If you are thinking of joining the biggest participant pastime in the country, then one of your first thoughts will no doubt be getting your hot little hands on a fishing rod. Where do you start?

The first thing you need to decide is what you intend to catch. Do you have a relation or friend you might be able to go fishing with? What type of fishing do they do and where? Lake or river? Carp or coarse? This is the information you need in order to make the right selection of rod and indeed the rest of the tackle and tactics you will need.

Matching your tackle to your intended quarry is of the utmost importance. It is no good trying to catch a 30lb carp on a rod intended to handle nothing more than silverfish! There are a few different types of rods, intended for different fish and styles of fishing.
Most rods these days come with information regarding the lines (in lbs breaking strain) that they are deigned for use with, for example: "2-6lb mainline". This can also give a hint as to the type of fish a rod may handle. Here are some of the most common rod types and a brief explanation for each:

Spinning Rods

Relatively short rods, sometimes down to around 6ft but upto around 9 or 10. Fairly stiff action and robust construction. Used for fishing with a "spinner" or other lure for predators like large perch,  pike and zander. Usually these rods will come with information about its "casting  weight" printed on it. This relates to the weight of the lure that the rod can comfortably handle and can look something like: C/W 30-80g

Float/Match Rods

The most common lengths of float fishing rod are 10, 12 or 13 feet with occasional in-between lengths for some rods.
A float rod is generally lightweight and ought to have as many eyes (rings) as it does feet. Buying a 12 ft rod, I would always be looking to ensure it had 12+ eyes to ensure a smooth arc of the line when under tension. The line shouldn't look like the edges of a 50p when it has a bend in the rod!
A useable float rod can be bought for as little as £10. These will often be constructed from fibreglass. As you begin to look more expensive, most rods will be constructed from carbon fibre, a composite containing carbon and sometimes a carbon "wrap" or "cross weave" which is a criss-cross top layer of carbon for reinforcement.

A lot is talked about regarding the "action" of a rod. Roughly speaking, here are some of the terms you may hear and a brief idea of what they mean:

• Fast  A fast action rod has most of it's  flex in the tip section of the rod and is  stiffer in the middle and butt section. These are good for casting and give lots of feedback from any hooked fish. Not neccessarily the best choice for a beginner as they can suffer with hook pulls. Also known as TIP actioned.
  

• Medium A medium action rod has the most flexibility in the top half and leaves the bottom half stiffer.

• Slow A slow rod action is when the rod flexes through its full length.

• Progressive This is a smooth, even increase in thickness all the way to the handle producing a rod that flexes  "progressively" more the more weight it is holding.  Pleasant to use with extra backbone if needed.
  

• Parabolic This is a term used to describe a rod that has ave a stiff middle section and a flexible butt section.
  Rods with parabolic tapers are slow and powerful

• Through This describes a rod that flexes through it's whole length. The most forgiving type as it will cushion unexpected runs better than most giving a feeling of security at a cost of some casting power. This makes them arguably the best for the novice.
  

Leger Rods

Also known as a bomb rod and intended for use with a relatively heavy lead weight for bottom fishing. No float is attached, instead, these rods are intended to be used whilst feeling for a bite in the line with you fingers or using a bobbin or swinger bar type indicator either with or without an electronic  alarm.  Bobbins can be bought in sets or singly, there are many options out there, but they can be made from corks or similar materials if your budget is very tight.  As a boy, I would use a cork with a woman's hair grip pushed into it round end first.  I have even been known at times to use silver paper or even a chunk of bread! It is essential to use a bobbin to maintain line tension if you are using an alarm.

These rods often come with a special tip ring fitted to enable the user to screw in a quiver tip or swing tip if wished. Typical lengths are 9-12ft

Feeder/Quivertip Rods

Feeder rods tend to come with 1-3 push in quiver tips that go into the top section. Tips come in different weight ratings but often a rod will come with a 1oz, 2oz and 3oz tip. Roughly speaking, the 1oz is the most sensitive so would be used for either shy biting fish, silverfish or general stillwater fishing. The others are stiffer and able to cast heavier feeders further, but at a cost of sesitivity. Trial and error will show you which you prefer, but in my experience, anything above 2oz is not really needed unless in a flowing river when the current plays a part in how sturdy you set up needs to be. A 1oz tip used in a medium flow river for example, would spend most of it's time being pulled around by the flow and not really be adequate for efficient bite indication.


Carp Rods

These are essentially a beefed up leger rod intended solely for carp fishing and aimed at big fish and casting heavy baits/leads/feeders. Much information is around on carp rods and they will often be labelled something like this: 12ft 2.5lb TC . This translates to a 12ft rod, usually 2 piece to maintain stiffness and strength, with a test curve of 2.5lbs. The test curve is often used as an indication of what you can and can't do with a rod but try not to think of it as how strong a rod is as this is a misnomer. All the test curve is, is the amount of weight in pounds that is required to bend the tip 90 degrees. So a 2lb TC rod will be more flexible in the tip than a 2.5lb. The action of the tip bears little relation to the strength of the rest of the rod.
The reason for the test curve ratings is more for casting than anything else. A general carp rod for use in Britain (European waters tend to be larger and require more casting oomph) would be fine at about 2.5lb TC but if you were intending on fishing at great distances, or using particularly heavy leads or baits, then you may need a more stiff tip to achieve it.

Spod rods

Solely for firing a very heavy spod rocket full of bait and can have test curves of 5lb plus to achive it.

Specialist Rods

Pike:

A heavy duty spinning rod or a deadbait rod that is very similar to a carp rod with test curves similar to carp.

Avon:

An Avon rod comes with two tips. One "Avon" and one quiver tip end. A true Avon tip has a test curve of about 1.25lb and is a fantastic and versatile tool for river fishing.  Usually 11-13ft.

Barbel:

Beefier version of an Avon rod, usually two tips but a test curve of 1.75lb or sometimes a little more. Heavier duty for hard fighting barbel and fast flowing waters where a standard Avon is not quite enough. Usually 11-13ft

Trotting:

This is a longer than usual float fishing rod for "trotting" a float through running water. More length is required to help control the moving float at distance. You can trot adequately with a 13ft rod in most cases, but on very wide or very deep waters, rods can be bought upto about 20ft long. Personally, I see little need in Britain to go more than 14-15ft and I also find that the longer rods can get a little heavy as trotting is something you have to do whilst always holding the rod. It is therefore essential to find the right balance between length and weight for ease of use and comfort. Usually rated by main line intention like a normal float rod for example 2-6lb main lines.

Bolognaise:

A continental method that is popular in some circles. It is a very long (usually around 20ft or so) telescopic rod that is something of a hybrid between a pole and a rod. It is telescopic and long but has rings and a reel and is used much like a short pole would be.