my lonely bassboat-friend wants me to fish the Delta with him tomorrow.  7:30am high tide so, i said yes..  

 

for work, we have these open canvas bags used by Surveyors.  big, wide open.  i just empty my kayak box into the survey bag and go.   when i get home, i reverse it.   so far it is working and i havent misplace anything.  

 

you all?

I'll bring 4 or 5 rods only... I hate leaving my gear lying on the sides of the boat so I bring an engel cooler with 4 rod holders... Very minimal gear I'll bring VS fishing off my autopilot... 

Depends on how much space is available.  My dad’s boat is a 16+’ tracker so minimal.   Maximally I can bring 4 rods, of which 2 have to go in the rod tubes (which are in front of the passenger seat) at any given time.  He fishes 4 rods all facing backwards and I fish 2, maybe 3 facing forwards and sitting with the butts on the seat. It works just fine.  Then I’d grab my tackle pack which carries a handful of 3700s (which i don’t need, but I like my stuff).  It fits in front of the passenger seat and under the rod tips which block you from sitting in the seat anyway.  He’s got a 20 hp so I just sit on the front deck facing backwards when we’re ’at full speed’ which is about 12 mph with both of us.  YMMV.  

Ask the boater what he recommends. Some say bring it all! Others say bring 3-4 rods and enough baits to get through the day. 9 chances out of 10 you’re only going to use a handful of things anyway. 

I’m parked in front of his house early.  I brought way too much.  Basically dumped my kayak into a bag.  Plus a small ice chest.  Lunch for two.  I look like I’m running away from home.  

I am blessed enough to have both a boat and two kayaks. When ever I coangle with someone I usually bring 4 rods and I have a plano bag that holds four or five 3700 trays. Most of that gear does come off the kayak however because once I move something around in the boat I can never find it again or I'll forget to put my gear back and when I go to fish a boat tournament I'll be lacking.

When I used to tournament fish as a co-angler I limited myself to a maximum of 4 rods. I also used a KastKing tackle backpack for food and gear.

 

Instead of tying baits on, I usually set my rods up with VMC Touch Loc snaps so I could quickly change baits. The exception was whatever rod I brought for soft plastics.

I usually bring my backpack in whatever vessel I choose for the day. Or I take it bank fishing. In my super tiny kayaks I usually just take one small dry bag 

Ask him what he thinks you will need, and what his favorite baits are.  I would bring one medium light spinning rod, and one medium heavy baitcaster.  Make sure you bring enough lunch and drinks for both of you.  Bring extra lures that are his favorites and give them to him at the end of the day.  Have him stop on the way home at a gas station, fill both the boat and vehicle with gas, and buy some snacks and drinks for the ride home.

 

Remember you are going as a guest on his boat.  If you left something at home that you think you needed, bring it the next time he invites you to go.  It is better to go with less gear, and catch fewer bass than to bring to much and get in the way.  If you have something that works far better than what he has, offer to lend it to him, but be careful not to offend him.  His gear may not be up to your standards, but in the end having a good time is what is most important.

I take max three rods, one spinner/two casters along with my creek walking sling bag and a slim assortment of baits.  Usually it’s family so if I need an odd bait they’ll have plenty to share, but rarely does that happen as I fish my go-to rigs.

If live bait fishing I just bring my two piece, 10 crappie foot rod

A small soft side 6 pack cooler with some snacks and a few gatorade drinks. I hate to impose!

well, I should have brought one rod, and a bag of senkos + hooks.  it was all I could do to put fish in the boat. 

 

the rest of it was just a tripping hazard.

This was me last weekend after a buddy asked me to go with him.

 

Took just the bare essentials, normally there's more.