Tuna fishing is an activity loved by many anglers, most certainly because of the catch itself. Whether you make a stew or serve it grilled with fresh vegetables it’s never short of indulgent flavors. Thus, many anglers always want to perfect the skill of fishing tuna. To do this, you must ensure that you have the proper gear for the activity.
Tuna rods are designed specifically to help increase success of catching these fast and strong fish. Tuna fish are known to put quite a fight, thus, the best tuna rods are designed to withstand this force. They are also built with flexibility to allow the fishing process to be smooth.
Listed below are the 7 best tuna rods in 2022. Each rod showcases its ideal features and how they are skillfully designed to cater to the activity. The choice is all yours to go for a rod that meets your requirements.
OUR TOP PICK
Fiblink Bent Butt
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Highly sensitive backbone and tip
- High quality stainless steel roller guides for a corrosion-free finish
- Bond strengthening heavy reverse aluminum knurling nuts
- Groove design to align guide and prevent rotation
Length: 5’/6’/7’
Guides: 3+1/ 4+1/ 5+1
Rod weight: 44 – 56.6 oz.
Line capacity: 80 -120 lbs.
EDITORS CHOICE
Shakespeare Ugly Stick
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Lightweight construction
- Insert pop-outs free guides
- Lightweight ECA grip for added comfort
- Reel seats with weather-resistant cushioned hoods
Length: 6’6”
Guides: 4+1
Rod weight: 15.6oz.
Line capacity: 15 – 40 lbs.
BEST VALUE
Okiaya Composit
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Comes with protective sock bag
- High line weight capacity
- Aircraft-grade aluminum alloy construction
- Sensitive and extremely smooth stainless steel guides
Length: 5’6”
Guides: 5+1
Rod weight: 32 oz.
Line capacity: 80 – 130 lbs.
Shimano Trevala F Spinning
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- EVA handles to enhance grip and comfort
- Reinforced aluminum oxide and diamond brushed guides
- Lightweight carbon construction
- High line capacity
Length: 5’8” – 6’3”
Guides: 4+1/5+1
Rod weight: 9.6 – 11.2 oz.
Line capacity: 30 – 200 lbs.
Santiam
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- 2-Pice package
- 50/50 break out split for easy storage
- Meets air travel requirements
- Fore and rear EVA grip
Length: 6’
Guides: 3+1
Rod weight: 48 oz. each
Line capacity: 80 – 120 lbs.
Jigging World Ghost Hunter
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- 2-year manufacturer’s warranty
- Faster recovery time and enhanced catch amount
- High quality Fuji guides and reel seats
- 2 butt joint design
Length: 7’5”/7’6”
Guides: 3+1
Rod weight: 11.3 -5.1 oz. each
Line capacity: 15 – 40 lbs.
Eat My Tackle
- Stand Out Features - Why We Love It
- Dissembles into 2 pieces for easy storage
- 2-year warranty against defects
- Strong graphite and glass composite blank fabrication
- Weather-resistant and corrosion-free aluminum reel seats
Length: 6’7”
Guides: 3+1
Rod weight: 38.4 oz.
Line capacity: 15 – 25 lbs.
How To Choose A Tuna Rod – Buying Guide
Type
When you are choosing the best tuna fishing rods, the type you go for is important. There common types of tuna rods include jigging, popping and trolling rods. Their functions go as their name suggests. Tuna rods for jigging are built to drop fishing jigs deeper into water. They are normally lightweight and short. The best tuna rods for jigging will be at least 5 feet to 6 feet long. They work great with spinning reels.
Popping rods on the other end are ideal for placing poppers and swimming baits such as frog lures. They tend to be longer than jigging rods at least 7 to 8 feet long. They are designed to be longer so you can cast from longer distances and drop your lures without spooking the tuna fish. Popping rods also tend to bend easily so that force can be focused to ensure the fish is caught as well as to prevent damage when the fish bites into the lure. They also ideally work with spinning reels.
Trolling rods on the other end tend to be heavier thus, they are more ideal for heavy duty functions, they feature either open guide or rolling guides, to which the latter serves the best purpose for heavier loads. This is because they prevent friction, maintain line integrity and thus, are more prevalent to withstanding the force of large fighting fish.
Material
The best tuna fishing rods must be built with strong and protective material. Ideal material choices include fiberglass, graphite, and carbon composite materials. This is because this material provides a lightweight finish to your rods without impacting their strength. Material such as graphite or fiberglass, for example, will also support larger fish without risking to crack or break.
Handle
You also want the handle of your tuna rod to be comfortable. The nest tuna fishing rods are fitted with EVA padded handles. This enhanced their grip and makes them highly comfortable. The design is especially important during long fishing expeditions and when you are handling fish of different sizes and weight.
Additionally, the handles of the rod come in two types of designs, i.e. ben butt and straight design. Bent butt designs are ideal for use in heavy drag fishing and are generally used when you prefer fishing from a fishing chair.
A straight butt handle on the other end is more multipurpose. They can be used in a variety of settings and circumstances. The majority are easier to disassemble for travel, transporting and storage purposes.
You might also like: Salmon Fishing Rods
Length
Before making your decision when choosing the best tuna fishing rod, examine the rod length. This is because the rod length affects performance. As detailed in the type section. You want longer lengths when you are using popping rods and a slightly shorter length when you are using jigging rods.
Weight
The weight of your tuna fishing rod also affects your experience. You want your rod to be lightweight enough to allow you to easily handle it without affecting performance. However keep in mind that, you should void a rod that is too light that it cannot support your line weight. Ideally, if you know what catch you are going for, you can simply check out the line capacity of your rod to know which one is ideal.
Action
The action of your rod determines how it works to apply more pressure to the fish to enhance the chances of capture. Typically, this is showcased by the parabolic action of the rod. This is basically how it bends. This action is especially ideal for popping rods and rods that are used to catch larger fish.
FAQs
Q: What Type Of Reel Do I Need For Tuna Fishing?
The best type of reel for tuna fishing is a spinning reel. This is because most of the time, trolling is the most common type of technique for tuna fishing. Thus, a spinning reel is required for this process. Additionally, the majority of tuna fishing rods work great with spinning reels.
Q: Why Do I Need A Special Tuna Rod?
This is because special rods will enhance the chance of success in fishing for tuna. Tuna fish are known to be quite strong and tend to put up a fight. Thus, your tuna fishing rod are also designed to be sturdy yet flexible to allow the process. However, the tuna rods are not only limited to fishing for tuna. You can use them in fishing for a range of other fish species.
Globo Surf Overview
The tuna rod reviews above offer invaluable information on how you can enhance your tuna fishing experience. The reviews also showcase hoe the rods are built to adapt to the technique whether you are using swimming lures or tossing a jig into the water. Their choice of strong material and construction also gives them invaluable function and long lasting durability.
The buying guide above offers detailed features you can use o examine your prospective tuna fishing rod. It also guides you on what exactly to look for when choosing the best tuna rods to invest in. the list of the 7 best tuna fishing rods above is also an excellent place to start your search.