Avoiding Fishing Gear Failure + Matching Your Fishing Rod, Reel & Line

A lot of this article is geared toward beginning anglers, but it's still a relevant bit of information for people trying new fishing rods as well. If you've got recommendations or thoughts - feel free to leave a comment below.

Great fishing gear doesn't get in the way of fishing - it maximizes it.

Anybody who has fished or tried to knows the story. You pull up to the spot, get your rod and reel rigged up with the lure of choice and make a cast…and everything goes haywire.

Whether it's your line tangling, can't cast far enough or immediately hang up in the trees, it's never fun.

On one hand, certain problems just happen now and again, but there are several gear failures that can be avoided. Fishing won't be fun or productive if the gear you use won't work properly.

"Tip-wrap" may happen while fishing, never pull lines tight when tangled, instead try to get every bit of tangled line to loosen and gently untangle - pulling tight will end up making tangles even worse.

It's a bit backwards, but the cheapest “beginner” gear available at a box store is usually the hardest to fish with.

The expert-level high end gear ends up being smooth and effortless…but there's very quality gear available without going too deep into your wallet. 

Usually I find that rods and reels in the “intermediate” range can provide years of smooth fishing when properly matched. As someone who's worked in the fishing industry for 15+ years and has access to the best gear there is, you may be surprised to see me fishing a 50$ reel on the river, but when they work great and catch fish, I'm not opposed to keeping it budget oriented. 

Matching Rod, Reel and Line

The most important factor to avoiding gear failure is matching your rod, reel and line properly. What this means is that certain reels are meant to pair with certain rods and line. “Combo” rod and reel setups are generally well matched, although they may come with sub-par line.

The two primary categories are “spinning” and “casting” rods/reels.

It's easy to be confused, as “casting” setups may be referred to as “baitcaster”, “conventional” or “level wind” and are also the hardest for beginners to cast with. Casting rods are also often used for non-casting applications.

Once their brakes are tuned and technique learned, they can be excellent for casting lures, but unless you're using them on a boat and just letting out line, I would recommend avoiding them and starting with a “spinning” reel for casting lures.

A Basic Guideline to Match Rod, Reel & Line (Using  spinning rod and reel examples)

Includes Mono to Braid Line Rating Comparisons

These are general guidelines that usually are compatible - keep in mind that braid must require special knots plus a clear leader, and due to its break strength, take extra care when breaking line off of snags.

Spinning Rods and Reels

Spinning reels have a “bail” on top of the reel that spins while reeling, and is opened and closed by hand during the casting process. The rod will have larger guides closest to the reel and taper to the tip, with less guides as the line is going to be underneath the rod. 

Above: An Okuma Spinning Reel called the "Ceymar" is an excellent reel at a reasonable price point.

There are plenty of casting tutorials online, but you must have a rod, reel, line and lure that are meant for each other. The “push-button” rods can work, but they end up having the most issues over time and harder to untangle inside the reel. 

There are so many sizes of spinning rods, reels and line, so rather than list every single one I will list two categories: ultra light and medium power.

Ultra Light Rods

Ultra light is best for small fish species such as bluegill, small trout and crappie. It's "ultra" fun to catch fish on, but can be more temperamental than a medium power setup. 

A common ultra-light spinning rod size is 6’ long and may have a line-weight listed on it, such as 2-6lb or 4-8lb, but not always.

Line weight usually refers to the ideal monofilament line size to cast and fish with.

It also refers to what line you can safely fish without harming the rod - although keep in mind that you should never try to break off of a snag by pulling on the rod in a bend.

If you need to break your line off - point the rod at the snag, hold your reel spool (don't tighten drag) and pull straight back - that will put pressure on the line instead of risking the rod breaking. 

Keep in mind that braided line does not apply to standard line-weight ratings, and has a different diameter. 

My favorite ultra-light setup would be a 6’ rod, size 1000 spinning reel with 6lb monofilament wound on using a string winding machine. The string winding machine usually will prevent issues that come from winding it on yourself.

I don't use braid much for ultra lights as it has no stretch and could break the rod easier, plus it is not as easy to cast light lures with as 6lb mono, but sometimes I may use 10lb. braid with a leader of monofilament or flourocarbon. 

Important: When using braided line, in most cases you must add a leader section as braid is very easy for fish to see. In certain cases, you can get away with straight braid to the lure, but its not recommended for any fish that may be wary of visibile line.

Keep in mind that monofilament has “memory” so if you are getting consistent line loops while casting your line may be too old and needs to be replaced. While ultra lights are fun and can cast light lures and baits (1/16oz-1/8oz), I generally wouldn't recommend them as a rod to learn on. 

Check out this article on micro-worms for Trout & Panfish - or Shop Micro Worms Here

Medium and Medium-Light Rods

Medium or medium-light power spinning rods are excellent for most anglers as they are light enough to still fish for trout, but can handle bass, catfish and even salmon.

Typically 7’ to 8’6 is a great multi-species range with line weights of 6-10 or 8-12lb. Spinning reel sizes can be 2000, 2500 or even 3000.

Using braid in 20-30lb range can provide excellent casts, but you must learn at least the palomar knot or double-uni knot  to tie on a clear leader section to your bait, as fish see braid too easily. If using monofilament, 10-12lb test is strong enough but will still cast ¼ oz plenty far. 

Common Problems with Fishing Setups

Getting Bad Casts? You may be using too light, or too heavy of line for the rod/reel, or too light/too heavy of a lure setup. Both are major factors to casting. 

First make sure you're not trying to cast too heavy of a lure with too light of a rod, or vice versa. If that's not the issue, check the diameter and quality of line you're using. Then look to the reel itself to ensure it's properly configured - and finally, the rod may have issues with guides or be improperly matched.

While some tangles can be untangled within a minute or so, if it gets too extreme, sometimes cutting the leader and retying is a faster alternative.

Line Tangling and Twisting? It may be old line that needs replacing, or isn't matched properly to your rod and reel. 

It could also be a setup that is too light or too heavy, or improper casting technique - or perhaps a tangle-prone rig setup.

Bonus Tip: If using a snap swivel for drift/slip bobber fishing - tying mainline to the swivel eye that also has a snap will allow weight and leader to tangle less than letting the weight/snap hang from the leader end.

Recap: Matching Rod, Reel & Line Sizes Together Properly is the #1 key to Best Fishing Gear Performance

Keep in mind that line weight, lure weight and rod "power & action" are not a perfect science, but usually there is a general compatibility between them. 

The benefit of in-person sporting goods stores is you can ask for recommendations on getting your fishing gear dialed in, and some offer line winding as a service. If your gear is frustrating you, it's worth it to make changes until you're getting smooth and accurate casts.

• Lucas Holmgren

Web/Content Strategist at Addicted Fishing