Page 40 - ODUMar-Apr2019

Fishing Rod

Selection –

Power and

Action

By Joel Nelson

The art of selecting a quality fishing rod is a time-honored tradition that takes place across the country
every spring. Anglers flock to sporting goods stores, weary of winter’s woes, dreaming of the first cast

of the season. They pull a rod from the display and perform their tests of choice. A shake, a bend on
the ground, or a dreaded “grab the tip and pull down” are what most folks use as criteria for
determining their stick of choice.

Most never give a thought to how they’ll use it or for what. Instead,
they’re motivated by feel, price, marketing materials and large

numbers after the letters “I-M” that would seem to indicate
sensitivity and/or quality. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Here’s the first of a two-part series on rod selection that’ll put the
right tool in your hand for the job at hand, no matter what price
point you’re looking to spend to.

Any good story starts at the beginning, and for fishing rods, that
discussion gets off the ground with the terms “power” and “action.”
Contrary to popular belief, the terms are not interchangeable, and

mean drastically different things. Before you think we’re getting
bogged down into an engineering debate, know that “power” relates
to the amount of pressure it takes to impart a bend in the rod, and
“action” is the part of the blank that actually deflects. That’s a big
distinction, as I’ve heard pro after pro relate to rods as a heavy or
medium action, knowing full-well that they mean “power” here, as

I’ve made the same mistake myself.

While power is an easy concept to grasp, as we’re used to purchasing
the appropriate power for the species we like to target, “action” is a
more abstract notion. That is, until you look at a rod chart
and see that actions start at moderate, bending closer to the