Fishing Rods For Beginners
Now firstly let me start off with saying that I do not own every single Fishing rod ever made so I can not give you full comparison on each and every model and type but what I am going to try to do is give you my honest opinion about what I have used to start me off in fishing and what my thoughts are going forward, this will hopefully give you some quality information to refer to when making your decision as a beginner regarding Rods.
My First Rods
In some of my previous post I have mentioned that I own 1 particular rod this been a (Shimano force master 11ft) feeder rod. Now along with this I also use a (Garbolino strike 9ft) strike picker rod.
When I initially bought these two rods I did not take into consideration the length of these at the time nor did I really see what the difference would be anyway, I literally just thought that one is bigger than the other and assumed it might be best to have 2 sizes but unwillingly knowing that this was actually a very good decision for me as a beginner as it would give me chance to experience 2 different sizes of rod so each time I fished on different lakes it would give me a first hand insight on how the two rods perform and what suits me best personally and which is the best for the specific lake I’m on.
Below I will go into my thoughts on each of the rods and give you the pro’s and cons so this will hopefully help you determine which size rod may be best for you. Now these rods are basically both Quiver tip rods and you may be looking for a different type of rod maybe a Carp rod for instance but I believe that some information especially regarding size etc can and will be a massive help for you regardless as some aspects I will get into will be relevant for all types of fishing really when talking about Rod sizes.
Shimano Forcemaster
PRO’s
This was my very first rod that I picked up when looking for fishing rods in Angling Direct, as I’ve mentioned prior I didn’t really take into consideration the length of this Rod but found it to be a good match with the (Shimano 2500 Baitrunner reel) I had already so I purchased it.
With the Rod been 11ft I found it to be pretty good for my casting distance when I’m fishing on larger commercial lakes although my accuracy isn’t the best which is definitely a fault of my own, the overall feel of the rod when casting to distances lets say around 30-50 yrd is brilliant. For me the rod has been perfect, casting to 30-50 + yards which may not sound much compared to other Anglers but it has been great for me on the medium to large fisheries.
Along with the casting distance I have found that if you are fishing on a peg that is set back from the water or when you have a thick bed of lake reed on each side of the peg then having the longer rod works wonders when fishing tight into the margin as it allows you to set up so that your Rod tip clears the reeds. Having the 11ft allows more distance between the lake and where your rods are set up maybe on your bank sticks or a rod pod. This comes in handy on the more set back pegs with heavy vegetation.
CON’s
Now if I were to pick a main downfall for this rod it would be the length on smaller fisheries or where you have lower hanging tree’s and not much casting area to play with, make no mistake about it this is not anything to do with the make and model this is simply to do with the length of the rod only, this goes for all rods this length or bigger.
You will find that when you are fishing on pegs that have bushes, trees and other vegetation surrounding it so it’s very enclosed you may find that it’s a lot harder to cast without hitting and maybe getting snagged on the trees and bushes or you may find you literally cannot even cast at all from that peg, you could use the under arm casting technique to get around this but you will not be able to gain the distance to match the traditional way of casting so you may even have to move pegs or cast from somewhere away from the peg which is obviously not ideal.
If you are planning on fishing on really small venues I would 100% go for a rod no bigger than 10ft I’ve been to a few of the smaller lakes around my neck of the woods and found that using the 11ft rod just felt awkward when casting and the same when trying to land fish in the net from tight swims. Using my other 9ft rod was a night and day difference and much proffered on small lakes.
Casting in tight area’s is the main issue for me but it’s swings and round-abouts I suppose and there are obviously use cases for all sizes of rods otherwise we would only need one size, but overall the 11ft Rod has played it’s part well at the beginning of my fishing journey so it’s about deciding where you are planning on fishing and finding the right size for you personally.
Note: Age and height will also play a part when choosing the right Rod for you so do your research, better yet go to a fishing tackle store in person and handle some of the Rods physically so you can get a feel for them, this should give you a better understanding when choosing the right Rod for you.
Garbolino Strike
PRO’s
Personally this Rod has been my favorite this is due to it been ideal for most of the places I fish. If I were to only take 1 rod fishing with me it would be this one if it was between the 11ft or the 9ft. I picked this rod up for around £30, now it’s not the best make and model of Rod on the market but it has been fantastic and I have caught some good sized Carp over the summer using this.
Its perfect when netting the fish also as you can bring the rod tip closer to you so it feels like you have more control when landing the fish if you are fishing alone, it also feels perfect for small waters when casting and you feel like you can perform a proper cast without fearing that you may over do it and end up snagged up on a far banking, we do have line clips to prevent this but my main point is that it just feels better on smaller venues when float fishing or maybe method feeder fishing.
CON’s
Now the casting distance with this isn’t the greatest, or at least it’s not for myself anyway but in all fairness I do not use this rod to cast long distance I only use it down the margin or close by areas which look like promising swims.
If you have a fishing peg that is set back slightly just like I mentioned with the 11ft rod earlier, this 9ft rod can be more of a challenge to find a spot to set up if you don’t have both a Rod Pod and Bank Sticks especially if you are looking to fish to your left or right of the peg, It becomes’s an issue unless you are fishing straight ahead so that the line cannot get caught on any reeds but fishing down the side can be tricky as the line will tend to hit the weed bed so it’s just a little something to take on board when looking for pegs when you have opted for shorter Rods.
Thoughts
As you can see I basically bought two Rods of different sizes without really thinking much of it but in hindsight this has ended up being a really good decision in the end because it has given me the experience I need to make a more calculated decision on future Rods I might buy.
Before you look at purchasing for yourself just take some time and think about where you mostly plan on fishing and use that information to better guide you so that you don’t end up with rods that are not quite suited for you or the places you plan on fishing, getting this right will make your experience a lot better and hopefully help you catch a lot more fish in the end.
Conclude
If the information above has been some what of a help to you then please leave a comment stating the exact reason why, or if you think that there should be some other relevant information provided then please let us know, As you already know the statements above are soley from my own experience but we would welcome any input on your experiences and what helped you.
Thank you again for reading, see you again soon.
martin@lakeamenity.com
