I fish Lake Michigan. Yes there is a 3 rod limit. Now there is a 5 Salmon limit, up from 3. The fish are smaller due to the forage base being eaten up by all of the Salmon. I usually always run a minimum of 6 rods. If I have more that 2 in the boat and the fishing is good I usually can't get more than 6 rods in the water. When I am running 9 or 12 rods usually I am searching for fish and it is slow.