What is the Best Fishing Rod?
The time has come, you’ve been saving up, and now you’re ready to get that new fishing rod. So, you start looking at rods online and checking them in the store.
Many times this process can leave a fisherman feeling less confident than he was before he started. It raises that age-old question, what is the best fishing rod?
The real question is, what is the best fishing rod that will do what you want it to, at a price that you can afford? If you break this down even further, it separates into 2 questions.
How can I tell which rod will do what I need it to do?
and…..
Why such a price difference between rods?
Let’s take a look and tackle this question together. Our goal will be to find the best rod for our need at an affordable price. Best will refer to the value of the rod. Affordable is, of course, different for everyone. As for our need, I will use the saltwater model since I know it best. You can apply our findings to your style of fishing.
Calstar GFGR700ML Grafighter Conventional Offshore Rod
Calstar rods, such as their Grafighter series, are super high quality with a lifetime guarantee!
Let’s start with what we want the rod to do. In this case, we want a starter rod for deep sea fishing. We want a rod that-
- Will be able to handle rockfish, possibly up to 200 lbs. Most will be between 1 and 20 or so lbs.
- Will be able to handle tuna, yellowtail,
dorado, white sea bass, and other exotic species in the 10-100 lb class.
Notice the range of needs we have. A rockfish (actually black sea bass) up to 200lbs. Fast swimming tuna up to 100 lbs. But can also catch a 1-10 lb fish. Seeker makes an exceptional offshore rod, especially in their Super Seeker series.
Seeker Super Seeker SS 270-7′ Live Bait Rod
How Are Rods Classified?
Rods have many classifications but they can be broken down into two basic groups.
1. Power: The amount of weight it takes to get a full bend in the rod.
2. Action: What part of the rod the bend takes place in.
Each of these categories should be listed on the rod, and will be printed as follows:
Power
-Ultralight
-Light
-Medium
-Medium Heavy
-Heavy
-Extra Heavy
For our purposes, we should choose a rod with medium to medium heavy power. Ideally, it would read 25-70 lb line as well. We could settle for 25-50 lb line as well.
Next, we look for:
Action
-Fast
-Medium
-Slow
A slow action rod will bend from the handle to the tip, while a medium action rod will start to bend in the middle, and fast action means the rod will bend only 
near the tip. For our purpose, a medium action rod will do fine. Phenix manufactures excellent rods in both their Black Diamond and Axis series.
Phenix Black Diamond PHD760H Hybrid Rod
Rod Pricing
We’re making good progress on finding our rod. We know exactly what to look for in the store, or online market. We start locating just some rods, but the prices are jumping around. These are our considerations:
- High price usually means better guides, eyes, welds, wraps, material, handle, reel seat, etc.
- Higher pricing should include a lifetime warranty. This should be a make it or break it point if deciding on quality gear.
- Quality rods will last longer. They won’t be as apt to break when you need them the most, on a big fish!
Final Considerations
-Rod Length
-Blank material
-Rod weight
We would have wanted extra length if we were intending on using the rod to cast. The material can also play a part in recoil for casting/sensitivity and breaking point. Fiberglass rods can be hard to impossible to break and can support huge weight differences.
So long for now fellow anglers. I leave you, hopefully, better prepared to find that rod that fits YOU! As always please ask questions/offer feedback/leave comments. I’d like to hear from you. What is the best fishing rod? Wishing you well and until next time…..happy landings,
Geoff@FISHTFIGHT.COM
Hey Geoff,
Awesome post, this is a very controversial question and I must admit, I did thought that you’re gonna show your best recommended rod.
I’ve always been intrigued by fishing because all my life I grew up in a concrete jungle where there’s no lakes anywhere near the city. Do you have advice on how a beginner can start fishing in the city? I saw some people driving with fishing rods but I have no clue where they go to.
Thanks for the feedback. City fishing can be difficult, though not necessarily impossible. Of course city fishing is made easier if the city is located on some body of water whether it be lake, river, stream, or ocean. I’d pop into a local tackle store and ask a few questions. You could probably find out where those people were headed. As for a few high value rod suggestions? They’re coming very shortly. All the best. Geoff.
Hey Geoff,
The decision on selecting the best rod is nearly as important as choosing what car to buy..!! It is great that we have so many choices, and without the right advice it can be confusing. I have personally spent hours and hours trying to pick out the best rod. At the end of the day it sort of comes down to what you can afford. What do you think the next innovation is going to be in fishing rods ?
Cheers Matt
Hey Matt thanks for the comment. It does come down to what you can afford so it’s best to lay out all options within a certain price range, then go from there. So far, my site has a lot of individual product reviews that need to be brought together in this fashion. I’ll work on some articles in the future that group best of rods and reels by price range.
As for what’s coming next in the fishing rod industry? Who knows. Once you think the fishing industry has plateaued, R & D comes out with something superior. If you’re looking to catch a glimpse of what’s next, I suggest researching aerospace and avionics. It seems the fishing industry uses a lot of their technologies, once they know what they are. New technologies are always kept secret, so it takes a while for fishing to catch up. On the other hand, some of the scientists major fishing companies hire are very imaginative.
Geoff.