Six Appeal, Not Seven-Up
Posted by Pete Robbins on Jun 27th 2021
Other than the horribly dirty screen on my Humminbird, what’s wrong with the picture above?
To most of you, it’s probably not immediately obvious, but to me just looking at it makes me tremble a bit.
There are seven rods on the deck. That’s one more than my self-imposed, ridiculously arbitrary limit. I don’t know why I’ve seized upon six. Obviously, the greatest thing ever would be to be operate as “One Rod Todd,” and I go out in awe of those of you who fish with just a pair of bass sticks. Under most circumstances I’d prefer to have four or five on the deck, but six is acceptable.
It doesn’t matter how I organize them. Six and zero. Five and one. Four and two. Or three and three.
Strike that. It matters a little. I can’t have more on the starboard side than I have on the port side. Beyond that, separate them however you like. Moving baits versus pitch baits. Braid versus fluoro/mono. Casting and spinning. I just can’t have more than six total. (Guilty admission: When I fish alone, I often put up to four extras in the passenger rod rock to switch ‘em out as needed without having to go into the rod locker).
I recognize that uber-successful anglers like Bryan Thrift, Mike Iaconelli, and Gerald Swindle often have multiples of six rods on the deck, and it makes them more versatile and more efficient, but when I see your average weekend angler with 12 on the deck and another 30 in the rod locker, I just assume he doesn’t have his stuff together. He’s substituting volume for confidence and likely wasting time trying out things that won’t work. But it’s his prerogative to do so. Junk fishing done right is a work of art, but all too often I think the term is a crutch.
For me, though, the number six lies somewhere between superstition and maximized efficiency. Are there times when more would be better? Probably. Could I fit more on the deck without being overcrowded? Certainly. Do I own enough rods to do it easily under any circumstances? Most definitely.
So why do I cringe when I get to seven, as I did this past Saturday?
I don’t know. Like I said, it’s arbitrary, but I do think there is a method to this madness. By simplifying and keeping a bait wet, I catch more than by flailing through the entire tackle box, and my deck stays organized.
