Angling with a rod.

Extreme rock fishing off Muriwai Beach, New Zealand

An angler in his float tube plays a hooked pike.

Fishing rods give more control of the fishing line. The rod is usually fitted with a fishing reel which functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. Floats may also be used, and can function as bite indicators. The hook can be dressed with lures or bait.

• Bank fishing - fishing from river banks and similar shorelines. Bank fishing is usually performed with a fishing rod and reel, although nets, traps, and spears can also be used. People who fish from a boat can sometimes access more areas in prime locations with greater ease than bank fishermen. However many people don’t own boats and find fishing from the bank has its own advantages. Bank fishing has its own requirements, and many things come into play for success, such as local knowledge, water depth, bank structure, location, time of day, and the type of bait and lures.

• Casting - the act of throwing the fishing line out over the water using a flexible fishing rod. The usual technique is for the angler to quickly flick the rod from behind toward the water.  Casting is also a sport adjunct to fishing, much as shooting is to hunting. The sport is supervised by the International Casting Sport Federation, which sponsors tournaments and recognizes world records for accuracy and distance. Some variations of the technique exist, such as Surf fishing, the Reach cast, and Spey casting.

• Float tubes - small doughnut-shaped boats with an underwater seat in the "hole". Float tubes are used for fly fishing and enable the angler to reach deeper water without splashing and disturbing stillwater fish.

• Fly fishing - the use of artificial flies as lures. These are cast with specially constructed fly rods and fly lines. The fly line (today, almost always coated with plastic) is heavy enough cast in order to send the fly to the target. Artificial flies vary dramatically in size, weight and colour. Fly fishing is a distinct and ancient angling method, most renowned as a method for catching trout and salmon, but employed today for a wide variety of species including pike, bass, panfish, and carp, as well as marine species, such as redfish, snook, tarpon, bonefishand striped bass. There is a growing population of anglers whose aim is to catch as many different species as possible with the fly.

• Tenkara fishing - Tenkara is a form of fly fishing that originated in Japan over 200 years ago. It was originally done with a bamboo pole between 12' and 20' with the line tied directly on the tip of the rod requiring no reel. Modern tenkara rods are usually made of graphite and are telescopic. Unlike western style fly fishing tenkara uses either a tapered line or a level line and forgoes the PVC coated fly fishing line. Typical target species include trout and charbut most smaller freshwater species can be caught by this method.

• Rock fishing - fishing from rocky outcrops into the sea. It is a popular pastime in Australia and New Zealand. It can be a dangerous pastime and claims many lives each year.

• Pitch Fishing - also known as “pitching” or “pitch fishing,” is a technique designed to deliver the lure quietly and at a distance over the water.The lure will fly high and far out over the water, landing in a loud splash. Pitch fishing involves sending the lure out a lower angle, and thus making a smaller splash which will hopefully not scare the fish. 

• Surfcasting - fishing from a shoreline using a rod to cast into the surf. With few exceptions, surf fishing is done in saltwater, often from a beach. The basic idea of most surfcasting is to cast a bait or lure as far out into the water as is necessary to reach the target fish from the shore. 
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• This may or may not require long casting distances and muscular techniques. Basic surf fishing can be done with a surfcasting rod between seven and twelve feet long, with an extended butt section, equipped with an appropriate spinning or conventional casting reel. 
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• Dedicated surfcasters usually possess an array of terminal and other tackle, with rods and reels of different lengths and actions, and lures and baits of different weights and capabilities. 
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• Depending on fishing conditions and the fish they are targeting, such surfcasters tailor bait and terminal tackle to rod and reel and the size and species of the fish. Reels and other equipment need to be constructed so they resist the corrosive and abrasive effects of salt and sand.