now this is a very vast topic, i’m not too sure where or how to start!
anyway, here’s a gist of it:
most rods today are made of graphite, composite and lastly fiberglass.
before buying a rod, u must determine which attribute of a rod u are looking for. some factors to consider are castability, fighting curve under load, lifting power, balance, aesthetics etc…
depending on the type of fishing u do, u may want to balance out these factors so that the features of the rod suits you purpose best.
castability depends on the lure-weight</font id=“red”> rating of the rod. if the rod says 5-15g, then that is the range of lure weights recommended for the rod. too light a lure may not load the rod properly, and cut short of the casting distance; while too heavy a lure may overload/stress the rod and may prematurely break the rod.
line rating</font id=“red”>: if a rod has a 10-20lb rating, it is meant for lines within that range, and drag settings withing that range only. a good estimate would be using a 15lb line to go with a rod rated 10-20lb.
rod rating</font id=“red”>: ultralight, light, medium, heavy and anywhere in between. some classify 2-5lb as UL, 4-10lb as light, 6-12 as medium, 8-17 as medium heavy, 10-20 as heavy… depends on manufacturers. gives u some idea what type of fishing the rod is actually meant for. for example, UL upto medium is good for PB casting, Medium heavy-heavy is suitable for toman casting.
action: </font id=“red”>
fast- maximal flexion near tip of rod
medium - maximal flexion lower than fast
slow- a more ‘parabolic’ flexion arc when under load
anywhere in between like extra fast, medium fast etc etc
depending on type of fishing u do, all actions have its usage. for crankbait and trolling fishing, i would prefer a slower action rod to enable a better hookup as it has more ‘give’ and the fish is able to bite onto the lure with better hookup rate.
for ‘flick’ casting which used more wristwork and less swinging of the rod, i’d prefer an extra fast rod.
graphite conten</font id=“red”>t:
IM6, IM7, IM8, IM9 etc…IM stand for intermediate modulus, which are commonly used in rod making. there are also others like High Modulus, and combinations called Multi-Modulus etc…
Modulus is the term referring to the elasticity of the graphite. It is the relationship between stress (the applied force per square inch) and strain (the amount of deformation that the force causes per square inch).
basically, a higher IM rating means the rod is stiffer. a higher numbered IM rod is usually more sensitive, light, better balanced, has a strong backbone yet brittle and may need more care compared to a lower IM rod. also, means more $$$.
so that’s a little on graphite rods. hope other sifus can share their opinions…
next we shall cover a bit on composites and fiberglass.
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