A good fishing setup starts with the fishing rod. Now the challenge is to find the correct fishing rod setup for the type of fishing that you wish to undertake. You wouldn’t take shorts to the snow and similarly you wouldn’t take a surf rod on a boat in the lake! Today we will focus on the best fishing rod setups for fishing on the lake.

General fishing rod criteria includes the rod length, rod material, action and power. Let’s cover each of these in more detail.

Rod Length

Most rods for lake fishing would be in the range of 6-8 feet. The longer the rod, the further you can generally cast. Conversely, longer rods they become more difficult to manage, especially on a boat. For completeness, shorter rods are generally more powerful and a consideration if you are targeting large fish species. 

I would recommend a 2 piece rod of length 6’6″ to 7′. This will cater for most fishing scenarios on the lake and beyond.

1 piece vs 2 piece vs extendable rods

1 piece rods are the strongest and provide the best “feel”. However these are also often the most difficult to pack and transport. Therefore the 2 piece rod setup is the most popular. If space is extremely tight, extendable rods or telescopic rods are an options. These however are more flimsy. That said, I have caught many fish on extendable rods on vacations where it was too difficult to pack my full fishing setup.

Spinning or Casting Reel Support

Fishing rods are either made for spinning reels or casting reels (also known as baitcaster reels). While we do love our casting reels, we are focusing on spinning rods in this article. Casting reels are our preference for all day large lure casting. Whereas spinning rods and are our preference for shore and boat bait fishing. Often we are on the lake we are taking it easy and prefer the spinning rods.

Fishing Rod Materials

The most common material used to manufacture fishing rods are fiberglass, graphite, carbon fibre and composite (which means both graphite and composite). Rod material is a key decision on your fishing rods performance.

Fibreglass Fishing Rods

These are your traditional fishing rods. These have been around for ages and still often solid performance for the everyday angler at a great price point.

These are strong and durable rods and perfect for a beginner or casual angler. 

The downside of fibreglass rods is their sensitivity or feedback. In real fishing terms, this means lighter bites or small strikes on lures are harder to detect. They are also heavier than graphite rods.

Graphite Fishing Rods

Graphite rods are lighter than fibreglass rods which makes them a popular choice for anglers looking for that next level equipment.

Graphite rods are usually rated based on their modulus, or stiffness. The higher the modulus, the stiffer the material used in the manufacturing of the rod. Higher modulus rods are able to use less material to achieve the same level of stiffness than a lower modulus rod.

The lighter weight of these rods make them a pleasure to cast and use for extended periods of time. Think of casting bass lures all day.

Apart from weight, graphite rods are more sensitive to bites and strikes. 

The negatives of a graphite rod is that they can be more brittle and sensitive to breaking. They are also more expensive than a fibreglass rod.

Carbon Fibre Fishing Rods

Carbon fibre fishing rods are another light weight fishing rod option. Carbon Fibre rods are less brittle than graphite and thus great for handling larger fish.  These rods are considered tougher than graphite rods.

The compromise is that carbon Fibre rods are not as sensitive as graphite rods. 

Carbon fibre rods are generally a cheaper alternative to graphite rods.

Composite Fishing Rods

Wanting the best of both worlds? Perhaps a composite  rod is for you. Composite fishing rods offer excellent performance, sensitive  and strength with an acceptable weight. 

As such, composite fishing rods are generally the most expensive. 

Fishing Rod Handles

Cork and EVA foam are the two most common materials. Cork was once the goto material and then EVA foam along. Now things have gone full circle and cork is considered the most preferred material. Cork is more sensitive to transferring  vibrations from the rod, more comfortable in most conditions and easier to clean.

Fishing Rod Action – slow, medium and fast

An often overlooked design aspect of a fishing rod is the rod’s action. Fishing Rod “action” defines how much and where your rod will bend and then revert back to its original shape and position. This is important for the type of fishing that you intend to do and the fish species that you are targetting.

Fast or Heavy Action Fishing Poles

A fast action fishing pole will bend near the the tip of the rod. These rods are sensitive to small bites or strikes and should indicate to you of such actions through the vibrations of the rod and the visible cues. These rods also flex back very fast, making them ideal for fast hook setting. Fast action rods have strong backbones in the rod and these ideal of fishing larder fish species, including Bass.

Heavy action rods can be more difficult to cast distance and have a distinctive “stiff” feel. Great for quickly setting hooks and lures.

Medium Action Fishing Rods

A medium action rod is immediately different when compared with the fast action rods as they tend to flex in the upper half of the rod. The advantage of a medium action rod is that allows the fish more time to bite, can cast further distances and still provide good sensitivity.  Medium action fishing poles are a versatile and good all-round fishing rod option.

Medium action rods are generally the best option for most laking fishing and also the most versatile. 

Slow or Light Action Fishing Poles

Slow action fishing poles are the most flexible of the fishing rods, bending across the majority of the backbone. Slow action rods are best suited for small fish like trout. It is great fun seeing your fishing pole with a massive bend! 

Slow action rods can be a little more difficult to set hooks as the time to strike is slower. However once set, it is easier to maintain pressure when fighting the fishing.

Fishing Rod Power

Fishing pole power is often confused with action. Let’s try and clear out any confusion. A fishing rod’s power is its capability to withstand pressure at its action rating (slow, medium or fast).  For example, if you have a heavy action rod, the power refers to how much pressure is needed to bend the rod to its heavy action rating. 

The actual power rating of a rod relates to the rod’s line and lure rating. Basically a light rated rod will have a low line and lure rating and is best for small fish such as trout. A heavy power rating will be best for heaving line and heave lures. It is important to stick within the recommended line and lure ratinges of the rod to avoid unnecessarily snapping rods and for best rod performance.

Power rating often start at ultra-light, light, medium light, medium, medium heavy and heavy.

** Some manufactures do not list both power and action on their rods. 

Fishing Pole Guides

Summary For Choosing the Best Fishing Pole for the Lake

A good all-round fishing rod would be a 2 piece, 6’6″ to 7″ length rod, with a medium action and medium power. This would provide you with a very versatile fishing rod setup for most lake situations.

You can go lighter or heavy on the power or action based on your actual fishing requirements. 

Now let’s look at some of our best recommendations for lake fishing.