You want a good rod and reel to catch you fish, have a bit of fun without costing you all your cash. A few simple basics will help make the right choices…lets start with the rod.

Selecting a good rod can be  really tough  for someone who wants value  for their money and the right tool for the job. Have a look in your local tackle store and you’ll ask yourself  “What the heck makes this rod so expensive?” You might also wonder  “Is this $200 rod  twice as good as this $100 rod…will it catch me twice as many fish?”

...and the problem is….on the one hand, more expensive rods generally give you more features and better quality…and on the other hand, there is a limit to how much extra quality the extra money gives you!

This good news is that you have so much choice in rods today that you can find one that’s absolutely perfect for you…

The bad news is that it can be expensive!

So how do you buy a rod that gives you what you need?

Simple ! Understand a bit about what makes a rod work and then you can find one that works for you.

…and as far as price is concerned…a cheap rod is a waste of your money if it stays at home gathering dust in a corner. An expensive rod is a bargain if you use it every time you go fishing and you love the way it performs.

With the exception of large game fishing rods, in general, more expensive rods give you more sensitivity in feeling the bites of fish, more responsiveness in hooking fish and more accuracy in casting….

…sounds good, right?

Also expensive rods are usually lighter, stiffer and …easier to break. This might sound like a problem but cheap rods that don’t give you all these great features don’t catch as many fish!

Check out the best anglers and, most of the time they will be using good, even great, gear.

So the lesson here is:

A good rod helps you  and a poor rod hurts you…

And who doesn’t need all the help they can get when it comes to fishing!

The Rod Itself

Rod Action

Rod action is how much of the rod bends when you put pressure on the tip:

• Fast action rods will bend in only the top third or even less.
• Medium  action rods will bend in the top half
• Slow action rods will bend from  the lower third of the rod.

Fast action rods are often used for lure fishing and bait fishing where the angler needs the best sensitivity and less give in the rod so the angler can set the hook fast. These rods are good for short and mid range casting.

Medium action rods will usually provide  more casting distance and still give good hook-setting power. They  are great for bait fishing and the little more softness in the action of these rods stops pulling baits out of fishes mounts before they completely swallow them.

Slow action rods are often used on boats or where the angler wants to set the in the rod holder and let the fish hook themselves.  These rods are very flexible and can take a lot of bending without breaking, A really slow action rod has so much give that it bends a long way before it stops and sets the hook hard. The soft action gives the fish plenty of play and acts as a shock absorber so the line is less likely to break.

Power

Power in a rod is it’s lifting power.  It’s usually described as  heavy, medium heavy, medium, and so on. Power is matched to  line strength; heavier power rods will handle heavy line weights and lighter powers are better for lighter lines.

You should match your fishing line to the limits printed on the rod. This will stop light lines being snapped on heavy rods and light rods struggling with heavy line or even snapping a rod tip.

The type of water you’re fishing is the best indicator or the rod you should use. Surf, boat, deep water…wherever strong forces are at play will need a heavier rod. Smaller fish, still water, slow rivers …all suit lighter rods.

Rod Materials

Graphite: Graphite is manufactured under  a two-part process to create both strength and stiffness.

The best rods use composite material made up of layers of different graphite and/or fiberglass.

The most expensive rods are lighter and more sensitive, and allow the angler to feel everything that is happening to the bait or lure.

Fiberglass: Fibreglass has been around for a long time. Glass is noted for soft actions and toughness.

Some fibreglass rods have a little graphite added. This adds a little more “feel”  to the rod so the angler has a tough, flexible tool that keeps them in touch with the fish.

Guides

These are the rings on the rod that the line slides through. Silicon carbide, or “SiC’ guides are the most common and very smooth…and smoothness counts because the less friction in the line hitting the guides –  the further you can cast!

More is also better. A rod with more guides on it will perform better…and cost more. More guides means the rod will bend more evenly throughout its length and this helps use the full power of the rod to cast and fight strong fish…

…and why is this good? You can use lighter line which helps hook more fish and the rod will do more work in fighting the fish so you have the best chance of landing it.

Rod Handles

Your choice is  EVA foam, Cork or the” extended blank”.

EVA foam handles: these are generally cheaper and tougher than cork. Where a cork handle might dent or chip with a bit of a rough handling a foam handle keeps

its shape. This is important when the rod is held in a rod holder or beach spike or tube for long periods.

EVA handles are very easy to keep clean and can be scrubbed with detergent to get rid of the muck that usually sticks to them.

All this is good…but foam handles don’t give the same “touch” and feel that cork handles do.

Cork handles are light and great to fish with when you want a comfortable handle and  need to feel the delicate vibrations of “picky” fish.

Cork handles are also more expensive than foam…but if feel and sensitivity is a key part of the fishing you do…then go with cork. Having said this there are many rods available that don’t have any handle material at all. The blank, or rod material, is all you get. The feel transferred through the line is amazing, especially when using braid….and for lure anglers this is an extra bonus. 

Strangely enough these rods are usually high end products with a high end price to match…but if you want super sensitivity then consider these….

…but if your rod is going to sit in a rod holder most of the time then EVA foam is fine.

Rod Length

Which is better, a long or a short rod?

The answer is…

It depends!

In general, longer rods help you cast further, keep more fishing line out of a strong current and allow better pick up of line to strike.

Shorter rods are easier to handle, better suited to lure casting light weights and are better in restricted areas like under trees or in boats…so it all depends on the fishing you will be doing.

As a general rule, start with shorter rods that have a graphite/fibreglass mix. Over time, as your fishing progresses and you become more experienced, move onto longer, stiffer rods with a higher graphite content. They will be more expensive but you will have the experience to use them to their full potential.

So, what about  a fishing reel?

The reel you choose needs to match the rod in breaking strain of line, weight and type of fishing you’ll do. The reel needs to balance well on the rod so it feels comfortable in your hand and needs to be of similar quality to your rod. This way both will work well together. 

 Reel size is “real” important. Manufacturers give them a number to act as  a guide to the fishing line they can handle…but this is only a guide.  

 The numbers are also a bit different. For instance size 2000 and size  20 mean the same thing, likewise 3000 and 30, 4000 and 40 and so on. The way these numbers work is pretty simple…generally, the smaller the number the smaller the reel. 

 You gotta decide how are you going to use the reel….it makes a difference! Will it be on rivers lakes, surf, boat, pier, bay…or maybe a combination of some of these. 

 Unless you want to go very light spin fishing using a 1000 size reel then 2000 to 2500 is the best size for fishing rivers lakes and estuaries. These reels generally take line from 2 to 4 kg and suit trout, redfin, mullet, bream, flathead, whiting and the smaller fish normally caught in these waters….unless or coarse you want to target big Murray cod, big carp or mulloway….then you’ll have to step up your gear. 

 Size 3000 to 3500 3 – 5 kg- these are good ‘all rounders’ for targeting small and fairly big fish. Using 4 or 5 kg line you can catch very good sized fish on these. I have caught an 11 kg carp on this line….you just have to play it right and not try to lift it out of the water!  

 Size 4000 to 4500 reels are classified as the medium size reels. They take 4-6 or 7 kg line and really have the grunt to take some of those bigger species like mulloway, Murray cod, Australian Salmon, snapper and can be used for light surf and boat fishing. 

Reels from Size 5000 upwards deal with bigger fishing conditions. 

 5000 to 5500 reels can carry 5 – 7kg line, 6000 – 6500 carry 6 -8 kg line 7000 -7500 carry up to 10 kg line and so on. 

 The heavy fishing reels can get pretty big. For instance, game fishing reels in the 30,000 size can carry line weights of 30kg and more… 

Not many beginners are going to use heavy weight stuff like this unless they go out on fishing charters….or decide to target monsters right from the start of their fishing career. 

 Apart from size, there’s a few other things to think about like the material the reel is made from, the number and type of ball bearings, size of spool, quality of drag and overall engineering.   

 Price is an indicator but not the only measure of quality of a reel….after all, a $300 reel may not be twice as good as a $150 reel but it will usually be better. 

 Think about the type of fishing you mainly want to do when you buy a reel, like…how far you want to cast , the biggest fish you might catch, whether you’re going to fish fresh or salt water, are you lure or bait fishing and how deep the water is. Once you’ve worked these things out you can narrow down your search….and expected price. 

 So…. 

…to cover these in a logical order, look first at the type of water you’ll fish….fresh or salt? This makes a difference if you don’t look after your gear much…salt water corrodes and generally messes up gear unless it is washed…. 

Better quality reels have stainless steel ball bearings and better seals. It’s harder for salt to get in…. 

….and don’t get me started on sand! Drop your reel in sand or sandy water and you’ll get problems. I once dropped my $400 reel into the surf while fishing. It took a $60 manufacturer’s service to fix it and it never really recovered! 

  On the other hand I’ve had a $55 reel for 12 years and it works like a charm….never had a sick day in its life cos I looked after it…no sand! 

 How far do you need to cast? The diameter and depth of your reel affects the way the line peels off. Bigger, broader spools let a lot more line off, more easily, and this allows longer casts. Surf reels need this to cast into the deeper water….boat reels don’t. 

 When playing a fish the drag really counts. A good smooth drag will help land more fish…and when you chase big fish, especially if you use lighter line…it’ll save a lot of busted line and lost fish. 

 Deep spools hold more line so if you fish from a boat in deep water or target big fish that go on long runs, and take your line with them,  you’ll need a reel that holds plenty of line. 

 If you lure fish, especially rivers and creeks, you don’t need to cast too far so the spool can be smaller… but if you bait fish in big lakes and reservoirs sometimes you need to cast a long way to the deeper water….then you need a generous spool. 

 The best thing to do when you first start fishing is buy mid priced gear until you work out a bit more about the fish you want to catch and how you want to catch them. Later, after a bit more experience you can buy better quality, more specific, gear that will help you catch more fish…. 

….or you could just do what my brother in law does and continue to use the cheapest, most neglected, all purpose gear….and still catch a few fish!