Fishing Rod Types And Basic Guide For Beginners.
Let’s take a look into the different type’s of fishing rods out there and what some main uses are for specific type’s of rod, the aim here is to give you a basic understanding of the different type’s so that you can refer to the information when deciding on which rod is best suited for the type of fishing that you wish to take part in.
Spinning Rods.
OK so we are starting with the spinning rod, this rod is very commonly used by anglers for an array of different species and fishing conditions. The spinning rod is a highly versatile rod that can be matched perfectly with a spinning reel (mentioned here). The rod would suit lake, river and even light sea fishing so this is where the versatility comes in.
A spinning rod would be very ideal for beginners as it’s a great all-rounder in a sense and will come in many lengths, powers and actions that suit your specific fishing needs for certain species and casting ranges. Don’t look past the spinning rod when choosing as more than likely this would be an ideal rod for the beginning of your fishing journey as it has more than one use case.
Carp Rods.
Generally the angler who purchases a Carp rod will be looking to catch Carp and Carp only. A Carp rod is normally a 12ft or 13ft rod with various (Test Curves) although there are now options for Carp rods that are shorter in length and also have some telescopic varieties.
Carp rods are very stiff rods as they are designed for use with heavy leads, heavy line and large reels. This makes them perfect for longer range casting on big venues and also allows you to play the bigger species with ease, choosing the right one of these will all depend on the size and type of lake/venue that you wish to fish at, if you are looking to cast to further distances than maybe a 13ft with a high test curve would suffice, for shorter distances a 12ft or less with a lower rated test curve would do just fine.
Fly Fishing Rods.
A fly rod is used for a very specific type of fishing that is completely different to most other methods by using heavy line and a light artificial lure for example to catch species such as salmon and trout, these can be used while river fishing or even on the open sea in some cases.
They will typically come in lengths between (6ft) and (15ft) depending on the type of fly-fishing as the 15ft will be held with two hands and the 6ft would be held with only one hand while casting etc. It may be one of the more difficult methods of fishing to get a grasp of so if you are planning on taking up fly-fishing then obviously this would be the rod of choice but for other methods of fishing one of these would not be ideal as they are specifically made and designed for fly-fishing.
Feeder Rods.
Are generally used for fishing on the bottom of the lake as appose to say (Float fishing) where the float is the indicator above water. The feeder rod will usually have a quiver tip end used as the indicator for a bite or hooked fish, they are mainly used for bottom fishing but can be used for surface fishing if that is all that you have, I would recommend using a stiffer quiver tip end if you plan on using the rod for a spot of float fishing as well.
These rods can come in sizes such as 9ft to 12ft depending on the fishing conditions and what is more suitable for yourself and the venues you wish to fish at (see here for more info on this). Feeder fishing rods are rods that I first started out with and mainly used them for Method feeder fishing (more here) the quiver tip used is determined by the size of fish you aim to catch and mostly weather conditions.
Tip: If you are fishing on a fast flowing river for instance or there is a high wind speed while fishing on a lake then I would opt for a heavier quiver tip to avoid false indications on your rod tip.
Telescopic Fishing Rods.
The main purpose for a telescopic fishing rod is portability, they are known for not been quite as strong or long-lasting as a traditional 2 or 3 piece rods but if you are looking for compactability for your fishing travels then this might be the way to go.
I believe that you can get various type’s of telescopic fishing rods that will be suited for sea fishing, Carp fishing or just for general course fishing like a telescopic feeder rod for example. Opting for this type of rod would come in super handy when space is an issue or when certain transport is not available for longer packed rods. One of the common faults with these I hear about is when you are playing a fish the rod tends to twist where the sections meet along the rod which can make things more difficult when trying to land the fish and would also put unnecessary strain on certain parts on the rod when it has tension so this might be something to look out for when choosing this variety. I would go for a higher end telescopic rod if possible as I can’t imagine the cheaper ones lasting too long if I’m honest.
I Actually bought a telescopic beach caster style rod while on holiday in Turkey and managed to catch a few Remora Fish while beach fishing in Antalya, this is when I really appreciated the telescopic rod as it packed away nicely to around 20″ or so, ideal for transport and storage.
Spod Rods.
Spod rods are Most commonly used by Carp fisherman as they are extremely stiff rods with a very high test curve meaning they can cast out heavy spods of bait accuratley at far distance, as these are very progressive rods they are only really used for spodding alone and not for catching but nevertheless a great addition to have in your arsenal if you are thinking of taking up Carp fishing anytime soon.
These will generally come in 12ft or 13ft sizes but as mentioned above they will have a lot higher Test curve than Carp rods due to the weight been cast out, again be sure to check that the Spod rod of your choice suits you and is comfortable to use just like you would do when choosing any rod, you can do this by asking a friend who has prior experience or if you are buying in store ask for there recommendation for yourself so that you can maximize your potential with the rod and not end up with one that you can not work with.
Float Fishing Rods.
There maybe some people wondering what the difference between a Feeder Rod and a Float Rod is but there isnt much difference at all if I’m honest, from my experience a Float Rod is slightly lighter and longer than lets say a feeder rod, a float is better when hand held over longer periods of time as they are nice and light and the feeder rod is better placed on a rod rest once cast out and set in place awaiting indications from the quiver tip for potential bites.
With a float rod you are using the float as an indicator meaning the rod tip does not have to be an ultra soft quiver tip to indicate whether you have a bite or not, you are waiting for the float to bob up and down and then hopefully disappear under the water in which then you strike and hook the fish (in theory).
You may find Float rods ranging from 6ft to15ft, they are not made for casting really heavyweight unlike a carp rod for instance so having a longer float rod will come in handy as they are typically longer to help so that you cast a light float rig out as these tend to not be a heavy setup as you will be only using such things as split shot, float and small hook baits. With that all been said a float rod would be great for any beginner as float rigs are easy to setup and do not require much tackle to do so.
Beachcaster Rods.
These rods are generally longer style shore rods which you may have seen before on your trips to the beach, maybe ranging from 12ft to 16ft in length and normally very stiff due to the fact that if you are fishing from the shore you would want the best casting distance possible from this type of rod. Using a water filled float or a heavy lead maybe upwards of 200g just gives you some insight into stiffness needed in these type of rods. As these rods are adequate for ultra long distance casts the casting part has become somewhat of a sport in itself with people casting upwards of 300 yards.
beach casters can come as telescopic, multiple piece, or even one piece rods for the more speacialised approach, if you are planning on shore fishing anytime soon than I would highly recommend a telescopic or 2 piece rod because as mentioned before this is going to be much better for transport and storage.
As we are coming to the end this post there is one crucial thing I would like you to take away from this which I may have mentioned a few times previously as follows. When you are choosing any rod choose a size/length and action that suits your personal needs, by personal needs I mean you will want to choose a rod that fits your physical size, height and strength capability in order to get the most out of your rods when fishing. This may not seem obvious but choosing the right rod for you will help when playing fish once hooked, netting/landing fish and mostly Casting accuracy (more here).
Above I have given a brief insight into 8 different type’s of fishing rod so that hopefully can gain a better understanding around the basics of each one, in later posts I will be looking at digging a little deeper into each one of these as they will no doubt be one of the main staple in later pages, as always there will be a comments section below where you can leave your own thoughts or questions, if you do decide to leave a comment then thank you as this will help the community in which we are trying to build, giving them the opportunity to take even more away with them from this page.
Thankyou.
martin@lakeamenity.com
