Straight and simple without waffling on, here are a few things
you'll need to consider before buying a modern lure fishing rod...
Length
You will firstly need to consider where you will be fishing. I
have found that longer rods (9-10ft) can have the advantage when fishing
shallow and gradual-gradient beaches. Here you may need to cast further and
having the rod tip higher will create a better angle in order to retrieve and
feel bites. Shorter rods 6-7ft can be great fun when fishing from piers,
harbour walls or a rock mark where you are not casting too far or jigging
beneath your feet straight into deeper water. 8ft seems to be the safe
all-rounder that most anglers opt for so if you plan to do a mix of the above I
would suggest this to be a good starting point.
Actions
Lures of different mass, material and weight will demand a rod
that will work in unison to give you the best possible sensitivity and command
on your lure and whilst playing a fish. Actions describe the way the rod will
bend and range from fast to slow. A fast action rod will start to bend in
the top 1/8th of the rod tapering down to a stiffer butt section. This allows
for ultra sensitivity when twitching soft plastics and lighter hard
lures and is generally a safe bet when starting out if you can afford
one. Medium, regular or moderate action will start to bend from the middle of
the rod and a slow action from the butt.
Casting weight
Most rods on the UK market range somewhere between 0.5 and 50g.
Light or LRF rods usually cast up to about 7g. If you are planning on fishing
for bass this will certainly not be enough. It might sound like it'll do but
most 3 or 4" stick baits weigh 7g to start with, add on a 3g jig
head and you're already casting 10g which is too much. Anything from 0.5-7g
rods are more suitable for 1-2" baits on small jig-heads up to
3g. Just remember plastic has weight too.
If you want a decent all rounder you can buy rods that will cast
anything from 3-28g. If you're coming from a beach
fishing perspective you'll know that an ounce is not much on
the beach-caster, on a lure rod it’s quite a bit. Anything heavier than
30g I've not had any experience with so can't comment on that.
Put it all together
If you're still with me and not too confused, you can start
to short-list a few rods that will serve you through your
apprenticeship. As I said somewhere amidst the waffle I promised to omit, an
8ft 5-28g (or there about) fast action rod would be
my recommendation for an experienced angler new
to salt-water lure fishing.
I'll put this post on the tackle page and add some information on
reels, terminal tackle and anything else I can think of in the near future.
Please feel free to send me a mail or comment if there is anything you would
like to add.
