Float rods...

cal_sutt · Jun 11, 2014

Considering I'm still a bit of a newbie, there's still quite a few things I've not yet been educated in due to a severe lack of friends who fish too. Seriously, it's always just me and my mate! He's a good fisherman don't get me wrong but when it comes to answering questions, my god is he clueless.

I've recently been shopping round for new rod(s) to buy to fit in with the very wide range of fishing situations I'm already trying to cover with a carp rod, float rod and spinning rod. I'm wanting to get rid of the float rod and spinning rod as I buy newer, more appropriate tackle.

One problem I've bumped into is the whole float rod variations. I've rambled on a bit more than intended here, but my point is:- What really is the difference between a match rod and a waggler rod? At the end of the day, all I'm seeing is that they're both float rods...

Help would be much appreciated as you'll double as buying advice lol.

Lord Paul of Sheffield · Jun 11, 2014

As a float rod come match carp rod the Drennan series 7 carp flat rod at 70 quid is a decent buy

cal_sutt · Jun 11, 2014

Lord Paul of Sheffield said:
As a float rod come match carp rod the Drennan series 7 carp flat rod at 70 quid is a decent buy

I've seen more than my fair share of decent buys in match/waggler rods but what actually is the difference between the two? As said before; to me, they are both just float rods with different names!

nicepix · Jun 11, 2014

A match rod will have a fast action; i.e. the bottom two thirds of the rod will be very stiff and the tip will also be on the stiff side so as to be able to pick up line quickly when float fishing. The waggler rod will be designed to cast slightly heavier floats and may have a slightly more forgiving action. There won't be much in it though.

At my level I'd be happy to use either type of rod for both types of fishing but if I had to choose one type, I'd opt for the match rod if I was fishing predominantly for sub 2lb fish and the waggler rod for larger fish.

Hope that makes sense?

cal_sutt · Jun 11, 2014

nicepix said:
A match rod will have a fast action; i.e. the bottom two thirds of the rod will be very stiff and the tip will also be on the stiff side so as to be able to pick up line quickly when float fishing. The waggler rod will be designed to cast slightly heavier floats and may have a slightly more forgiving action. There won't be much in it though.

At my level I'd be happy to use either type of rod for both types of fishing but if I had to choose one type, I'd opt for the match rod if I was fishing predominantly for sub 2lb fish and the waggler rod for larger fish.

Hope that makes sense?

That's excactly what I was looking for mate thanks a lot. Would a waggler rod still be ideal for targetting smaller fish on the odd occasion? I want a rod I can pair with an old DAM reel I've got to target small carp, roach and the odd chub on my local river.

nicepix · Jun 11, 2014

cal_sutt said:
That's excactly what I was looking for mate thanks a lot. Would a waggler rod still be ideal for targetting smaller fish on the odd occasion? I want a rod I can pair with an old DAM reel I've got to target small carp, roach and the odd chub on my local river.

Any rod can be used for small fish. You just lose some sensitivity when playing a fish.

Seriously, don't get caught up in the hype about needing a tench rod for tench and a barbel rod for barbel, etc, etc. Just look for rods that suit your style of fishing and go out and enjoy yourself.

cal_sutt · Jun 11, 2014

nicepix said:
Any rod can be used for small fish. You just lose some sensitivity when playing a fish.

Seriously, don't get caught up in the hype about needing a tench rod for tench and a barbel rod for barbel, etc, etc. Just look for rods that suit your style of fishing and go out and enjoy yourself.

Yeah I understand, I'm hoping to get a fair arsenal of rods (and reels) together as I love fishing with a wide range of different methods after all species of fish - specimen or not.

At the moment, I use a carp rod for a lot fishing with leads and feeders. I've got an 8ft 2lb TC stalking rod too which is brilliant for fishing in the margins, if I had to say I have a tench rod this would be it as its the perfect stiffness for carp as well as big tench.

Hopefully in the end I'll have my carp rods, my stalking rod, a waggler/float rod as well as a feeder rod for fishing commercials and a barbel/avon rod for most of my river work.

sam vimes · Jun 11, 2014

As far as I'm concerned, match rod and waggler rod is, or at least was, almost interchangeable. A 13' match rod could easily be labelled as a 13' waggler rod. Go back 15 to twenty years and a match rod would usually be 13', give or take a foot. It may have a further designation of being a waggler or stick float rod, with appropriately differing actions, but they were both still match rods, both float rods. Clear as mud, even back then.

Now that most matches are fished on commies, the water is further muddied, especially as shorter rods have become more popular. There are a whole raft of different terms bandied about, usually with power, commercial or pellet (or variations on those themes) somewhere in the mix. They are still all float rods, they may even be used in matches. However, none of them would spring to my mind if someone said they were wanting a match rod.

mark brailsford 2 · Jun 12, 2014

Cal,
I agree totally with Sam on this one, Basically there is no difference between a ''match'' or ''float'' rod these days, carbon technology is so advanced that there is no need for spliced tips and such anymore and all you have to take into consideration is how ''heavy'' do you want to fish. If you are doing mainly silvers/rivers then go for a nice tippy rod with a line rating of 4-6lb, or if on the other hand you are going mainly after commercial carp, tench or bigger River fish such as Barbel, then go for something with a line rating of around 6-8lb, ie, a Specialist float rod such as the Korum or Greys, I have a Greys 12ft Specialist and for the money, I paid around £80, its a cracking rod and so versatile!

john step · Jun 12, 2014

Don't get worked up about all the seemingly different specs of float rods. Don't in your new enthusiasm let your wallet run away with you. A mid budget 13 foot float rod rated to 6lb line would cover just about any circumstance a "learner" or "intermediate" would encounter. Daiwa Proteus comes to mind. Shakespere used to be very fashionable and still do decent rods in that mid price range. There are many more makes. Even the cheaper carbon rods of today are vastly lighter than most of the old stuff that was used by even the "stars" of yesteryear and they caught ok.
It's the angler that catches the fish.

cal_sutt · Jun 12, 2014

Thanks for all the advice guys... Everything's a lot clearer now! I've been looking at a Shakespeare Mach 1XT waggler rod, its awfully cheap and seems about correct for me. Also looking at getting the feeder rod of the same series in the future... Barbel rod is coming first though!

Float rods...

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Lord Paul of Sheffield

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