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Articles

Buying the right rod.

The fishing rod, in my opinion, is the primary piece of tackle. We feel the whole fishing experience through it. The rod literally connects us to this wonderful pursuit that is angling. As the fishing rod is so important, you would have thought that when buying rods, we would go to great lengths to make sure that the purchase is exactly right for the job we intend to do with it. Unfortunately the opportunity to do this is very seldom available. The lengths I would go to if purchasing a rod are quite long, mainly because I’m a fussy bugger, but also because I’m a professional rod maker.

In my experience most of us start the buying process of a rod, in the same way we buy any other product, with our eyes. What the hell is Mark on about you ask, well let me explain. Products, be they cars or mobile phones, are designed in part to catch our eye. Which car would you prefer to go out in on a hot date, an Aston/ Ferrari, or an Austin Metro? (Sorry to all Metro driver, but you get my drift.) If the design of the mobile phone looks fantastic, it will out sell the uglier, often better functioned mobile phone ten to one. The product must always have function to stand up in the later stages of the buying process, but form starts it off, and without this, function seldom gets a look in. Companies know this and spend millions on getting there brand image right for their market place. Get it wrong and they could be out of business. I can think of quite a few items of fishing tackle, from major companies that have great function, but hideous form, and they hardly sell any of them. If they changed the form they would sell like hot cakes.

For this example of the buying process, our happy angler is out to buy a pair of 12' 2½ lb. test curve carp rods. He sees an ad that catches his eye (see what I mean), “I like the look of them” so he has a read of the ad and finds that there is a 12' 2½ lb. test curve in the range, and in his budget. Later on he chats to a mate at the lake side and mentions the rods he’s thinking of buying. “Yes they do look tasty don’t they, but I also like the look of XYZ rods” replies his mate. (see what I mean again) So off to the tackle shop.
The assistant hand our happy fisherman the rod he asked about. After looking it over and wobbling it about a bit in the limited room of the well-stocked tackle shop, he hands over the cash to the pair of rods, everyone's happy. What does our happy fisherman really know about his new rods? Very little, and will he still be happy when he uses them for the first time?

The problem with buying fishing rods is that there a tool for a job and by that, should be bought on their function firstly and their form secondly. This is completely opposite to how most of us start the buying process. Buying a rod should be a bit like having a suit made for you. The tailor firstly asks questions on what the suit is to be used for (wedding/ business/ etc), then measures you, and then shows you materials and talks about styles. Function first and then form.

In the ideal world, buying a rod would be like going to the bank in that Larger ad on TV. If you don’t know the one I’m on about, it’s probably the best ad in the world. A beautiful assistant would ask you a few simple questions, and from your answers would accurately recommend rods that will do just what you’ve ask for.
Next you would be asked to choose a ‘look’ for your new rods from a large range of options.

a) The colour of the rod blank and wraps you would like.
b) The type of rings you prefer.
c) The reel seat and handle configuration.
d) Any other personal add-ons, such as monogramming.

Then the wonderful assistant would disappear through a door and a few seconds later would re-appear with your perfect rods. She would than explain to you about the Spine

The Spine
The Spine article goes into detail on this subject, but to simplify, it’s the way the rod wishes to bend (the Preferred Plane of Bending, or the Plane of Least Resistance). Take a tip section of a rod, stand it vertically upright on a carpeted floor (so not to damage the section). Place the palm of your hand on the tip ring and push down gently to bend to rod. The rod will bend according to its Spine position. This, you will notice, is most likely not along the line the rings are wrapped.
Most, if not all factory rod makers don’t assemble their rods along the Spine, and for their justifiable reasons. Custom rod makers and builders however can use the Spine to their advantage, and with good effect.

Back to our world. What questions could you ask yourself to help make sure you buy the right rods?

1) What length?
Length is normally 12'. (remember that we are still talking about carp rods) For a dedicated close range rod 11' is fine, and for a rod dedicated to long range work, 13' is good. Personal choice really.

2) What action do you prefer?
We all have an idea of what type of rod action we like, so we're half way there. Bend some rods you're interested in at the shop, preferably with a reel and line and someone to assist you. Do it outside if you can, otherwise you might start knocking things off shelves in the shop, and you will not be popular.
The majority of carp rods come in a medium action (good all rounders). Let me explain. Action describes the way the rod bends. A rod that bends all the way through from tip to butt is called ‘Through Action’ and rods that only bend at the top of the tip section are described as ‘Ultra Fast’. Some manufactures describe their rod in a range of interpretable way, such as ‘Authoritative’, ‘Players Action‘, ‘Dominant’. your guess is as good as mine on these. I describe carp and other coarse rod actions in 4 main ways.

a) Through Action
b) Medium Action
c) Fast Action
d) Ultra Fast Action

If I was talking about fly rods then a Medium Fast action would exist aswell, but the vast majority of coarse rods will come under these 4 types of action.

There are no real wrongs and rights in choice of action, this is personal, but certain actions lend themselves better to a job than others. You wouldn’t want to pick up 210 yds. of line on a take (from a bait boat drop) using a Through Action rod, this would most definitely feel like blancmange. Ultra fast rods excel here. Margin fishing with a Fast Action rod will need some very speedy clutch and reel control, and a lot of luck to stop hook pulls, were a Through Action rod will just absorb the fight.

Don’t think that just because the rod has a Fast Action that you will be able to hit the horizon, it’s a lot more complex than that. Tip speed, timing, casting style, trajectory, compression, lead weight and shape, line, reel, luck, etc, etc. That’s an article in itself. In expert hand yes, in mortal hands like mine, no. I would cast further using a Medium Action rod than a fast one, but with practice.

3) What test curve?
The test curve tells you the amount of weight in lbs. (as a guide) needed to bend the tip section to an angle of 90º to the butt.
A 2½ lbs. test curve Through Action rod is nearing maximam playing/casting pressure when bent to the 90º point. A 2½ lbs. test curve Fast Action rod is no where near its maximum playing/casting pressure when bent to the 90º point.
Test curve is only of a use as a power guide when you know the true action of the rod. So not all rods in the same test curve have the same power. Through actions will be less powerful than faster action rods in the same test curves. Dr Stephen Harrison writes on this matter in his site. Test curve ratings are only a rough guide and not very accurate.

4) What type of look?
After you have decided on the Length, Action, and Test Curve, you will probably get what you're given regarding the look of the rod. Factory rod makers would have to make virtually thousands of different models, and tackle shops would have to carry ridiculous levels of stock to offer a choice like this. A factory rod maker would have to make approximately 107,000 model variants to equal my workshop's range, and that’s just the carp rods.
Custom rod makers and builders have a big advantage here. The Length, Action, and Test Curve, denote the choice of blank, and then you can decide on the look of the rod. So with the custom rod maker and builder you can nearly have the deal world. The beautiful assistant will probably be unshaven, covered in cork dust and glue, (if I’m anything to go by) and would disappear through a door and a week later re-appears with your perfect rods, built on the Spine.

Once you have bought your new rods, take them to a quite spot on the lake, as not to annoy anyone fishing, and cast them at range. Start off with light weights and work your way up to heavy weights The rods will not compress with too light a weight and over compress with too heavy a weight. This is a bit of trial and error. You will now know the ideal weight your new rods like to cast. This is a very useful thing to know, as it will keep things consistent and make accurate placement of you hook bait easier at range. If you use PVA bags or the method, make up one at home and accurately weight it with the kitchen scales. You know the ideal casting weight for your rods, so adjust the amount of bait or lead weight accordingly. (Remember minimum good bolt effect weight) Take into consideration extra wind resistance for the bag or method ball and you should be confident and able to hit the long range target more consistently.

To summarise.
Pick a Length, decide on an Action, choose a Test Curve. If your buying from a shop bend the rod to find the Action and check how close the Spine line is to the line the rings have been wrapped on. Settle for what look you're given from the factory rods, or get a custom rod maker/ builder to put together the look you want on the type of blank you have decided on. Ask it to by built on the Spine if possible, and pray that the custom rod maker/ builder look just like the wonderful, beautiful assistant in the ideal world.

Tight Lines and good bending.