Fishing Rods: Types And Applications

Most people think of a fishing rod as being fairly straightforward, and to some extent that is an accurate idea. A fishing rod is, at its most basic, an implement for catching fish: a casting tool fitted with line, line guides and a reel for line stowage. However, beyond this basic definition, there is a wide range of rod variation. The style of rod being used depends on the type of fishing being performed. A fly rod, for example, would be completely useless in an ice fishing situation.


Fishing rods can vary in length from two to twenty-four feet, with the longer rods providing a greater mechanical advantage for casting. Rods are appraised according to a set specifications, which includes power, the weight of the rod; action, the rod's responsiveness to bending force and the speed with which it returns to the neutral position; line weight, the optimal weight of fishing line the rod can handle; lure weight, the weight of lure the rod is designed to support; and number of pieces, whether or not a rod may be dismantled into two or more pieces.
Aside from these more general specifications, fishing rods are designed for and named after certain fishing situations and styles. One of the most common is the fly rod. These are thin, flexible and designed to cast a lightweight artificial fly. Most modern fly rods are made of fiberglass, carbon/graphite or graphite/boron composites. Split bamboo fly rods are also available and often considered the most beautiful and traditional, but this type of fly rod also tends to be the most brittle.
Spin casting rods, which are quite common, are designed to hold a spin casting reel mounted above the handle. A spin casting reel uses one or two pickup pins and a metal cup to wind the line on the spool. This method reduces line twist and snare problems. Spin casting rods usually have small eyes (metal holes that the line is fed through along the pole) and a forefinger grip trigger.
Trolling rods are commonly used by amateur fishermen. The act of trolling refers to casting a baited line over the side of a moving boat and allowing the motion to pull the bait through the water. This style of fishing does not involve a great deal of skill and is thus quite common. Trolling rods are generally long, heavily built and possessing of relatively fast action. They are appropriate to use when going after fish such as salmon or steelhead.
Ultra-light rods are most often used when fishing for smaller species. However, some expert fishermen will use them when going after larger fish, as these rods create more of a challenge than their heavier counterparts. Ultra-light rods are relatively short, about five feet on average, and more limber than normal rods.
Surf rods are similar to spin casting rods, but these rods have longer grip handles intended for two-handed casting techniques. They are quite long, between ten and fourteen feet, in order to enable the caster to get the bait beyond the breaking surf of the shore. These rods also tend to be of heavy construction, as they must be able to cast heavy lures that will hold to the bottom in rough water.

by Victor Epand

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New Black Marlin Fishery in Fiji

Aboard Bite Me, we occasionally head well offshore and successfully target Blue Marlin on 80lb class bent butt chair tackle but looking for a grander black along Kadavu island's Great Astrolabe Barrier reef was going to be a whole new experience for us.

Having spent years trolling small light tackle bait rigs on the outer reef slopes for wahoo and sailfish, we had few encounters with big blacks but on one occasion, we did meet a monster that showed us they were there....just not interested in our small rigs. Fishing one afternoon from the smaller inshore boat, we trolled a large skip bait on 15kg gear that was taken by the largest fish I have ever seen, I huge black marlin. Somewhat reluctantly I picked up the rod that was now looking pathetically flimsy in the face of this fish and struck. The black didn't even notice. She cruised up the prop wash, spat the bait and idled under the boat. We all gawped over the side and saw she was actually larger than the 16ft boat. She was there or thereabouts, a grander and the most extraordinary sight, right under our noses.

What's more, the resort's divers have occasionally returned with stories of huge marlin encounters...and the pictures to prove it. One of my colleagues skippering the charterboat Wai Tadra tagged a black on the Kadavu seamount estimated at 950lbs. There is no doubt that large Black Marlin cruise the Astrolabe Reef but targeting and catching one was another matter.

Peter's interest gave us the perfect opportunity to give it a serious try.

We didn't muck around. We flew in Glen Gardener, a friend and professional deckie from Sydney Australia who normally works the deck leadering marlin aboard the charterboat 'Bounty Hunter'.

Glen brought with him and extra 18" flying gaff and two of Bounty Hunter's 130lb chair rods.

We fished 'Cairns style' in that we spent the mornings catching and rigging bait, the moved to trolling big lures around lunch time. Lures such as MBT's 22"Buddha and Pakula's big Smokin Joe.

Early afternoon, the time we most expected a bite, we switched to just one skip-bait and one swimming bait on the 130s

The weather frustrated our efforts for the first few days and we were confined to working the lee side of the island. Fishing so close to the reef, we expected heavy tackle losses to wahoo, mackerel and barracuda but Interestingly, with such big lures and baits out we found that the normal razor gang that just destroy skirts and baits generally tended to shy away. What's more, although bites were infrequent, they were always from super-sized fish. I was astonished when we landed a 100 pound Yellowfin Tuna that smashed a Lumo Smokin Joe just 30 yards from dry reef. Super-sizing the lures was weeding out the small fry and finding big fish where we didn't expect them.

Finally the wind eased. We woke to a calm overcast dawn, caught bait, carefully rigged our offerings, checked all our top-shots, re-checked all our drag settings and headed out to our preferred fishing grounds that were just 10 minutes away, right in front of the resort. It didn't take long. At 12:55 the skip-bait on the left rigger was engulfed in a ball of spray as a billfish left a hole in the wake.

Everybody sprang into action. Peter grabbed the howling outfit and made for the chair as the fish swam away with the circle hook rigged bait. When all was ready, the drag was eased up, the circle hook lodged in the corner of the fish's jaw and 300 pounds of angry black marlin took to the air.

I have seen and fought many blue marlin but this was my first black and the differences were amazing. Blues eat hard and fast then pick a direction and go go go with no intention of ever stopping. If you do manage to stop one, they then often sound on you and it can turn into a slug-fest. By all accounts, Blacks are totally different and this fish fought like a typical black. They charge around, mostly on or just under the surface with no clear battle plan and love nothing better than to put on a show for the photographers. They are as acrobatic as a Pacific Sailfish and as strong as an angry bull. What an amazing fish, and right here under our noses.

It took us one hour and ten minutes to bring the leader to hand. We had her in close fairly quickly but she was so green and therefore a serious danger to the crew, that we eased off and took our time. At 320lbs she smashed the existing M-130 Fiji National Record and Peter decided to weigh the fish. The first ever documented Kadavu Great Astrolabe Reef black that I know of tipped the scales just shy of 320lbs. Hardly a grander but what a start!

It is our intention to take every opportunity to continue fishing for Kadavu island's Black marlin and to tag and release enough to paint a clear picture of their habits and seasons.

Given the sightings by divers and our own experiences of huge Black marlin here, our aim is to find Fiji's first Grander.

Sometimes its fun being a charterboat skipper.....

The Gear:

* Penn International 130
* 130lb IGFA Class Greenspot Dacron
* 300 yard 130lb Torture IGFA mono top-shot with 6ft plaited double to Yo-Zuri HD Ball Bearing snap swivel
* 18ft 600lb Momoi Marlin Hard leader to 16/0 Mustad 39960BL Tuna Circle Demon hook.
* Baits - Shark Mackerel (Scad), Narrow Barred (Spanish) Mackerel

by Adrian Watt

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Have Fun Fishing With Your Kids

Often epoch as adults, we want to assign our hobbies and pastimes with our children. However, it can be fractious to elect when that activity is appropriate. Children have shorter interest spans that make it tough to assess when they are ready for certain equipment. Fishing is a joint hobby of many people around the world and many people are eager to launch their children to fishing the jiffy they can keep a fishing rod. Fishing is a tutorial in patience for children and a structured way to train them a sport that involves precision and security.

When you take your result fishing, the most important thing to keep in brains is their shelter. What kind of fishing are you demanding to institute? Are you thinking about a day of bottom fishing? Does quay fishing outfit your requests? Are you untaken to go all out and take your teen for a deep-sea fishing excursion?

Regardless of what you settle is best, you should have the major safety essentials with you always. A first aid kit is mandatory because, when a kid is involved accidents will ensue. Children tend to get poking, scratched, and acid, so you should to be arranged. If you are open out into the sea and away from the seashore, make constant that you have life jackets and make positive that your offspring is wearisome one even he or she has no goal of getting into the water. Keep in brains your toddler's abilities when it comes to swim. If you do not think that they are a spicy swimmer, you may want to keep your cruiser docked.

Make indeed to buy and sell your spawn's tackle box. A product's first tackle box should be small and lightweight. There is nothing thorny about the filling of a beginner's tackle box. All the teenager wishes are some pre-united hooks, some bobbers, a couple of weights, swivels, and small clippers or fingernail clippers to cut their line. A tackle box is a fingerprint for many who behold it as a special expression. Let your result see the basics so that the can body their own to represent themselves one-day.

Make effective to control by example when you take your outcome fishing. Teach them how to keep the line taut so that they will be able to answer well if a fish bites their line. As shortly as your daughter feels the sting, coach them how to set the hook. Tug back on the rod firmly to set the hook in the fish's lip. Take the time with your outcome to let them learn techniques like "live the fish." Part of the fun of fishing is the struggle between the man and the fish, so let your youngster have the entire experience and not just a part one.

When you start fishing to your product, you have certain advantages to lessons them at a younger slightly than adult age. Younger product had a better absorption value with a need to steep up as much information as they can. Take the time that you and your youngster are division to educate them about stick and announce regulations and fishing for food as disparate to pleasure. If your newborn decides that they want to let the fish that you ensnare go, make steady that you know the right way to discharge. Cleaning the fish can moreover make a child vomit or ask when the next trip is open to be, so use discretion in regards to age when preparing your clutch for feast.

There will be good days and bad days when fishing with your kids. Kids have a leaning to not eavesdrop, become uninterested swiftly or reduction snoozing at inopportune times. Patience is the key to win children out for a day of fishing. Repetition would also make your child more comfortable with the undivided procedure. Regardless of whether a fish is fixed or not, take the time to join with your child while with fishing as a free.

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Catfish fishing At Night

I love catfish fishing at night but if you don't know what you are doing it can be a very long and very boring night. Most catfish anglers will tell you that the best times to fish for catfish are at dusk and dawn and a few will know that there is another 1 -2 hour period in the middle of the night. The truth is you can catch catfish anytime day or night if you know what you are doing.
There are many reasons I like to fish at night. All the pleasure boaters depart the waters and on a calm night the water becomes clear and flat allowing you to see even the gentlest of bites. There is also very little competition for the good spots at night making it much easier to locate the fish. What bothers most anglers about night fishing are those long boring periods when the fish are not active.
I use an old secret that really isn't a secret at all and there are no boring periods. I use a light which first draws the zooplankton and then the bait fish as they come to feed on the zooplankton. You know what comes next is the game fish and then the fun begins. I am positive you have seen this food chain in action before even if you didn't know what you were seeing or why. Ask yourself why the best fishing on a dock is always the place where the lights are shining on the water or why you see fish in the water where your boat lights are. It is not chance they are drawn to the light.
If you are going to be catfish fishing at night you can purchase crappie lights at just about any tackle shop. These will help but are not strong enough to get the results I like. I paid good money for the one I have but it is worth. Remember you get what you pay for.

( by Douglas Burns )

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