The evolution of Fishing Rods

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Interesting video.  I don't know this young man, but he seems to have done his homework..

https://youtu.be/epTkPcsicsI?si=qecVE4ppyjvaYv1_

[Al Agnew]

I'm old enough that I've seen the evolution of rods since the early 1960s.  My first "favorite" bass rod was one my dad gave me for Christmas sometime around 1960.  It was a Shakespeare solid fiberglass casting rod, 4.5 feet long, short, straight cork handle, steel reel seat.  He paired it with a Shakespeare direct drive (not free spool, the handle spun backwards on the cast) casting reel.  It wasn't quite state of the art for the time, but close.  I got good enough to cast 1/4th ounce lures with it.  The first upgrade from it was a Heddon tubular fiberglass, 6 foot rod.  Dad had one that he had used for years, and used so hard and so much that the cork handle had been compressed from his fingers to the point where it had finger grooves that fit his left hand perfectly (Dad was left-handed, so never had to switch hands to reel.)

With the advent of bass tournaments in the late 1960s, all kinds of somewhat cool things came along in tubular glass rods.  The pistol grip handle was a big one.  I had a couple rods that had solid wood pistol grips.  Most rods were still short, 6 feet and under.  Then graphite came onto the scene.  By that time I was making rods.  Graphite rods were expensive, but I made myself one for a lot less money.  I quickly found out that a fast action, medium heavy power, 5.5 foot graphite rod did NOT work for the crankbaits I was fond of using.  I couldn't get a hook set.  So it got relegated to fishing spinnerbaits, where it did a lot better.  I loved the savings in weight.

And then there was the movement to ceramic guides.  The first ones were pretty clunky, but so much more durable than the previous state of the art carbide guides.  Graphite rods got lighter.  Shimano made my favorites at that point in the late 1970s, early 1980s.  Still short, 5.5 feet.  It wasn't until the 1990s that longer rods started to become the standard.  I had a telescoping 7 foot heavy power rod for worm fishing about then.  Handles got a lot longer and split grip handles appeared.

And although rods continued to get lighter and supposedly more sensitive, I kinda stopped following the fads about then.  I STILL use 5.2 to 6 foot rods exclusively when canoe fishing, and my longest rod that I use a lot in the jetboat is 6' 8".  

[dpitt]

@Daryk Campbell SrInteresting, thanks for sharing.

[Lloyd]

On 10/5/2024 at 9:17 PM, Al Agnew said:

And although rods continued to get lighter and supposedly more sensitive, I kinda stopped following the fads about then.  I STILL use 5.2 to 6 foot rods exclusively when canoe fishing, and my longest rod that I use a lot in the jetboat is 6' 8".  

I can relate to this. I took a break from fishing much between 2000 and 2020. When I picked up the hobby again I figured I should update my equipment, since supposedly there had been big improvements both in rods and reels. Well, the new rods I've tried are definitely lighter, but I don't notice much of an improvement in sensitivity compared to my rods from the 1990s. You'd think these fancy carbon composites and weaves would actually do something special, right? And many of the new spinning rods have weird reel seats that are downright uncomfortable, at least in my hands. Seems like manufacturers are trying hard to make their rods look sophisticated and futuristic, but the final product is actually a step backward.