Absolute Rod Basics

 Picking a fishing rod can be confusing and frustrating if you don't know what you want or know what to look for going into the process. 

 The first thing to know is what you're going to use it for. I know, I know, fishing haha. No what type of lures or technique are you wanting the rod(s) for? Because you buy rods and rod and reel combos based on the lure or technique not the other way around. You've got to know what you're going to do before you go blowing money on stuff.

 Let's do this. Let's assume you're in the market for your first bait casting combo so you want an all-around rig that will do most things well enough to get you by but still good enough to change out a reel to make it a good technique specific rig later on.

 To me probably the most useful rod is a 7' Medium Heavy - Fast. Depending on the brand they can be stout enough to throw 5"-6" swimbaits or limber enough to throw certain weightless soft plastics. By changing reels I can transform a Jig/Texas Rig combo into something that is ok for spinnerbaits and swim jigs. It just depends on the rod.

 A 7' Medium/Heavy - Fast covers so many bases it's not funny they are generally rated to handle baits from about 3/8oz to 1oz meaning they're right in the sweet spot of most lures that are produced for inshore and freshwater fishing. The action isn't too far out of whack either way to make it unusable and the length is manageable for most places you'll fish. This is just my take on it.

Getting Down To Business

 You can go over the deep end geeking out on rod specs but when it comes down to it you really only need to understand two basic ratings of a rod.

1. Power
2. Action

After that you can start getting very particular about what rod you want for what application.

 One last thing before I try to lay this out for you. There is no industry standard for ratings although most rod ratings are close to each other every no two manufacturers products feel the same in the hand even if the load capacities and actions are supposedly the same. Also I believe some companies over rate rods where some under rate them. Neither is necessarily a bad thing you just need to know that going in.

  I HAVE THE POWER!!!

 Power ratings are pretty straight forward. The power of a rod is it's ability to handle a given load. Meaning the weight of the lure and the line test it's designed to comfortably handle. NOT the size fish you can land with it. Depending on the style of rod ratings generally range from Ultra-Light to XXX Heavy. So you can get a spinning rod that is an Ultra-Light for small panfish and trout lures to XXX Heavy bait casting rods for large swimbaits and esox lures.

 That's why it's a good idea to know what you're fishing for and what type bait or lures you're planning on using.

 In the pictures below are two completely different rods from my arsenal. The top is my Ultra Light and you'll notice it's load rating is from 1/16-3/8 of an ounce with a recommended line test of 2-8 pounds. The second pic is one of my swimbait rods and it's load rating is from 1-4 ounces and a recommended line test rating of 30-80 pounds. Again different tools for different jobs.

 Action Jackson Baby!

 The action of a rod is the "speed" of the taper or the percentage of the rod tip that is tapered. The longer the taper the slower the action. The shorter the taper the faster the action.

 Here is another easy way to look at it. An Extra Fast taper takes less time to make your lure to respond to a hook set than a slow taper. The faster the action the faster the hook set and the stiffer the rod will feel overall. Make sense?

  A lot of anglers like a slower action lighter power rods for baits with fine wire hooks like some crankbaits or small inline spinners like a Rooster Tail for example. On the flip side most like a heavy power, fast or extra fast taper for baits like frogs, toads and buzz baits. Again you match the rod to the bait or technique to a certain extent you have to muddle your way through it to find what you like and what works best for you.

 For me in general I prefer a fast taper on all of my rods but I do have a couple Extra Fast one being the rod in the above picture and my "toad rod". The "swimbait rod" in the picture above I got off a clearance rack for $20. It's taper is actually too fast for what I use it for but I make it work because I can store it in the hull of my Trident and if something happened to it I won't be heart broken. I actually like the rod in the very top picture for most of my swimbait work. It's an 8'+ rod with a true fast taper and is rated from 2-6oz. Great set-up for me and what I use it for.

 The rods I use the most though are all Med/Hvy Fast of different brands and they are all completely different from one brand to the next. I have made all of them as technique specific as I can but still retain their utility if I have a failure on the water and need to change up.

 I hope this helps.

Tight Lines
H