One Rod To Rule Them All

Often a tackle salesman gets asked the dreaded question by customers for that one impossible request: “Can I get one rod for every type of fishing—salmon, bottom fish, and even river fishing?” And of course the general response: “Sorry, nope.” After all, a rod for salmon trolling is the opposite of what one needs for bottom fish. And a halibut rod is generally not exactly considered ideal on the river. But the dream may be closer to a reality than most people realize if one focuses more on catching fish rather than the method of fishing. If you can forgo trolling for salmon, it is possible to target salmon, bottom fish, bass, and even river fish with the same rod and reel. Of course, it may not be ideal for each situation, but it can still work.

Heavy Fish Light Rod

Over the last fishing season, I found myself using the same rod and reel for many varied fishing situations. While it was unintentional at first, I enjoyed the combo enough that I kept grabbing it whenever I went out. It started as a bass rod, then became a salmon-jigging rod, then served for jigging lingcod, casting sabikis for herring, river fishing for coho, and ended the season shore casting in Hawaii. I started calling it my multi-purpose spinning rod. So how do you make your own multi-purpose “do everything” rod?

It’s all about the Bass

Choosing the Right Fishing Rod

First off, the brand is not as important as the quality and action type of the rod. Choose a good-quality, fast-action spin casting rod. Fast action means that when you bend the tip it snaps back quickly. This is the opposite of a trolling rod, which is intended to maintain a bend for a long period of time and snap back very slowly. Likewise, a true bottom-fishing rod may not bend at all, or if it does, it snaps back moderately fast. These action types are known as slow or medium rods. (It is important to learn to read the information code written on most rods. This is normally found just above the grip of the rod.)

Fishing Rod Action Explained (Chart)

Fishing Rod Action (Chart: Island Fisherman)

Also, I’ve noticed some minor details on some spin casting rods that tend to be very helpful in indicating a rod designed by actual fishermen. One such key detail is the last eye at the tip of the rod. Many rods have a last eye where the two reinforcing bars connect on the top of the rod, creating a spot that will snag the line if (when) you wrap the line around the tip. This wrapping is very common while jigging, especially with braided line. A well-designed rod will have the reinforcing bars join on the underside of the rod and flush with the rod. There should be no protrusions that can snag your line. If your rod is not designed this way and does have a spot that snags your line, you can remedy it by applying some epoxy over the problem spot.

Good Tip and Bad Tip

I am currently using a 13 Fishing rod and it has worked out very well. It has all the little features that indicate thought was put into the design. However, many other brands make good gear, and I sometimes choose my Penn rod due to its firm backbone and fast action. I’m particularly interested in trying West Coast Fishing Tackle’s new light-action, one-piece jigging rod. It looks like a trout rod in weight but is rated at 80 lbs of breaking strength. With a flexible tip and incredible strength, it may work as a dual-purpose salmon rod that should even be capable of landing large halibut. If there ever was a “do everything” rod this one sure fits the bill.

Choosing the Right Fishing Reel

Your choice of reel is the one area where there haven’t been major changes in the last few years. I’m just as happy with my 25-year-old Daiwa or my new 13 Fishing spin caster. I do appreciate that the new reels have a rubber strip on the arbour that prevents the braid from slipping, and the larger handles that are common now are nice. But the main difference is the size of the reel that I can now use. Braided line itself is the huge game changer. Its thinness has allowed fishermen to use much smaller reels without sacrificing line capacity. I’m using reels half the size that I did 15 years ago. The main thing is buying a high-quality reel that will last a long time and taking care of it to prevent corrosion. A freshwater rinse followed by some oil will go a long way to maintain your reel.

Choosing the Right Fishing Line

In the last few years there have been some real advances in braided line technology, though standard braid has been around for a long time. Its thinness allows for excellent casting without sacrificing strength. But it does have a few downsides, such as lack of resistance to abrasion and a propensity to tangle and wrap around the tip of the rod. Also, when casting it can form wind knots because it’s so light.

Your Fishing Line Matters

But with a new generation of thermally infused braided line paired with fluorocarbon topshots, these issues are reduced significantly. There are several brands now offering this new style braid. It is stiffer and smoother than previous types of braided line. It is typically eight-strand braid instead of the old four-strand braid. It is smooth enough that you can no longer actually see the stands of the braid, and the thermal infusion gives it the appearance of a single strand of line. These new braids also claim to be more abrasion resistant, and from my use it seems that they are. Some examples of this line are Power Pro’s Super Slick, SpiderWire’s Durabraid, and Berkley Fireline. I have been using the Fireline in 20-lb test for a year now and have found it to be a huge improvement on traditional braid. Paired with a three-foot long Seagar 20-lb topshot, I found it more than adequate for Chinook, lingcod, bass and even beach fishing around sharp coral in the tropics. It also can cast incredibly far, opening up a lot of water when shore casting.

Most abrasion happens near the terminal end of the line. By using a fluorocarbon topshot (see my article Running a Topshot on Your Fishing Reel) on the last few feet of the line, this is greatly reduced. Also, be sure to learn a line-to-line knot as laid out in the topshot article.”

Herring on Sabiki