There is an appropriate rod for each type of fishing. A rod that is specially designed for pan fish will by no means work in case you want to haul in that big fish. Power and action are the two components of the rod an angler must consider before going ahead and buying a rod. A fishing rod is often said to be the backbone of the tackle and
fishing tackle manufactures have come up with rods which have been built on scientific lines so as to present an array of such items to the anglers.
Unfortunately there is still no rod that can do it all and never will be because different fish and different type of fishing need different type of rod! How much a rod bends when you are casting is what is known as rod action. Rod power on the other hand means the lure weight and the line size that a rod can handle.
Buying the right kind of rod also depends largely on what kind of fishing are you planning to do. Under the broad category of inshore fishing come casting, spinning, bottom fishing and fly fishing. Or is offshore fishing your type of fishing; trolling, bottom fishing, surf fishing, fly fishing, and pier fishing? These will actually determine what type of fishing rod you will need.
It is interesting to know that saltwater fish and freshwater fish need different type of rods. Some rods however can be used interchangeably but majority of the knots are built for specific applications.
fly fishing rods and saltwater fishing rods are built differently so as to cater to the different needs.
If fishing with lures is your thing then you should look for a rod which is comfortable to cast repeatedly all day. If not, then a faster, stiffer, more sensitive graphite rod is what you require. Graphite rods are very common with anglers these days and so are the fiber glass rods that are trusted for reliability. A balance between sensitivity, power and technique of the rod is the way to select the right rod for you.
Length, guides, butt length, action (taper) are instrumental in selecting the right rod for your type of fishing. These rod attributes separates one rod from the other. Longer rods are suited for lighter trolling line whereas shorter rods generally mean heavier line. The ceramic guides are no doubt expensive but they allow smoother operation. Standard metal guides are best suited for bottom fishing applications. The butt length of the rod is dependent on how the angler plans to use the rod; casting rods have shorter butts but spinning butts have slightly longer butts.
Taper relates to the amount of the bent the rod imparts from the tip to the butt. Slow, medium, fast, and extra fast tapers are found in the fishing rods. These different terminologies might only just sound way to technical and confusing to keep a track of but in the long run, these little details helps one to select the type of fishing rod one is looking for. All these intricate matters cannot be learnt in a day or two. It takes a lot of experience and a good eye for the best quality fishing equipments to become one superior angler.
