It’s needless to mention the importance of fly fishing rod to a fisher like you and me. But choosing the right fly rods for sale- this is no less important as well. Because of not having the right rod in hand, you can’t even cast as far or accurately as possible.
So, we have decided to do something epic. Apart from reviewing some of the top picks of fly fishing rods, we went through the mine of all of the necessary information that a fisherman should know about a fly rod. And demonstrated them in this article.
So, what this article would do is- serving with all of the necessary basis of a fly fishing rod. It will kickstart your experience to become an experienced fisher.
Hope you’ll enjoy the article.
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Parts of A Fly Fishing Rods
Before getting into any else technical details, we think having an overview of different parts of a fly fishing rods is important.
Therefore, here you go-
| Name of the Part | What Does It Do? |
|---|---|
| Butt Cap | It’s the bottom of the rod. Made of cork or rubber. You might press into your stomach while fighting with a fish. |
| The Handle | Also known as a grip. Here is the place where you hold and carry the entire rod. |
| Reel Seat | Here is the place where you can place the reel. Some rods come up with an additional ring for the same purpose. |
| Hook Keeper | This thing is also known as keeper ring. It’s an important part, as it allows you to hook the hook. As a benefit, you don't have to impale yourself while you are on the go. |
| The Butt | The butt is the thick part at the user’s end of the rod. Usually, it’s the part closest to the handle. |
| The Ferrule | This is interesting. If your rod is likely to bend into one or two parts, the joint where it happens is called the Ferrule. Typically, collapsible rods like this have one or two ferrules. |
| Butt Guide | The butt guide is a part of the butt, which the closest part of the rod to the handle. As this part is located at the thickest part(butt) of the rod, it’s called the butt guide. |
| The Guide | There is another guide apart from the butt guide. There are the rings that go all the war down to the rod. They line down the rod to it’s tip. For a better fishing experience, the more guides you’ll have, the better result you get. |
| Windings | The windings are the part for which the guides stay attached to the rod. It’s nothing but a string which gets wound around the entire foot of the guide. To protect it, a glossy enamel painting is done over it. |
| The Tip | As you already know, it’s the uppermost part of the rod. Also, it’s the thinnest and most flexible part of the rod. |
| Tip Top | The name almost expresses it quite well. It's the guide at the very top of the entire rod. Although it's the smaller part of the body, it's the most important ones. But you've to be quite careful as this little one is pretty braking-prone. |
Getting Familiar with A Fly Fishing Rod
If you are the first time with the fly fishing rod, you need to know something common terms and uses of the rod. Maybe you are familiar with best fishing rods but its something different that. So you have to learn.
1. About Fly Fishing Rod
Fly fishing rod, which is also known as a fly fishing pole, is nothing but a simple stick made of bamboo, synthetic materials, plastic, glass fiber or wood. There is a line which ends in a hook which is also called an angle.
But you know how insanely simple was the ancient rods?
Well, in the early days of fishing, fishing rods were not as sophisticated than what it is now. So far we remember, the first models of rods were like hazel shots of about 6 feet in length. It had a horsehair line and the same length fixed to the tip. With a hook whipped at the end of the line, fishers used to wait until a fish broke it off. Also, it’s worth mentioning that, there were not many variations in fly rods, bait rods, and saltwater rods.
A lot happened to the rods during the next two centuries. Because of the variation of demands in different fishing stations, many features were added to rods and some got removed from it. Same goes for the fly rods as well. Today, we have hundreds of manufacturers making different models of rods, which offer a wide variety of features and specifications.
2. Manufacturers
We dug way deeper than anytime else, but to be frank, we couldn’t find the manufacturers of the very first professional fishing rods.
However, we could come up with the popular brands in 2017 and recent few years. I think that would be more helpful for you as well.
Here are the names of today’s most popular manufacturers who produce quality fly rods for sale- G. Loomis, St. Croix, Abu Garcia, Fenwick, Shimano, Daiwa, and Berkley.
3. A Short List of Popular Features
We know that every fisherman has his list of preferred features in his favorite fly rods for sale. But we’ve researched about what’s common in popular brands of rods. And finally, we got it done.
So these are the features of a fishing rod that mad this device insanely popular-
- The sturdy and flexible design which is easy to operate.
- A comfortable grip on the handle which also provides less effort to pull the line off.
- High level of sensitivity to catch even the lightest of the bites.
- Good control over the reel and accurate positioning.
- Rods are taking a least of drag which can reduce the risk of breaking the line.
- Very importantly, a good price-quality ratio.
Some Common Terms about Fly Fishing Rods
As you have opted yourself in, why be unfamiliar with the technical terms and specs? For you, we’ve listed the most common terms that professionals use a fly fishing rod.
Have a look-
1. Power
Also known as the Rod Weight or Power Value.
The power of the rod indicates that what types of fishing can be done with that particular rod. They are of several classes- Ultra-heavy, heavy, medium-heavy, medium,medium-light and light.
2. Actions
The action is an indicator of the returning speed of the rod. What I mean is, with fast action rod you the rod can quickly return to its initial position. While with a slow-action rod, it’ll take time. Sometimes ‘Action’ is also an indicator of the bending curve.
They can be slow, medium, fast and anything in between.
3. Tapering and Bending Curve
What is the main function of a fishing rod?
Not sure about that, but one of the most important tasks is to deliver a certain about of resistance by bending the rod. Just mentioned a while ago, Bending curve or Tapering value indicates how fast it is its action. The more tapering it has, the more resistance it can provide in fishing.
4. Line Weight
While classifying different kinds of fishing rods, Line weight is also another parament that doffers from models to models.
Line weight is nothing but the measurement of weight that a rod can support. Usually, the line weight is described in pounds.
5. Lure Weight
Lure or hook is another part of the rod and to be real; it’s no less important than any other parts. According to the weight of the lure a rod can support, there are some classes of rods. The term is called the Lure weight.
6. Number of Pieces
In modern ages, there are two sorts of rods according to the number of parts it can break into- Collapsible and Non-collapsible.
Although, rods which are of one piece, give the most natural feel of fishing. But rods which can break into two or three pieces have some more advantages too. With such a rod in hands, carrying it around while you’re on the go won’t be a problem anymore.
Buyer’s Guide of a Fly Rods for Sale
Like you already know, using an imperfect rod for a particular fishing situation can lead into hardness to put anything in your live well. So, it’s important to know all of the buying factors before you even go to the market.
Therefore, in this section of today’s article, we’ve come up with a complete buying guideline with necessary tips and suggestions-
• The Material
While ancient rods were made only of bamboo, we have a lot of smart alternatives of fly rods materials in 2017. In recent few years, rods are being made of fiberglass, graphite or with the combination of both.
The fiberglass rods are heavier in weight and much more flexible as well. Even, according to the manufacturers, some of them are virtually unbreakable. On the other hands, graphite fly rods are lighter and more sensitive to cast. Usually, to detect light bites of fishes, graphite rods perform well.
• The Length
It’s common sense that the length and strength of rods vary a lot on the purpose of fishing. Even the type of water you are fishing in may also effect on the length of rods.
Typically, good fly rods for sale are of lengths of 4 feet to 14 feet. They are grouped into classes. As an example- a bass fishing rods are likely to be from 6 to 8 feet.
The general rule to find what length you ned is- Longer rods cast more distant Fisher and the shorter ones use to cast short distances.
• The Casting Power
The power is meant to be an indicator of how much the rods can bend while on function. Sometimes, the power is also referred as the Taper or Weight. The more the power is, the more the rod is likely to bend.
Choosing the perfect combination of power and action is important for a quality fishing session. While making the decision, just think about what kind of fishes you are aimed at while fishing. If you’re up to the trout or pan fishers, smaller pieces of rods will do. Because they will bend more and let you detect a bite more easily. On the contrary, for fishes like jigs, frogs or top water fishes, heavier rods with more casting power is required.
• The Handle
Don’t let go to think about your comfort to hold and operate the rod while buying one of the fly rods for sale.
Usually, most rods today come with either a cork handle or a foam handle. Sometimes, I noticed the combination of both in some special models.
But What’s the Benefit of Both?
Well, with a cork handle rod, it’s easy to grip, and the friction will be more. And with a foam handle, you’ll feel more comfortable the friction between your hands and the rod handle will be less. They’re likely to be slippery after a couple of hours of use.
Rod handles also vary on lengths. You can choose from longer and shorter handles. The benefit of longer ones is, you can use both of your hands to hold it. On the other hands, shorter ones are great for roll fishing, as you’ll be using another hand to roll the reel.
Overall Speech
It’s not true that with the best fly rods for sale, you’ll be a quality fisherman. It takes way more than just a cool rod to gain fishing skills. But it’s also true a good rod gives a kickstart to your first lesson. And if you’re an experienced angler, I guess you already understand the importance of a quality rod already.
Hope this article have helped you with all technical details and buying advice of a fishing rod.
Have anything in mind about fishing rods? We’ll be glad if you share that in the comment section.
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