ResearchGuide to Fishing Rods
Well, you didn't expect you were going to yank fish out of the water with your bare hands, did you? For the two of you who haven't heard, fishing usually requires a rod. Here's a guide to knowing what kind to get.
We've come a long way in a short time since the days of wooden fishing poles. Most rods today are made of either graphite or fiberglass. This allows for lighter weight, greater strength, and more flexibility than, oh, say, Scotch Pine. There are also composite rods, which are blends of both graphite and fiberglass. These exploit the benefits of each, but they tend to be more expensive. You might want to keep a fatter wallet.
If you're new to fishing, you're likely to be overwhelmed with the beginning complexity of choosing a fishing rod. You will be considering things like what material and what kind of rod guide, all the while trying to comprehend the tackle-shop sales manager chewing your ear off about action, modulus ratings, and power. Even though you won't be concerning yourself with much of these nuances unless you're an avid sport fisherman, you still want to make a vaguely informed decision when you walk into your fishing supply place. For that matter, for your first rod you can probably find just as good at the department store.
So, on to the crucial difference between graphite or fiberglass.
Graphite is for the passionate fisher. It is light of weight, flexible of tension, sensitive of motion, and expensive of wallet. Fiberglass is for the weekend warrior who will be happy to catch anything at all. It is heavy, stiff, durable, and cheap. Have you ever sat on fiberglass benches, or used a fiberglass ladder? Same material, different application.
When you use a graphite rod, you will feel it every time something pulls on your line. You will even feel it when your hook moves through weeds. The quantum-physics-sounding phrase "modulus rating" applies to graphite rods, and describes the hardness and density of their individual graphite fibers. Graphite rods with high modulus ratings are effectively made of fewer fibers, which makes them lighter and more sensitive, but also very brittle. They're a good choice if you plan to fish for extended periods, or you plan to catch smaller fish.
Fiberglass rods are rough-and-tumble. They transmit little motion and are heavy; it's kind of like fishing with a baseball bat. Kids use fiberglass rods because kids are rough with things and fiberglass rods are nearly indestructible - and any parent knows that "indestructible" is not a word bandied about lightly. You use fiberglass rods when you don't need to feel anything except the scaled muscle of an underwater behemoth paddling off full steam with your precious bait. Confusingly, fiberglass can also have a modulus rating like like graphite, but this is mostly for symmetry with the graphite rods, and merely distinguishes rods that may possibly bend if you hook a spare tire and rods that will remain even rigid then.
Regardless of whether you go for fiberglass or graphite, you'll want to ensure that your guides (the eyelets along the length of the rod through which you pass your line) are of a hard ceramic rather than stark metal, which will help to reduce friction on what is essentially plastic string.
Good luck and happy fishing!