Sometimes casting to the same spot can be hard, real hard. You aim at your target spot but just can’t seem to hit it.

Why is hitting a target spot important?

If you do a bit of searching at your fishing spot you can find slightly deeper areas or slow moving water or great spots next to a snag. These all hold fish and that’s where you want to put your bait….but if you can’t hit it with a cast then you only get second best results.

So if casting doesn’t work for you then you might consider a ‘bolognese‘ rod. These bad boys are so long you don’t have to cast. All you gotta do is hold your rod in place and drop your bait….
….it’s that simple!

Bolognese rods were invented in Europe. Anglers often used long poles to fish but every now and again they’d get busted off by a big fish because they had no reel , and in particular, no drag to play a fish. A lot of big fish were lost.

To get over this anglers started attaching reels to their poles and eventually tackle manufacturers started building these long rods.

Bolognese rods can be very long. I have a 7 metre rod but I heard of them being up to 10 meters long.

They are often used with a float and they are great for just dropping you bait in and fishing the exact same spot every time. I’ve had some pretty exciting sport catching trout and at other times bream and mullet on
my bolognese rods.

They are great for float fishing but also work well ledger dishing (standard sinker and hook rig).

Once you get used to holding them and striking they are are a breeze to use.

Bolognese rods are usually telescopic. They have several short sections and break down into short manageable units that makes them easy to pack and carry around.

The most expensive ones are made from high quality graphite so they are very light and very stiff.

The most fun I ever had with one was fishing a lake in Halls Gap Victoria. I caught 6 large trout in an afternoon session by placing my bait in the same spot time after time. I used a Berley cage and it was so easy to be accurate as I placed my bait that the fish found it every time.

Long rods like this are not for everyone or for every situation. The rod is so long you can sometimes have trouble if you fish near trees. It’s best to fish in clear areas where the rod won’t be caught up.

Also, a long rod tends to wobble a bit when you’re handling it. This means the that the hook and sinker sometimes get wrapped around the tip of the rod.

This can be frustrating until you learn to handle a long rod.

…And finally, a rod this long needs the right rod holders to keep it from falling forward. I use 2 holders to secure the rod so I don’t have to hold it all the time.

I use the standard forked holder at the front and a holder shaped like an ‘r’ at the back. The rod naturally wants to fall forward so the holder at the back has the curve at the top that holds the rod down.

This setup works like a dream.

Once you get the hang of using a long rod you’ll start to see why they’re so popular overseas.

Placing your bait in the same spot every time over the top of your berley means you hit your target zone!

This really increases your chance of a bite. The fish are attracted by the berley and you can place your bait right in the middle of it. The fish are just waiting to be fed!

Bolognesie rods might look a bit strange but once you learn how to use them they can be a real fish catching weapon.