Rods and reels, can a person have too many?
I don’t think so but then again I’m not your normal person. I probably think about fishing at least 100 times a day, even while at my normal 9-5 I constantly think about ways to compare work subjects with fishing ones.
In this post I’ll talk about the basics of rods and reels, their general uses and applications. I’ll start out with the reels then move onto the rods.
Reels
Spinning Reels, vary in size from the TinyLite up to the Big Saltwater Saltiga BlastReel. Hold the line, open the bail, as your casting let loose of the line.
These are easy reels to master and are widely used in a variety of applications. They work very well any time a light line presentation is needed, be it for trout fishing as well as split shotting for bass the spinning reel is the go to reel for these applications.
Baitcasters are designed for small light weight finesse type lures to the big ocean reels. These are the most difficult to master.
Professional Over run, aka backlash, this is when the spool continues to spin but your lure stops and it causes a big Birds Nest in your line that can be a real bear to try and pick out. Most of the time if you do manage to pick it out because the line had been kinked it will weaken the line.
A Baitcast Reel is generally used for heavier type lures or baits but with technology today they make them where you can cast ultra light lures into the wind with out any backlash, you will however pay a premium price for these reels.
BaitCasters are used mostly for bass fishing as well as inshore applications. If your deep sea fishing I would recommend getting a level wind reel, which is similar in looks to a baitcaster.
Spincast Reels are basically trouble free. With a spincast you push and hold the button, swing your arm and release the button, just don’t release the rod!
These reels are probably the easiest ones for kids just learning to fish to use. Chances are that a lot of you started out with this type of reel.
I remember when I was a kid the little black Zebco 202 was my first reel. Actually my first 2 reels were the 202’s followed quickly by the Zebco 33. Let me explain.
When I first got the 202 I went fishing at a pond in a city park, Randolph Park in Tucson Arizona to be exact. In this pond they had some bass and big ones at that.
I remember catching several nice bass one that weighed over 6 pounds. The 6 pound bass just gutted my drag gears, they were plastic.
Anyhow, I returned the reel to Kmart and they gave me another one just like it. The following weekend the exact same thing happened with a bass that weighed over 7 pounds.
When I returned that one they gave me a refund and I moved up to the Zebco 33.This reel is a great reel that will last many years with just minor service. I know mine served me well for quite a few years.
If you take kids fishing and give them a spincast reel to use chances are that you will be able to fish as well. The kids will enjoy fishing because like I said, these reels are pretty much trouble free. Think about it for a second, almost all of the kid novelty type rod and reel setups are the spin cast reels.
Then you’ve got your Fly Cast Reels. These outfits are used primarily for casting hand tied bug and minnow imitations.
Of course these lures basically consist of a hook covered with some kind of dressing so they tend to be very light. Therefore you actually use the weight of the line to cast your offering.
In the past these outfits were basically exclusive to trout fishermen but now days they are commonly used by bass fishermen as well as deep sea fishermen.
Rods
Of course for each different type of reel there is a different type of rod. Well, that’s not 100% true …
The Bait Cast and Spin cast rods are pretty much interchangeable, the only real difference being that the Spin Cast Rods usually have just a pistol grip whereas the Bait Cast Rods do have a pistol grip they also have quite a wide variety of different handle lengths.
Bottom line, the longer the handle the more leverage it will provide On these type of rods the line eye guide are all small. From the closest to the reel to the rod tip they are all small, or at least allot smaller than the ones you will find on a Spinning Rod The reason for this is because the line comes off the reel in pretty much a straight line. The reel seat on these type of rods differs from those on a spinning rod.
Next you have your Spinning Rods. These will usually have a straight handle. The line eye guides will start out big and progressively work down to small at the tip. The reasoning behind this is because on a spinning reel the line comes off in a loop so the first eye guide it meets should be bigger allowing less friction which in turn allows for longer casts. As the guides get progressively smaller it is straightening out the line.
Fly Rods are very long with a very light action. Because your using light line or leader with these rigs your rod plays a very important part in fighting out the fish. You will never be able to horse a fish with these rigs because of their light action.
As far as how long of a rod do you need, that all personal preference. There are several factors to take into consideration, what type of fishing are you going to be doing, what kind of lures are you going to be using and of course what feels comfortable to you personally. This would hold true for any type of rod you are considering.
As far as which action rod you need, again, it depends on what your fishing with and for. Of course you wouldn’t want to use an Ultra Light rod when flipping jigs into cat tails and by the same rule you wouldn’t want to use a heavy action Flipping stick for trout fishing. Look at the rod and the line and lure weight ratings listed on it and purchase accordingly.
Sure, there are a bunch of specialty rods on the market, just in the bass market alone, a person could easily go to the poor house. There are everything from Drop shot, spinner bait, crank bait, flipping, the list is endless. If you don’t have a lot of cash or just don’t want to have a whole mess of rods a good general purpose rod would probably be a 6-6.6 foot medium action one. With that action rod you can fish for just about all species of fish, from trout and pan fish to bass and bigger.
As far as the price goes, you can buy your basic discount store brand or get into the custom made rods. Custom made rods usually are a better quality rod in how they are made as well as the supplies used, they do come at a premium price though.Then again you can build your own. I won’t go into much detail here because there is a lot of information needed to perfect this. Ican say that I don’t have much knowledge in this department. If however your interested in building your own rods a must read is Tom Kirkman’s Rod Building Guide: Fly, Spinning, Casting, Trolling . This book is widely accepted as one of the authorities, covering all the basics of rod building. Of course there are a lot more books out there but this one is a great starting point. One of the nicest things about building your own rod is just knowing that you made it yourself puts a smile on your face. |
Well, I believe that I have at least touched on the basics of rods and reels. Hopefully you gained some knowledge reading this.
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
[tags]Rods and Reels, Baitcast Reels, Spinning Reels, Fly Cast Reels[/tags]
