Spinning / Baitcasting Rods

Choosing a spinning or baitcasting rod can be a difficult task,
where a lot of options have to be taken in consideration.

Here is a basic and easy guide to help you buy,
or bring along the best suitable rod on a freshwater fishing trip.

Step one is to determine your preferred fishing technique for your target species.
This can basically be split up in two categories:
Bait fishing or Lure fishing.

For bait fishing, a spinning rod is the most commonly used rod type.

Spinning rods are all designed to use with a fixed spool reel,
which is mounted on the underside of the rod.

They are used for a vast range of fishing techniques, including live
or dead bait fishing on the bottom, as well as in mid water fishing with a float.

For fishing with casting lures or poppers, the choice
of rod is often a baitcasting rod.

These rods are all designed for use with a baitcasting
or light multiplier reel, mounted on the upper side of the rod.
They are available in single hand version, often with a pistol grip,
as well as two handed versions.

Step two is to decide rod material.
Modern rods are mainly made out of fiberglass or graphite.

Fiberglass is the least expensive rod material.
It has the benefit of being very durable, and takes a rough treatment.
The main downside to fiberglass, is that it lacks in sensitivity
and is considerably heavier.

Graphite rods are more costly, but also much stronger and more sensitive.
The thin walls of the blank offer a lighter rod, which requires
a more gentle treatment to obtain maximum strength.

Step three is to determine an approximate weight
and size for your target species.

By knowing this, it becomes much easier to choose a suitable rod,
which will give you maximum pleasure while fishing,
but still offers the strength to land a prize fish.

A fishing rods strength or lifting power is determined by its action.
A light action rod has a low strength, making it ideal for casting light lures
and fighting smaller fish, whereas a heavy action rod is much stronger,
and therefore suitable for fighting big brutes like Giant Mekong Catfish
Most rod manufactures offer rods varying from Light to Heavy,
but the extreme classes Ultra Light and Extra Heavy does also exist.

Action Classes:

UL = Ultra Light.
L = Light.
ML = Medium Light.
M = Medium.
MH = Medium Heavy.
H = Heavy.
XH = Extra Heavy.

Choosing the action class of a rod is an individual choice,
depending on the environmental conditions
as well as the anglers personal preferences and skills.

In some cases you have a forth decision to make, which is the choice of rod taper.

Rod Taper is a term used to describing where the rod flexes under load.

Taper Classes:

Extra Fast.
Fast.
Medium Fast.
Medium.
Slow.

As the rod taper descends from Extra Fast to Slow,
the flex transfers through the rod towards the butt section,
giving a more parabolic flex of the rod.

Many rod manufactures have combined rod taper
and action class to suit the specific rod.
In those cases the typical combinations are as follows:

A rod with light action normally has a fast taper
and will therefore mainly flex in the top section.
This combination is ideal for bite indication, and will help you
keep the line tight on species with fast runs and quick direction changes.

A rod with heavy action is often combined with a slow taper,
which offers a more parabolic flex of the rod. This is essential,
when fishing relatively low line class for powerful species,
that need to be kept clear of weed and other obstacles.