How do you choose one rod from another? Let's assume for the moment that you are going down to your local discount store, such as WalMart. There you see a large selection to pick from. Your first decision is will the rod be spinning or baitcasting. What length do you want? What power do you require? And what type of grip do you prefer? How many line guides does the rod have? Does the rod have the proper action? And finally what presentation will you use the rod for primarily? You say to yourself: "So what does all this have to do with buying a rod for bassfishing?"
Guess what! Everything, that's right I said everything. Because all of these questions relate to how a rod will react when fished. Now I have observed people looking at different rods in a store, with no idea as to what they are looking at or for. They seem to pick a rod more for how it looks, rather than how it might fish. So let's examine the different types of rods used for Bassfishing today.
The first rod can be used for several applications: Blade, Spoon,or a soft Stickbait rod. This rod should be made of standard or intermediate Modulus graphite. It should be a six foot casting rod with a fast action, in the medium to heavy power range. It should have six eyes in addition to the tip. Of course it would have your choice of grip material.
The next rod we will look at is the "Heavy Cover" rod: Primarily used for flipping and pitching. This rod is made from High Modulus graphite such as IM6. It is a seven foot casting rod with fast to extra fast action and heavy power. It goes without saying that any quality rod will have a guide for each foot of length plus the tip.
What's next, Oh yea the Carolina Rig rod: This is also a High Modulus Rod six foot six inches to seven feet long. It can be either casting or spinning with fast action and medium to heavy power.
Then there is the "Crankbait" or "Balsa wood Stickbait" rod: This rod is ideally made of fiberglass or at least a composite. Just ask David Fritts what he uses. It is either a casting or spinning rod, six foot six inches to seven feet long. It has a moderate action with medium power.
Now comes the good ole "Topwater" rod: This also is a fiberglass or composite rod. The reason being is that fiberglass and composites are softer and therefore more giving when you set the hook. And who hasn't jerked the lure out of a fish's mouth before? The Topwater rod is a five foot six inch to six foot casting rod of moderate action with medium power.
