wasn't the knots fault either, I tied a bad one the night before, and couple that with the fact I was using that rod for frogging the last time out, I forgot to back the drag off after I tied the fluoro leader to it = disaster. I picked the worst time to get stupid too.....of coarse it was during a tournament, where my partner and I took 2nd with 18.5lbs, we missed first by 1/2 a lb. The next day I went to the lake and in the same area, I caught a nice 4.75 lb fish....................with my hook stuck in it's face and 5 feet of fluoro tied to it. I knew it was my hook........well because I am the only one I know who uses them LOL, and the fish was caught give or take a boat length from where I broke it off during the tournament. After that there was no more jumping back and forth from plastics to frogging with that rod, and I test every knot I tie right away.

matt996 reply :

try to cover all of the water coulombs!

BrianinMD reply :

My rod choices change tourney to tourney, depending on location, weather, type of fishing the boater is planning.....

CPBassFishing reply :

You would be surprised at what you can get away with. I have 2 rods. A 6' spinning and a 6' 6" baitcaster. I throw lures 1/4 oz. and under on the spinning setup and 3/8 to 3/4 oz. lures on the baitcaster. No issues yet. I would like to get a better spinning reel though, I'm using a POS shakespeare 3.6:1 gear ratio! Too slow!

roadwarrior reply :

For enthusiasts, technique specific gear is fun
to collect. However, three rigs cover all the
basics:

#1 6 1/2' or 7' MH baitcaster for jigs, some
soft plastics and spinnerbaits

#2 6 1/2' or 7' MM baitcaster for treble hook
lures

#3 7' MF spinning rod for lighter lures and a
variety of techniques

jhoffman reply :

Im a boater, currently I am fishing 3 baitcast setups and 2 spin

If you dont know ANYTHING about the lake and youre fishing tournaments you might wanna worry more about learning about the lake than what your rod has tied on. Confidence in any tactic is bigger than the exact bait setup.

Theres lots to learn about any lake by finding maps, depth charts, calling local shops, looking at the weather, is it man made, whats the banks made of... if it rains will it go to mud? does it hold smallies or largemouth...

Hanover_Yakker reply :

On 1/4/2013 at 10:13 PM, roadwarrior said:
For enthusiasts, technique specific gear is fun
to collect. However, three rigs cover all the

basics:

#1 6 1/2' or 7' MH baitcaster for jigs, some

soft plastics and spinnerbaits

#2 6 1/2' or 7' MM baitcaster for treble hook

lures

#3 7' MF spinning rod for lighter lures and a

variety of techniques

This is the exact setup I use everytime I head out. My #1 MH is rigged with 30-65lb braid depending upon the area I am fishing and no leader for hte plastics, but I'll tie on a 3' 10-15lb. flouro leader if I tie on the spinnerbait. My #2 is a 6'8" AVID MXF and rigged to a 30lb braid baitcaster. If I am throwing a crank of some form, then I tie on a 4-5' 15lb. flouro leader. My #3 is a MXF paired to a 2500 or 3000 series spinning reel with 20lb. braid and a 5-6' length of 10-15lb. flouro. This setup doubles as a slower small profile soft plastic rod and a LC Pointer or MirrOlure suspending jerkbait setup.

jbsoonerfan reply :

7' H fast 65lb braid

7'2" MH x-fast 50lb braid

6'10" MH fast 30lb braid

7' MH mod 10lb fluoro

6'8" M fast 10lb fluoro

5fishlimit reply :

I'm going to be starting up in a bass club this year as a coangler for the first time. I'm only going to bring three rods. A baitcaster 7' MH/F, a spinning rod, 7' H/F, and another spinning rod 7' M/F for finesse presentations.

I am in the market for another baitcaster set up for flipping/pitching, but still weighing my options.

Bankbeater reply :

I usually have four rigs with me. Jig, T-rig, C-rig, and spinnerbait. I will swap out the spinnerbait for a crank, but the rest stay the same.

bassin is addicting reply :

i usually only take 4 rods maybe 5 depends on time of year and where we are fishing

2/3 bc and 2 spinning

and i know some/many may not agree...but... i'll usually have snaps tied on to the spinning gear so i can change baits quick when needed.

Teal reply :

Snaps are always a good idea. I use them a lot for my cranks and jerk baits.

J Francho reply :

It would really depend on the water we were fishing. If it's Erie, I might have four spinning rods set up for drop shot, and one cranking/spooning rig. On a lake like Oneida, I'd have a frog rod, a couple of jig/worm rods, a wacky rod, and a shaky head setup. Your best bet is a few MH/F sticks, a M/F spinner, and a cranker. That would cover most bases.

basseditor reply :

Where I fish, I normally use 20-25# Invisx for nearly everything, but do go down to 15# sometimes.

Crookedneck reply :

7'3" H/F w 65# braid for pitchn and flippin

7' MH/F w 15# floro for t-rig/carolina

6'11" MH/F w 25# braid for spinner baits

7' M/F w 12-14# floro for cranking

6' 10" M/xf spinning rod w 8# floro for drop shot

Sometimes a 7' M/F spinning rod w 10 # braid for top water

Felix77 reply :

On 1/4/2013 at 10:25 PM, jhoffman said:
Im a boater, currently I am fishing 3 baitcast setups and 2 spin

If you dont know ANYTHING about the lake and youre fishing tournaments you might wanna worry more about learning about the lake than what your rod has tied on. Confidence in any tactic is bigger than the exact bait setup.

Theres lots to learn about any lake by finding maps, depth charts, calling local shops, looking at the weather, is it man made, whats the banks made of... if it rains will it go to mud? does it hold smallies or largemouth...

Understood. As a Co-Angler there has been more than one time where what we have planned didn't come to fruition for one reason or another. I also had situations where the boater who I was going to ride with had engine problems which moved me to a boater which I didn't plan to fish with. With that being said I was curious has other co-anglers handle being versatile with a limited set of equipment and thus this post.

Nothing ever beats preparation like you discussed.

Felix77 reply :

On 1/5/2013 at 2:13 AM, bassin is addicting said:
i usually only take 4 rods maybe 5 depends on time of year and where we are fishing
2/3 bc and 2 spinning

and i know some/many may not agree...but... i'll usually have snaps tied on to the spinning gear so i can change baits quick when needed.

On 1/5/2013 at 2:20 AM, Teal said:
Snaps are always a good idea. I use them a lot for my cranks and jerk baits.

I was reluctant to use snaps last year. I don't have any experience with them.

What snaps do you use? I'm convinced to at least try them after watching a video on Aaron Martens says he uses them in competition and according to KVD's book he also uses them.

JoePhish reply :

What I use in the back of the boat:

- 7' MH, baitcaster, 30lb braid (I tie on appropriate leaders if needed) - Jigs, T-Rig plastics, Spinner and Chatter baits, Frogs and heavy Deep Diving Cranks.

- 6'6 MH baitcaster, 20-30 lb braid - Jigs, T-Rigs, heavy Lipless Cranks

- 7' Med, baitcaster, 12-14 lb Mono or 12-15 lb Yozuri Hybrid - Cranks (lipless, shallow to light weight deep divers), light spinner and chatter baits

- 7' MH, Spinning, 12-15 lb Yozuri Hybrid, Plastics (C-Rigged, light T-Rigged and Weightless) Topwaters, Jerkbaits, light Cranks, Shakey Head

- 6'8 M, Spinning, 10-12 lb Flurocarbon - Weightless Plastics, Shakey Head, Drop Shot, light Jerks, Ultra-light cranks

Regarding Snaps; I usually buy Boone. I find them in the saltwater section of my local Gander. Not only are they a bit stronger but they cost less per snap than those found in the freshwater section.

I use them for most of my cranks though I prefer to tie directly to the split ring with most Jerkbaits and opt for a Loop knot on most top water lures.

Teal reply :

Felix I just the buy the cross lock snaps made by Berkley. They come in a few different size strengths. I use the heaviest except on my jerkbait rod when I'll use the light ones. I have never bent or broke a snap although I have heard horror stories. You should be able to find them at your local wal mart

I have a couple packages of the Norman speed clips but I don't really care for them. They perform great I just like the Berkely cross locks better

SirSnookalot reply :

I'm both hot and and cold on snaps like a duolock. I use them all time in freshwater and they are excellent for quick change. The negative for me is getting a bit lazy and leaving my leader on too many days, that isn't a knock on the lock but on me. I don't recall any failure with them in both fresh or salt, when the fishing is slow in saltwater I prefer a loopknot, when it's hot I'll use a snap. I tend to shy away using a snap with a topwater lure.

bassin is addicting reply :

i use a duo lock snap. i've used Danielson from TW and some from BPS . never had a problem with either. i retie before every outing/tournament and check the knot and a few feet up from it frequently during the day..

if it is really windy i may use a duo lock snap with a swivel to help prevent line twist as much as possible..

5011

Co-Anglers - What Would You Do With Only 5 Rods. 2025

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