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Original Post (16. September 2018) in German: Link Dear community, Some of you are probably a bit overwhelmed with the huge selection of rods in the game. In this guide I would like to help you to decide which rod suits your needs best. First, I would like to explain the actions of the rods and talk about their advantages and disadvantages. Let's start: (enjoy the puns that come with this topic ) Rod Actions and Sensitivity Sensitivity = describes the flexibility of the rod. With higher values, the flexibility moves towards the tip. Extra Fast Action = ultrafast in the game Also called extra-fast-taper, is suitable for very fine fishing with small baits such as the Texas Rig or poppers (surface lures) on asp and similar predators. Produces extremely long throw distances and has a direct transmission through the incredibly fast spike. Very suitable for finesse fishing. Fast Taper = fast in game A good example is the Armada ... This rod is just great as for jigging on zander and similar benthic predators. How so ? Quite simple: Because of the tip action and the extra hard blank, we can recognize even the finest bites but still have lots of power due to the strong spine. In addition, rods with a hard blank and pointed action throw very far. The disadvantages of such a rod can be felt when fighting very strong and heavy fish such as e.g. Salmon, catfish, or sturgeon. The rod is just too hard to absorb the impact of such a heavy fish. Medium Taper = medium in game Here I chose the Evora as an example. This rod is a great allrounder. Due to the medium action, it is well suited for fishing with wobblers, but you can also jig with it, as there is still enough backbone available through the medium hard blank. It is great for trout or pike, since it already - by the action itself - can absorb impact really well. Slow Taper = Slow in game Lightweight spinning rods are also included. The fishing rod bends over the entire rod length under load. So from the top to the hand part. Advantage is the cushioning of escapes at close range and optimal utilization of power reserves For bigger fish: Here I chose the Barracuda. Slow, parabolic rods are very suitable for catching very large and heavy fish. It is particularly suitable for tiring them out because you put pressure on the fish with the entire blank. Although they are usually softer, it is much easier to bring the fish in. However, you should choose a fishing method on which the fish hooks itself, since the rod is hardly suitable for striking. Catfish and sturgeon usually hook themselves with their weight. The Barracuda is also suitable for very large salmon, because it absorbs much of their impact. However, you have to be very careful because of enormous tension problems with such fish. In addition, such soft rods provide a rather short throwing distance, because they have little transmission in the blank. Sturdiness and Power of the Blanks "Power" = speed of the blanks Power describes the speed of the blanks from the grip to the tip. Example: During the fight with a fish, it suddenly swims towards you and we have complete loss of tension. Now the speed of the rod shows how quickly the blank responds to the situation. Be it the speed of the bending curve in the normal state (return speed) or the reactions to violent head bangs of the fish. "sturdiness" = stiffness or flexibility of the rod blank The sturdiness has a direct influence on the casting weight of the rod, regardless of its carrying capacity. The more robust the rod, the greater the minimum throw weight that is needed to cast out far .. Stiffness The stiffness helps to determine how well the blank will react to sudden movements while drilling and it also indicates what retrieval methods suite this rod best. Stiffness <5/10 will not allow for twitching retrievals as the blank will be too soft to get the twitch through to the bait.

Original German Posted May 1 2019 Link Dear Fishermen, today I would like to talk about the bait choice for predator fishing with artificial lures. First, let me introduce the two most important factors: Lure Shape: As you can easily see, baits are differently shaped. But basically we have two main categories, the compact shape and the elongated shape. The fish's preference must be found out by testing. Once you have caught your target fish with a form two to three times, you have identified the correct shape. Lure Colour: When you have found the right shape of your lures at a spot, the next question is the colour. How do you find the right one? Here, we consider the following different aspects: Predators being cannibals often prefer baits with a colour that resembles their own species. The Pike for example, greenish, or the Kuori char red-orange baits, no matter of the weather. Sometimes you may have the feeling that it is quite difficult to catch fish using naturally coloured baits, e.g. white or in blue/white fish-decor under clear weather conditions. Then it occasionally helps to chose a more stimulating colour such as yellow, red, or green. In principle, however, it can be said: Clear Weather Conditions - Natural bait colours like brown, white fish-decor, blue Sulky weather conditions - Somewhat brighter colours, e.g. light orange or partly coloured baits. Rain: Here, extremely bright colours can be used to provoke the fish. Clear Night: brown, white or black tones Cloudy Night: Bright colours like yellow or red As you can see, this topic is quite elaborate, but it goes even further Bait Size: Lures are available in various sizes from 3 cm to over 20 cm. What is for what? Here again, there are several factors to consider: First, look at your target fish. If we take e.g. a char or trout, small to medium bait can lead to success. Here, you may try to chose smaller grubs (6 cm) or rubberfish up to a maximum of 12 cm. The same applies to wobblers and metal baits (spoons, spinners). However, if we are looking for pike or big zander, you should switch to medium-sized or large bait, for example soft fish from 12 - 18 cm for the zander, and from 12 - 25 cm for the pike. These are just some first guidelines and not a must, but probably a good start for beginners. Water Depth: In a body of water with many different depths and structures, where shall we start? First, you should again take a closer look at the fish species. Can it be found near the bottom or does it chase its prey in mid-water or at the surface? We take the example of the brook trout which is almost always found near the bottom, so here deep-running wobblers, rubber baits with jigs, or fishing along the ground with good old spoons will be successful. As a counterpart we have the pike which is more likely to roam in mid-water and near the surface, and attacks its prey from below. Here we usually take jerkbaits, poppers as well as wobblers to catch them. Only under cold-weather conditions or in winter, you can also outsmart the pike well with artificial lures closer to the bottom, like deep-moving baits or rubber fish.