Wouldn’t it be pleasant, once anyway, to go out on your favorite stream accompanied by your caddy carrying the rod bag with rods for every purpose all set up for you? You study the lie (of the fish, not the ball) and you call for the “35-Footer” or the wind being strong in your face you ask for the “Number three power rod.” You do or you don’t succeed with that fish and you move a few feet to the next lie or pocket. A bit impractical isn’t it? But you know it’s done almost that way in some other countries. Inasmuch as our personal frugality and our aversion to inconvenience prohibits a dozen or so rods with us on the stream at one time we are compelled, therefore, to choose one that fits us or fits the water we’re fishing.

Choose the rod for your kind of activity whether it be a nine foot power rod or a seven foot wand for delicate fly casting. With the exception of fishermen who wade waist deep and who must use a somewhat longer rod to get their line out and keep it up, the tendency is for shorter and lighter rods. The average at this time is the 71/2 and 8-foot rods being the most popular. In graphite rods the weight, has no bearing on its quality or efficiency, neither is it a criterion of what the rod can do. “Action” is the important factor to look for. A graphite rod weighing 21/2 or 3 ounces, correctly balanced with reel and line, may feel lighter than a 4-ounce soft rod incorrectly balanced. » Read more: The Trout Fisherman’s Equipment – Part 2