TackleThief.com - Fishing Gear Buyer's Guide - Shopping for a Fishing Rod

Buyer's Guide
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Rod Buyer's Guide - Page 3

Shopping for a Fishing Rod (continued) - By Pescador

What kind of reel do you plan to use?
This is somewhat of a no-brainer. Of course you are not supposed to put a spinning reel on a bait casting rod. It will work, but it won’t be efficient. The same goes for vise versa. But let’s take two reels, a Shimano Calcutta 400 and a Shimano Curado 200. Both can be used for fishing with 12lb test line. And even though it can still be done successfully, the Calcutta would not be efficient on the 12-30lb bass rod while fishing for largemouth bass. You just don’t need that kind of line capacity. The Calcutta would be better with the saltwater rod, fishing for small tuna (please keep in mind I’m not suggesting you go after tuna with 12lb test on a Calcutta reel). Match your rod to your reel and your fishing experience will be more enjoyable.

What size and type of line do you plan to use?
Another somewhat no-brainer, as on factory built rods, it is actually annotated on the actual rod what size line it is designed for. But for fine tuning, depending on the preferences of the angler, slightly lighter than suggested can be used. For example, I prefer an over all stiffer rod, so I like to use a 10-17lb bass rod with 6lb test line when fishing for sand bass. What you definitely don’t want to do is use a line test rated ABOVE what the rod is designed for. If the drag on the reel is set according to the strength of the line when it is over the intended size for the rod, you risk snapping your rod in half (especially if it is made of graphite).

The type of line you intend to use is also important. Through the years there have been many stories of ceramic guides having grooves cut into the rings because they were using some sort of braided line. But also, through the years there have been breakthroughs in braided and spectra line that virtually eliminate this occurrence. But you still want to beware of cheap guides on your rod if you plan on using these lines.

What kind of action are you looking for?
Now we get to the hardest part of the rod to understand. The reason behind this is because each rod manufacturer has a different idea of what kind of action their rods have. And sometimes action is even synonymous (means the same thing as) with “taper”. But again, generally, the terms, though interchangeable, used for a rod’s action are as follows

Fishing Rod Actions • Light/slow action (D): this is a rod that bends under normal stress (according to line rating) through out most of the rod. This can also describe how easily the rod can be bent. Imagine using a lure like a crank bait. Now imagine jerking the rod real hard. On a light action rod, the lure will not move very much during the jerk, thus it gives “light action” to the lure.

• Medium action (C): this is a rod that bends under normal stress through the upper (towards the tip of the rod) half of the rod. Giving the same jerk on a medium action rod on the same crank bait will make the lure move more, giving it a “medium action”.

• Heavy/fast action (B): this is a rod that bends under normal stress through the upper third of the rod. The same crank bait jerked the same way will move more. It will have a “heavy action”.

The explanation of this also can be imagined through the lever example. The part of the rod that is not bending (also called the backbone) represents the length of the lever. This explanation can also translate into how much leverage the rod will have. A medium action rod, since the backbone is shorter, will have more leverage than a fast action rod (longer backbone). There are also levels of action/taper in between and beyond the three classifications I gave (ie medium-light, medium heavy, extra heavy (A), extra light).

Matching the type of action to the type of fishing you are doing is also important. In bass fishing with crank baits, a medium action rod is favored. With the softer response to the fish striking the lure, it gives the angler a split second to get over the initial surprise of the strike. This extra time, though only a fraction of a second, can mean the difference between a landed or lost fish. At the same time, a fast action rod is usually preferred when fishing slow with finesse to help detect the strike and also get a good strong hook-set from long distances. But like I said, if you switch things around, it will still work. But just won’t be as efficient.

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