Imagine, if you will, trying to drive a railroad spike with a small household hammer; or, hitting a baseball with a piece of garden hose. Even sillier, consider the effect of using venetian blind cord on your favorite light spinning reel! In each of those cases, a vital factor would have been overlooked—that being the appropriateness, or suitability, of the items being used.

As applies to our fishing tackle, the term ‘suitability’ can be equated to ‘balance’. Mr. Webster’s dictionary defines balance as “to bring into harmony or proportion”, and this well suits the matching of the various components of angling gear.

In approaching the proper selection and matching of rod, reel and line, and the appropriate lures each will handle, we must first recognize that fishing equipment items are simply ‘tools’ with which to do a certain job. Basically it is no different from the selection of a correctly-sized hammer to drive that railroad spike. First, we define the job to be done. Second, we determine the manner in which we intend to do it; and, thirdly, we pick out the right ‘tools’.

In my novice fishing days (so long ago I would hate to say when!), I learned an early and painful lesson about balanced fishing tackle. I was using an ultra-light spinning rod, heavy line, and a HEAVY casting plug just bristling with treble hooks. As I recall, the primary intent was to challenge the bass on that wet-macaroni rod; sort of like hunting bear with an air rifle, but without the danger. After the doctor cut out two of the hooks, stitched up the remains and gave me one of his patented ‘this won’t hurt a bit’ tetanus shots, I came to realize that the gentle sport of fishing did, in fact, have some hazards.

Of course, it is easy to see that my lure was obviously too heavy for the rod, causing it to arc backwards much more than intended. Actually, the rod bent double and the lure wound up in that part of yours truly normally reserved for seventh inning stretch relief. Today, it seems funny. Back then, it was not so in the least, but it was a valuable lesson.

Whether your choice is spinning, spin-casting or bait casting, or if you happen to be a fly fishing purist, the necessity of properly balancing your fishing equipment holds true. The time and effort spent in doing so will benefit you in three ways. First, it will enable you to cast farther and with much greater accuracy. Next, the effort involved will be significantly lessened, allowing you to fish longer periods without fatigue. And, finally, it actually saves wear and tear on the equipment, itself.

Fishing rods are manufactured with two distinct physical characteristics: an action pattern and the ‘period of oscillation’. The action pattern is a function of the overall resistance of the rod blank to applied stress. More simply, this can be defined as the amount it will bend under varying degrees of steady pressure to its eventual breaking point. Most rods are rated according to this criteria, in terms of light, medium, and heavy action. Certain specialized rods take this a bit farther by varying the taper of the blank at certain points, resulting in what are usually called ‘fast taper’ tips. In these, the rod may be very strong and stiff in the butt and central body, but have a flexible tip to enhance casting.

The action pattern is the primary selection criteria for any fishing rod. In spinning and casting rods, it is determined by the weight of the intended lure. The intent is to have the rod flex an optimum amount on the drawback, thereby storing kinetic energy. That energy is then released with the forward casting motion, as the rod attempts to return to its original straight attitude. If the rod happens to be too stiff and heavy for the lure size, there will be a lesser degree of backwards flex of the blank and less energy stored. The result is that the angler will be throwing the lure more with his arm and body than desired. While this can be extremely tiring over the long haul of a fishing day, it also destroys accuracy. Compared with baseball, it can be envisioned as ‘the harder one throws, the less accurate he usually is’.

In fly rods, the action pattern selection factor primarily involves the size fish we are pursuing and the anticipated casting distances. These then drive a critical relationship of the rod with the size/weight of the line. In fact, fly rods are normally always rated according to line size/weight. And, the proper rod choice is doubly important here. The principle of the fly rod is that the rod casts not only the lure, but the line as well. In this case, the physical characteristics of the rod blank must accommodate the weights of both and provide a smooth release of that stored kinetic energy into a propelling of the line and lure. A good, though a bit extreme, example is to envision trying to fly cast with a piece of rope and then with a piece of cotton twine. Obviously, we would need different types of rods.

A final criteria on fly rods is length, although it is more of a personal preference item among anglers than the other factors. The longer rod provides for longer, smoother casts and for safer play of the fish. However, it can often be a detriment unless the fishing location is fairly open and free of obstructions to the rear.

The ‘period of oscillation’ factor refers to the comparative number of times the rod blank will vibrate back and forth before it finally stops in its normal, straight posture. In a sense, this can be equated to stiffness, but it is not an indicator of overall strength. Fiberglass, for example, has a longer oscillation period than graphite, which is a much denser material. Therefore, the fiberglass tends to feel a bit ‘floppy’ and soft. The density and stiffness inherent in graphite makes it highly desirable in terms of increased sensitivity and control. In addition, it is much lighter in weight than glass. The choice of graphite over fiberglass involves a trade-off in cost factors. However, for the serious angler, graphite offers the optimum rod blank.

Selecting the proper casting and spinning reels to match your fishing comes down to two points: primarily, the size of line to be used and, secondary, the physical weight of the reel.

First, let us look at bait casting reels. Nearly all made today are free-spool versions and are manufactured with very close tolerances between components. If we look closely, it can be seen that these reels also contain very exacting adjustment features. These adjustment features automatically tell us that the reel can be temperamental and must be ‘fine tuned’. What that says is that each reel size has an optimum operating range which, with the adjustment devices, can be varied somewhat to either side of that range. Therefore, in order to get the best performance from the reel, we must pay attention to the manufacturer’s recommendations. For example, when he has labeled a reel as ‘light freshwater’, the maker has said that the device will handle lines in the 10-17 pound range. If it happened to be rated as ultra-light, we are being advised to spool it with 6-10 pound test.

These same selection factors apply doubly to spinning and spin-cast reels, in that following the manufacturer’s use, or line size, rating is critical to optimum performance. These type reels employ a fixed spool which the line simply flows off of and the heavier the rating of the reel, the larger the spool circumference will be. While light lines will cast from a large spool reel, the reverse is not the case. The heavier the line, the more stiff it will be and it will not coil well on a small diameter spool. Consequently, it will bind when casting and distance is greatly impaired.

With fly rods, the reel has nothing to do with the actual casting of the line and lure. It simply serves as a receptacle for the line. Therefore, the selection of a fly fishing reel is based on: the amount of line of a given size which the angler intends for it to hold; the physical weight of the reel; and, any features it may have which are desirable. Regarding those features, it is desirable for the reel to have a drag system and for it to have perforations in the spool to enhance line drying. Weight, however, is the most critical factor, in that it should serve as a counterbalance to the mass of the rod and provide a comfortable, balanced outfit. This is essential since fly fishing is a continual repetition of casting effort and can be clumsy and tiring if the equipment components are not properly matched.

Earlier, we said that improper matching can cause damage to the equipment, itself. This is prevalent when too heavy a line and lure is used. As in my story about hooking myself with the light rod and heavy lure, I was actually placing a lot of undue stress on that rod. It was not manufactured to handle those forces and excessive distortions and, if I had continued to subject it to them, that rod would have soon broken. Along with weakening the rod material, continual and excessive flexing will cause the guide threads to stretch and eventually break, as well as causing the finish to crack and peel.

Now that we have examined some of the factors which influence the ‘relational balance’ of fishing equipment components, let’s roll them altogether with comments regarding the physical aspects. Casting any lure will be more efficient, and therefore less tiring during the course of a long day, if the casting device is comfortable. That ‘comfort’ comes primarily from a proper match of reel and rod to achieve a balance at the hand grip. If the reel is light and the rod heavy, the rod will tend to be top-heavy and place a lot of stress on the arm and shoulder during the forward portion of the cast. If the reel happens to be too large for the rod, it will impede the forward casting motion and, even worse, a smooth follow-through. Ideally, for the sake of day-long comfort, the entire equipment package should be as light weight as possible, but it also should be correctly matched.

n closing, we return to our early comments regarding the selection of the proper tools to do the job at hand. Once you have identified the task, the best bet is to first following the manufacturer’s recommendations. He put a lot of time and research into that data and the majority of the time we find he is right on the money.

In all honesty, the best piece of fishing equipment any of us will ever own sets on top of our shoulders. If we use it correctly, everything else in the chain of contact to the fish will be fine.