How to setup a fishing rod including telescopic and conventional rods

The first thing you need to do is get your fishing rod setup and ready to go, this is best done at the fishing location as once fully assembled, you may have trouble fitting some fishing rods into your vehicle! There are 2 basic types of fishing rod available, one that is joined together from 2, 3 or more pieces, and the other type being the telescopic rod.

note: there are also fishing poles available, but this guide relates to "running tackle" fishing.

Setting up a conventional fishing rod

Conventional rods come in either 2, 3 or 4 pieces, with each individual piece being joined together to form the rod. The butt of the rod will have the reel fitting and the largest of the eyes.

Select the next piece of the rod and slide the thickest end into the top of the first rod section, ensuring that the eyes are lined up correctly (see below), repeat with the other rod sections.

Setting up a telescopic fishing rod

If you have a telescopic rod then extend it by holding each segment in turn and gently pulling (fig 1.2). As you pull each segment of the rod out, line up the eyes (see below) so the line runs straight down the rod.

Once you are happy with the positioning of the eyes, ensure that each rod segment is firmly extended.

Checking the eye alignment

It is vital that the eyes of the fishing rod line up with each other.

To check your aligment hold the rod up and look down through the eyes and make any necessary adjustments (fig 1.3).

You may also find that during your fishing session small adjstments need to be made to the eye alignment.

Attaching the fishing reel to the rod

Once the fishing rod is assembled or extended and you have aligned the eyes correctly, the next step is to attach the reel to the reel fitting on the butt section.

The method for this will depend on the type of reel fitting you have, there are basically two types of fittings, slide-fittings and screw-fittings. Both fitting types are shown in fig 1.3 on the left.

Attaching with the slide fittings

To attach the reel to a rod equipped with a slide reel-fitting take a look at fig 1.5. We have denoted the separate slides with A and B, the A slide being the closet to the eye of the rod.

With the reel's spool facing the eye of the rod, line up the reel with the first eye and slide the fittings onto the foot of the reel.

Ensure the slide fittings are firmly placed.

Attaching with the screw fitting

Screw reel fittings are more secure than their slide counterparts as they are less likely to loosen during your fishing session. To attach your reel using the screw fitting, first place the front part of the foot of the reel at a slight angle into the slot nearest the first eye (fig 1.6). Then lift the reel until it is sitting flush with the rod (fig 1.7). Finally, screw the fitting over the rear part of the foot of the reel until it is firmly in place (fig 1.8).

Feeding the line through the eye of the rod

The next step is to feed the fishing line through the eyes.

First, open the bail arm of the reel to allow the line to run freely. Then proceed to feed the line through the first eye closest to the reel (fig 1.9 | click the image to enlarge). Continue feeding the line through the remaining eyes of the rod. Leave an excess of line (around 6ft (2m)) from the tip of the rod to allow you to setup your chosen rig, finally close the bail arm on the reel.