Thursday, July 10, 2008 9:23 PM CDT
Proper rod selection helps enjoyment, success
By DAVE SHADOW
In fishing circles, the subject of rod selection gets a little nuts sometimes with advocates of a dozen differing theories.
As is true with most everything else, “marketing” programs funded by the manufacturers drive a major potion of this. Successful anglers that they support with funding and/or products usually aid these efforts. I have to admit here that I’ve succumbed to a good portion of these ideas and spent the “rent money” trying most of them. Herein, I’ll try to save you some of your hard-earned income by sharing some of my theories and experiences.
First, a bit about the various theories. One guy that I fished with on the professional circuit indicated that all seven of the rods and reels that he kept “rigged and ready” on the deck of his boat were exactly alike. He wanted each one to feel alike when he picked it up to make a cast. Goofy idea! That’s like a carpenter having six hammers and no other tools. Can you imagine the results of trying to saw off a board with one of the hammers? That’s a bit of a “stretch” in comparison, but not too much.
Each rod and reel combination should fit a certain task exactly like the carpenter’s tools. The rod you use to cast or pitch heavy jigs won’t work satisfactorily to throw a small crank-bait or minuscule tube bait. It will, however, be the right tool for the job when you pitch a jig into a treetop and hook a large bass. In that instance it’s necessary to have enough backbone in the rod to immediately turn the fish and get him hoisted out of the brush before he wraps you up in it and escapes. Conversely, this sort of a stiff rod would result in more lost fish when fishing a Rattletrap or most other crank-baits. The rod for that purpose should have more flexibility, especially in the tip, that will allow it to flex with the gyrations of the fish. This extra flex provides the ability to stay in contact with the fish as he lunges or jumps while not exerting excess force resulting in tearing out the hooks and losing the fish.
Each angler must evaluate his or hers needs based on the type of fishing done and/or the level of involvement in the sport. Rosalie figures my fishing tackle purchases are preferred to sitting on a bar stool somewhere or hanging around the house in her way, so it all works out. I normally keep six or seven rod/reel combinations rigged with various lures, on the front deck of my boat so that I can switch immediately as the need arises. These rods are rigged with differing baits and consequently are considerably different as are the reels on them. I will elaborate on the reel selection in a following article. I will describe each rod and it’s features and uses below.
Rod 1: Flippin’ stick, 7 1/2 ft. long — Heavy action – (stiff and strong). Used to pitch and flip heavier lures such as jig-craw combinations to heavy cover.
Rod 2: Spinner-bait rod, 6 ½ ft. long — Medium-heavy action. (lots of backbone) Used to cast and pitch large spinner-baits and large crank-baits.
Rod 3: Worm rod, 6 ft. long — Medium-heavy action. (very sensitive, lots of backbone to set hooks) Used to fish Texas-rigged worms and smaller jigs in all conditions.
Rod 4: Crankbait rod, 6 ½ ft. — Medium action (more tip flexibility). Used for smaller crankbaits, Rattletraps, etc.
Rod 5: Jig rod, 6 1/2 ft. long — med-heavy action, used to pitch jigs and tube baits
Rod 6: Casting rod, 6 ½ ft. long — medium action, lighter tip action, long-range crankbait rod. Great for buzzbaits, crankbaits and larger spinnerbaits.
Don’t just assume all rods are the same. Experiment with different combinations. The reels make a big difference also. I use left-hand reels on some rods and right-hand reels on others. I will explain this in a future article also.
Now, go fishin.
It’s faith, family and fishin’.
Dave Shadow is the Journal Gazette/Times-Courier’s hunting and fishing columnist.
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Equalizer wrote on Jul 10, 2008 10:27 PM: