Selecting the Proper Fishing Rod

How do you select the proper fishing rod? It depends on what species of fish you are trying to catch. If you are fishing for largemouth bass and using a bass lure, you will most likely be using a 7 ½ foot graphite rod. However, if you are fly fishing, the length of the rod will vary depending on the width of the water body and the weather conditions (speed of the wind mostly) that you are encountering.  This is article will deal more with fly fishing rods than any other types of fishing.
If you are fly fishing a stream, the rod will be different then let's say a river 45 feet wide. With a river so wide, you might be wise to grab a rod of between 8 and 10 feet. But if you want to limit yourself to only one rod for all types of fly fishing, including salmon, sea trout and trout, you should choose a medium-action 10-footer.
If you want to fish on still waters, you have to decide whether you will spend the bulk of the time fishing from a boat or wading along the shore line: boat rods can be slightly less substantial than bank ones.
Ideally, you should have access to a more powerful 9 1/2- or 10-foot rod for bank fishing, but you should avoid those over-stiff devices that need the strength of a gorilla to flex them properly. They may be fine for the tournament caster who wants to throw a line into the next county, and who will only use it for a five-minute session anyway, but they are not nice for prolonged fishing. Also bear in mind that the stronger and stiffer the rod, the stronger your leader will have to be to avoid breakage on the strike.
As an example of the extremes in lengths of rods, trout rods range from the little 6-foot brook rods up to the 17 -foot models for fishing still waters and large rivers.
With all singlehanded rods it's preferable to have the reel  fittings near the butt. Various fitments are available, and those that are the lightest are usually the best. Screw fittings offer greater security than those with a friction hold, although you're unlikely to have a reel fall off whichever type you choose.
Despite the great variety of rod actions to suit different fishing situations, to some extent there is room for personal preference. It is usually said that a slightly stiffer-action rod is better for dry-fly fishing, and a soft-action rod is better for wet flies. But beware of a rod that is truly limp; these might be able to handle very light lines in calm conditions, but they often lack the stamina to cope with contrary winds and longer-than-average casts. Even though a fly rod shouldn't have too soft an action, when it's flexed it should have a good all-through action down into the butt. Tip-action rods with stiff butt sections have little use in fly fishing.
As mentioned above when discussing largemouth bass fishing, if you can afford it, get a rod in graphite by one of the more reputable manufacturers. There is much dumping of foreign overproduction and these rods, while exceptionally cheap, may not represent very good value.