Fly Rods : A Buyers Guide to Fly Rods
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| The
Yellowstone River in Montana |
A fly rod is a vital
piece of fly fishing gear. A poor quality or wrong type
of
fly rod is a wonderful way to potentially ruin an otherwise
fine
day spent fly fishing. Having the right fly rod can make all the
difference between putting fish in the net and coming home skunked.
As any angler who has
ventured into a fly shop recently knows, there is such a staggering
amount of fly rods on the market today. Due to the wide variety
of fly rods available, as well as the high-technology terminology
that often goes into describing them, simply purchasing a fly
rod can be a daunting and even an unpleasant task. Worse yet,
getting
the wrong type of fly rod for the type
of fly fishing you do is an absolutely wonderful way to turn
new anglers off on the sport due to
casting difficulties and quickly declining bank accounts.
All of this is unfortunate,
since figuring out what kind of fly rod to get is pretty straight
forward once you're familiar with the basics of fly rods (such as
what they do and how they do it) and you know what you will be fishing
for and where you will be doing it.
Purpose of the Fly Rod
To begin,
let's just step back a minute to remember exactly what the purpose
of a fly
rod is. A fly rod has several purposes. These purposes are:
- Casting
- A fly rod allows for the fly line to be casted
with power and accuracy. A good fly rod, in combination
with good fly casting skills, also
allows
the
fly and fly
line
to be placed
on the water in such a way so as to not spook all the fish into
scurrying into cover.
- Line Control
- Once you have your fly out on the water and it is happily floating
away, the next function of a fly rod is to provide for line control.
A fly rod allows you to have much control over the line that is
out on the water - at least once you figure out how to do it.
Unlike a spin rod that has ultra-light line, the weight of the
fly line allows for this type of line control with a fly rod.
- Striking
and Landing Fish - Just like a spin rod, a fly rod is used
to both set the hook on a fish and to fight and land the fish.
As such, the fly rod needs to be flexible and strong enough to
bend, sometimes under great pressure, without breaking or snapping.
So, with the above purposes
of a fly rod in mind, we've prepared a number of articles that
dive
into the murky and high-tech world of fly rods. To begin learning
more about fly rods, simply select one of the articles below.
If you know nothing
about fly rods, it is recommended that you just click on the
"next page" link on the bottom of each page
to follow these articles in order. Doing so will allow new
anglers to learn about fly rods without getting confused! Go
to the Next Page now.
Fly Rod Action and Flex
Articles
These articles explain
what fly rod action and fly rod flex is, and help you determine
what type
of "action" or "flex" you want in a fly rod.
Other Fly Rod Considerations
- Fly
Rod Weight : Determining the right fly rod weight can be tricky.
Read this article to take some of the mystery out of it.
- Fly
Rod Types : Explores the differences between graphite, fiberglass
and bamboo fly rods.
- Fly
Rod Length : How
long of a fly rod should you get? Actually, the choice is pretty
simple.
Next Page : Fly Rod Action Explained
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of Page
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