The drawing at right demonstrates the most common actions. Extra fast actions bend in the upper third of the rod length while slow actions bend the entire rod length. For long distance casting, the faster the action, the longer the cast you can make. Slow actions are best suited to short casts with wind resistant flies although fast action rods cast these well also. Cane and fiberglass rods tend to have slow actions while graphite rods usually have faster actions.
Beginners generally find fast or moderate actions easier to cast.
Faster actions do a better job fighting the wind and usually produce more accurate casts at long distances. Since fast actions require more line to properly flex a fly rod, moderate and slow actions are common in short rods used to cast delicate flies on the smallest streams. Fly Reels Fly reels have a bigger job than merely holding your fly line. They must balance your rod properly to feel right, they should have some kind of drag to assist in fighting the fish and they also hold the line you aren't using at the time. Fly reels are built from several materials.