Most of us go out with 3-4 rods and use our rods for the following:
2x rods for trolling and 1x rod for spinning. Couple of guys add a lighter rod for chokka or bottoms or possibly a 4th as a jigging rod. You can definitely get away with less but that will mean you will have to change lures a little more often.
Both Sean and I take it a step further and agree that for fish we target mostly you don’t need three different rods. We both use 3 x almost identical rods giving you the freedom to grab any rod, clip a lure, and spin or troll or jig with it. In this case you are likely going to need 3 exceptional rods. Sean uses all 7ft rods .. 1x Trevala Medium Light ,fast action. 2x Trevala medium heavy, action fast. Where I use 3x 7ft Shimano Terez Medium rods (Very similar rods with minor difference in reel seat and guides).
You also get some guys who use hand-lines for bottoms & some for trolling. It’s however quite difficult to cast spinners out with a hand line. A couple of things you need to note around using handlines:
- Safety, big fish hit that line hard. YT likes to run down and could dump you as you don’t have the advantage of a drag and more line.
- When you are a newbie and not used to your hand line, it’s difficult to bring up a bigger fish to gaff on a hand line, you don’t have the advantage of a rod you can pick up.
- When the water and wind throws you around, there’s lots of line tangling in all of that chaos.
Then on rod choice… everyone has their brands. If you are a newbie my recommendation would be to look at the requirements on your rod and select the best option for you. Just keep in mind that on the Kayak you want rods that fit your hull to store them when entering and exiting the surf. Also you want a shorter rod to be able to bring the fish close enough to gaff. This is typically 6-7ft rods.
My rod choice: As mentioned earlier I have 3x Shimano Terez Medium rods and use a Okuma Metaloid for gigging and have 2x bass rods I use for chokka.
But, don’t stress you don’t have to start there. For trolling there are plenty options, you can consider slightly stiffer heavier rods like Elbe ski-pro 8-12 kg’s or Sloppy’s and loads more. These are lekker cheap rods that really work exceptionally well. Loads of other brands offer great rods all in different price options. You don’t need a massive boat rod, you’re going to be dragged by the fish so no need to go wild.
For spinning you need a rod to cast that lure out as far as possible. If you select carefully you can get a single rod to cater for all. I’ve used the Okuma metaloid jigging rod due to it being slightly cheaper than the Trevala’s as well and loved it! I used it for bottoms, jigging, spinning, chokka etc. Exceptional all rounder. The Shimano Trevala are a popular rod across the country . These rods are thin compact rods, you’ll be surprised what size fish you can land with these little rods. The biggest downside however are the guides. The Travela’s don’t have supported guides so they do tend to bend when you put them in your hatch and take them out. Make sure to look out for that when selecting your rods.
Also as mentioned a newer discipline in our area is jigging, I use a Okuma Jigging rod with an imported reel.
