“What if you get two takes at once?”
Multiple rod set-ups are a bone of contention
HOW many rods to use when fishing can be a thorny subject. Everyone has their own opinion, but before you make your own decision there are a few things to think about.
In many cases you won’t have any say in the matter, because individual fishery rules limit the number of rods permitted. For me, it all boils down to the species I’m targeting, how hard it is to get a take and the venue itself. If I’m allowed to I’ll fish up to four rods for eels or pike on difficult waters where I only expect a take every couple of sessions. This tips the odds in my favour.
On the other hand, when I’m fishing a small, snaggy river for barbel or chub I will use only one rod, for obvious reasons.
“What do you do if you get two takes at once when fishing for pike or eels?” I hear you cry. Well, on the extremely rare occasion that this might happen, I strike them both to set the hooks and prevent deep hooking, then play them in as quickly as possible.
I always have two landing nets set up when fishing multiple rods. Obviously, the task is made easier when I’m fishing with a mate, but in any case a double take has only happened to me a few times in over 50 years of fishing. Like I said,
I only fish multiple rods on waters where runs are very few and far between.
If I fish one rod into the night for barbel I always use an alarm, because it’s easy to fall asleep in the dark and miss the take, which could lead to the fish making it into a snag.
An alarm also allows me to look around for signs of fish and admire the scenery.
A great favourite of mine when I’m fishing for pike or perch is to have rods out with livebaits or deadbaits and then fish another one using sink-and-draw tactics, or to lure-fish the same area.
I first saw this tactic used by the late, great eel angler John Sidley. He would cast out his baits and then set up a lure rod and spin around them. Very often he would say he had a knock on the lure on the way in, and shortly afterwards he’d get a more positive take on a more natural bait. He reckoned the movement of the lure got the predators on the move, and once they were actively hunting they’d be far more likely to pick up a bait.
It worked for him, and 40 years on it still works for me, so thank you John for that one.
Another big plus with using more than one rod is that I can test baits against each other. Years ago I fished flavoured meat on one rod and standard meat on another on the Lower Severn. The flavoured meat won hands down, which is why I always boost my meat baits when fishing for barbel or chub.
In the end, how many rods you use all comes down to what’s legal at the venue and, perhaps more importantly, what you’re comfortable with. The main thing, of course, is that no harm comes to your fish.