Best Trout Rod Top Reviews and Essential Buyer’s Guide in 2018
Landing more trout in your boat isn’t essentially a tricky business. In contrast, trout fishing is all that productive, especially when one is able to select the right arsenal, and that includes the best trout rod.
Now, this article isn’t dedicated to just let you settle in on retail specials or the usual fifty-dollar promos, rather I intend to allow you in probably the most productive task you’ll probably ever have in this segment – to actively choose the best one for your needs.
I’ve spent 48 committed hours on in-depth research to finding the best trout rod on the market now. The results are shown right below – a five-product collection of trout rods that can each help boost your hook-up rate and eventually aid you on catapulting the meatiest of trout out there.
Subsequently, you’ll be acquainted with the only buyer’s guide that is both detailed and essential.
Product Name | Length | Weight | Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.8 ounces | 95 | ||
4’6” | 22.4 ounces | 97/100 | ||
5” | 64 ounces | 98/100 | ||
5’6” | 104 ounces | 95 | ||
6’2” | 1.6 ounces | 95/100 |
Best Trout Rod Top Reviews and Essential Buyer’s Guide
Via Amazon.com
Whenever it’s a pan fish or trout that you’re gunning for, this newly-crafted rod from Shimano is sure to up your efficiency with its lightweight offering and sensitivity. The Shimano Sellus 2-Piece Spin Rod in particular, is especially built for light-line fishing.
It comes with Cork Handles Aluminum oxide guides along with the proprietary Shimano Reel Seat. Among its inclusions are the technique-specific actions, a laser-etched technique badge, and a multi-purpose hook keeper, making it a suitable contender for rookie anglers.
The Sellus is also notably well-designed and is armed with suave handling foam grips. These make this entry ideal for an array of fishing styles. The well-priced rod is ultimately lightweight, has travel- and backpacking-friendly features.
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Via Amazon.com
Marginally better than the famed GX2 series, Ugly Stik is clearly not fooling around with its Elite Spinning Rod. The upgraded variant comes with 35 percent more graphite due to its custom manufacturing process and design.
As such, this feature has upped the product’s graphite level, resulting to a much lighter yet more accurate blank – a sensitivity that is also infinitely better than its predecessor. Meanwhile, the accompanying guides from this series don’t come with any inserts.
For that, this has reduced the inserts’ weight on the blank while also reducing its line wear. The budget-friendly Elite Spinning Rod should delight those anglers who’d like to throw light baits or lures under varying types of water.
This rod also comes with extra strength, courtesy of its transcendental clear tip design and optimized durability from its one-piece stainless steel guides. For Ugly Stik enthusiasts, the rod’s cork grips come with a logo etched right in its handle.
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Via Amazon.com
Crafted from the brand’s top-of-the-line SCII graphite. St. Croix’s spinning rod is also specially built for trout fishing. It’s equipped with a topnotch cork grip handle and is enmeshed with robust aluminum oxide line guides.
Additionally, it boasts of excellent strength, hook-setting power, and reliable sensitivity. On the other hand, the rod’s performance is notably enhanced due to its finely-tuned tapers and actions.
The patented Fuji is also spread across St. Croix’s super rod – from its DPS reel seat, frosted silver hood right on its casting models and its ECS or TCS reel seat. The rod is also treated with two coats of Flex Coat slow-cure finish.
And with the brand’s exacting standards on high performance, users would be delighted to know that the rod is more than reasonably-priced.
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Via Amazon.com
The classic maker of all things graphite rod, the Fenwick Eagle Spinning Rods are also your best bets in terms of balance and casting. They come with burled cork handles and stainless steel guides which are all crafted with chromium plated SS04 inserts.
The stainless steel guides are also equipped with stainless steel inserts which are all lightweight, strong, and resistant to corrosion. These inserts are essentially worth half the weight of the counterpart aluminum oxide guides.
Meanwhile, these affordable rods are notably durable and its overall materials are of high quality. The Fenwick Eagle Spinning Rods are armed with the brand’s traditional actions which are all time-tested for all known and targeted species.
Other inclusions are the tuned action, a fast taper, a Fuji DPS reel seat, and a 5-year warranty.
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Via Amazon.com
The safest ticket there is in the trout-fishing world in terms of selecting the best rod is the G. Loomis Trout Series. The rod is especially made to cater to fishing trout with only a light tackle in tow.
But perhaps its most definitive hallmark feature comes from its patented “fiber blend” offering which provides a distinctively crisp yet manageable feel to the item while still procuring sufficient power right when that need is given.
The G. Loomis Trout Series Spinning Rods are also retailed under one or two-piece blank, ultimately giving its users the option to carry one of the alternatives, so long that they have an ideal rod tube to encase it.
The one-piece, on the other hand, is noted for its performance on sensitivity and efficiency.
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A Quick Buyer’s Guide to Choosing The Best Trout Rod
In this section, we’ll tackle more on the vital considerations that you need to include on your checklist when you’re about to make this important purchase. Of course, the five products above are more than enough, if you ask me, to guide you in choosing the best one.
However, it also pays to have these factors in check in the event that you decide to go much deeper in finding the right rod for your specific needs. Let’s get started:
1. The composition of the rod
First on our list are the materials that are used when your chosen rod was crafted. If by any chance you stumble on a bamboo-made rod and would want to go traditional then this material is still considerably reliable.
But if you’re leaning to go more modern, then graphite and fiberglass are your alternatives, with the former being the lightest of the two. Graphite rods are also stronger and more on the sensitive side – both features that are crucial when you’re trout-fishing.
Ultimately, this type of rod is also priced quite more heftily than the fiberglass.
2. The line guides
Next, make certain that your rod’s line guides are nothing but topnotch. These guides won’t only get in line affecting the ability of the rods to cast but should also allow trout fishers to feel them when they get nudged by an aggressive fish.
To be on a much safer side when it comes to line guides, go for those which feature micro rod guides.
3. The grip handles
What makes the rod’s grip handles to be more than efficient? The trick all boils down to users making a series of “false flicks” first to determine whether or not these handles are comfy enough to cater to numerous casts.
Meanwhile, choosing between a cork or EVA form is a no-brainer as both are considered to be reliable features.
4. The action
Perhaps the most vital of these considerations is your rod’s action. For the uninitiated, action is described as that moment in which your rod is flexing and bending right when the force is placed upon.
This system is the one that balances the rod’s power to cast and increases your chances to catching an aggressive fish. In regards to your rod’s action, it’s paramount that you know its categories: the light, medium, and heavy.
For trout fishing, it’s suggested that you go for rods that come with a lighter action. This enables users to cast lures that are much lighter and a more allowing nature right when a hooked trout goes airborne.
This is due to the fact that this type of action has the ability to absorb your target’s surges. Moreover, it comes with more leeway to accommodate a slack line when trout decide to leap from water.
5. The length of the rod
The safest way to get the right rod in terms of its length is by not going beyond the six to eight feet parameter. However, if you want to gain more control on a fish when it is hooked, it is recommended that you go for a longer rod.
The trick, really, is determining the location in which you’re going to be trout-fishing. Will it be in a massive or open alpine stream or lower streams in which blackberries are sure to be thriving.
For massive streams, seasoned fishers suggest that you go for a longer rod which is sure to cast further. The only drawback that can be gleaned from this use is its limited accuracy. On the other hand, shorter rods are recommended for lower streams.
These rods tend to be more pronounced and are great in accuracy.
6. The weight class
In regards to your rod’s weight class, it’s always suggested that you hunt for the light one. In trout fishing, there’s nothing more exciting than having to angle the fish as opposed to skull-dragging it right on your net.
A rod that is between 1 to 5 kg range is deemed to be as the best range when you’re targeting this type of fish, especially in streams.
The best one within this weight is believed to be between 1 to 3 kg in which fishers are given the ability to navigate their trout lures more effectively with the exclusion of deep drivers. As for casting deep divers, one must have a rod weight between 2 to 4 kg.
The Verdict
The Standout: St. Croix Triumph Spinning Rods
The St. Croix Triumph Spinning Rods are all in the forefront when it comes to providing all the necessities for the best rod for trout anglers. It is guaranteed to make bountiful catches and are also ideal for all varying conditions.
From its lightweight offering to its comfortable yet sensitive tip and more than decent quality construction, there is no doubt that this contender is taking the competition to a higher level.
Did you like this post? Do you think St. Croix’s entry is truly a force to be reckoned with? Do you have anything to add, share, or ask? If you do, please feel free to sound them off in the comment section below and I’ll get back to you soon! Until then, happy trout fishing!
