Saltwater vs. Freshwater Rods: Can You Use A Freshwater Rod In The Salt?
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
Can you use freshwater rods when fishing saltwater?
And can you use saltwater rods when fishing freshwater?
These are great questions since rods are expensive and if you don’t take care of them properly, you could be making a costly mistake.
In this video, you’ll learn:
- When you can use freshwater and saltwater rods
- How to take care of your rods to make them last longer (no matter what type of fishing you do)
- How some rod manufacturers try to get you to buy more rods than you need
- And much more
Check it out below.
Saltwater vs. Freshwater Rods [VIDEO]
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Freshwater and saltwater rods are essentially made the same way.
The action and power don’t change from one category to the next, but there is one main difference…
What the components are made of.
Saltwater rods have guides and reel seats made of corrosion-resistant materials such as titanium, carbon, or stainless steel.
Since corrosion isn’t as much of an issue in freshwater, freshwater rod components are made of materials like aluminum oxide.
So can you use a freshwater rod when inshore fishing?
Yes, but it likely won’t last as long as a rod made specifically for saltwater.
And to help both kinds of rods last as long as they possibly can, rinse and dry them off after every trip.
Drying them off is particularly important for saltwater fishing because you’ll get any leftover salt off of your rod.
And her’s another tip about buying rods: you don’t need to get a specific rod for every type of lure you’re using.
Some rod manufacturers want you to think that so you buy more, but what you really need are just a few types of rods that you’re comfortable with and are generally suited to the type of fishing you’re doing.
Conclusion
The main difference between freshwater and saltwater rods is that rods made for saltwater are made of corrosion-resistant materials.
Yes, you can use saltwater rods for freshwater and vice versa, but just make sure to rinse and dry your rods off after every trip (especially saltwater trips).
Have any questions about saltwater or freshwater rods?
Let me know down in the comments!
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Hi tony
Would it be suitable for me to use saltwater casting rods for big swimbaits and glidebaits for bass ?
For sure! You can typically find a wider variety of heavier casting rods classified as “saltwater” rods for those larger baits.
Hi Tony! Thanks for your informative article. I would love your advise on a rod for both salt water/fresh water.. I have just recently started fishing (beginner/intermediate) level have caught couple fish during my life but would like to get a rod for myself. I am currently in fresh water but was thinking if it would be a good idea to get a salt water rod that I can use for fresh water? Currently in Canada Quebec if that helps.
Thanks in advance
Hey William!
I would highly recommend the TFO Pro 7’6 Medium or Medium Heavy Power (model # is PRO S 764-1 or PRO S 765-1. We sell them on our shop page, however we are unable to ship outside of the US. A work around for that is that if you have a friend or family member with a US address, we can ship to them and then you can have them forward it to you. Just make sure to put their address in for the shipping.
Tony, I am looking for a med/heavy rod at least 7’6 for shore fishing a fresh water reservoir where distance is critical to get to where the fish are. Ill be fishing for smallmouth using lightly weighted t-rig senkos and big top waters (superspook). I have found a 13 fishing omen green that is 7″7′ med/heav that fits. However, it is a saltwater rod. Can I use it? I just cant find a rod in the parameters I am looking for. Thanks in advance!
Hey Derek!
You can definitely use an inshore rod for freshwater. I would much prefer to use inshore rods anyway since they tend to hold up better. Action and power are pretty much identical from inshore to freshwater rods.
Why are all these comments from 5 months ago ?
This article was originally posted in Sept 2020.
Hi Tony
Where did you get your custom Century Weapon Inshore Rod? Does the Salt Strong tackle store carry them? I know a lot of fishing gear everywhere has been on back order.
Thanks
David W
Hey David,
I have them made by Brandon at Black Pelican Custom Rods. He can be contacted at bpcrods@yahoo.com
Also, we just recently did a podcast with him on why fishing rods break:
https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/why-fishing-rods-break/
It was good to have the information
It waa to have that information for further purchases of rods and reels.
Thank you for the great feedback Rodney!
Hey Tony nice video love the info yall out out , my question is does it matter if change out ur reels when u fish fresh water or salt water ?
Hey Michael!
I highly recommend using reels rated for saltwater. Due to reels being a mechanical device, you will find many more problems arise if corrosion starts to happen, as opposed to the rod. I found that my freshwater reels didn’t hold up nearly as long as a freshwater rod even if I cleaned them off every trip.
So long story short, you can still use freshwater reels inshore, but they won’t last nearly as long.
What about live bait or chunking has opposed to lures would you need different rods?
I would recomend a rod with a softer tip for live bait so it doesn’t fling it off the rod when you cast, but how you cast is important as well. You don’t want to cast a live bait or a cut bait like you would an artificial. WIth artificials you do a quick snap, and with live or dead bait you want to sort of “lob” it out there with a long slow swing from the side.
I’d like to go off topic and ask a question about salt water fish vs. fresh water catfish. Why is one good for eating and the other not? I’m from the South Padre Island area of South Texas and I’ve been told salt water fish are not good for eating.
Appreciate your answers.
Hey Ricardo!
From what I have heard, the saltwater hard head catfish are not good for eating, but the saltwater sailcats are.