Affordable Rod-Reel Combos for Kayak Fishing

Happy Monday Spacefish!

One of the biggest misunderstandings about fishing, specifically kayak fishing, is that it is a hobby that requires financial investment. I literally had a conversation with someone last year that talked about wanting to get into fishing as a serious hobby but did not think they could “afford” to get into it at that time. I understand why people feel this way, when you pick up magazines, or watch fishing shows on television there is a concentrated effort made on behalf of the industry to push products. It is a business. That being said, you can have meaningful, and successful fishing trips and make the process affordable and budget friendly.

To paraphrase a quote from the late, great, Coach Herb Brooks, who led the US Men’s Hockey Team to a Gold Medal and knocked off the Soviets in the 1980’s; I don’t need the best rod/reel combos to catch the fish I want, I need the right ones. Once you get an idea for what you want to catch, and how you want to go about catching them, you can find affordable set ups that fit a specific budget and perform the functions necessary to experience successful fishing.

Recently I have been going with a 3 rod system, as I have been fishing back in the creeks and going under lots of overhanging trees I have been on a 3 rod kick. The nice thing about the Hobie Outback is that you can securely store 2 rods along the side, which enables me to have two rigged rods at the ready, and the 3rd one in my hands fishing.

Next week I have a report planned where I will take these 3 rods and convert them for Bass Fishing, so I will talk more next week about how these same 3 can be used for Bass fishing applications.

Set-Up #1 – 7 Foot (Heavy) Casting Rod

For set-up #1, I have my casting combo, which I use primarily for topwater plugs. These baits are usually much heavier than the soft plastics I use sub-surface so they cast well on a bait caster with minimal backlashing. Most of the topwater fishing I do features a walk-the-dog style retrieve and I much prefer an open face casting outfit to do this with. The casting setup is much more accurate, which is important when throwing multi hooked plugs close to docks/seawalls/mangroves and if you’re going to spend an hour or so on each trip walking the dog I find that a baitcaster makes this much easier. Having my right hand open vs closed makes it easier and less tiresome to repeatedly make these baits perform as they were intended.

My setup consists of a Jawbone Heavy 7 Foot Casting Rod, which can be purchased from Dicks. Normally it is listed at $21.99, but is currently marked down at $14.99 online. This is a 2 piece rod, which normally I don’t like because they are not as sensitive, but since I am using this solely for topwater applications I don’t need the sensitivity, I need the backbone. Plus I intentionally shopped for a 2 piece casting rod, because it can be taken apart for easier storage when I got back into tight areas with overhanging trees.

I have this rod paired with a Abu Garcia Max STX Baitcast Reel, which could be purchased through Bass Pro Shops for $89.99. I have had this reel for nearly 2 years, I use it on nearly every fishing trip in freshwater, saltwater, and brackish water. It has never had any issues with the salt. I rinse it after every trip and it’s been an awesome reel. I have caught some really nice fish on it, and it performs at a high level.

I usually set this combo up with 20 pound braid, again this is topwater so I don’t mind using cheaper braid with a thicker diameter for the pound test strength since I don’t need the stealth or sensitivity, currently I am using H2Ox braid from Academy which can be found at Academy for $9.99, and I use Ande Monofilament leader that you can get pretty much anywhere that sells fishing line. You can usually find a spool of Ande Mono for 5-6 bucks.

Total for Set Up (Including Fishing Line/Leader) – $130-135

Set-Up #2 – 7 Foot Spinning Rod

The rod that I use more than any other is my Ugly Stik Inshore Select, which is 7 foot. This is a tough, durable rod that is excellent if you do a lot of skip casting under docks, and mangroves and want something that is sensitive, but also has the backbone to turn a Snook out. It has a faster tip, and short handle which is very important for being able to make skip cast after skip cast for hours in a kayak. The longer handle reels are great for bombing casts across a flat, but the short handles are my preference for quick, sideways casts that need accuracy. If Snook, Tarpon, Bass are your fish of choice then this, and well as the rod I detail in setup #3 are great choices.I love to fish weedless/weightless soft plastics and this rod despite being thick/strong does a great job of flicking lighter baits around. It retails for roughly $80 bucks, but the slight price increase over the non stainless steel guide version of the regular Ugly Stik Select is worth the investment. Even though I rinse after each trip, the guides on my older Ugly Stik Select and my older Ugly Stik Lite Pro got rusty after a few years and I retired them last year.

I have this rod paired with a Shimano Nexave 4000 Spinning Reel, it is an affordable reel that performs at a high level, it is NOT a saltwater reel, but I rinse it after each use, and it works well for me and I haven’t had any issues. I use Bass Pro Shop generic brand braid in a 10 pound test, it works well enough for me, and has a thinner diameter for test strength for a cheaper braid, you can get a 150 yard spool for $9.99 at Bass Pro Shops. I usually use a 25, or 30 pound fluorocarbon leader. As far as brands go I like Yo-Zuri ($13.99 at Bass Pro), Berkley Vanish ($15.99 at Bass Pro), or Seaworx Fluorocarbon which is listed on the No Live Bait Needed website for $15.99.

Total for Set Up (Including Fishing Line/Leader) – $150-155

This is a little more pricey than the first set up, but if I had to pick one to start with, this would be my setup. You can easily use heavier mono and use this setup for topwater applications. This is an all around fish catching combo and you can certainly go out with just this rod/reel and have a great day of fishing! Pictured below is a nice Snook I caught last weekend on this set up.

Set-Up #3 – 6.5 Foot Spinning Rod

So for the 3rd and final set up, this would be the #3 on my list to get set up. I don’t use this as much as the other 2, I mainly set this up for Juvenile Tarpon. But it’s a good combo that I can use to set up as a backup or alternate for #2. I use a 6.5 Berkley Amp Saltwater Rod. I like 6.5 or even 6 foot rods for backwater Tarpon as many times I am trying to catch them in tighter areas. The shorter rods help to fire off quick casts. This rod is light and has a really short handle below the reel, it is thin but stiff and has a ton of backbone to pull on a Tarpon when it bulldogs down below the kayak. The shorter the rod, the better chance you have of getting the tip down to “bow to the king.” This rod also is really easy when skip casting, especially in tight quarters where a backhand skip cast is a better option than getting the kayak turned around. I was able to get this rod for 15 from a discount bin at Walmart, but usually it retails at various stores for roughly $40 bucks. This is the perfect rod to flick those DOA Tiny Terror Eyez, or 2 inch Tsunami Swim Shads that Juvenile Tarpon go crazy for. It is great for weedless/weightless flukes, and lightly weighted weedless paddle tails.

I have two reels I have used with this rod, for most of last year I used a Tsunami Barrier II which is an affordable $40ish dollar reel, and has sealed internal parts so it can stand up to the saltwater over and over again. But I switched it out for a Penn Pursuit IV 3000 series reel which is also sealed, but has a little more drag/power and can help to bring in those 15-30 pound fish more quickly. Also, I love the button handle. This reel can be purchased for $65-70 bucks at various stores.

Total for Set Up (Including Fishing Line/Leader) – span style=”text-decoration:underline;font-weight:bold;font-size:20px;”>$120-125

Tackle Hacks

I mentioned above that I rinse after each trip. A while back I bought a $20 Ace Hardware 2 gallon pump sprayer. I bring it with me on each fishing trip. I use this to rinse off all my rods, reels, hooks, lures, pedal drive, and all of the metal on my kayak after each trip. It is well worth the investment if you spend time in the saltwater.

Another tackle hack I do to save money on braid is I back my reels with cheap mono, about 100 yards or so, I usually only spool 75-100 yards of braid at a time, so when I buy a new spool, I can get two reels spooled with it at a time.

Conclusion

The fishing industry does a great job of marketing, and if you don’t know any better you’d think that being successful at targeting Snook, Tarpon, and Largemouth is going to cost thousands of dollars in equipment. To be fait, it can, but it doesn’t have to . There’s nothing wrong with good equipment, and if you can afford it, congratulations, it is probably a worthwhile investment. But if you are reading this because you want to get started or want a new combo without breaking the bank, then you can definitely get quality, affordable stuff that is budget friendly.

Thanks for taking the time to read this report. Thanks to Kayaks By Bo for being our Paddle Partner.

Stay safe, be happy, and catch lots of fish! Until next time!