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Bass Intermediate
Hi everyone, in this session I am going to talk about the more advanced part of bass fishing. This is BASS SKILLS INTERMEDIATE!
I know that when a lot of people start off fishing and they turn on the television to a fishing station, the first thing they see on the angler’s boat are all of the fishing rods. Then they want to go to the store and buy a lot of fishing rods. In this lesson I am going to explain how to go about picking rods in reels.
The first step in picking your rods and reels is knowing what rods and reels you can handle. If you are just starting to fish, I would advise you to use either a push button or spinning reel. Once you master push button or spinning reels, then try using the harder reel, which is the bait casting reel.
Once you have figured out what reel to use, you need to know what technique you are going to use your reel for. If you look carefully on a reel, you will see numbers on the reel that look like this, 5.3:1. This means that the reel is five three to one gear ratio; which means how much line the reel will pull in on one turn of the handle. The main thing that you should remember is the higher the numbers the faster you will be able to reel in your bait. The lower the numbers are, the slower you will be able to reel your bait through the water. Each type of bait and presentation works best on a specific gear ratio. 5.3:1 gear ratio is considered a slow ratio. This works best on bait that you like to work slow like plastic worms. A 6.3:1 gear ratio is considered a fast gear ratio. This works best on bait that you would work fast like spinner baits.
The last step is picking the right rod. The type of rod you pick depends on the reel you choose, and also on the presentation and bait you are going to use on that rod. First there are two different types of rods. There is a rod that is made for both push button and bait casting reels. There is also a rod that is made for spinning reels. You can tell the difference in rods because of the rod guides. Rod guides are the rings that go up the rod. The smaller rings that are connected on the top of the rod are made for bait casting and push button reels. The rods that have the larger rings that are connected on the bottom of the rod are made for the spinning reels.
On the back of the rod you will see the words that say either light, medium, medium heavy, or heavy. These words describe how flexible the rod is. The light action means that the rod will be very flexible. Medium means the rod will be a little stiffer than light. Medium Heavy means the rod will be even stiffer than medium; and heavy is the stiffest rod of all. Picking the action on the rod depends on the presentation you are going to use it for. For example if you are using a bait that puts off a lot of vibration, you should use a rod that is lighter, so that you will be able to feel the vibrations. If you were fishing in a place that has a lot of cover, the best rod for that situation would be a heavier rod. With a heavier rod, you will be able to pull a fish out of the cover easier.
Well, that’s the end of this session. With this advice you will be able to pick your rods and reels a lot easier. Stay logged on for Bass Advanced coming REEL soon!
J.J.
