Choosing a Lure-Rod

by Brian Barwell

Choosing which rod or rods to buy to suit your own particular styles of lure fishing isn't always easy and it's a decision that usually faces everyone at one time or another, whether you're just starting lure fishing or are expanding your collection of rods to give you better scope. I always think of fishing as being a bit similar to golf (not that I play golf!) in that just as you need a different club for different shots, you need a different rod for different styles and techniques of lure fishing. But as always, cost is the most important factor and as most of us can't afford as many rods as those golfers seem to have clubs, it's usually a matter of making the best compromise in choosing a rod that if possible will do two or three different lure fishing jobs.

Which Lure Rod? Choices! Choices!
Choices — they can be very different depending on your own individual needs, styles of lure fishing and venues. Equally if you're planning to give lure fishing a go for the first time, or whether you're very long in the tooth as far as lure fishing goes (like me!), your most suitable rod choice will most likely be very different.

Lure fishing's such a vast subject covering salt and fresh water, boat and bank fishing, casting and trolling, deep, shallow, fast or slow-flowing waters, big lures and tiny — see what I mean and the problem about where to start?

Well, quite a few of the lads at the college where I teach, have taken up fishing so hopefully I have helped and encouraged them a bit. Some of them go Match fishing, other prefer carp fishing while others like going after pike and zander as there are some seriously big ones in our area.

Mistake
The pikers among them mainly use dead-baits although I do quite often lend out my rods to anyone who wants to have a go at lure fishing. I think that the first big mistake to avoid if you're a dead-bait piker who fancies a bit of lure fishing is not to even think about using the same rod! I made the same mistake once and I think that a couple of hours of casting lures with a 12 ft 2.5 lb Test Curve rod (I guess metrication will reach rods soon!) will be enough to put anyone off lure fishing for life, and yet I still read some so-called experts recommending this — all I can say is that they can't have done very many hours standing, or miles walking and lure casting at a stretch!

Fixed Spool Setup for Starters
If you're starting lure fishing I'd strongly suggest that you get a proper rod specifically designed for lure fishing, maybe 8 or 9 ft long and suitable for a fixed spool reel — and I've written some more detail in a separate article about this type of set-up.

[ A multiplier set-up is very good but it takes a tad longer to get used to casting with a multiplier — please also see my other artcile about lure-rods for multiplier reels. ]

To make the fixed spool reel and rod set-up feel as comfortable as possible when you're out fishing, it's a good idea to make sure that the reel you use, balances as well as possible with the rod — that way, you can cast for a lot longer without feeling as tired and get much better feel and sensitivity when it comes to bite detection.

Also I always suggest fishing with fairly strong lines for starters because that way you lose fewer lures and retrieve more snags! It's also a good plan to use weedless lures, spoons and spinnerbaits to reduce lure losses. With these modern braided and fusion lines, you can use 30 or even 50 lb B.S. lines that have very thin diameters, not like my old monos! Of course, you've always got to use a trace — I use mainly 30 lb stuff on rivers, a lot heavier when I'm trolling big lochs or using jerkbaits, and even heavier when I'm sea-fishing. As always, the main weak points in your tackle will be knots and trace wire end loops, so make sure that these are as tough as possible. Use the best knots e.g. Grinner or Palomar and always lubricate your line before pulling a knot tight.

Medium-weight Rods are the Biz for Basics
Naturally your lure-rod has to have a casting weight range roughly matching the lures you're going to use. For basic freshwater tackle and venues, middleweight lures are some of the best all-round ones for novices and enthusiasts alike — for example, I still reckon that Creek Chub Pikie and Shakespeare Big S plugs, Mepps spinners, Atlantic and Abu spoons are as good as ever .... and not forgetting spinnerbaits too of course.

I'm sure jerkbaits have their day but then again, you need completely different kind of rod for fishing with those mega-lures. At the other end of the scale, I have fished lightweight lures, sometimes with great success and, yet again, another type of rod is needed for that style — see what I mean?!

Your choice of lure rod has to be influenced by your own physical stature and strength too, and the type of venues that you're fishing — for example, do they have high banks or margins with tall reeds? All these things affect which length and type of rod is the optimum for you personally. For me personally, for casting from the bank on my local rivers and drains, I prefer to fish with middle-weight lures weighing from about 0.5 to 2 oz (14 to 56 gm) and to use a balanced fixed-spool setup with a rod of 8 or 9 ft. I use mainly 28 lb BS wire for my traces, and 30 lb BS braid for my main line.

Boats and Trolling
When I'm boat fishing and especially when I'm using bigger lures and trolling as well, I much prefer the direct contact and strength of a multiplier reel and matching rod with a nice trigger-grip underneath. There's no doubt that learning to cast with a fixed spool reel is much easier than with a multiplier but once you've half-mastered it, the multiplier is a very fine tool for the job in hand.

I've found that a shorter, stiffer and altogether tougher rod is a lot easier to handle if you're fishing from a boat, and also trolling, and jerkbaiting. When you're bringing that giant hard-fighting pike close enough to the boat to get the net under her, it's a whole lot easier if you've got a rod of around 6 ft, rather than an 8 or 9 footer.

Matching Rod and Lures
At this point, I make no apology for emphasising the obvious — of course it's very important to match the true casting weight capabilities of your rod to the lures that you're planning to use, and not just their weights, but also their diving depth, action, the depth of water that you're fishing in and the amount of line that you're likely to have out too! And of course the size of those fish that you're after! All these factors play an important part in your decision about which rod to go for. Most rods have specified lure weight casting range but this is usually only a rough guide — often you can, especially with the help of low diameter braids, cast lures weighing well below and well over the stated casting weight range, with extra care of course at the upper end.

Take Care with Braids!
At this points I'd just like to give a couple of tips about lure fishing with Braids and their sister Fusion lines, although I guess that many of you already know all about them — firstly, these braids have hardly any stretch and they don't give an inch especially when you're into a big snag! If you've got the drag on your reel set too tightly, it's only too easy to over-strain your rod, sometimes with dire consequences i.e. it snaps! I broke one of my rods just like that when I was first casting with braid — at the time and not knowing any better, I had my drag set at its usual tightness for monos, but as I put my rod behind me over my shoulder to cast, my lure got hooked up in a bush without my seeing or feeling it, and on the forward cast ..... BANG ! ... and my rod was in three pieces instead of its normal two!

But it's far from being all bad news with braids although they're not cheap — you can get phenomenal strength lines with relatively low diameters and when you're lure fishing, their low stretch is a big bonus because you can feel almost everything that's going on at the lure end of your tackle. This improves your strike responses tremendously resulting hopefully in more fish in the net!

Cost, After-sales, Replacements and Repairs
When you're considering which lure rod to spend your hard-earned money on, as well as looking at the cost and specification etc., I always think very carefully about the sort of After-sales service that I'm going to get i.e. will replacement top sections still be available after a couple of years or will a particular model and any spares be long gone? How easy will it be for me to get the rod repaired and what will it cost? How quickly will these things take? These are all factors which are important to me, as well as the initial cost of the rod and how it performs.

Within its warranty period you're probably OK with most lure rod suppliers; if you do get a problem due solely to a manufacturing defect, usually you'll get a fairly prompt replacement from the most reputable suppliers, and the very best of them keep matching top sections for several years! Of course, this is reflected in a higher initial cost, but it's certainly worth bearing in mind when you're making your important choice of your first or next lure rod.

Brian Barwell

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