AN AVID ANGLER ’ S
CHEAT SHEET
FOR ROD SELECTION
No need to hunt for Cliff ’ s Notes or sneak a cross-eyed peek at your fishing buddy ’ s gear to find a rod that passes the test . Draw from these insider tips for matching tackle to technique before you make your next rod purchase .
ROD POWER
ass fishing has
B waltzed us into the Golden Age of tackle development . Never before have we seen a more dogged hunt for lighter , stronger , more sensitive materials and components to sate the modern angler ’ s wants and needs . Never before has so much thought and energy gone into tackle design , especially that of fishing rods .
But nothing has contributed more to the staggering proliferation of rod options than the angler ’ s urge to finetune techniques .
Rather than fumble through rod racks and unending internet quest to find your next “ Mr . Right Rod ,” let this cheat sheet shortcut your hunt .
fundamental rules
First , understand the difference between “ power ” and “ action ,” two critical and often-confused terms . “ Power ” refers to the amount of force or pressure it takes to flex a rod . Rod manufacturers classify rods
By Mike Pehanich
ILLUSTRATIONS BY BRANDON ROWAN
as ultralight , light , mediumlight , medium , mediumheavy , heavy and , in some cases , extra heavy . Lure size and target species often dictate “ power ” selection .
“ Action ,” often the hairsplitting difference in tailoring rod to technique , refers to a rod ’ s taper and bend . A “ fast ” action rod tapers quickly into a firm , minimally yielding portion of the rod blank . An “ extra fast ” rod has even more rapid tip taper .
“ Moderate ” and “ slow ” action rods taper slowly into the butt section to form a broad arc or “ parabolic bend ” when flexed . Subdivided action categories like “ extra fast ,” “ moderatefast ” and “ moderate-slow ” further specialize rods .
“ As a general rule , the slower the application , the faster the action you want in the rod ,” says Justin Poe , director of fishing rods for Pure Fishing . “ That may seem a little counterintuitive , but with a slow application like dragging a worm or crawling a jig , you want faster action in the rod .”
Rods with faster action tend to offer better sensitivity and better feel for bait movement . Faster actions often enhance ability to read bottom content such as rock , gravel , vegetation , mud or brush , and to detect light strikes .
“ It ’ s rare to hop a jig or jump a worm and have the fish hit on the way up ,” Poe explains . “ Most of those hits come on a slack line .”
Fast action rods also translate the angler ’ s response more quickly to drive a hook home or steer a stubborn fish .
“ Reaction bait ” techniques refer to those employing baits that have built-in action and are worked fast or with near constant winding even with slow-roll or slow down retrieves . These techniques generally call for “ moderate ” action rods to allow the fish to take the lure fully ahead of the hook-set response and to absorb the bass ’ s jumps , runs and lunges .
frogging paradigm
No technique illustrates the importance of wellmatched tackle components
72 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | DECEMBER-JANUARY 2022