How to Choose the Right Fishing Rods

When you face the myriad choices of rods available to the modern fisherman, it's amazing to think that primitive humans made their own gear by hand and still managed to put food on the table.

Now you can find rods specialized for just about everything you can imagine; rods with spinning or casting specialties to bamboo rods just for fly fishing.

All this variety isn't just about targeting the lucrative hobbyist market. Over the years as humans have accumulated more knowledge about specific fish species what they eat, where they congregate, and what catches their attention we've turned that knowledge to our advantage, developing rod, reel, and lure to attract the fish we're after. It's our ability to create, use, and adapt tools that helped humankind survive during the centuries when fishing as a survival skill. Why should we stop now?

Different types of rods.

Dozens of choices of fishing rods are available ice fishing rods, surf rods, telescopic rods. They are designed for different conditions and locations. Some of the most popular choices are spin casting rods, spinning rods, fly rods, sea rods, and carbon fiber poles.

Spin casting rods are among the most common rods in use today. They feature a spin casting reel mounted above the handle. Although the names are similar, spin casting rods are not spinning rods.

Spinning rods, usually made of fiberglass or graphite, are very light and very long (five to eight feet). The spinning reel on these models sits underneath the rod instead of on top. Spinning rods are very popular for most types of sport fishing, including bass. If you're using live bait or when trolling, spinning rods are an excellent choice.

Thin and flexible, fly rods are designed to cast an artificial fly that skims the surface of the water (not live bait, which sinks). The fly itself is a hook tied with feathers or fur designed to look like a real fly or other insect. Modern fly rods are typically made of fiberglass, carbon, or graphite. They're designed to use the weight of the line to control the fly (instead of the old-fashioned weighted lure). Fly fishing is well-known as a highly skilled sport, since the movement of the fly itself is an essential component of luring the fish.

Sea rods, as the name suggests, are intended for ocean use and designed for the larger fish found in deep waters. Long, thick, and very heavy, sea rods are designed to stand up to the strong fight you might find in larger ocean fish. Sea rods can even be more specialized, designed specifically for certain types of deep sea fish such as sharks, marlin, eels, and so on. Unless you plan to do ocean fishing on a regular basis, you're not likely to need a sea rod.

High-tech carbon fiber poles are used mostly in Europe. The carbon fiber composition allows for very accurate positioning of the bait and larger catches of fish. In Europe, it's not unusual to see fishermen using carbon fiber poles haul in two hundred fish in a five-hour match.

Most pro bass fishermen use spinning rods between six and eight feet long. If you look at rods used in competitions, you'll notice that most rods you see are of this type and length.

Bait casting reels provide good control and accuracy. They are best with weighted lines, weighted at 10 pounds or heavier. They don.t work well in high wind, since when casting into the wind they are prone to snarl or backlash.