Fly Fishing Rods - The Basic Choices
Your fly fishing rod is perhaps the most important piece of fly fishing gear that you will need to choose. Fly fishing may be a simple art, but it is also a precise one. When reading the riseform on a river trout, you will need a rod which you can depend on to cast a precise cast - not wide of your intended area, nor falling short. Another important thing you need to do know is that when you get in deep to the mountain streams, your fly fishing gear will not fail you and break down at that critical moment. Some may think that fly fishing in itself is simple in practice but even so, the world of fly fishing rod is not. The bamboo rods of your forebears are no more. When it comes to fly fishing rod engineering, the technology has exploded and there are now a plethora of choices you can choose from.
Graphite is what most rods today are made from. What you want is a rod that will precisely cast and one that controls your line once cast and lands your fish and often, when the fish are lionhearted fighters, in tough water conditions. Given that, how to choose?
Do you know what you are fishing?
Knowing what type of fish you are looking for is at the top of the list. When it is in pursuit of baitfish, a largemouth bass behaves differently than a brown trout. It fights differently as well. What will hold up for a small brooky will not do well for a lunker on the line.
Do you know what water you are fishing?
Remember that telling you a lot about the type of rod action you should be looking for is the water you fish. If you fish mostly smaller streams, and are in need of precise, gentler, shorter casts, you will want what's known as a full flex rod. With this type of action, you will also be allowed to have a better feel for the fish on your line. Just like with walleye fishing with spinning reels, often a light and sensitive feel will land the fish that you seek.
If you don't want, or you're budget won't allow you, to have several different rods for different purposes, then a mid-flex rod will provide adequate strength to fight tougher fish, or fish landed on tougher conditions on larger streams. You will have some sensitivity on the line because it is not a fast action or stiff rod but you can cast farther and more precisely than with a full flex rod. This type of fly fishing rod is the most popular one out there.
Finally, the way to go is the stiffer rod or the fast action rod whether it is under heavier wind, on tougher waters, on bigger rivers (or ocean fishing areas), or with tougher, bigger fish.
Graphite is what most rods today are made from. What you want is a rod that will precisely cast and one that controls your line once cast and lands your fish and often, when the fish are lionhearted fighters, in tough water conditions. Given that, how to choose?
Do you know what you are fishing?
Knowing what type of fish you are looking for is at the top of the list. When it is in pursuit of baitfish, a largemouth bass behaves differently than a brown trout. It fights differently as well. What will hold up for a small brooky will not do well for a lunker on the line.
Do you know what water you are fishing?
Remember that telling you a lot about the type of rod action you should be looking for is the water you fish. If you fish mostly smaller streams, and are in need of precise, gentler, shorter casts, you will want what's known as a full flex rod. With this type of action, you will also be allowed to have a better feel for the fish on your line. Just like with walleye fishing with spinning reels, often a light and sensitive feel will land the fish that you seek.
If you don't want, or you're budget won't allow you, to have several different rods for different purposes, then a mid-flex rod will provide adequate strength to fight tougher fish, or fish landed on tougher conditions on larger streams. You will have some sensitivity on the line because it is not a fast action or stiff rod but you can cast farther and more precisely than with a full flex rod. This type of fly fishing rod is the most popular one out there.
Finally, the way to go is the stiffer rod or the fast action rod whether it is under heavier wind, on tougher waters, on bigger rivers (or ocean fishing areas), or with tougher, bigger fish.
Custom Search