Fishing Equipment Unravelled - The Fishing Pole

Over the years I have always struggled with buying my father a gift, whether for his birthday, fathers day or even as a Christmas gift. My father is retired and fishing is his passion, and even though a fishing rod would make an excellent choice, shopping for one has been nothing short of overwhelming and confusing. I've done some research and here's what to look for when deciding on which fishing rod to by.

• The first thing to do is determine the type of Fishing rod you need to get. There are many types from small ultra-light fishing rods, to massive fishing rods designed for deep sea use. It depends on the type of fishing that will be done. In this case one size down NOT fit all.  If its in lakes then choose a spinning fishing rod. If this is for rivers then perhaps a fly fishing rod is in order. For trolling in a boat there are trolling rods. And of course, for the ocean there are deep sea fishing rods. Others include ice fishing rods and surf fishing rods, for ice and beach fishing respectively.
• Determine the 'power' rating you need. This rating is generally determined by type of fishing the fishing rod is rated for and are available from ultra-light all the way to ultra-heavy. You won't find an ultra-heavy fly fishing rod for example.
• The action rating needs to be considered next, this is basically how much the fishing rod bends and returns to the neutral position. This is sometimes referred to as faster or slower. The material and construction of the fishing rod determine it's action.
• Fishing rods are also rated by line weight. Basically this determines the size of the fish it's designed to catch. Just be aware that deep sea fishing for example requires a heavier line weight than lake fishing.

So you see, once you know the type of fishing that will be done, and perhaps the size of fish that will be caught you can pretty easily choose the perfect fishing rod for that type of fishing.

Whatever you do, do not buy one type of fishing rod and expect to sucessfully use it in all fishing situations, it just doesn't work that way!