So You Want To Take Up Fishing? – Getting Started With Your First Rod

More and more people are taking up angling annually and it has become one of the most popular participatory sports globally. For newcomers to the pastime, 2 obvious questions are important: what sort of fishing do I want to do? How much will it cost? The learner can only answer the first question for himself; the answer to the second is that cost need not be prohibitive; short of tying a bent pin to a piece of string, and the string to a length of wood, the obvious need is for a fishing rod.

Fishing Rods For The Novice

River and lake fishing are generally where most novice fishermen (and women) begin to learn the joy of angling, the relaxing ambience allowing them to hone their new skills before moving into the more difficult skill level needed by fly or sea fishing is tackled. The most essential piece of tackle is, of course, the fishing rod. As with most new hobbies it makes some sense to avoid spending big bucks on a state-of-the-art, all-singing, all-dancing rod until you are sure that you like your new hobby and want to get more serious about it. It does however, make sense to buy a ‘known brand’ (such as Shakespeare). Start with a lower price-range model and when you are sure that fishing is for you, upgrade to a model more suited to your advancing skills.

For freshwater fishing a five to six foot rod is ideal. Although rods are normally made of either fiberglass, bamboo or graphite, consensus suggests graphite as it tends to be stronger, light, and more reactive. There are many famous fishing rod manufacturers (Shakespeare, Shimano, St Croix, and many others) but for the beginner, one of the most popular beginner kits is Shakespeare Ugly Stik Fishing Rod Range.

This particular piece of fishing gear comes with the neat advantage for the beginner: a rod with a reel supplied which saves money and avoids the need to have to decide on a reel to choose from a vast choice available. It is generally held as well that the extensive Shakespeare Ugly Stik range in general, can help you land fish a lot bigger than the cost suggests.

You can look forward to a whole new world of hours of enjoyment, whichever rod you opt for.