| We can break
down the characteristics for the purposes of this article into:
Action, Power, Graphite, the types of Guides, Rod Length, Number
of Pieces and Type of Rod. Lets look at each one of these and within
each one talk about the attributes I use for my light tackle striper
fishing.
Action
You can think about action in terms of how far down the rod bends
when you put pressure on the rod tip. Ratings differ among manufacturers,
but in general the rating or scale goes: extra fast, fast, moderate,
and slow. An extra fast rod will generally only bend in the top
fifth of the rod and as you move down the scale, more of the rod
will bend, where at the bottom of the scale youll find that a
slow action rod will start to bend all the way down in the lower
third of the rod.
For my light
tackle striped bass fishing I use extra fast and fast action rods,
with more of my rods falling in the fast action category. In order
to produce a cast with a light tackle rod you are using the weight
of the lure and the release of the energy from the bend in the
end of the rod to project your lure forward. If you are casting
a light lure you rely more on the release of the energy in the
bend of your rod to project the lure forward to your target. You
want a light action rod so it bends easier and further down the
rod length to produce enough energy for a good distance cast.
Generally the striped bass lures I cast are heavier lures, ranging
from 3/8th oz. up to 3 oz. Because of this I do not want too much
bend in the rod, but enough to generate the energy needed for
good length casts.
Action ratings vary from manufacturer to manufacturer so make
sure to try a rod out by making some casts with it to make sure
it feels good for your casting technique coupled with the size/weight
lures you will be casting. If you cast with a lot of power, a
faster action rod will be better for you. If you like to put less
power into your casts a slower action rod will be better for you.
If you are going to be fishing shallow water and casting lighter
lures you will probably want a little slower action rod. If you
are going to be generally fishing deeper water with heavier lures
you are going to want as faster action rod because the weight
of the lure will put more bend in your rod.
Power
This refers to the rods lifting power and is related to the line
and lure weights that the rod is rated. The power scale generally
goes from heavy, medium heavy, medium, light, to ultra light.
Usually following the power designation will come the line weight
that the rod is rated (10lb-15lb test etc). It is important to
keep the line weight within the constraints of the rating on the
rod. Following that will come the lure weight range. It is a good
general rule to follow those guidelines, although sometimes I
find myself cheating up or down a bit, which simply requires an
adjustment in my casts to accommodate the different weight. Note
that these line weight designations refer to mono fishing line.
For my light
tackle striped bass fishing I like heavy to medium heavy rods.
While I use a few manufactures, the majority of my striper rods
are made by G Loomis. I like their feel. They are one of the only
manufacturers that make a variety of rods in three pieces, which
I need when I travel. Within their power rating system I find
myself using rods with the medium heavy rating more often then
not. In their rating system these rods are generally rated for
10-17lb test and ?-1oz lures. Note that the line and lure ratings
vary depending on length of the rod along with the power designation
and type of graphite, so its important to always read the ratings
on the rod and not generalize based on ratings alone.
Graphite
Most modern fishing rods, and the ones we will be talking about
for light tackle striped bass fishing, are made from graphite
and often you will see ratings such as IM6, IM7, and IM8. These
ratings originated from a company called the Hexcel Corporation
that is known in the industry as one of the larger graphite rod
blank manufacturers. They use this these designations to describe
the make up of the graphite used in a rod. Unfortunately, these
ratings are not standardized between manufacturers so you cannot
conclude that an IM7 graphite rod made by St. Croix is better
then an IM6 graphite rod made by G Loomis. However, what you can
conclude is that an IM8 graphite rod is better then an IM7 graphite
rod when looking at rods made by one manufacturer. Generally what
better means is that the actual material used to make the rod
is better. Higher ratings mean better material and with that come
generally a lighter (as in weight), and a more sensitive rod.
The G Loomis
rods I use are comparable to IM7 and IM8. I use a lot of their
GLX series, which is made from different types of material than
IM6,7,8 designation. The Berkley Series One rods that I use for
some of my spinning rods are all IM7 graphite along with a few
of the custom rods that I have had built. If you are just getting
into the light tackle sport do not be hesitant to purchase a cheaper
priced IM6 rod. It will generally not be as sensitive, but it
will get you in the game and do a fine job of casting. If you
like the light tackle game you can easily move up into the more
expensive rods. As you gain more experience, you will be able
to tell the difference in sensitivity and construction.
A word of caution, graphite is a great conductor of electricity.
If you find yourself fishing in a thunderstorm or see lighting
anywhere near you, make sure to store your rods in the lowest
available location. If your rods start buzzing or even glowing
get to shore immediately, tie up your boat and get off it. If
you are onshore, drop your rods and leave them alone until the
storm passes. This sounds funny at first, but coming from someone
who has experienced buzzing rods in his boat that have zapped
me, its the real McCoy.
Guides
Guides are important because they are what your line has to slide
through to get out of your reel and down the length of your rod
to the water. Guides have a metal frame that makes up its backbone
and is designed to be wrapped onto your rod. The inner circle
of the guide is made up of a ceramic. Both the make up of the
metal frame and make up of the ceramic vary. Since we are fishing
in saltwater you want some sort of non-corrosive metal for the
frame.
The make up of the ceramic runs the spectrum from silicon carbide
being the best to anconite, hardloy and aluminum oxide. The difference
between these different materials is how smooth the ceramic is.
The smoother it is the easier your line goes out of your guides
and the easier it is to cast.
I generally do not change the guides on my light tackle rods and
you shouldnt need to either as long as you pick a rod that is
built and designed for saltwater. Most manufacturers will put
decent quality guides on that will serve you fine. If you decide
to have a custom rod made or make one yourself then is time to
get some nice silicon carbide guides.
Rod Lengths
I use three rod lengths in my light tackle fishing on the Chesapeake
Bay, six foot, six foot six inches and seven foot. If there is
one all around rod length that I use the most it is a six-six.
I use six-foot rod for close quarter areas such as drifting in
and around pilings or other closely located structure. I use a
six foot six inch rod as an all around length. I will use it when
in close quarters, but where I have a little more room to work,
when I am jigging straight down or on a steep slope. Also at times
I use it in open water long casting situations where I am working
back from a shoreline, casting to structure located a medium distance
from the boat or when working breaking fish.
I use seven-foot
rods when working open water where I want or need to make long
casts such as to breaking fish. The longer lever gives you more
leverage to make long casts and a good long fighting section.
Number
of Pieces
Rods come in different number of pieces; one piece, two piece,
three and in some cases with light tackle rods, four pieces. If
you are not going to be traveling on a plane and have room in
your car or truck, a one-piece rod is your best choice. It allows
for a smooth transition from the butt of the rod to the tip without
any interruptions. Its not that multi piece rods have less strength,
however I believe you lose some sensitivity because of the necessity
to make the pieces larger to fit into one another. As a basic
rule of thumb, get the least amount of pieces you need for the
travel you do to your fishing destinations.
Types of
Rods
When talking about light tackle rods we are generally talking
about two types of rods, spinning rods and baitcasting rods. These
two different types of rods require using different types of reels,
which we cover in our next part in the series when we talk about
reels. One difference we can note here is that in general bait
casters have shorter butt sections than spinning rods, but in
either case you can choose different length butts to accommodate
your casting style and comfort. I prefer having shorter butt lengths
on my six and six-six rods and a littler longer butt sections
on my seven-foot rods to balance the weight of the rod when it
is in my hand.
Light Tackle
Rod Manufacturers
Some manufacturers to look at for light tackle striped bass rods:
G Loomis, they make a series of different rods, but one series
stands out as great performance for the money is their Green Water
series. Personally I use their GLX series, which is mostly dictated
by the fact that over time this series has offered two and three
pieces.
St. Croix makes a good line of light tackle rods that are priced
well for their performances and craftsmanship; their Avid series
is a good line to check out which I have used in the past. Another
brand that I use is Berkley and their Series One rods; they are
designed for largemouth bass fishing, but I like their sensitivity
for what they call their IM7 graphite. The one thing you have
to make sure you do is wash off your guides well from the saltwater,
because they are designed for freshwater. One other brand that
I have used and like is Shimanos Inshore series of rods in their
Clarus and Teramar lines. I hope this provides you a framework
to work off of when choosing a light tackle rod for your striped
bass fishing.
Next in this light tackle fishing article series well take a look
at reels.
Brandon White is Chief Angler at Lateral Line, Inc., a technical
year-round fishing clothing company located in Easton MD. He also
is a Maryland Governor appointed member of the Sport Fish Advisory
Commission of Maryland. You can learn more about Brandon and Lateral
Line on the web at: http://www.LateralLineCo.com
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