Here’s are some question we’ve been getting recently:
How should I prepare my fishing rods for an inshore trip?
How many rods should I bring?
What should I rig on them?
These are all great questions since how you prepare your rods for a trip can either save or cost you a lot of time.
Plus, if you don’t bring enough rods, your trip could easily be cut short by bad luck.
You always want to bring at least two rod and reel setups when you go fishing.
If you have just one, something could happen to your rod or reel, your line could get tangled, or you could get spooled by a big fish.
If any of those things happen (and they’re not uncommon!), that’s probably the end of your trip.
So always bring at least two rods.
For me, the maximum I’ll bring is three rods.
Any more than that and it’s easy to get indecisive about what setup or lure to use, and you may find yourself focusing on that, instead of what matters: finding feeding fish.
If I bring two rods out with me, here’s what I have rigged on them:
- A weedless wide gap hook
- A jig head
This lets me cover shallow and deeper water and I can switch up soft plastics on these two hooks.
Usually, I’m using either a paddletail, jerk bait, or shrimp lure.
As far as what size equipment I use, I usually have a 3000 series reel with 10 lb. braid and 10-40 lb. leader, depending on what species I’m targeting.
For trout, flounder and redfish, I usually use 15-20 lb. leader, and for snook and tarpon I go with 25-40 lb. leader.
If I’m bringing three rods, I bring the same two setups as above, plus my “utility” combo.
Usually I’ll start with a topwater lure here, but I may put something else on depending on the conditions and where I’m fishing.
If I’m fishing open water, it’s usually a 7′ or 7′ 6″ medium or medium heavy rod and a 3000 size reel with 10 lb. braid.
But if I’m fishing structure like docks or bridges, I’ll bring a 4000 size reel with 20 lb. braid and heavier leader.
CONCLUSION
By bringing two or three rods rigged for different areas of the water column, you can save a lot of time from having to tie on new rigs, and cover a variety of areas to catch a lot of fish.
I always have a jig head and a weedless wide gap hook rigged up, and I’ll occasionally bring a rod for topwater lures or fishing heavier structure.
Have any questions about these setups?
What do you bring on your inshore trips?
