It's the Terrible at Fishing radio show on Gold
Country Radio. Here's your fishing expert and
host, Michael Raffino. All right, welcome back
to Terrible at Fishing, everybody. Well, this
week we'd talk a little bit about fishing rods
because it is spring, almost. Well, we're starting
to get the itch, aren't we? Well, I'll tell you
that the lakes got a lot of snow on them. That
doesn't mean you can trust that ice. If you are
crazy enough to walk out there, you make sure
you get your spud bar and you're pounding that
ice in front of you. you'll find that the edges
are very fragile, so you'll probably fall into
the lake before you even get on any kind of safe
ice, but I would caution you against it for this
week or for the rest of the season. So our ice
fishing season is pretty much concluded. Now
we're waiting for that ice to melt and open up
some of our lakes. We are, though, going to get
there very, very soon. In the meantime, we do
have river fishing right now, and we do have
some lakes. I mean, you go down over into the
valley, you know, over off I -5 there, you know,
you could go over to Agate Lake, you could go
to, you know, over in Medford, you could go to
Willow Lake on the other side, you know, on the
downhill side of the Cascades, and you could
go over to Immigrant Lake. Now those lakes don't
freeze. So, you go there and catch some fish.
The water is still cold, though, so you're not
going to get any of the warm fish, but you can
get lots of pan fish, you can get trout, and
you can have a good old time doing that. As for
spring, spring, spring, spring, at this time
of year we start to get the itch, don't we? we
start looking at our rods, thinking, oh, I gotta
go fishing. Just gotta go fishing. So, I'm starting
to get the same hitch as y 'all, and so I'm making
my baits, among other things. My art, certainly
off season stuff, and looking at my rods, making
sure they're tuned up. Now, I'll tell you something
about tuning your rods, or your reels. Reels
are very easy to tune, especially spinning reels.
Spinning reels are very easy to tune. Put a couple
drops of lube inside the handle bearings. That
gets inside, spin it a few times, remove your
spool, and make sure that the spindle is actually
nice and clean. Put it all back together and
you're good to go. The thing will spin like a
brand new reel. As for our bait casting rails,
that's a little bit different. I mean, we do
use gear oil in them, but we also have a grease
that we put on the worm gear, and that's got
to be maintained as well. I do have some videos
on doing this on my Terrible at Fishing channel
on YouTube. I've been asked to do a TV show.
I'll let you all, you know, send me some emails.
Tell me what you think about a TV show on the
new community television station. But, I will
tell you that I ain't got a whole lot of time.
For a retired guy, I don't got a lot of time.
So, I don't know if it would be one or the other.
TV or radio, one or the other. So, I don't think
I have enough time to do both. So, I don't think
I'm good -looking. I have a face for radio. So,
I don't have a face for TV. So, you know, I kind
of look in the mirror and the mirror tells me
which medium I should be on. Now, let's talk
about fishing rods. Now, fishing rods, fishing
rods, fishing rods. You know, we live in trout
country. So, Fishing rods, they come in every
size, every weight, every thickness you can imagine.
You walk into, say, Dick's Sporting Goods, or
Bass Sporting Goods, or Cabela's, or someplace
like that, and they've got these rods stretched
up over aisles, and it creates a tunnel. There's
hundreds. of rods, hundreds of rods. You're thinking,
oh my goodness, where do I start? Well, if you're
an experienced fisherman, you already know what
you want when you go in there. But if you're
not an experienced fisherman, and let's say you
just want a good, fun, let's do almost everything
rod, and you live in Klamath Falls, which is
where we all live, Well, you're going to go after
trout and panfish. And it's pretty much what
you're going to go after. And bass. I mean, once
in a while you can catch bass. Me, I'm a bass
fisherman. You all know that. But for a good
all -around rod, that's what we're going to talk
about first, is an all -around rod. Now, I will
tell you that on rods There a rod is made up
of what's called a blank. That's really the the
rod itself That's the blank and the blank Quality
has a lot to do with how long it's going to last
and how accurate it's going to throw So and how
it's made so it is that blank has a lot to do
with Well, it is the rod and then you've got
the handle you know where your hands are and
you've got the reel seat where the reel is attached
to that's the two screws that hold your reel
on that's the real seat and then you've got guides
those guides are what your line goes through
those little circles go all the way up to the
tip of your your rod these are the portions of
a rod You know, in my book, I really break this
apart really well on all the different materials
rods can be made out of and why guides are very,
very important. Now, I will tell you one thing
about guides. I like guides that have an insert,
but they've got to be good inserts. Typically,
they're Fuji guides. More guides, the better.
You don't buy a seven -foot rod with six guides
on it. You just don't usually do that. You want
ten, you want twelve, you want a lot of guides.
Now, why are guides important? Well, guides keep
the line straight, and it allows the line to
flow off of the reel in a nice steady stream.
If you don't have that many guides, it gets bunched
up and it can kink and it really destroys your
casting. More guides are better. It's as simple
as that. So when you go in and you're looking
at all these rods and you see one with a few
guides and the one with a bunch of guides, well
the one with a bunch of guides will cast a lot
better than the one with a few guides. Absolutely.
It's kind of a no -brainer on that one. So that's
easy, right? We ain't stringing it through 10
or 12 guides, but, you know, we do, because we
want the better experience. Now, there's the
handles. Now, there's a split handle and a one
-piece handle. So, I'm more of a split -handle
type of guy. Almost all my rods are split handles.
I mean there's some because they don't come that
way. I can't have it because I like a certain
brand of Fishing rod and if you're wondering
what that brand is Is Cajun rods Cajun is an
American made rod not Chinese made and it's made
in I think it's in Ohio nowadays I think they
moved from Jacksonville to Ohio so Anyway, they
use carbon fiber to make their their blanks and
they make their own blanks and they stand behind
their product really well. So, split handles.
Why do I like split handles? A split handle has
a gap between the two foam areas. You know, you
see at the bottom of you got cork and foam and
it just depends what you're comfortable with.
Some of these handles I mean, I have one that's
made of carbon fiber. They can transmit the bite
better through the handle. Now, a split handle,
you've got some of the blank in between and it's
really nice because when you don't have anything
in between your hand and the blank, or even just
a finger or two, you can feel subtle bites. So,
That line gets a few little bites. It's going
to transmit that vibration all the way up to
your rod. That blank, which is your rod, will
transmit it from the tip all the way down to
your hands. A solid handle, you know, a solid
one -piece handle. will have a hard time transmitting
it. At least with the split handle, I have an
area I can go ahead and put a hand on or a couple
fingers on and see if I can feel it. That's my
advantageous handle, so I can feel the bite better
and set the hook. Otherwise, if I have a one
-piece handle, which I do because, like I said,
there are certain rods that I like that don't
have split handles, a one -piece handle, I just
have to put my finger on the line. And there
are other ways, you know, of feeling a bite.
Now, a lot of people, they don't understand the
difference between the two major categories of
rods. You've got yourself a bait casting rod
and you've got your spinning rod. Now, spinning
rods, we all know what a spinning reel is. That
spinning reel sits below the rod and the guides
are underneath the rod on its spine. A bait caster
sits above the rod and the guides are much smaller
and they're on top of the spine. They're right
on top of the rod. Bait casters have a little
trigger on the handles. There's a trigger so
you can, it gives your hand a spot to pull back
on and set the hook. Spinning rods don't have
that. The reason being is that they've got the
spinning reel and typically you've got your fingers
wrapped around that spinning reel and it becomes
the trigger. There's a big difference in the
way these two rods are designed and the parts
on it. Spinning wheels, spinning rods have big
giant guides on them. Big guides. Now they have
to have that because the line is coming off of
that spool in a big giant circle and it's got
to filter it down into a really tight spiral
by the end of the the rod tip. The The bait caster,
it comes off a rolling spool, something that
spinning reels don't do. The spool rolls and
it comes off in a nice tight line anyway. Typically,
typically, you could get a better cast with a
bait caster. And once you go bait casters, it's
really hard to go back to spinning. Now spinning
rods they can cast very light things. Something
that you have to have a special reel in bait
casters to do and it's called the BFS or bait
finesse system and I do have a couple BFS reels
in my arsenal and you know maybe this year I'll
give one away I don't know we'll see but the
BFS is my favorite form of fishing. I like throwing
really light tackle and I like I like the fight
on a very light tackle setup. So you can catch
you know this is a this is sort of your you know
your timeout here where can you catch a ten pound
fish on two pound test or a four pound test.
I'll let you think about that. Can you catch
a 10 pound fish on a line that will break with
four pounds of pressure? Do, do, do, do, do,
do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Yes, you can.
Yes, you can. And it's a whole lot more fun.
So we're going to take a break now. We're going
to come back. We're going to talk more about
the different weights and actions that you will
see at the store on fishing rods. So stay tuned,
listen to our sponsors and the news, and we'll
be right back. Terrible at fishing, but it feels
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locally and beyond. Welcome back to Terrible
at Fishing everybody. So we're talking about
fishing rods and we talked basically about the
parts of a fishing rod in the first segment and
now we're going to talk about some of the numbers
that you're going to see on the rod. Now there
are a few things posted on every blank just above
the handles. There's the action, and then there's
the power, and then of course the size of line
and weight it's designed to be utilized with.
So those are the things that are there. So a
lot of people don't understand some of these
things. Now some of it is self -explanatory.
Things like how heavy of a weight that you could
put on your line and what line it should have
on it. Kind of easy because that's posted right
on the line and on the baits. But a lot of people
don't understand power and action. And power
and action are crucial. Really, really crucial.
So in our area, we go trout fishing. And I'm
a bass fisherman, so I will tell you an advantage
of trout fishing. You really only need one rod.
With bass fishing, you need a bunch of rods.
We'll talk about that too. But with trout fishing
and pan fishing, you only need one rod. And that's
a rod we would call a light or maybe even an
ultra, you know, anywhere from an ultra light
to a medium light. So you want the word light.
in your power of your rod. What is power? Power
implies the stiffness of the rod. So, if you
want the rod that can handle throwing a 1 -16th
of an ounce or 1 -32 of an ounce, I've even gone
down as one eightieth of an ounce. Well, I can't
have what's called an extra heavy rod. Throw
that. It just can't do it. I mean, it just, you
know, tangle up, be a mess. I need a rod that
is thin. And really, you look at the thickness
of the blank, which is the rod body. When you
look at the thickness of it, it's kind of going
to give you a clue. If you look at an ultralight
rod, it's really tiny. You look at an extra heavy
rod, it's really, really thick, and that's kind
of, and everything else is in between. So, if
you want to cast, let's say, a small spinner,
rooster tail or even jigs, small jigs, you have
to go with a rod that has the word light in it.
And that's really most of the fishing that we
have in our area. Now, bass fishing is not something
for the timid or for those with no money. You
need a rod, you know, bass fishing, you have
a rod for everything. I have ultra lights, I
got lights, I got medium lights, mediums, medium
heavies, I got extra heavies and extra heavies.
And the reason being is that I make baits that
are down to, you know, very, very, very, very
light and to eight inch, you know, five ounce
baits I throw. I can't throw five ounce bait
with my ultralight it would break my rod so that's
where you want to pay attention to your your
rods recommendation of bait that you can put
on it you do not want to overload your rod and
break your rod now some rods are near impossible
to break That doesn't mean they're better. It
just means they're made of some really good stuff,
but doesn't mean it's more sensitive. Almost
all my rods are carbon fiber. Carbon fiber has
the reputation of not breaking, but it does break.
I've broken quite a few. It's just the way it
is. All rods can break, I will tell you that.
And that's where your company that makes your
rod comes into play. Will they back you up? And
I will tell you, Cajun Rods does back me up.
I mean, I think it's $25. I pay for another one
just for the shipping, and they send me another
one. But that's kind of what you want. In our
area, if you want a nice all -around rod, find
a rod with the word light in it. All right? With
the word light in it. So that'd be ultralight,
a light, or a medium light for our area. And
you will be having so much fun catching fish.
Because even a one pound fish feels big on a
light rod. And that's what I love about it. 90
% of my fishing is done on light rods because
I just love the drama of hooking a fish with
a rod that's bending all the way over on me.
And so will you. Now, action. Now, action is
different. Action is how much of the rod flexes.
So, you know, you can have a a rod with a tip
that only flexes down to about 20 % of the rod
blank or 25 % or 30 % or it could be a big wet
noodle. Now it's going to be interesting when
I tell you this because a fast rod flexes at
the end of the rod, so about 20 -25%. A medium
one will bring that flex down onto the blank
to about half, you know, about 40 or 50 percent.
A slow rod, which you will not find very many
of on the market. Slow rods are wet noodles,
basically. You've just got the, you know, the
handle doesn't flex, but the rest of the rod
does. That'll drive you nuts. You really don't
want a slow rod. Slow rods are just big. wet
noodles. You want something that's medium or
fast, you know, or medium fast. You got, you
know, right in there. You want to be able to
set the hook without losing it. Now the reason
slow rods are horrible, and you don't see too
many of them on the market, is because when a
fish bites it and you set the hook, you're going
to set that hook hard, but if the whole rod is
flexing, the fish can shake that hook right out
of its mouth. But if you've got 50 % of that
rod blank, at least, that is stiff, you've got
the ability of keeping that hook in that fish's
mouth. This is really important. If you want
to land the fish that you are trying to, you
know, that you've hooked, you want a fast or
you know maybe a medium fast rod. So now what
have we looked at here so far? So in the Klamath
Falls area for just fun fishing you really want
a powerful rod that in the light category but
you want an action in sort of that medium fast
category. So, that's kind of what you want. Now,
as for picking your reels. Oh, and we've talked
about lines, right? We've talked about lines.
Fishing line, you're going to go fluorocarbon.
You really are. You're going to go like a four,
you know, with light line, you're going to go
four pound, you know, fluorocarbon is invisible
to fish in the water. fantastic line to throw.
If you want to get longer casts out there, then
you're going to go with a really nice light four
strand braided line, but put a liter of fluorocarbon
on it, about five or six feet, and then you could
cast that thing a mile and get more line on your
spool. Now, I was about to talk about when you
have a drink of my 7 -Up Zero. Oh, reels. I knew
it was going to come to me. Good old 7 -Up. So,
reels. There are so many. There's really two
categories. Actually, there's three categories.
There's spinning reels. there's bait casting
reels and there's spin cast reels and spin cast
reels get sort of a I Don't think they've got
a good enough You know voice Spin cast reels
are really really really really easy to use It's
probably what you learned on as a child. You
know, the Zepcos that you press the button and
you cast at it? That's a spin cast reel. Spin
cast reels have gotten professional grade nowadays.
And you can get a Zepco Bullet that is fantastic.
You know, it's about a $100 reel. But my goodness,
it is a fantastic reel. And there are other reels
similar to it. So, a spin cast is probably the
easiest, well, it is the easiest reel to use,
is a spin cast reel. But they can be heavy. They're
definitely bulky. And so, me, I like going out
fishing 10 hours a day. So, I'm casting a lot.
My wrist is really in motion quite a bit, you
know, while I'm working the line. So, then there's
the spinning reel, which you all know about.
Spinning reels are very, very, very affordable.
You can get good ones for 40, 50 bucks, and they
do very, very well. Now, they come in different
sizes. You know, they have like 1 ,000, 2 ,000,
3 ,000, 4 ,000 on them. That's how bulky they
are, how much line they can hold. So a 1000 or
a 500, we use 500s for ice fishing. But 1000
is a small one. I prefer 2000s when I'm fishing.
2000 is my favorite size. Now the reason being
is it can hold more than enough line for me to
play with. I'm not going to cast hundreds of
yards. I'm just not going to do it. So a 2000
is lightweight and again I'm casting all day
long. You don't want to exhaust your your muscles
on your arm and get carpal tunnel and and and
at the end you know the next day you're just
sort of putting you know icy hot on your on your
arm you don't want that you want to have fun
well you don't want to be punished the next day
or if you're going out for several days you want
to be able to fish for several days so typically
most people buy three thousands because it's
in the middle but two thousands are better in
my opinion Because you don't need that much line
on your spool. You just don't need that much
line. So, 2000 allows you to have fun without
paying, especially for an old guy like me. And
then there's bait casters. I will tell you one
thing about bait casters. Bait casters have a
learning curve and it will drive you nuts. But,
If you have somebody to teach you how to use
a bait caster, you can't go back. Because with
one hand, one cast, you can get better accuracy
without having to flip a bail and flop that bail
back over. It is probably the nicest reel I've
ever learned how to use. The problem with bait
casters is that unless you have a BFS, you cannot.
cast a light bait on it, a really light one,
and they're lousy in the wind. I always have
a spinning rod on my boat in case the wind is
really gusting and I can't use my bait caster.
Spinning is your fallback position. Even though
I prefer a bait caster, there are some days,
sometimes of the day, that I cannot use it. I
hope this show helped you a little bit. I know
we're all itching to get back out there, but
again, you know, hit the rivers right now until
the lakes unfreeze. But until then, keep your
lines tight, have fun, and please, please be
safe out there. Take care, everybody. That was
terrible at fishing the radio show with fishing
expert Michael Ruffino Check out terrible at
fishing on YouTube and tune in next week for
the next episode and more great fishing tips
terrible at fishing Fridays at 7 p .m.. On Gold
Country radio