How do I choose an inshore spinning rod?

A spinning rod is something at the quality of which your pleasure of enjoying the leisure time of fishing  depends. That’s why it should be perfect in all its aspects.

Hence, if you wondering How do I choose an inshore spinning rod? and want to get the best return of your money then follow these steps to pick the best inshore spinning rod for you.

• Check if the guides are straight or not. Because it is important to be straight otherwise when the force is applied by either side then there is a chance of it being broken.
• The second thing to take care of is that you have to make sure that your reel seat is aligned with the first guide and the first guide is pointing directly towards it. If it isn’t that way, you can adjust it correctly after seating the reel at its place and then pointing it to the first guide. If the reel doesn’t fit the right way, you should go to the store and ask for a new one.
• Some defective or second-hand rods may have their reel seats off-centered. Keep in mind to check carefully that the reel seat of your rod is centered.
• An easy to notice but very important thing is that all your rod’s guides should be straight. Not even a single one should be bent because it will not handle any pressure is exerted.
• There should not be any gap between the guides and the rod or any crack. Not even a small one is bearable as it can weaken the road or make it rust from inside if water gets into the rod. Also, the guide inserts should be there because sometimes they aren’t. You can a cotton swab to check if there’s any crack on the rod.
• Ensure that the rod has no chips or something like a crack on it.
• Rods stored in a bent position for a long while can cause it to take that shape permanently. You have to make sure it is straight.

How do I choose an inshore spinning rod?

If this is your first time buying a fishing rod you should determine whether you want a fly rod or a spin rod, then it may be best to purchase a starter kit that includes everything that would be needed for inshore fishing, if you are looking for all rounder then a medium power rod will be your best choice. This will allow you to get used to the feel of different rods before investing in a more professional one.

A fishing rod, if simply put, is a device that is used to catch the fish by attaching a bait or lure at the end of the line. Line is stored on a reel attached to the rod going through the guides.

Back in the days, when there were not many choices for fishing rods, people used to use a simple rod or a stick, a thin rope or line tied at the end of the rod, and a bait to lure the fish attached to a hook at the end of the line.

Choosing the right inshore spinning rod is an important decision for any angler. There are many factors to consider when choosing the best rod for you, including how much you fish, where you fish, what species of fish you are targeting and how much money you want to spend.

But thanks to the advancements in technology, now we have different types of rods for different types of usage. The spinning rods are used for sport fishing. There are two main types of fishing rods, casting rod, and spinning rod. The main function of both the rods is just to catch the fish.

But the casting rod is used when you just want to throw the bait into the water body and lure the fish to the bait and then pull it out.

While the spinning rod is used when you want to throw the bait into the water body in a certain angling position by keeping it at a certain water level with the help of the bobbers. And then pull the bait out to trick the fish so that it catches the bait and gets stuck in the hook.

What’s the right inshore spinning rod length?

There are fishing rods available in different lengths, but the most used lengths of the rods are 6 feet long to 9 feet long.

If you want accuracy in casting the bait into the water at a certain pinpoint, then keep this in mind, “The shorter the rod length, the more the accurate throw will it be”. If we dig deep into this aspect of the rods, then let’s see a table of fishing rods’ lengths according to their use.

Fishing rod type	Length range	Most used length	Fishing Applications
Spinning rod	4’5″ to 9’5″	6′ to 7’5″	Casting lures, bottom fishing, bobber fishing, live lining, surf fishing
Baitcasting rod	5’5″ to 9′	6’5″ to 8′	Casting lures or rigs
Fly fishing rod	6′ to 10′	7′ to 9′	Fly fishing
Surfcasting rod	9′ to 14′	10′ to 12′	Surf fishing
Boat rod	5′ to 7′	6′ to 6’6″	Boat fishing
Trolling rod	8′ to 14′	9′ to 11′	Trolling
Ice fishing rod	20″ to 48″	28″ to 36″	Ice fishing

Which rod material should I choose?

The rod material plays a huge part in your fishing success. It determines how your rod is going to support you while catching the fish by bending to a certain level. But some rods bend too much and still they don’t break while some are so rigid that they cannot handle excessive pressure hence they break.

This happens because of their material that is of three types mainly. There are fiberglass rods, graphite rods, and third one is composite rods. All three types have different benefits and disadvantages for many reasons.

Let’s take a clear look at each material type and see what they got for us.

1. Fiberglass Rods

Fiberglass is a solid and enduring material for fishing rods. This material has been there for ages as it is very easy to make and use. Also, it has been proven to be a good choice for anglers as they want to never their target areas.

But fiberglass’s strong nature makes it a bit heavier than the others and that can be a problem if you have to stay calm and hold the rod for longer.

With that being said, it becomes very difficult to detect the lighter bites of the fish due to its less feedback to the user. Though it is pretty affordable still, you don’t want to be holding a heavy rod for a long period and still not get any clear feedback from the rod.

2. Graphite Rods

Graphite rods came into use in the 1970s. These are giving a very tough time to their counterparts since their launch. Since fiberglass is heavy, that’s why the graphite rods are a lot lighter hence very easy to hold and use. And due to their lighter weight, we can feel more feedback through the rod while fish bites.

The thing that makes them lighter in weight is the markings on them. You can see the markers of IM6, IM7, and IM8 on these rods which means the more the number in marker, the lesser the weight of the rod.

This is because the manufacturers use less graphite in making these rods but still manage to get the same features and stiffness in them. This means IM8 marked rod is much lighter than IM6.

But this artificially created stiffness can sometimes be a little difficult to digest because it can break easily with less material usage. But it can throw the bait very easily even on long distances. All these features eventually add to their price which happens to be a lot steeper than the others. But there is always a price for good things.

3. Composite Rods

Composite rods are made of both these materials fiberglass and graphite. These rods perform well in almost every kind of water since they get the functionalities of both the materials inside.

You’d love these rods if you are just a person who enjoys his pleasure without thinking about their prices. No doubt, these rods are the most expensive kind of all present on the market. Because this rod does not compromise on the sensitivity part even when it is lighter too.

Performance-wise composite rods are the best of all three major types, but you can choose according to your needs and affordability. Pleasure is just peace of mind.

Slow, medium, or fast action?

Action is an important factor of a rod. It is basically the amount of bend and the area of the bend where the rod will get bent in loaded pressure. It also determines at what speed will the rod’s tip go back to its original position after bearing pressure. This basically depends on the material and the shape of your rod because that’s where you will get the idea of the action of your rod.

There are three types of actions in a rod, slow, medium, and fast action. All these actions are categorized so because some rods fall in the slow category, some in the medium, and some in the fast category. Now let’s take a closer look at all three of them.

i. Fast (Heavy) Action

Fast action rods are those that snap back to their original position swiftly. This fast action of those rods makes them a pretty good choice to catch larger fish from the heavy cover and pull it out. These rods bend at the top end where the tip is closer.

This is because their backbone is usually so strong that it does not let them bend from the center while supporting the fisher with feeling the lowest of nibbles easily. When a fish gets stuck in the hook it immediately gives you feedback, and you can pull it up.

Since we’re speaking of the hooks, it works well with a single hook at the end of the line. This is because this way you have a greater chance of getting success than multiple hooks.

ii. Medium Action

Medium action rods also give proper feedback and even more time for the fish to bite the hook. Because these rods are a bit slower than the fast action rods hence their bait can be thrown at a decent distance.

When it comes to hooks, it gives another advantage of it that you can use multiple hooks at the same time with this rod and still get the same results due to its high sensitivity.

This rod is suitable for catching big fish and small ones in diverse conditions and the nature of the water body. These rods, due to their structure, bend at the top half section of the rod. That is why these are called medium action rods.

ii. Slow (Light) Action

These slow-action rods are called so because they bend all the way to the butt of the rod from the top. They give an exclusive experience when you try to catch trout or alike.

Even the smallest of the fish makes it fun for you to catch it. They’re very good at cast but keep in mind that the lure or bait size should be small.

Talking about hooks here, treble hooks work well with these rods because this type of rod takes a little longer to stick the hook inside the fish’s mouth.

You may face some difficulty in setting up the hook on this rod but once it did, you will feel that you can easily maintain the right amount of tension on the line. But you will need to pull farther with this rod.

What’s the right rod power?

Rod power is the level of the extent to which a rod can withstand. This is very similar to rod action. If you use a heavier line on a lighter rod, the rod might snap. Similarly, if you use a heavier rod with a lighter line, the line might get snapped. So, the balance between these both is very important.

And as you might have guessed by now heavier rods with heavy lines are used to catch heavy aquatic animals while the lighter rod with lighter lines is used to catch small fish like Trout, etc.

Usually, rod powers range from ultra-light to light, then medium and then medium-heavy to heavy, and then finally the ultra-heavy that’s the maximum you can get. Pay attention to the markings on the rod blanks to see what you should get for yourself.

One can rate a heavy offshore rod to a 25 lb rod. While the other one a heavy bass rod can be rated as an 80 lb rod as these two are not the same thing.

What about rod markings?

You must be very well known for the tips and important things you should consider before buying a fishing rod. But when you go to the store there are hundreds of types of rods available and here comes the problem of how do you know that the rod you just selected is the right one considering your thoughts?

It is not very complicated as there are rod markings on every rod out there from where you can see what you just chose.

Normally, most of the manufacturers write their marking in an order that the first three to four numbers of the rod marking should be the length of the rod. Then there will be the type of action. The third thing in that marking will be the weights of lure, rod, and everything.

Usually, rod markings look like this “Spin MH 732 Line Wt 10-15 lb, Lure Wt ¼ – ¾ oz”.

You can always go to the salesperson for help if you still don’t get what it means, and they’ll tell you everything in detail.

Other Parts of a Fishing Rod

All the above factors that we discussed here are the rod specs only. But there are other factors too, that you should consider important before buying a rod.

Rod Guides

Rod guides are of two main types (if you are looking into further types of fishing rods than please have a look here.) i.e., metal on the outside and ceramic coating on the inside, and the second type is crude metal material even on the inside.

Mostly the rod guides come with the ceramic coating on the inside, but you should take care if there are any having guides made of metal completely, then you should not buy it because metal increases the line’s friction and acts on the smooth flow of the line through it.

Then there is the number of rod guides on one rod. The more the guides on a fishing rod, the better it is. But more guides can cost you more hence this is totally up to you that what level of precision do you want.

Usually, a seven-foot rod contains somewhere between 6-9 guides because more guides help you divide equal pressure into all parts of the rod and the line.

Rod Handle

Rod handle is one of the most contacted things in a rod by the users. This is where you hold it and grip it tight. So, the material of the rod handle should be comfortable, and some users have noticed that some materials don’t let you feel that comfort on cold days.

Material

There are two main types of rod handle material on the market. One is cork and the second most found is EVA foam. Cork is the one that most people like because it gives you the warmth and comfort that you seek in a fishing rod in cold weather. Also, according to the studies, cork is three times more efficient in transferring the vibrations of feedback than the other one.

But cork is expensive and doesn’t last as long as the foam material. Also, cork gets dents easily while foam does not. Cleaning the foam is a lot easier than cork.

Now there is even a carbon fiber handle available on the market but that’s even a more expensive choice. But carbon fiber works even better than cork regarding sensitivity, and you won’t have to think about its reliability too. That’s another stress reliever.

Shape

The shapes are of two types. One is a pistol grip and the other one is a trigger stick. The pistol grip has a hook for your index finger on it and is useful mostly when you want to cast in short distances. It lets you catch the small fish easily.

The trigger grip lets you cast at a longer distance with both hands. Also, this is very beneficial in catching large aquatic animals easily. There’s literally no price difference in both.

How do I choose an inshore spinning rod (Video Guide)

Final Word

Choosing a fishing rod is a very complex procedure and if you are a first-timer, then you should do proper research on everything before buying it. One thing very important is that you should know what you will use your rod for and what kind of water bodies. Then you’ll be able to decide easily what is best suitable for your needs. Also make sure you know rules of fishing and basics as well.

We hope that we have clarified all the factors and important features of the fishing rods. If you liked this article then please share it with other pleasure lovers so that everyone can benefit from this valuable information. For reading more interesting stuff related to fishing keep visiting our website.