The Best Fishing Pole For Beginners (2023 Buyer’s Guide)

Knowing which rod or pole (they are the same thing) will be the best for fishing beginners is tough.

It comes down to what type of fishing experience that person has and the fisherman they want to aspire to be.

After considering all the options our top picks were…

As a beginner, fishing can be quite a large and daunting topic, but to keep it simple, there is only one choice for a beginner to make, fly or spin fishing?

Spin fishing is a lot easier to master than fly fishing, and you’ll be rewarded with fish and success quite quickly.

Whereas fly fishing requires a lot more patience and off water practice to master. 

Either way, you’ll want to read the rest of this article to find the perfect rod for budding anglers.

The Top Three

Here are our top three choices from the lineup, each one in its own category.

This is so you can have a variety to choose from depending on your needs.

Our Best Fishing Rods For Beginners

Here are all the top reels we reviewed.

Each one’s a winner in its own right and they all have their different strength

Let this list help you find the best rod for your needs…

What’s a Beginner Fishing Pole?

A rod for beginners is usually an inexpensive rod that comes as part of a fishing rod and reel combo. I used to watch my father’s bite alarms and fishing tackle like a hawk before he finally got me my own starter rod.

With pre-configured rod/reel setups, you often get a good beginner rod, a casting reel, line, lures, and a case or a small tackle box they all fit into.

Basically, a full fishing kit delivered to your door with everything you need to get started. 

A fishing rod and reel combo is a solid place to start.

Why a Rod Combo?

The rods and fishing reels are good enough for a beginner to get going with, and with the lures and line, you can literally start casting it the day it arrives.

Combos usually aren’t the best quality, the rods are mostly fine, but you might find the lures and casting reels need upgrading after a while.

Once the new fisherman is hooked, the combo has done its job and you can look to upgrade parts of it if you need to. 

What Makes A Good Beginner Fishing Rod? 

The best fishing pole for beginners is going to be simple and easy to use.

The last thing anyone starting out wants is to be confused and frustrated with the gear as it’ll most likely put a downer on the fishing experience, and they make give up instead of having a great time.

Versatility and Ease of Use

The best fishing rod should be simple to set up, easy to fish with and be quite versatile for a few different situations.

the rod needs to have the right features…

This will allow a beginner to chop and change their tactics from trout to bass to crappie to keep them interested. 

To do this, the rod needs to have the right features, meaning it sits in the middle of the spectrum, medium weight.

Ultralight rods and heavy rods are tough to cast with and not easy to use, a beginner will get frustrated learning with them. Some of the best travel fishing rods will also fall into the same category as they will be meant for more experienced anglers who move around a lot. 

If you want to avoid frustrations and have a worry-free fishing experience, this guide about setting up a fishing rod can help you.

How To Choose The Right Setup 

Price 

The rule in the world of fishing gear, generally, is; the higher the price the better the quality.

You can find gems outside of this, but this rule does stand.

It’s not worth investing a lot of money in a beginner’s rod or buying the most expensive fishing rod, especially if you’re not sure how much you’ll love the hobby.

A great starting point is with a fishing rod and reel combo for under $100 and if you end up loving to fish, upgrade from there.

There will always be parts of the combo that live on, whether it’s the rods and reels or the lures, and you can add these to your tackle collection. 

Types Of Fishing Rods 

There is a choice to make as to whether to go down the spinning or fly fishing road at the start. If there isn’t a clear need or desire for fly fishing or any other types of rod, I’d recommend spinning to begin with. 

It’s far quicker to get the hang of, and you’ll find out if you love the hobby quite quickly. And you can get a fly fishing rod later if you feel like it.

Fly Fishing?

Casting with a fly is like nothing else.

The connected feeling of casting, understanding the fish, the flys they want to eat and why, gives you a much higher connection to nature compared to other forms of angling in my opinion.

Then once you feel and see the eat, following a fight on a fly rod, you’ll be hooked.

But it is all about patience and practise, and you’ll need to stay with it to become good at it. Thankfully, there are a number of fly fishing books written on the subject to guide you.

Spinning Rods

Spinning setups usually have a rod length of 5-9 feet and are made from either one or a mixture of carbon fiber, graphite and fiberglass.

They can come in 1 piece, multiple pieces that you join together or as telescopic graphite rods and work with spinning reels. 

Telescopic Rod

A telescopic rod is what you typically find in a fishing reel combo.

All that telescopic means is that the sections of the rod sit inside one another, and you simply pull them out and tighten them to set up the rod. 

Once set up, you simply add a spinning reel, thread the line, tie on the lure, and go angling.

Upkeep

They are very simple and easy to use, but they do have their downfalls, mainly that the sections loosen and fall down while you’re using them.

It’s worth constantly checking and tightening the sections as you go to avoid any issues happening in key moments, like when you’re hooked up to a fish of a lifetime. 

Fly Rods 

Fly fishing rods are made of the same materials as a spinning fishing rod and usually come in multiple pieces, 2 or 4 are the norm.

They are around 9 feet long and differ in weights, which is the unit of measurement of a fly rod. For less experienced anglers, 5/6 weight is an ideal place to start.

It’s forgiving with your casting and can be used for different fish sizes.

On the other hand, choosing a fly rod for kids is different and could be hard, the fly rod should be comfortable that will keep kids entertained and interested. Here’s a review of the Best Fly Rods For Kids to help you out.

Baitcasting Rods

Baitcasting rods are very similar to spinning rods, but instead of using a spinning reel, you use baitcasting reels with a revolving spool reel.

Baitcasting is an upgraded form of spin fishing, and you’ll want quite a lot of fishing experience, especially bass fishing, before you start trying that out.

It’s not a great place for beginners to start out. 

How To Choose A Fishing Rod For Beginners 

Length

Fishing poles come in a huge range of lengths from 2 feet to 12 feet.

The best fishing rod if starting out will be in the middle of the spectrum, around 5 to 8 feet long.

This will allow you to learn the rod’s feel, cast far enough but not feel awkward trying to get an overly long or short rod to do the business. 

Rod length should always be considered in your decision when choosing a rod for angling. Check out our guide on rod length so you’ll have the knowledge and never be wrong when selecting a rod.

Power

Power describes how stiff a rod is, and each rod is labeled with a power rating from ultra-light to extra heavy power. The heavier the rating, the stiffer the rod. 

Heavy Rods

Stiff rods are unforgiving, and you’ll need to have your casting technique dialed in to use them effectively, so they are not for beginners.

Ultralight Rods

Ultralight rods are super bendy, and also tough to handle for beginners, as they bend so much it’s hard to figure out the timings on your cast, especially for a novice. 

A beginner fishing rod should be medium power or medium-light power, this will make a rod a bit bendy and therefore forgiving to cast with but not too bendy.

And it’ll be stiff enough to allow for good hook sets and putting some power into a cast. 

Action

The action of the rod describes where a rod bends, and is rated from slow to extra-fast action.

Slow action rods bend at the butt of the rod, while medium action rods bend in the middle, and fast action rods bend at the tip. 

Slow and Fast Action

Slow action means the rod will bend at the base and is good for casting distance and fighting small fish, while quick action is for fighting larger fish and feeling subtle bites.

Medium Action

The right action of a beginner fish rod is medium action or medium-light.

This will cover a large range of fishing situations, species and will be tough enough for hook sets but still bendy enough for good casting.

Weight

How heavy your beginner rod is matters quite a bit. Imagine playing golf with heavy clubs or tennis with a heavy racquet.

It’s going to get quite tiring right? The same applies to fishing rods.

The funnest forms of fishing have you casting and retrieving the entire time and all a heavy rod is going to do is make you tired and enjoy your time on the water a little bit less.

NOTE

Make sure to pick a few rods that have all the right features first and from there start looking at the weights of each of them, and make your decision from there. 

Here’s a quick recap of our top three picks..

Best All-Rounder

If you’re looking for the best all-around setup to start out with, then the Plusinno Spin Combo is the way to go.

You get a solid setup for a decent price that is perfect for people learning how to fish.

The setup will last and you’ll be able to target multiple fish species in numerous environments with it, that’ll only further your fishing education. 

Best on a Budget

If it’s a deal you’re after, then the Eagle Claw combo is the one for you. The quality for the price is almost unbeatable and you’ll be fishing with this setup for years to come. 

Editor’s Choice

If you want your first rod to be around for your lifetime, then the Penn Combo is the way to go.

It is for more serious learners who know they’ll be fishing for years.

The combo is top quality and no part will need replacing, it’s also geared up to fish anywhere, so you can try your hand at any species you like.

Thank you for reading this article, Hope that you enjoyed and learned something from it. If you’re looking for more kid-friendly rod options try checking out this best kids fishing pole review.

Feel free to share this article to your friends and loved ones, and don’t forget to check the site for more fishing info such as this guide on how to properly string a fishing rod.