The Best Bottom Fishing Rods

Bottom fishing is the most straight forward kind of fishing. You just need to sink your bait or lure to the bottom of the sea or the sea bed and wait for the fish to bite.

This method targets ‘ground’ fish or also known as demersal fish. Demersal fish include groupers, snappers, eels, cods and also stingrays.

It is not a good idea to march in into a tackle store and make your choice there. You may end up getting a rod that is not worth buying. If time is in your hand do lots of research first on the internet and compare the specifications and prices as well before you decide to buy.

To get the best rod for you will sometimes quite confusing because it will depend on many things. It depends of type of fish that you target and how big it is. It also depends on your budget too. But the good rule of thumb is that you should take into consideration of the basic characteristics of the rod described below.

Characteristic of a Bottom Fishing Rod

Length – Pick a relatively shorter rod as opposed to the longer one. Long rods are more suitable for casting. Get a rod from a range of 5’ 8” to 6’ 6”.

Guides - Roller guides are suitable for heavy game fish. Standard metal guides are suitable too and they are cheaper.

Action (Taper/Bend) – Taper measures the amount of bend of the rod from the butt to the tip. Get a rod that has a medium or fast taper. Medium taper indicates that the rod bends more on the top portion compared to the butt section. Fast taper mainly bends on the tip section.

Some online stores give good information on different brands and models with prices that you can compare.

Sea Isle Tackle, Tackle Direct and Tackle Bargains are examples of online stores that give out good information about all kinds of fishing gears available.

Jigging Rods

Jigging is one of many fishing methods in deep sea fishing known to experienced anglers nowadays. For many anglers jigging is a physically demanding activity that drains their energy fast as it involves lots of hands and upper body movements. However the sensation of the jig being snapped by a big gamefish is exceptionally rewarding.

Jigging literally involves releasing a jig (bait) to sink to the sea seabed; retrieve it for a few meters then re-release the jig to the seabed.

This release/retrieve action is repeated until the attracted fish bites the bait. The motion of the jig while being released and retrieved simulates a small fish or small prey which then attracts predator fish such as GTs, snappers, jacks and groupers.

Depending on the type and size of the fish and the jig's weight the type of rods also differs. Usually the main parameters that you need to look for in a rod are length of rod, line weight capacity range, jig’s weight range and guide type.

A typical medium action jigging rod has a length of 6’ to 6’6” with 30lb to 80lb line weight capacity range and jig’s weight range of 75g to 200g. An extra heavy action rod meanwhile is shorter in total length of 5’8” with 80lb to 200lb line weight capacity range and jig’s weight range of 120g to 325g.

Shimano is one of the makers that produce high quality jigging rods and it has developed its own Butterfly Jigging System. Its outstanding Shimano Trevala series rods are specifically developed and manufactured for jigging and it is already well known throughout the globe.

The next generation of TC4 Construction is engineered using a high carbon butt section fused together with a TC4 tip section. This new blank design gives you the pulling power of TC4 but with less weight and increased sensitivity. You will also notice a much faster recovery rate, which will increase the jigging action. The conventional Trevala-F Jigging series rods are built with Fuji Palm Support Reel Seats. The support sits further back on the reel seat and provides a more natural, comfortable angle that is easy on the wrist when palming the reel or fighting a fish. A welcomed feature to anglers that spend all day jigging.

The Trevala-F jigging rods feature New Concept Fuji SiC Silicon Carbide Guides. These guides are extremely lightweight, yet ready to take punishment. Fuji states their unique frame design makes it "virtually impossible for line to tangle - even braided lines - which are notorious for their line tangling ability. The frames Deep Press design seats the ring so well that even knots or swivels can’t damage it."

Tables below show specifications of different models of Shimano rods.

Selection of Rods for Deep Sea Fishing for Newbies

First thing first. Offshore fishing rods are relatively different than inshore rods or freshwater rods.

You will have a wide range of choices to select but basically they are more or less the same.

There are graphite rods and there are fiberglass ones. Of course there are others too; carbon, stainless steel, wood, bamboo you name it. But those two are the most popular types of rods.

Graphite rods are extremely strong yet they are super light. Thus they can last longer than fiberglass. They can withstand really large and heavy  fish such as sailfish, stingrays and sharks. On the downside though this rod is not as flexible as fiberglass. Usually graphite rods are more expensive than fiberglass.

Fiberglass rods meanwhile are strong too but they are not as durable as graphites. Thus this rod doesn't last as long as graphite. But it is cheaper though.

There are tons of rod products out there that you can choose and doing research on the internet is the best way for you to pick your own rod.