Selecting the Right Rod
Published: Saturday, June 9, 2012 7:00 am
By: TJ Maglio
The beauty of fishing is that there is no single way to enjoy it. The angler sitting on the bank with a can of worms, a cane pole and a bobber can enjoy the day just as much as the guy for whom fishing is speeding around the lake in a $60,000 boat with an electronics array that looks like it came off the USS Enterprise (thanks Star Trek, you’re really helping me pull this together).
Even if your fishing style typically veers toward the bank, bobber and bucket method, there are still ways you can improve your catch and one of them is gaining a better understanding of how a fishing rod works. When fishing, your rod is one of the most important tools, and having the proper tool can make a difference in both your success rate and enjoyment of the sport. This article focuses on how to select the proper rod for the species, technique and bait that you plan to use.
There are a lot of rods out there, from the $19.99 Wal-Mart special to the $600.00 handmade specialty stick with many options in between. In order to get a better grasp on the specifics of rod design and selection, it helps to go straight to the experts. St. Croix Rods of Park Falls, Wisconsin (www.stcroixrods.com) has made world-class fishing rods since 1948 and is now the largest rod producer in North America, building over 700 different rods ranging from budget-conscious models to some of the most technologically-advanced rods on the market.
St. Croix promotions manager Rich Belanger was kind enough to sit down and lend some insight into how a fishing rod is built and what to look for as you select a rod for your purposes. “The first thing I notice is how often I see people fishing with a rod that is not designed to do what they are trying to do,” he said. “And that’s a shame, because it really increases your success rate when you have the right rod set-up for the fishing you are doing.”
Whether you plan to purchase a new rod, or are trying to decide which of your existing rods to use for a certain technique, the following will help you make your decision.
Technique
The first thing to consider when selecting a rod is its general purpose. That includes what species you plan on targeting, what your primary bait is going to be, and how you are going to be fishing (from the bank, a boat, kayak, etc.).
There are basically three types of rods used in the vast majority of fishing. They consist of spinning, casting and fly rods. This article will specifically deal with both spinning and casting, as fly rod selection really requires its own article because the metrics involved in fly fishing are so different.
Spinning rods are designed to be fished with a spinning, or “open face” reel. The reel hangs under the rod and the guides (metal loops that the line threads through) are on the bottom of the rod “blank” or shaft.
“Spinning rods are best used to throw light lures on light line. The weight of the lure basically pulls the line out and the reels are such that the line falls off the spool, so they work great in light line, light lure situations,” Belanger says.
Casting rods are usually stiffer, heavier and are designed to utilize a baitcasting, or “closed face” reel. There are two types of casting reels, the traditional push button closed face reel like the classic Zebco 303 and the more modern levelwind baitcaster that uses a thumb bar to engage the spool and is commonly used by anglers for fishing baits that require a cast and retrieve action.
Baitcasters come with a slightly steeper learning curve, and anglers will often suffer the infamous “birds nest” while learning, but Belanger thinks they “are a better handling setup any time you are throwing heavier lures or are looking for more control while fighting a fish.”
The decision to use a baitcaster or a spinning rod is also impacted by what you are intending to fish for as well as what you are fishing from. Spinning rods are typically more maneuverable, so bank fishermen, kayak fishermen and wade fishermen often rely on them when possible due to the close quarters inherent in those situations.
As far as the species and technique go, this will also go a long way toward determining what type of rod you should be choosing, as trout and panfish anglers typically lean toward spinning outfits for the light lures, baits and presentations necessary, while Belanger says “musky fishermen almost exclusively fish with baitcasting rods, as they are more effective at throwing the big, heavy musky lures.”
So, now that you have determined whether you are going to use a baitcaster or a spinning rod, what is the next thing you should be looking into?
Power
“The power of a rod refers to how much pressure it takes to flex the rod,” Belanger says, and power is pretty universally measured from ultra-light to extra heavy.
The power determines the general weight range the rod can handle and it is usually written just above or below the handle on any rod. The inscription will typically say something similar to “7 foot, med-heavy power, fast action, 10-20lb. 3/8-1 oz.” in small print on the rod. The power (in this case medium-heavy) is what determines the recommendation for 10-20 lb. test line and lures ranging from 3/8oz. to 1oz.
One of the best ways to figure out which power to select when purchasing a rod is to measure the average weight of the lures you are going to be using with that rod and match it with the weight recommendation written above the handle.
Action
The action is a slightly more abstract concept, as it only describes where along the rod’s length the majority of the flex is. “Action is measured in a range from slow (flexing more toward the butt) to extra-fast (flexing in just the first twelve inches of tip) and the “faster” the rod, the closer to the tip the rod flexes,” Belanger states. Action figures into the rod selection process similar to the manner in which power does, so pick the action that best reflects your needs. For example, if you are pitching light jigs for walleyes, you would likely be best served with a fast or extra-fast action rod. If you plan to cast crankbaits or troll, you will likely want a slower action, so the fish hook themselves and the rod works as a shock absorber during the fight, preventing lost fish.
Length
This is another category that can make a big difference in your success rate as an angler. Generally speaking, the longer the rod, the more line is picked up when setting the hook, more leverage can be applied during the fight, and the farther the rod can cast. What that means is that for presentations needing long range hook sets like slip-bobbers, lindy or Carolina rigging and trolling, a rod in the seven to seven and a half foot range is usually ideal. For ultralight fishing on small streams or around cover, you may want to go as short as five or six feet, depending on the technique and species.
Belanger also mentions that another effect of longer rods is the ability to decrease your line strength, as “the longer rods act as a shock absorber while fighting the fish, which decreases the stress on the line and allows you to get away with lighter line, a necessity at times on bodies of water that have high fishing pressure. A shorter, stiffer rod puts more stress on the line, which can cause you to have to go up in line size.”
If you’re not really certain how long a rod to begin with, for most freshwater techniques you can usually get by with a six and a half foot rod, which is a versatile all-purpose length.
Materials
Rods in today’s marketplace are generally constructed out of graphite, although there are some other materials used as alternatives or in a blend with graphite, like fiberglass. This construction material is the major contributor to the overall quality and sensitivity of a rod, but it also has a big impact on the rod’s cost.
The variety of graphites available from rod manufacturers can sometimes cause confusion as there is no industry standard for graphite, and companies have come up with numerous descriptors for their specific type of graphite. Higher modulus, higher strain rate fibers usually come with a more expensive price tag. Be careful of inexpensive rods claiming super high modulus fibers cautions Belanger. “You really need to be wary, as a lot of the information out there is just hype and marketing, and rod companies can generally call their graphite whatever they want.”
Materials are another area that St. Croix shines, as they are one of the few companies that actually make all of their blanks in-house, from rolling the graphite to assembly, so they have complete control over the procedures and tolerances of the products. Many of today’s rod manufacturers have either part or all of their rods built in China, and then ship them to the States to be branded, finished and sold.
Despite all of this introduction, it doesn’t really answer the question of how to choose the material construction of your rod. The best answer to that is to first consider the budget you have in mind; look for the rod that best meets your needs in terms of length, action, power and type, then pick one that fits your budget.
For example, if you like throwing light spinners for trout, panfish and bass and you determine that you are looking for a 6 foot, light power, fast action spinning rod; you can probably find that combination in a $50 rod as well as a $250 rod. The difference will be in materials and craftsmanship, but the $50 option will still be a 6 foot, light power, fast action rod.
Bells and Whistles
There are a multitude of accoutrements that today’s rod manufacturers use to attract anglers including split-grips, micro guides and fancy color schemes that do well to make each rod stand out to the consumer. Though many of these bells and whistles have high angler followings, they generally do not affect the way the rod handles at the most fundamental level and they can even sometimes be used to make up for a decrease in quality somewhere else.
By no means am I telling you that you need to stay away from some of the fancy trim options available on today’s rods; I am simply saying that power, length, action, type and materials are more important to a rod’s performance than having a fancy color or certain type of guide.
Belanger’s overall advice to anglers about rod selection is to “do some research, become a little more knowledgeable about the specifics of rod design and then try to find a rod that meets as many of your requirements as possible. You will be shocked at how much having the right rod can increase your sensitivity, efficiency and decrease fatigue, which will all result in catching more fish.”
The last factor involved in rod selection is budget and, in a down economy, anglers are being forced to be more particular about the dollars they spend on fishing. This is another aspect of the industry that has really taken off in the last couple years as a company like St. Croix offers several lines of quality rods in the $100 or less price range, which is allowing anglers better access to quality fishing rods.
Hopefully, the above information has been helpful toward increasing your understanding of how a fishing rod functions and the metrics involved in choosing the right rod for your purposes. If you pay attention to some of these factors the next time you go rod shopping, you may find yourself with a rod that is ideally suited to handle your preferred fishing techniques.
Remember, fishing is fun!
