Rod Selection


Probably the biggest mistake that we see most fishermen make in tackle is their rod selection.

For most fishermen the dream of catching that monster world record fish is ever present and they base their rod purchase on catching that once in a lifetime fish, or maybe it’s the macho aspect of having a super strong rod.

So the idea is to go out and buy the strongest rod available.

You know the type, if the fishing is slow the rod will double as a pool cue.

This would be fine if you only caught the world record catfish on it, but for the average catfish it is just too stiff.

The right fishing rod is a tool that we use to play the fish until it is worn out to the point that we can put a net underneath it and put the fish in the boat.

Now here is the point that we need to decide exactly what type of rod that we actually need. If we are not fortunate enough to live near rivers and lakes that hold the possible world record blue or flathead catfish, then we will not need the big heavy action rods.

A fish less than 20 pounds would be hard pressed to even put a bend in a heavy action rod which results in a very unforgiving rod. What I mean by unforgiving is that while fighting a fish the fish pulls against the rod and the rod bends. Now during the fight the fish is trying its best to either break the line or dislodge the hook from its mouth and swim away free.

As a fisherman we are doing our best to keep the fish from accomplishing his goal.

With the proper sized rod the fish will bend the rod enough that when it rolls, or changes directions during the fight the rod has enough bend in it and keeps the line tight until we have time to reel up the slack that the fish has caused, resulting in forgiveness.

If the rod is too stiff, it will have very little bend and when the fish rolls or changes directions during the fight, the slack that occurs will not be taken out by the rod resulting in a slack or limp line and that gives the fish a split second to throw the hook resulting in a lost fish, resulting in unforgiving.

Also the stiff rod will give the fish the advantage of overstressing the line when it makes a quick run and possibly breaking the line. With a more flexible rod, the rod takes out the shock of the quick surge resulting in a fish in the boat instead of a fish with some of your valuable hardware hanging from its mouth.

Another disadvantage to having too stiff of a rod, is that in order to keep enough bend in the rod to make it forgiving, we are exerting too much force on the fish and eventually ripping the hook from the fish’s mouth. We have on many occasions caught a fish by the whisker or the skin of the fish’s lip. This would not have happened if we had been giving all we had just to put a bend in the rod.

So for the million dollar question, what action rod do you need? As a general rule of thumb, and this is how we select our rods, if we are anchor fishing and targeting fish over 20 pounds then we are going to be using a 7 to 8 foot Medium/Heavy rod.

Anchor fishing for fish less than 20 pounds, and we are using a 7 to 8 foot medium action rod. When suspend fishing, we fish with both a 7 to 8 foot Medium/Heavy and Medium action rods for fish over 20 pounds, and a 7 to 8 foot Medium action rod if fishing for fish less than 20 pounds.

Fish with the lighter action rod if you think you can get by with it, if the fish are biting light, they will feel less resistance from the lighter rod and hold on to the bait longer resulting in a higher percentage hook up rate.

It is far better to have a rod that is a little on the light side than to have one that is on the heavy side. With all this said, select the rod that will allow the fish you are targeting to wear itself out fighting the rod.

Let the rod do the work and use the reel to keep the line tight, this will result in more fish in the boat and less stories about the one that got away.

Daryl and Jason Masingale
Monster Rod Holders, Tangling With Catfish Rods, Team Catfish, Daiichi Hooks, APC Pro Staff