beach
There is a wide variety and choice of rod out there at the moment and finding one that suits you and your pocket is very important as it will probably be your biggest outlay when your starting off. Rods can cost anything from £20 right up to several hundred pounds so mistakes can be costly. You will be able to buy your self a decent general purpose rod that will be able to be used in a wide variety of places , catch a wide variety of fish with nothing more than a simple "overhead thump", and if you may be happy with this "jack of all trades and master of none" rod . But as you progress or fish more wide ranging marks then you will see that this "general purpose"rod will have its limitations,an if you decide on to upgrade your rod then you will need to ask yourself some serious questions,what kind of fishing are you going to be doing, where are you going to be fishing,what kind of fish will you be targeting and what kind of casting style do i have.
It is not up to me to recommend a particular rod or even manufacturer , for what suits me may not suit you, if you can get along to one of WSF's fish'n'meets there are usually plenty of people who will let you have a cast with their rods to see what suits YOU (there may be other schemes run by other sites if your not local). If you cant get to the meets then the forum is the place to ask for impartial advice on rods (and other things) by different people without the blinkered views of the sponsored anglers in the magazines reviews,the monthly magazine tackle reviews do have their place and will show you what the rod is capable of and what its intended for but always remember that the writers are being paid by the magazines who in turn generate a vast amount of money from advertising from the same manufacturers,the cynics amongst us may say that there may be some bias toward some rods than others.
If you will be mainly fishing clean, smooth, open beaches then you will be able to use a much lighter rod than if you were fishing a boulder strewn rock mark covered in tackle snagging weed and kelp that you may have to bully fish out of in a hurry.
Most rods are roughly 12' to 13' in length but there has been a recent trend influenced by the continentals for longer rods up to 16' especially for those that prefer to use fixed spool reels. Whether you use a multiplier or fixed spool reel is an important consideration that you need to take into account as the ring spacing's for both are totally different. Fixed spool reels need rods with fewer but larger diameter (especially the ring nearest the reel) rings than a rod used for a multiplier as shown here on the conoflex site, the exact distances should only be a consideration if you are getting a rod custom built for you, as long as the dealer knows you want a multiplier or fixed spool rod you will be ok. I prefer to have a diamite tip ring on my rods, they are made of solid stainless steel and are thus more hard wearing and less likely to be damaged in an accident , but they also have a much bigger diameter than of the traditional lined ring and are less likely to get clogged up with weed on the leader knot when retrieving the line
a diamite tip ring and traditional lined rings also shown is reflective tape on the tip.
The methods of attaching a reel to the rod is personal thing, i like to use coasters for their ease of use and variability but many like to use a fixed reel seat that is usually glued on (but can be fixed on with tape) and are thus more secure, the new Abu ones now available have had some good reviews as they seem to offer the best of both worlds but unfortunately they are only available as original equipment on Abu rods at the present and you can not buy them individually.
coasters and a screw winch fitting
Some rods have thick heavy tips that are great for helping you cast long distances but are not to good when trying to spot bites from small fish at distance( especially with mono), alternately rods with fine tips that do show the bites well will pull round and be next to useless when the tide is pulling , what is important to you should be a consideration when choosing your rod. Spotting bites at night can be made a lot easier if you get some reflective tape that stands out when a light is shone upon it,this is simply wrapped for 6 inches down from the tip ring and it is self adhesive so application is very easy.
Your casting ability should be considered when buying a new rod, it is pointless going out and buying a top of the range rod designed for casting long distances if you can not use them .These rods are designed with a tip action and very stiff middle and butt sections and unless you can bend it and thus compress them then you will not get the benefit from them and your casting distance may well be less than if you had chosen a softer "through action" rod. Casting is a very important part of fishing and i can only recommend that you find yourself a qualified casting instructor, sea angler magazine has casting instructors phone 0870-062-2283 and ask for mary-ann or turn up to one of WSF's casting days that they run, a couple of hours with these lads will reap benefits for years to come, they will show you the correct techniques far better than any video or tutorials in the magazines will be able to offer
There are a lot of specialized rods out there specifically designed to do a job, from flattie bashing, spinning/plugging, bass rods etc and that is why a lot of anglers own several different rods all have their particular uses on the day but if you can justify the cost of owning a rod you may use once or twice a year is up to you and your pocket. Some rods come with small sections called reducers, these reducers are for attatching to the butt of the rod when you are fishing with the reel down the butt, they are used to give you something to hold onto when retrieving (but not casting)
boat
Boat rods are roughly divided into 2 classes,uptide and downtide rods. Downtiding is the older traditional method of boat fishing where a baited rig is simply lowered down from the side of the boat, the size of the weight is dependant on the depth of water and the speed of the current. The rods designed for downtiding are divided into line classes ranging from the light 12lb class right up to 80lb or even 130lb class, what rod you will need is dependant on the waters you will be fishing, the marks in particular and the fish you are planning to catch, if charter boating the best person to ask what will be most suitable will be the boat skipper or on your local site forums .
Down tide rods tend to be roughly about 7' in length and quite stiff action,though there are shorter "stand up" rods available.
Most boat rods have traditional lined rings but the larger class rods can have roller rings, especially the tip ring or when braid is being used rather than monofilament (braid can cut grooves in rings when used under heavy load), you need to be careful if your rod is fitted with rollers that the line does not become trapped down the side of the roller.
They all tend to use a fixed reel seat to secure the rod, one addition that a boat rod has is a gimbal , this is a grooved end on the rod that allows you to slot it into a but pad, this is a device you strap round your waist, the rod slots into it and allows greater comfort when bringing decent sized fish up from depth.
a gimbal
Uptide rods tend to be longer than downtide rods ranging from7' up to about 10' and have a more "tippy" action similar to a beach rod, they are designed to cast weights between 4-9oz away from and uptide of the boat, again they all have fixed reel seats and traditional lined rings.
CARE FOR YOUR RODS
Rods need minimal care and attention to keep them in top condition, probably the most important part is to check the rings for cracks or loose inserts on a regular basis( if this happens it will soon destroy lines), at the same time you can check the whipping securing them to the rod whilst your doing it, apart from that a clean every now and again in warm soapy water and an occasional oil of the coasters/reel seats will keep your rod as good as new.