Best Coarse Fishing Rod? Get An All Rounder or Twin Tip…
Is there anything better than getting to your favorite fishing spot on a crisp summer morning, mist gently rising from the water, setting up your fishing rod while still half asleep, anticipating the day ahead? The magical sound of line being stripped from the spool, and the plop of bait and float as they hit the water… the first cast of the day is special!
Best all round coarse fishing rod…
You require a 10ft plus, lightweight carbon fiber, twin tip or all-rounder rod. These modulus rods come with interchangeable tips, and combine good casting power and balanced action. Multiple tip choice provides a wide variety of fishing options.
As you may of noticed, I’m an old school angler who loves coarse fishing on the float, with a good old rod and reel. There’s been an explosion of people moving to pole fishing, and don’t get me wrong it can be fun, but for me anyway it doesn’t quite trigger the primeval “hunter gatherer” part of my brain, the very reason I enjoy fishing so much.
Owning a good “all in one” coarse fishing rod is a fundamental piece of equipment for every angler. It doesn’t matter if your a complete beginner or a seasoned pro, a decent all rounder rod is a must! They are very versatile, allowing you fish almost any swim, cast short and long, test different fishing methods and will always catch fish.
Coarse fishing rods range widely in price, material and size, thus making your buying decision all that more difficult. So, in this article I’m going to answer several of the most commonly asked questions on coarse fishing rods, hopefully providing you all the information required to choose the best all round coarse rod. Let’s begin…
What is the best starter fishing rod?
You want to start your fishing adventure with a good all-rounder fishing rod, to allow you to dabble in as many fishing styles and techniques as possible. No, your not going to find a rod to cover all eventualities, but there are some on the market that cover a wide range of possible fishing scenarios. Here are my top 5 recommendations…
I’d recommend starting out with, what is called a “twin tip” rod, a multipurpose fishing rod that has interchangeable tips. These tips have different tensile strengths, the lighter one is ideal for floater fishing, and catch fish of all sizes, while the heavier tip is used when distance casting is required or when fishing for monster carp and catfish.
You should look for a 10 – 12ft carbon fiber rod in the 6 – 8lb weight range. This combination will provide the biggest versatility in a starter rod, and is a good bench mark for you to learn what type of fishing you enjoy the most, and which area you want to concentrate on. Once you’ve learnt from such a middle of the road rod, the specs for your next fishing rod should become more apparent.
How to choose a fishing rod for beginners?
Let me start by saying, never be tempted by these cheap Christmas cracker rods, that have mickey mouse reels, thick lines and gigantic floats sets. Take the time and effort to visit your local “reputable” tackle shop. It’s these guy’s business to know their stuff, and will happily point you in the right direction.
Yes, you can save money buying a coarse fishing rod online, and if you absolutely must, make sure you choose a well known brand, one that has a good reputation in producing quality fishing gear, and not some no name chinese replica. A quality rod will last you years, saving money in the long run. This also applies to your spinner reel selection.
When purchasing a new fishing rod, especially as a beginner, you need to understand the technical jargon, and the components that make up a rod. So, let’s break down a fishing rods parts in to easy to understand sections, and why they are important to rod selection.
Fishing rod components:
1. Butt
The butt or stock of your fishing rod is the thicker section below the reel connection line. The butts length generally depends on the style of fishing your taking part in. Ultra light fishing rods will have a short butt to help with one-handed control over small fish, and carp or catfish fishing rods will have a longer butt to allow better fulcrum levering when playing lager fish.
2. Handle
The handle is the protective layer over the butt. These are designed for either sensitivity or comfort. Handles wrapped in leather or thin rubber allow anglers to feel every tug and direction change of the fish, and are often better for landing fish, but for long fishing sessions a thick foam handle will be less tiring. You can gets rods with a good compromise handle, somewhere in between the two.
3. Rod tip
The rod tip is the super flexible and springy thin end of your rod, the opposite end to the but and handle. Rod tips often have flashes of brightly colored strips to help you spot subtle bites when fishing. Very useful when ledgering for example. On all round rods, the tip is often interchangeable to suit various fishing techniques and fish specie targets.
You will also find the tip ring on your rod tip. This is the final eyelet on your coarse fishing rod, and often get worn out. On good quality rods you can the tip ring are easily replaced if broken by slowly heating up the glue holding it in place, removing the broken one, and gluing a new one in position.
4. Keeper ring
The keeper ring is usually found on fly and lure rods, but can also be a handy feature on coarse fishing rods. It’s a simple metal loop that you fasten your hook to when not fishing or moving pegs. This prevents wayward hooks getting snagged on clothing or surrounding foliage. However, if a rod doesn’t have a keeper ring, you can always hook the bottom line ring (eye) or even your handle for the same safety measure.
5. Action
The action of a fishing rod pertains to way it reacts and bends when playing fish and whilst casting. There are two main categories when considering the action of a rod… “tip action” and “through action”. Tip action rods, as the name suggests offer a lot of bend towards the top third of the rod, while the other two thirds are much more rigid.
Tip action rods offer a high sensitivity when you have a fish on the line and very accurate when casting. Through action rods bend and flex all the way down, and this softer action does a lot of the hard work for you, making them much more suitable for angling beginners.
6. Casting weight
The casting weight of a rod is predetermined by the manufacturer, and the casting rating is a set minimum and maximum weight the rod optimally works within, when fully rigged. The weight of your bait, sinkers, lures, hooks and floats, anything attached to the line, needs to be within this operating window.
7. Line weight
The line weight of a fishing rod indicates which line breaking strength is best suited to the rod. A 10 – 12lb rod is designed to fish with a 10 – 12lb mainline. Anything less than this and the power of the rod can snap the line when casting of playing fish, any higher than this and you run the risk of snapping the rod. This isn’t an indication of the weight of fish your able to catch, but the recommended line weight for the rod.
8. Length & weight
The length and weight of a coarse fishing rod are dependable of the species and waters your fishing. You wouldn’t want to use a 6 – 8 rod on a wide river or huge lake, and nor would you use a 10 – 12 rod on a tiny pond or stream. The length of the rod is determined by how convenient it’s size is for the swim your fishing, it’s as simple as that.
The weight of the rod also depends on the style of fishing your doing. A light weight one would be dragged out of a rod rest when catching bigger species, and a heavy rod would lack the touch and feel require for delicate lure fishing, plus would be quite tiring with any fishing technique that requires you to hold the rod for an extended length of time.
9. Sections
How many sections a rod breaks down in to, is often an overlooked and important aspect of rod selection. Rod that come in 2 – 4 sections can be quickly erected and can even be rigged at home ready for fishing. The down side is they do take up more storage space and are impractical for anglers who enjoy a bit of stalking.
Fishing rods that come in 6 – 10 sections, also known as travel rods are very compact and easy to store. They are ideal for people who go fishing on their bike or while backpacking. Yes, they lack the strength and power of more conventional rods, but are fantastic if you want to explore every nook and cranny of a water.
Then there’s telescopic rods. They have gain a bad reputation over the years, and even though the build quality has greatly improved, the very fact they have more moving parts than other sectional rods, means they still tend to break more often. Not something I’d spend money on, but can be a great way for kids to wet a line.
10. Material
Fishing rods can be made from a vast array of materials, from old school bamboo to industrial grade steel. However, the majority of today’s coarse fishing rods are manufactured from either plastic, graphite, fiberglass or carbon fiber.
The strongest and most light weight substance, is the ultra modern carbon fiber option. We have made great strides in understanding and building products from this space age compound, and is an ideal material for most styles of fishing rod.
What is the best float fishing rod?
This depend on how deep your pockets are and experience level. However, as a fishing novice I’d suggest going with a all-in-one combination rod like the TF Gear Banshee V2. This 12ft carbon rod is ideal for beginners, and comes with 3 interchangeable quiver tips, allowing you to fish for carp, barbel, pike, perch, roach, rudd, bream, tench, dace, chub, eels, zander and catfish.
The TF Gear Banshee V2 is an excellent starter rod and has you covered for waggler, swim feeder, method feeder and many more styles of fishing. It’s also a very sensitive rod, letting you feel even the slightest bite through you finger tips. A 3 section, light weight rod, able to cast 60ft with ease and a generous 12 month guarantee, perfect to get you out fishing for the first time.
Difference between a match rod and float rod?
There is no difference what so ever. Match rods are are designed to cast floats and wagglers. It’s easy to get confused with the names of fishing equipment because it seem everything has several name, yet mean the same thing. Match rod, is the description for a fast action, quick pick up and very sensitive competition rod, which in essence are light weight float rods.
Match rod, spinner rod, coarse fishing rod, floater rod, feeder rod and waggler rod are all pretty much the same style of fishing rod. It’s only your preferred interpretation and what style of fishing your doing that connects a certain name to them. This why I mainly say “coarse fishing rod”, as that is an umbrella term for all of the above.
How do you set up a coarse fishing rod?
Setting up your rod may seem complicated at first, but don’t worry, it’s pretty straight forward. I have provided coarse rod rigging instructions in a previous post. Just follow the guide and you’ll be ready to fish in no time. One thing I will add, is just give it a go!
The process can be broken down in to very simple steps… Connect sections of rod, fit the reel, connect line to reel, thread line through hoops running down the rod, attach float to line, tie hook to end of line, add a few sinkers to the line, bait the hook and catch fish.
Types of fishing rods
Even though were specifically talking about coarse fishing rods in this article, it’s always good to to understand what different style of fishing rod there are, and what they are used for. It maybe the case, that you decide to concentrate on a specialized form of fishing and target a narrow band of fish species. In this case you’ll need to right rod for job.
Fishing is not only a pleasant past time, but also a highly competitive sport (if you want to go that route) and as with any sport, having the right equipment is paramount. Fishing rods are designed to excel for specific types of fishing, and location, method and breed of fish all play their part in correct rod selection. Let’s take a look at the different UK styles of fishing rod.
List of different types of fishing rod:
1. Float Rods
Float rods, also known as match rods are the mostly widely used style of fishing rod in the UK. Usually float rods are 10ft or longer, offer a good balance of casting distance, touch and feel when hooking fish, plus powerful enough to land bigger sized fish species. Constructed from predominantly carbon fiber or fiber glass, they produce a smooth arch like action and plenty of resistance when under tension.
2. All-rounders
An all round fishing rod are for anglers who enjoy swapping from ledgering to floater (to name a few) fishing tactics at the drop of a hat. The ability to change the tips makes them highly adaptable and these twin tip rods versatility makes them ideal for fishing beginners. Whether your fishing still waters or a river an all round rod is up for the challenge, and can be configured for most angling situations.
3. Poles
Fishing poles are all the rage right now! This is mainly down to the precision of bait presentation, you can drop the bait right on the fishes nose, helping anglers catch more fish. Pole don’t have conventional reels like spinner rods, instead relying different strength elasticated cord to play fish. Poles are great for small ponds and canals, but wouldn’t be suited for large lakes and rivers, as lack the reach required.
4. Lure rods
Lure rods are often shorter than their counterparts at just 9 – 10ft, and an ultra light nine foot 20 – 40g spinning rod is ideal for lure fishing. They are also adaptable and can be used for waggler fishing and even ledgering. These light weight rods are excellent to take with you when traveling, backpacking and cycling. Most people associate lure fishing with pike, but they catch several species including perch, chub, trout, zander and even hungry carp.
5. Fly fishing rods
No, you don’t need to have a double-barreled name or be wealthy for fly fishing, that posh stigma has been quashed in recent years, and you can pick up a decent fly fishing rod for a similar price to other styles. A good starting point for a game fishing beginner would be an all-rounder fly rod in the six or seven weight category, and would let you fish rivers, streams and a variety of other still waters.
6. Sea fishing rod
The selection of a sea fishing rod depends on the style of sea fishing your doing, but as a beginner it’s highly advised to start out fishing harbours, piers and breakwaters, these offer deep water and allow you to fish in close. Any fishing rod able to cast 2 – 6oz weights and 10ft or longer is suitable for this type of sea fishing, it’s only when you jump on a boat or want to cast huge distances from shore you require a more specialized rod.
Fishing rod weight chart
The various rod weights, line breaking strain and cast weight can be very confusing for a novice angler, and I’m not sure anyone fully understands it perfectly. However, there are some easy to follow rules to abide by, which help prevent broken rods and snapped lines. This simple casting weight chart also includes the line size and rod rating to give you a quick overview. (Basic weight chart for fishing rods)
Conclusion
So, what have we deduced, Watson? People new to fishing should op for an all-in-one style fishing rod that covers several different fishing methods, and the adaptability offer the angler the best possible way to learn multiple techniques and catch almost any species of fish. Grab yourself a good all rounder rod, and wet a line.
Fisherman (or women) with more experience will all ready have a good idea of what form of fishing they enjoy the most and where they want concentrate their efforts. Once at this stage you can then purchase specialized fishing gear for the selected style, and start perfecting your skill set and tackle for your chosen area of expertise.
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