6 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

TWELVE?

 

I can take 8 and that can be a cluster sometimes. They are all in the back vertical.

 

How do you manage 12?

 

Thanks

16x16 blackpack pro has 10 rod holders... 30 qt engel cooler has 4 holders.. And I also have 4 factory rod holders on my autopilot 120.... 

9 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

TWELVE?

 

I can take 8 and that can be a cluster sometimes. They are all in the back vertical.

 

How do you manage 12?

 

Thanks

If I wanted to carry some sort of a block to put my Blackpak pro on, I could comfortably carry 11 by adding three more rod holders to the right side. 12 if I want to keep one up front all the time but that makes switching a pain.

 

It wouldn’t be too bad to access them, proximity to my flag would add a small annoyance but nothing too bad.

3 hours ago, MRQturbo said:

16x16 blackpack pro has 10 rod holders... 30 qt engel cooler has 4 holders.. And I also have 4 factory rod holders on my autopilot 120.... 

what kind of kayak lets you carry both an Engl cooler and a 16x16 blackpak?

On 8/25/2025 at 5:05 PM, MRQturbo said:

4 to 12 different setups.. All depends on what lake I'm on and how I plan on fishing... 

12!!! woow.. I don't think I have 12 in the boat's rod locker anymore.. 

 

I carry 4 in the kayak and I keep pushing to go down to 3. I'm sure you most do some serious competitive fishing. 

12?  dang.  I dont even own 12.  hahah..

 

that is wild.  I am okay tying the occasional knot.    I am not competing anyways.  maybe with myself.  tournament of one. 

My Titan holds 10 rods. I stick to 7 foot or less as a general rule and I make sure I have at the least a rod that will cover enough techniques to cover the complete water column.

 

1. Topwater(During summer swap for jig rod after the water temps falls below 55 degrees)

2. Crankbait rod

3. Spinnerbait/ bladed jig/ Jerkbait/ Swim Jig

4. Texas/Carolina rig/ Jig rod

5. Wacky rig

That's my top 5 because I have enough to carry 5 more the rest of my rods look like this

6. Swimbait/ glide bait

7. Finesse Crankbait/Inline Spinnerbait/spybait

8. Ned rig

9. Jerkbait/Fluke

10. Heavy Flipping/Frog rod

YMMV

 

14 hours ago, Boomstick said:

If I wanted to carry some sort of a block to put my Blackpak pro on, I could comfortably carry 11 by adding three more rod holders to the right side. 12 if I want to keep one up front all the time but that makes switching a pain.

 

It wouldn’t be too bad to access them, proximity to my flag would add a small annoyance but nothing too bad.

what kind of kayak lets you carry both an Engl cooler and a 16x16 blackpak?

And some room to spare too..my blackpack now has 10 rod holders... I had 8 in this picture the year I got it... 2022 Oldtown Autopilot 120 

6 hours ago, MRQturbo said:

And some room to spare too..my blackpack now has 10 rod holders... I had 8 in this picture the year I got it... 2022 Oldtown Autopilot 120 

The one real downside to the Bigwater PDL over the 120 or Autopilot is the space in the back. It fits a 13x16 Blackpak pro but I can only put rod holders on one side unless I raise them or lift the whole blackpak up. Maybe someday I’ll figure something out, raising the rod holders means I can’t put stuff on top camping amd putting something underneath, while it would keep my entire blackpak dry defeats my goal of simplicity for quicker launches in addition to a whole process that the kid and I got down.
 

My kid’s old Topwater 120 (paddle) used to fit a small cooler and his water bottle and his Blackpak but don’t think it’d fit a whole Engl cooler, maybe? My other kids Voodoo did fit both though and he used to come out with a lot more so we could all use that.

A full tournament load out for me is 9 rods. If it's a lake I'm very familiar with I might cut that to 6 or 7 rods.

 

Spinning

Cashion ICON FFS Spinning Rod 7'4" Medium Fast - Exclusively for shaking a minnow

Falcon Lowrider 6' 9" Medium Light - Worm rod and drop shots

 

Casting

Kistler Z Bone Fishing Rod - Casting / 4.5 HMH Heavy Medium-Heavy X-Fast / 6' 9" - skipping rod

Kistler Helium Fishing Rod - Casting / 5 H Heavy / 7'6" - Jig rod

Kistler KLX Fishing Rod - Casting / 5 H Heavy / 7'3" - Topwater rod

Kistler Helium Fishing Rod - Casting / 4 MH Medium-Heavy / 6'9" - A second skipping rod or all purpose rod

Expride A 7' 3" MHF - all purpose, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, crankbaits, etc.
Expride B 7' 3" MHF - all purpose, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, crankbaits, etc.
St. Croix Bass X 7' 1" MHF - all purpose, underspins, etc.

 

I had a Shimano glass rod that I like for crankbaits and decent size swim baits, but I broke it rather quickly. I've got a bunch of other Dobyns, Lew's, Falcons, and St. Croix's gathering dust that I may break out now and then, but I really like my Kistler's and Exprides.

 

Being in a kayak, I find it easier to use the 6' 9" rods to skip from a seated position. I will stand in my kayak, but I'm a chicken out there and if it's windy or there are a lot of waves or wakes I won't stand.  As I've grown older I've found my balance isn't as good. Plus, spot lock on a kayak isn't always stable. It keeps me in the general vicinity of where I want to be, but my kayak is constantly correcting with the slightest wind or current. I choose not to be a man overboard statistic!

 

19 minutes ago, Kayak Koz said:

A full tournament load out for me is 9 rods. If it's a lake I'm very familiar with I might cut that to 6 or 7 rods.

 

Spinning

Cashion ICON FFS Spinning Rod 7'4" Medium Fast - Exclusively for shaking a minnow

Falcon Lowrider 6' 9" Medium Light - Worm rod and drop shots

 

Casting

Kistler Z Bone Fishing Rod - Casting / 4.5 HMH Heavy Medium-Heavy X-Fast / 6' 9" - skipping rod

Kistler Helium Fishing Rod - Casting / 5 H Heavy / 7'6" - Jig rod

Kistler KLX Fishing Rod - Casting / 5 H Heavy / 7'3" - Topwater rod

Kistler Helium Fishing Rod - Casting / 4 MH Medium-Heavy / 6'9" - A second skipping rod or all purpose rod

Expride A 7' 3" MHF - all purpose, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, crankbaits, etc.
Expride B 7' 3" MHF - all purpose, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, crankbaits, etc.
St. Croix Bass X 7' 1" MHF - all purpose, underspins, etc.

 

I had a Shimano glass rod that I like for crankbaits and decent size swim baits, but I broke it rather quickly. I've got a bunch of other Dobyns, Lew's, Falcons, and St. Croix's gathering dust that I may break out now and then, but I really like my Kistler's and Exprides.

 

Being in a kayak, I find it easier to use the 6' 9" rods to skip from a seated position. I will stand in my kayak, but I'm a chicken out there and if it's windy or there are a lot of waves or wakes I won't stand.  As I've grown older I've found my balance isn't as good. Plus, spot lock on a kayak isn't always stable. It keeps me in the general vicinity of where I want to be, but my kayak is constantly correcting with the slightest wind or current. I choose not to be a man overboard statistic!

 

Have you checked out the Steady Stick for Oldtown’s?  I installed a stand assist bar on my Lure kayhack.  At 71, having that 3rd point of contact makes a world of difference.

38 minutes ago, OldManLure said:

Have you checked out the Steady Stick for Oldtown’s?  I installed a stand assist bar on my Lure kayhack.  At 71, having that 3rd point of contact makes a world of difference.

That looks interesting, but I don't think I have the track space available to mount it with my dugout crossbar.

11 hours ago, Kayak Koz said:

Being in a kayak, I find it easier to use the 6' 9" rods to skip from a seated position.

I learned how to skip with my 7'5" rod while seated. In fact, I didn't even "learn", it just hit me like I was touched by the hands of God and he said "you can now skip like a pro".

 

I was on a lake without a lot of cover but they had docks, so I figure let's skip some docks. Now I don't even know why I didn't stand and skip like I always did in the past, but I attempted to skip it seated - something I never did before, but my first attempt was absolutely perfect. I told my kid who was there with me "wow, if I can do that again, that cast deserves a fish!" and did the exact cast again and caught a largemouth. From that point out, I land maybe 9/10 attempts perfectly.

Well, I’m a canoeist.. but I max out at 8, because that’s how many my car will accommodate.

 

I always bring 2-3… I pack heavier when going someplace new and I don’t know what to expect or I have no clue what they’ll want.

 

2 rods that I’ll say come with me 99% of the time are my weightless Dingah rod and my flashback mini setup. If I’m planning on Texas rigging the Dingah because it’s a weedier pond I’m using a MHF spinning rod, if it’s less weedy or I plan on whacky rigging more I step down to a medium. My flashback mini setup is a Med/Mod baitcaster rated down to 1/8 oz (which is the mini I throw) with a Scorpion BFS reel. I can also throw small squarebills, poppers and 60 size ploppers as well as downsized spinnerbaits with this and often do.

 

Third and or fourth rods vary based on season..  when there are still healthy pads a frog rod is a must, I have 2 both are 7’2” heavy fast… one is it expensive the other is not. They are literally interchangeable in performance. I think frogging comes down more to the frog and the fisherman once you have a rod that’s up to the task. 

A bladed jig or Spinnerbait rod is either 4th string or moves up to 3 when frog conditions die down. For bladed jigs I have a Mojo rip and chatter… it’s money. Spinnerbaits I’ll throw on almost anything but lately I’ve been using a 7’3” MHF baitcaster.

If a certain bite has been fire I’ll often carry 2 rods for that technique and or I’ll often bring 2 of my flashback mini (I have 5 rods and 3 reels) setups because it’s very versatile for the ways I enjoy fishing

 

Tournament load is 15. 13 vertical (9 milk crate and 4 in the Engel 19) 2 horizontal in the PA 14 storage. 

2 hours ago, Boomstick said:

I learned how to skip with my 7'5" rod while seated. In fact, I didn't even "learn", it just hit me like I was touched by the hands of God and he said "you can now skip like a pro".

 

I was on a lake without a lot of cover but they had docks, so I figure let's skip some docks. Now I don't even know why I didn't stand and skip like I always did in the past, but I attempted to skip it seated - something I never did before, but my first attempt was absolutely perfect. I told my kid who was there with me "wow, if I can do that again, that cast deserves a fish!" and did the exact cast again and caught a largemouth. From that point out, I land maybe 9/10 attempts perfectly.

IN my younger days I stood all of 5' 7" and now that I'm in my 60's I've shrunk about an inch. Since I'm closer to the water, having that shorter rod really helps. 

 

I started skipping as a back seater on boats. But a few years ago I moved to a lake house and I would practice skipping from the seawall to under my dock. I love that technique, but I need the right bait tied on. I've seen people skip buzzbaits - a technique I have yet to master.