How many fishing rods do you own?

[J.A. Veil]

Since I am not fishing these days, I decided to put up a post to get an idea of how many fishing rods our members own. Some anglers are tackle collectors in the sense that they want a lot of different rods for slightly different purposes or want to try a new rod style or model and never get rid of an older rod that is rarely used. Some of you in this category own dozens of rods in various condition and of different styles (spinning, baitcasting, heavy trolling, surf fishing, fly, ice fishing, etc.) Others like me have learned from trial and error what we most like to use and own just that type of rod.

I fall into the second category. I have owned many rods over the years, but find that I don't really need very many and do not like to fish with a wide variety of rod types. My natural tendency is to review my tackle inventory several times a year and get rid of items I have not used recently and am unlikely to use in the future. I should add that I did not grow up fishing, being mentored by my father or some other relative, so I own no piece of fishing equipment that has great sentimental attraction.

Here is the information that I am requesting:

1) How many rods do you currently own? You can break them down by type if you want or just list the total
2) Are you likely to buy more rods in 2020?
3) Do you ever sell or give away excess rods?

My answers are:

1) I own 10 spinning rods ranging from 6' ultralight to 6'6" medium heavy. I also own two 7' medium travel spinning rods (3 pieces in a hard carrying case).
2) I do not anticipate buying more rods this year, but if I have an opportunity to buy a desirable rod at a price too good to pass up, I may buy it. Or if I break a rod or lose it overboard, I may buy another one to replace it.
3) I routinely sell rods that I am no longer using. I have owned baitcasting rods and reels, long surf fishing rods, and heavy trolling tackle in the past. I realized I did not like fishing in those ways and sold the gear. The few times I tried flyfishing, it did not grab me, so I never bought any fly fishing equipment.

[ronaultmtd]

40...not likely to buy any more, but you never say never...never sell- bad luck, but I have given away lots of rods, reels, lures, rigs..

[FishMoken]

1) How many rods do you currently own? You can break them down by type if you want or just list the total

I try to only keep 8 rods then 2 fly rods.

2) Are you likely to buy more rods in 2020?

-I currently have no plans go get any new rods this year as I replaced three last season.

3) Do you ever sell or give away excess rods?

I usually buy lower end rods under 80 dollars or so. So as I rotate rods I usually donate them. As for the reels I mostly have been using the same reels for the past 5 years or so.

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

[admwndsr83]

I currently own 4 rods, but should really only count three. One is a dock runner ultralight that is not quite worth it's weight in crap. Other than that, I have three spinning rods, a light action, a medium, and a medium heavy. I would like to buy a higher quality ultralight if I can afford it this year. However, I'm getting ready to close on a new house, so other expenses may be gone. On the plus side, I'm buying the house as is and during the walk-through saw four fishing rods that may come with the house! I've never had excess to sell or give, the rods I have I've had for quite a while.

[thedutchtouch]

I've been a bit of a collector the last year or so figuring out new fishing styles but on a small scale. Started making the transition from cheap ugly stiks to ugly stik gx2/elite to nicer rods so I've got about 4 ugly stiks I save for friends/the kids, two gx2 rods that stay in my trunk, two ugly elites dedicated to catfishing, two surf rods, two baitcasters (everything else is spinning) a fly rod and a tenkara rod that I haven't tried yet. Oh and a dock demon for the kids, though my older one is almost ready for a longer rod
I'll likely buy some more, but get rid of some of the loaners as permanent loans/gifts. Can't keep them too organized though, or my "why do you need so many of the same thing" spouse will start catching on that they've multiplied ("but they aren't the same..." " They all catch fish...")

[Mark]

I'm sorry you asked this question John because I honestly didn't know. I counted and it was a revelation.

I own 12 conventional rods, each stored on a ceiling rack in my garage, strung and ready to go. Nine are spinning rods ranging from one ultra-light to two medium weight rods with six light action rods in between. Their lengths are 5 feet for the ultra-light to 7 feet for a custom made spinning rod that I use exclusively for top water stripers. Most are 6.5 feet. One is a custom made 6.5 foot spinning rod I use for finessing soft plastic baits for bass and pickerel.

Three of the conventional rods are baitcasters. Each is medium weight and they range in length from 6 feet to 7 feet. Although I don't use them as often as my spinning rods, I do enjoy the accuracy and distance that baitcasters offer. One is a custom made fiberglass rod that I had built for crankbaits.

Here they are ready to go:

IMG_3503.jpg

By complete chance I also own 12 fly rods. I didn't know their number matched my conventional rods. Their weights (quantities) are 4 wt. (2), 5 wt. (2), 6 wt. (2), 7 wt. (3), 8 wt. (2) and 9 wt. (1). None are custom made. I have a variety of brands -- Orvis, St. Croix, TFO and Maxxon. I've said this before on this forum that there has been a quantum leap in flyrod quality so that you do not have to spend big money for a very good fly rod. My most recent fly rod additions have been under $175 each and I find that they perform just well as the St. Croix and Orvis rods I paid twice as much for years ago.

I use the 4, 8 and 9 weight fly rods the least. I reserve the 4s for trout, which I don't fish for often while the 8s and the 9 I use for larger target fish. For example, I took the 8 to TX for my redfish outing last year. Franky my 9 has not been out of its tube for maybe 12 to 18 months.

For my kayak outings the 5, 6, and 7 weight rods are the ones I use the most. I catch bluegills and white perch with the 5s and pickerel, bass and stripers with the 6s and 7s.

Most are 9 feet long, although one of my trout rods is 7.5 feet with the other at 8 feet. I like 9 footers, especially in my kayaks where I'm sitting low. I think the longer the fly rod, the easier it is to cast in a kayak.

I keep most of my fly rods stored in their tubes when not in use. It's safer to keep them that way. Being so long, it's easy to break a fly rod tip on the garage ceiling. However, I keep two or three fly rods at the ready on my Malone kayak rack in my garage. My rack stores my three fishing kayaks and my touring kayak on their sides. At the upper reaches of the rack, I added two metal pins to keep the fly rods I'm most likely to use at a given time of year strung and ready.

You can see three rods here:

IMG_3504.jpg

That's my pickerel configuration -- two 7s. The extra fly rod is a new Maxxon 5 weight I had hoped to test for bluegills this month. Our COVID crisis put that plan on hold. So, I've kept the new Maxxon 5 lined up and I cast it in the backyard for fun. It's nice. Very smooth. As the season progresses, I'll swap out one of the 7s for a 6 which I use mostly for bass poppers, reserving the remaining 7 for heavier streamers. And the 5 will be my panfish rod.

I've already purchased one rod in 2020 -- the Maxxon 5 weight I mentioned above. I bought it at the January Edison, NJ Fly Fishing Show. With the on-site show discount I could not pass it up. Further, I've fished a Maxxon 7 wt. for over a year and I really like it. I don't believe I'm in the market for any other rods, but you never know.

I know this is crazy, but I have sentimental attachments to some of my rods -- the older ones especially. In fact, although not in the count above, I still have my Garcia fiberglass spinning rod and Mitchell 300 reel (stashed in a closet) that I bought over 50 years ago with allowance money when I was a kid. I don't plan to sell that.

I don't like to sell things anyway. I did donate three fly rods to the FSFF flea market one year. Maybe I'll take a harder look at my inventory now that I've counted it in time for the next flea market, if it happens. (At present all club in-person gatherings are on hold. We have employed Zoom for some activities.) Otherwise one day my kids will be cursing me as they clean out my garage while I'm looking for a nice place to fish in heaven.

Addendum:

I thought about this overnight and on the surface it seems almost sinful or at the very least wasteful/foolish to own so many fishing rods. I could easily get by with two spinning rods and two fly rods for the majority of my fishing.

But it’s nice to have the flexibility of a larger inventory -- to share a rod with a family member or friend who wants to join you on an outing; to have backups, just in case one or more is damaged or temporarily unavailable for some reason; to already be prepared when a trip to a distant locale to target a new species arises; to catch fish on the same rod over a period of 30 years or more; to catch fish with different kinds of tackle and different methods of presenting lures.

Graphite rods especially are incredibly hardy. Quality rods have hardware that rarely fails. The rods I own don’t weaken; their action never changes. Indeed, they are remarkable tools.

So, I didn’t set out to be a “rod hoarder”. It just happened over a lot of years. There are worse addictions. I know I'm not alone.

[xtian996]

Currently it is as follows:

1) I have four 6'6" medium power fast action spinning rods, one 7' medium heavy fast action spinning rod, and 1 surf fishing rod.

2) Well, yes, and no. Two were purchased this year as either gift card usage from Christmas, or to replace the one I broke on Mattawoman Creek in February (whomp whomp). But, I'm at a good place with my gear so I am likely not going to purchase another one this year. Barring some exceptional deal or my own stupidity requiring a replacement.

3) I am more apt to give something away than try and sell it. I tend to hold onto things for a long time. But, if I get to a point where I need space or something similar, I will have also gotten to a place where I feel like I have gotten my money's worth out of something. So then I feel like I can't take money from a friend when I give them something. If that makes sense. But I have a friend that is the exact opposite with golf clubs. Gets a new putter, sells his old one to offset the cost of the new one. And does so with some frequency.

[Mark]

...So then I feel like I can't take money from a friend when I give them something. If that makes sense...

Perfect sense to me.

[captmikestarrett]

About 68 I think..

35 of them have no reels on them. Crappie rods.
10 surf rods
10 catfish rods
8 shad rods
12 fly rods
and at least 24 bass rods

I guess more than 68 now..LOL

Capt Mike

[Redfish12]

I openly confess I am a gearhead. Perhaps my count will make some of you feel better... I have not put any new significant funds into fishing equipment in several years and so I occasionally sell gear or a kayak when there is something I want. I also have credit card that gives me points that I use to get gift cards to Bass Pro or Amazon to fund additional tackle purchases.

1) For starters, I have two of those hard plastic Okuma rods racks that hold 16 rods each completely filled with some additional spares stored in the crack between the racks. They are roughly laid out 4 sections. 1) seldom used bait fishing (4 spinning rods with bait runners for catfish / live lining to stripers), cheap custom boat bottom fishing rods I made from closeout lamiglas blanks, and a couple of random rods I have won at auctions or tournaments that I will likely give away to a new fisherman or family member. 2) Loaner rods / wife's rods mostly in the L-MH bass style that covers everything from perch to stripers for when I take someone out. 3) My bass / snakehead / striper fishing which are mostly M - MH and split between spinning and conventional. These 8 are the rods I actually use. 4) SW rods that cover vertical jigging / bottom fishing / tog / and heavier duty applications like livelining large bunker at JBay or MA. These are used less and less now that I have a kid but most of them were bought at flea markets or custom made by me and the costs are low and replacement cost is high so they stay.

In the ceiling I have 4 spinning travel rods that cover snapper to tarpon and a lot in between, 1 conventional heavy duty travel rod, 2 striper plugging rods, 3 trolling rods for the occasional boat trolling trips (which I haven't done in YEARS but keep for the off chance we can try for mahi one of these summers), about 8 unfinished rod blanks, and the following fly rods 2 10wt (AK salmon snagging), 2 8wt (most used), 1 6wt, 1 4wt, 1 3wt, and I think a 5wt but I'm not sure as I haven't seen it in awhile. I also for some reason decided to buy an 8'6" west coast style surface iron rod that I wanted to practice casting surface irons with for when I was going to San Diego more and wanted to go fishing on one of the charter boats there. If you're unfamiliar with this type of fishery, check out a youtube video of their tuna / yellowtail fishery and you can see it is absolute chaos on the rail with people slinging macks and iron and reeling fishing through all the tangled lines. I wanted to be proficient and not cause problems...

2) Probably not, but I am a sucker for good deals.

I purchased a 6'7" Kast King Perigee II medium spinning rod over the winter for $15 dollars based on a sale and an amazon credit I had. We used to have an active thread on this board many years ago about entry level fishing equipment that was worth buying and durable. My old recommendation was the BPS graphite series as you could get them for $30 new and $15-$20 on sale during the spring classic every year. The black rods with the cork grips were durable, sensitive, light, and cheap. I still have a few of them but gave many away to new anglers as I upgraded to St Croixs. They were great sticks for LTJ, kayak trolling (full grips work better in rod holders), and bottom fishing or live-lining. Anyway, these kast king rods seem to be the next best thing in that price range if you can find them on sale. I actually prefer EVA grips for kayak fishing as they hold up better to being constantly wet or sitting in a flushmount rodhoolder full of water. I am more used to split grips at this point and do less kayak trolling these days, so the split grip isn't an issue either. If I were to buy another rod this year it would be one of these for throwing frogs for SH. Probably a 7ft MH spinning rod.

Most of my most used rods are in the 6'6"-6'8" range as that is the most comfortable for me, seem to be more sensitive / easier to work in the kayak, and I can still clear the bow with a fish on in my outback. For SH, I'm looking for something with a little more backbone than the current medium (although I did get a nice 22" snakehead last week on it) and something with a little more casting distance. I have found that 7'6" is just too long for me so 7ft will be what I would try...

3) Probably more likely to give rods away (already gave a couple this year) than sell. I did sell a few at the flea market that weren't getting enough use or were, get this, "too nice" for me to fish on the kayak for my type of fishing. John, you bought one of those. A St Croix Avid that had been barely used. I seem to prefer the premier and mojo bass series and mostly left that one in the rack.

[Memory Maker]

I have at least 50 rods and around 300 blanks and enough stuff to build them. Guess I need to start fishing

[Tim Elliott]

1.) I currently own 10 rods. I have 2 surf rods, one 9' rated for 1-4 oz., and an 8' rated 1/2-2 oz. I have a total of 3 bait casting rods, a 7' MH Ugly Stik Gx2 that I utilize for bass and snakehead, a 6'9" MH Abu Garcia Black Max combo that is a good beginner setup for LTJ, and a 6' shimano Convergence that I use for LT casting. I have 3 M powered spinning rods, each one for used for a slightly different purpose. I have a 7' Shimano Stellus that I use for LT casting to inshore species such as specks, redfish and rockfish. Next, I have a 6'10" Wright and McGill Skeet Reese Drop Shot rod. I also had the Skeet Reese Shaky Head/Senko rod but unfortunately that rod snapped in half after I had snagged on some heavy structure. The drop shot rod however, doubles as my topwater rod for stripers, specks, and redfish. The final M powered rod that I own is a Shakespeare Intercoastal 6'6" that is perfect for bottom fishing. My last 2 rods are ultra light combos. One is a 7' Bass Pro Crappie Maxx and the other is a 5'6" Bass Pro Micro Lite Graphite. I utilize these two for panfish and pickerel.

2.) I do not plan on purchasing more rods this year. My most recent rod addition was a birthday gift from my girlfriend while we were staying at Hatteras in December. It was an 8' Star Stellar Lite that I plan on using it for slinging lures in the surf for specks and puppy drum, as well as tossing metal for blues and spanish mackerel.

3.) I typically sell my unwanted rods at the fishing flea markets and shows. With that money, I'll make purchases on the few items that I am in need of at the shows. The last rod that I've purchased at a flea market was the Abu Garcia bait casting combo for $20 last year at the Tri-State Marine show.

[CHOC]

I think I'm at about 10. 2 broomstick trollers, 4 light tackle with 2500-3000 Penn spinning reels, 2 light tackle baitcasters, 2 Ultra Light spinning setups.

I usually just take 2 with me. Don't see the need to take more. Try to keep the deck and surrounding area free of clutter. Already have a ton of toys and gear.

[clm]

IMG_20200420_113722.jpg

1) 10 spinning: 6 bait casting: 3 fly
1 push button Johnson century

2) Just bought a spinning rod last week. Needed a stiffer rod for snakeheads.

3) yep, my buddy needed a rod to teach his girl friends kids with.

I have acquired several over the years...some were gifts and some were handed down from my grandfather, who taught me to fish. Those will be handed down again. I've never sold fishing gear, but then again, I don't own any pricey pieces. The wife doesn't get it, but other fisherman do. Most are water/species specific. Catfish reels for example...3 for the kayak and 3 for Bank fishing...the bank fishers aren't suitable for the kayak. The snakehead rods have heavy braid and are med/heavy for a good hookset. Set up for long hard casting. A few baitcasters and spinning setups for bass, that are easier to cast in between cover or under docks...I think I'm pretty well rounded out for my type of fishing and the places I frequent. There isn't much room left in the crate for more expansion.

[ReelLucky22]

I have about 20 rods, but they’re for different purposes. 5- trolling rods for my center console 2- creek rods 5- surf fishing rods 2- low profile baitcasters for bass 6- spinning rods for bass/bay fishing. I inherited many of them from my dad.

Last year I finally got the hang of using a baitcaster and love using them now. I’d like to buy a couple more this year to use for largemouth, and maybe an inshore set up for jigging. I’d also like to invest in a nice surf fishing combo. On average I probably have 4 rods with me on a given trip, so I’m not looking to have the most, or a set up for each particular lure or presentation. I just want enough to have a couple options no matter if I’m fishing in a small creek, a pond, the bay, or the beach.

I don’t intend on having more than 20 rods so if I buy a couple this year I’ll likely sell a couple I don’t use much. Last year I really worked on trying to downsize my gear. Sure, it’s nice having a lot of lures and rods, but I don’t want to keep them if I don’t need them or use them. I’d like to say I use everything I have and not have a couple rods or tackle trays stuffed away that I never touch or have a use for.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk