Rod Action

[kayakfish]

Hi folks,
Just wondering what the practical effects are of various rod actions are on the water. For example I am looking for a southern estuary general purpose spin rod (3-5/6kg) for mulloway, school kingies, flathead, salmon etc and maybe some of the lighter species when I head up north. Should I be looking at fast or extra fast? I know that ex fast loads up very early in the curve, but what are the practical effects of actions in terms of lures used and fighting fish?

Thanks in advance, will be very interested in the responses to this one!

[Superduperman]

Slower actioned rods are great for fsh which shake their heads or have bony mouthes that reduce the number of solid hookeups you get. The downdise is they bend through more of the blank, so when casting they tend to whip around a little bit more.

Fast actioned rods ae much stiffer, and therefore only the tip realy flicks, which is great for casting light lures. However due to the fact they are stiffer, when a fish that's lightly hooked shakes it's head it's easier for the hook to pop out coz there's not as much give in the rod.

I find it's more of a personal preference thing. People who jig for samsonfish over here often use slow actioned rods like the Van Staal series, so even a slow actioned rod will still give you enough power. If your going to be flicking around lighter weights then a faster action would be better IMO plus the fish you mentioned tend to inhale rather than nudge lures, so you shouldnt havew a problem with hooks pulling from the stiffer rod

HTH Tom