Selecting a Budget Rod

[BobL]

After much study I have a basic grasp of the concept of rod action. I break it down to power and speed.

Power is how much force it takes to bend the backbone or main body of the rod.

Speed is how far back the tip of the rod bends before the backbone of the rod starts to take up the force.

There are a lot more factors in rod choice than just power and speed, but for basic selection these are the first places to look. Of course style, length, and guide placement can also be major factors in how a rod fishes. For more information on rod action check out this article in the ROFB FAQ (the whole faq is a good read) by David Norton and Craig Baugher.

ROFB FAQ ON ROD ACTION

TO THE MEAT OF THE MATTER

Most folks can't afford to spend a couple hundred dollars or more for a single fishing pole much less a dozen of them for different situations. For most of my life a rod marked $39.95 on sale at the local discount store was very expensive for me. On top of that the selections quite often don't include the exact action or style rod a person is looking for. This often leaves a person going mail order or on-line to find exactly the rod they are looking for.
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[rudding]

what is the backbone of the rod? :S

[madcaravanner]

That's the trouble with English and American languages

We would refer to a match rod as being "tippy" and a Carp rod as being "Soft"

WE refer to rod types as 1 2 or 3
1 = match rod where the tip only bends under pressure
2= Carp rod where the whole rod bends and is given a "test curve" figure in pounds
3= Spinning rod which is stiffer that a match rod but bends ovewr the whole length

we don't refer to a backbone it's the blank


Common language you'd think we speak the same one but we don't