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Get extra keen discounts and beat expensive shipping costs by buying books through this site! The free delivery service applies to most established destinations worldwide. Which Boat Rod for You
Who cares about boat rods? Well, many sailors do. And with reason, both practical and pleasurable. You see, boats are great places to fish from. After all, the fish are right there below the waves surrounding you. All you need is the right gear and some simple techniques to catch them. It seems downright ungrateful to miss such an opportunity.
Before we get too embroiled, let’s consider the nature of sailing these days. In some ways it has changed radically over the last couple of decades. Although the prudent skipper will never abandon the fundamental skills and duties entirely, many shipboard tasks – steering (autopilot), navigation (GRP), even help in keeping a lookout (radar) – have been at least partially taken over by machines and electronics. Unsurprisingly, this can leave the crew a tad underemployed – even bored, particularly offshore when one horizon can look very much like another. Under these circumstances the crew are often looking for diversions and, of these, fishing enjoys a prominent option.
For the sailor there are basically two distinct fishing modes: when underway and when at anchor. These subjects are dealt with more fully in the articles Handline Trolling and Fishing at Anchor. For now we’ll just be talking about rods.
Short is beautiful
The phrase ‘boat rod’ needs explanation. Is there anything special about them? Won’t any old fishing rod do? Well, of course, you can get away with just about anything at a pinch but, along with their obvious pluses, sailboats have their snags – literally. These take the form of the clutter aloft – masts, stays, sheets and halyards, all the other impedimenta that falls under the general heading ‘rigging’. A necessary feature on all boats specifically designed for angling is that they must have unimpeded areas – usually aft – where anglers can wield their rods without fear of what else they might hook. With their priorities understandably focused elsewhere, sailboats are nothing like as accommodating to anglers.
So, the typical boat rod must be quite short – about 2m (6ft 6in) being the upper limit – even shorter being better. Remember that the longer the rod, the more mechanical advantage the fish has. Whereas, the coarse fisherman casting into a lake is unlike to catch anything likely to overwhelm him, sailboat anglers could easily find themselves fighting something seriously powerful. What are called ‘stand-up’ rods are ideal for sailors.
Rod ratings
A common fallacy is that rods are rated in terms of the size of fish they can deal with. This is not the case. When a rod is rated as, let’s say, 80lb, it simply means that it would take an 80lb load to bend the tip through 90º. So it’s really a measure of stiffness. The rating is often expressed as a range – say 50-80lbs (incidentally, a good choice on a sailboat).
However, the ratings do provide a useful indicator of the strength of line you should choose, with the preference being to lean towards the lesser end of any range. Taking our 50-80lb rod as an example, 50lb line would be perfect.
Over or under?
Your choice of reel has a major influence on the rod type you should use. Centre-pin or fixed spool (‘spinning’ in the US) reels are mounted beneath the rod and simple ring type line guides will suffice. However, multiplier reels are mounted on top (see right) so roller guides are necessary to hold the line clear of the rod as it bends.
Casting
So far in this article, most of the comments relate to trolling. In other words, towing a baited line astern, allowing the boat's motion to create motion. For this you don’t actually need a rod at all (as explained by Dick McClary in Handline Trolling). But make no mistake, using one certainly brings advantages, particularly when playing and landing a large fish where the flexing of the rod helps absorb. And, of course, you can also fish with a basic handline while at anchor (see Handline Fishing). But this limits you severely. To fish effectively from an anchored boat it helps to ‘cast’– that’s to say flick your bait out far from the boat into areas where fish are likely to congregate. For this you need a rod.
Unfortunately, since casting is a much more active form of angling than trolling, the problems associated with getting tangled with all that rigging aloft become acute. Even a short stand-up rod – probably too stiff for effective casting anyway – becomes a menace.
Enter the Emmrod. This ingenious little device is ideal on a sailboat. Instead of relying on length for its flexibility, it employs a short stainless steel ‘rod’ into which coils have been formed. The more turns in the coils, the more flexibility you gain – and a variety of rods (and, indeed, handles) are available for different angling purposes. Via a simple quarter-turn bayonet system, the rods can be changed in an instance, making the Emmrod a wonderfully adaptable bit of tackle to carry on a sailboat. When detached into its two basic components, it becomes small enough to be stowed virtually anywhere.
Read Dick McClary's article on Travel Fishing Rods
Which Boat Rod for You
Who cares about boat rods? Well, many sailors do. And with reason. You see, boats are great places to fish from. After all, the fish are right there below the waves surrounding you. All you need is the right gear and some simple techniques to catch them.
Before we get too embroiled, let’s consider the nature of sailing these days. In some ways it has changed radically over the last couple of decades. Although the prudent skipper will never abandon the fundamental skills and duties entirely, many shipboard tasks – steering (autopilot), navigation (GRP), even help in keeping a lookout (radar) – have been at least partially taken over by machines and electronics. Unsurprisingly, this can leave the crew a tad underemployed – even bored, particularly offshore when one horizon can look very much like another. Under these circumstances the crew are often looking for diversions and, of these, fishing enjoys a prominent option.
For the sailor there are basically two distinct fishing modes: when underway and when at anchor. These subjects are dealt with more fully in the articles ????? And ????? . For now we’ll just be talking about rods.
Short is beautiful
The phrase ‘boat rod’ needs explanation. Is there anything special about them? Won’t any old fishing rod do? Well, of course, you can get away with just about anything at a pinch but, along with their obvious pluses, sailboats have their snags – literally. These take the form of the clutter aloft – masts, stays, sheets and halyards, all the other impedimenta that falls under the general heading ‘rigging’. A necessary feature on all boats specifically designed for angling is that they must have unimpeded areas – usually aft – where anglers can wield their rods without fear of what else they might hook. With their priorities understandably focused elsewhere, sailboats are nothing like as accommodating to anglers.
So, the typical boat rod must be quite short – about 2m (6ft 6in) being the upper limit – even shorter being better. Remember that the longer the rod, the more mechanical advantage the fish has. Whereas, the coarse fisherman casting into a lake is unlike to catch anything likely to overwhelm him, sailboat anglers could easily find themselves fighting something seriously powerful. What are called ‘stand-up’ rods are ideal for sailors.
Rod ratings
A common fallacy is that rods are rated in terms of the size of fish they can deal with. This is not the case. When a rod is rated as, let’s say, 80lb, it simply means that it would take an 80lb load to bend the tip through 90º. So it’s really a measure of stiffness. The rating is often expressed as a range – say 50-80lbs (incidentally, a good choice on a sailboat).
However, the ratings do provide a useful indicator of the strength of line you should choose, with the preference being to lean towards the lesser end of any range. Taking our 50-80lb rod as an example, 50lb line would be perfect.
Over or under?
Your choice of reel has a major influence on the rod type you should use. Centre-pin or fixed spool (‘spinning’ in the US) reels are mounted beneath the rod and simple ring type line guides will suffice. However, multiplier reels are mounted on top, so roller guides are necessary to hold the line clear of the rod as it bends.
Casting
So far in this article, most of the comments relate to trolling – towing a baited line astern while underway. For this you actually don’t need a rod at all (as explained by Dick McClary in Handline Trolling) but using one certainly brings real advantages, particularly when playing and landing a large fish. And, of course, you can also fish with a basic handline while at anchor (see Handline Fishing). But this limits you severely. To fish effectively from an anchored boat it helps to ‘cast’– that’s to say flick your bait out far from the boat into areas where fish are likely to congregate. For this you need a rod.
Unfortunately, since casting is a much more active form of angling than trolling, the problems associated with getting tangled with all that rigging aloft become acute. Even a short stand-up rod – probably too stiff for effective casting anyway – becomes a menace.
Enter the Emmrod. This ingenious little device is ideal on a sailboat. Instead of relying on length for its flexibility, it employs a short stainless steel ‘rod’ into which coils have been formed. The more turns in the coils, the more flexibility you gain – and a variety of rods (and, indeed, handles) are available for different angling purposes. Via a simple quarter-turn bayonet system, the rods can be changed in an instance, making the Emmrod a wonderfully adaptable bit of tackle to carry on a sailboat. When detached into its two basic components, it becomes small enough to be stowed virtually anywhere.
Saltwater Fishing Articles Which Boat Rod for You? How to choose.
