The Best Trout Rods of 2025, Tested and Reviewed

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Finding the right trout rod can be a giant pain. Most of the spinning rods you’ll find on the market were designed for bass fishing or trolling. These rods are usually too heavy, long, or stiff for the methodical presentations and tight-quarters casting required for trout fishing. Trout anglers need short and light rods for small streams, long, powerful rods for getting egg sacks to steelhead, and powerful, yet sensitive rods, for big trout in rivers.

Over my many years as a trout angler and guide, I’ve fished with various spinning rods, playing with different actions and brands for all types of trouty situations. I used that experience to select nine light and medium power rods to test head to head. I used them all in small creeks, large rivers, and even some lakes to determine each rod’s strengths. After all that testing, here are my picks for the best trout rods.

• Best Overall: G. Loomis GCX Lite
• Best Budget: Shakespeare Micro TM Series
• Best All-Rounder: Shimano Sensilite A
• Best for Lures: Pfluger President XT
• Best for Fast Water: 13 Fishing Omen Panfish/Trout
• Best for Still Water: Abu Garcia Veritas
• Best for Big Trout: Fenwick HMX 
• Best for Small Streams: Bass Pro Shops Microlite Glass
• Best Backcountry Rod: Ugly Stick GX2
• Best Trout Fly Rods

Best Spinning Rods: Reviews and Recommendations 

Best Overall: G. Loomis GCX Lite

Buy it from Amazon

Pros

• Light and strong
• Perfectly Balanced
• Handcrafted in the USA

Cons

• One-piece rod

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Specs

• 
  Length:

  
  6 feet

• 
  Power:

  
  Light

• 
  Action:

  
  Fast

• 
  Lure Weight:

  
  1/16-5/16 ounce

• 
  Price:

  
  $250 to $320

Features

• 
  Premium Cork Handles

• 
  Lifetime Warranty

Sometimes, you pick up a rod and are completely wowed. As soon as I touched the Loomis GCX, I knew I had something special in my hands. The rod felt perfectly balanced with a decent flex that let me know it had a lot of backbone for making long casts. Yet, it still had all the sensitivity I needed for making delicate presentations and detecting subtle strikes. Everything about the rod felt comfortable in my hand, with the soft cork handles and Fuji reel seat, like an extension of my arm. 

I took the Loomis GCX on a float down the Yellowstone River and fished it with everything from small spinners to some heavy soft plastics to a couple of chunky swim baits, and the rod performed beautifully. It’s a rod that can handle everything you throw at it, and it never feels like you’re pushing it too hard. The Loomis GCX is a flat-out pleasure to fish, with its only downside being that it’s a one-piece rod, so I can’t fit it in a backpack or suitcase, or else I’d bring it everywhere I go. 

Read my review of the best trout lures to pair them with this fantastic rod. 

Best Budget: Shakespeare Micro

Buy it on Amazon

Buy It Direct from Shakespeare

Pros

• Extremely light and flexible
• Enough power for larger lures
• Very sensitive
• Low price

Cons

• Limited casting distance
• Easy to break

---

Specs

• 
  Length:

  
  6.5 feet

• 
  Power:

  
  Light

• 
  Action:

  
  Medium

• 
  Line Weights:

  
  4 to 8 pounds

• 
  Price:

  
  $25

Features

• 
  Cork Handles

• 
  Fully Adjustable Reel Seat

If you’re not looking to knock the wind out of your wallet for a trout rod, or if you’re just looking for an inexpensive backup rod to keep in your truck, then the Shakespeare Micro is exactly what you need. Shakespeare Micro’s are the rod of my childhood, back when my allowance didn’t allow me to buy anything too fancy. Yet despite its low price, the Shakespeare Micro is a great trout rod. With a stiff yet incredibly sensitive flex, I’ve used my Shakespeare Micro to do everything from casting small spinners and spoons in rivers, to drifting live worms in small streams and creeks. 

Purposely designed for fishing with light lures and light lines, Shakespeare Micro rods are made of a graphite composite that keeps the rod light with maximum sensitivity. Yet it’s still a rod that can handle a lot of pressure, as I’ve landed some surprisingly big trout in some very fast water on the rod without a problem. This makes the Shakespeare Micro one of the best deals on the market, with its only downside being that the graphite is a bit brittle, making the rod easy to break if you make an errant cast and smack it against a tree branch or hit it with a flying lure. 

Read Next: Best Spinning Reels Under $100

Best All-Rounder: Shimano Sensilite

Buy it from amazon

Buy it from Scheels

Pros

• Incredibly sensitive
• Versatile
• Fairly priced

Cons

• Too soft for a light-action rod

---

Specs

• 
  Length:

  
  6 feet

• 
  Power:

  
  Light

• 
  Action:

  
  Fast

• 
  Line Weights:

  
  4 to 8 pounds

• 
  Lure Weight:

  
  1/16 – 1/4 ounces

• 
  Price:

  
  $46 to $80

Features

• 
  Cork Split Grip Handles

• 
  Aluminum Oxide Guides

Sometimes, you need a rod that’s a trout fishing workhorse — a rod that you can use to cast lures on rivers, drift, and jig baits in deep holes on small streams, and even cast a chunk of bait into a stocked pond. If you’re looking for this sort of Swiss Army-style trout rod, then the Shimano Sensilite is about as good as you can get.

The Shimano Sensilite casts incredibly smoothly, thanks to its aluminum oxide guides, allowing you to chuck small to medium lures a fair distance. At the same time, the rod remains incredibly sensitive, especially at its tip, so it’s ideal for discerning between the bump of a rock and the tug of a trout picking up your bait. The only thing I’d say against the Shimano Sensilite is that it’s a little too soft and lacks the backbone to cast heavy lures or baits, and it feels a bit undergunned when you hook into a big one. 

Best Rod for Lures: Pfluger President XT

Buy it from Amazon

Buy it from Scheels

Pros

• Backbone for days
• Springy tip that’s perfect for working lures
• Extremely light

Cons

• Not very sensitive

---

Specs

• 
  Length:

  
  6.5 feet

• 
  Power:

  
  Medium Light

• 
  Action:

  
  Extra Fast

• 
  Line Weights:

  
  4 to 10 pounds

• 
  Price:

  
  $80 to 95

Features

• 
  Split Cork Grip 

• 
  Stainless Steel Guides

Whether you’re ripping spinners and spoons through heavy currents or twitching and pausing jerkbaits through backwaters, the Pfluger President XT is the perfect rod for all your favorite trout lures. I’ve used the Pfluger President to pull tiny spinners for brookies in beaver ponds, worked swimbaits and jerkbaits with it on big rivers, and even cast heavy spoons with it while hunting for steelhead. The rod always performs with the perfect combination of power and sensitivity needed to hook into predatory trout. 

The extra-fast action of the Pfluger President means that only the top third of the rod bends with any significance. This creates quick power transfers from lure to the rod, making it ideal for long casts, creating action in lures, and making hard hooksets on fast-striking trout. The rod is also incredibly light and comfortable to cast all day long, so it works great for those long days working big baits in search of trophy trout without blowing out your shoulder. The only thing I don’t like about the Pfluger President is that while the tip is springy and great for working lures, it’s not very sensitive and not the best choice for fishing in extremely cold water for sluggish, slow-striking trout. 

Best Rod for Fast Water: 13 Fishing Omen Trout/Panfish

Buy it from Amazon

Buy it from Scheels

Pros

• Stiff and Strong
• Smooth Casting
• Extremely Light and Easy to Handle

Cons

• Is a little too short or too long for most trout fishing

---

Specs

• 
  Length:

  
  5.5 or 7 feet

• 
  Power:

  
  Light

• 
  Action:

  
  Fast

• 
  Line Weights:

  
  4 to 8 pounds

• 
  Lure Weight:

  
  1/8 to 1/4 ounce

• 
  Price:

  
  $116 to $130

Features

• 
  Split Cork Grip

• 
  Carbon fiber blank

I fish both the 5 ½ foot and the 7 foot Omen Trout/Panfish rod and I love both models for one thing — fishing fast water. When you’re fishing lures and baits in heavy currents, turgid rapids, or narrow riffles where you’ve got to be accurate with your casts and have to pull big trout out of intense flows, there isn’t a rod that works better than the Omen. The Omen’s stiffer action and strong core limit rod vibration, making your casts as straight as an arrow while giving you all the leverage you need to hang on to and control trout that are running downstream. 

Made from a light carbon fiber blank, the Omen Trout/Panfish rod is practically unbreakable in most fishing situations. This makes it the perfect rod for the rugged world of fast water fishing where you have to tame the wild waters as much of the trout and need a tool that’s up to the task. The only downside to Omen rods is that they’re one piece, making them difficult to travel with, and they only come in the two lengths, which are slightly too short or slightly too long for many trout fishing situations. 

Best for Stillwater: Abu Garcia Veritas LTD

Buy it from Bass Pro

Buy it from Amazon

Pros

• Smooth Casting
• Lots of Power
• Durable Yet Sensitive

Cons

• Not available in light or ultralight power

---

Specs

• 
  Length:

  
  6 feet 9 inches

• 
  Power:

  
  Medium Light

• 
  Action:

  
  Fast

• 
  Line Weights:

  
  6 to 10 pounds

Features

• 
  Split Foam Grip

Whether you’re casting live minnows from the shoreline or trolling big lures down near the bottom, the Abu Garcia Veritas is the one of the best trout rods for lake fishing. The medium-light power of the rod is perfect for launching long casts or bending under the weight of a downrigger, yet still soft enough to pick up gentle strikes from sluggish, finicky lake-dwelling trout. I used the Abu Garcia Veritas on Pyramid Lake, where it proved to be the perfect tool for hucking big soft plastics and heavy swim baits out into the depths and for pulling in the monstrous cutthroat I hooked to the net. 

The rod’s length is perfect for both casting and trolling, and its custom-designed reel seat delivers hypersensitivity around exposed blank sections, improving the rod’s comfort in your hands during all-day excursions.

Best for Big Trout: Fenwick HMX

Buy it from Amazon

Pros

• Surprising amount of power
• Extremely flexible, yet incredibly strong

Cons

• A bit too long for small rivers and streams

---

Specs

• 
  Length:

  
  9 feet

• 
  Power:

  
  Medium 

• 
  Action:

  
  Fast

• 
  Line Weights:

  
  8 to 15 pounds

Features

• 
  Split or Full Handle

• 
  5 Year Warranty

• 
  TAC and Cork Grips

From casting big spoons for colossal steelhead in the Pacific Northwest to drifting egg sacs for massive lake-run browns around the Great Lakes, when you need a rod for big game hunting, nothing performs like a Fenwick HMX. Constructed from a proprietary blend of carbon fiber, the HMX is both a light and sensitive rod that offers incredible power when you really need it. The rod is more than able to handle casting big, heavy lures and fighting mammoth, hard-pulling trout in heavy current, yet with a medium action that borders on light, it’s still sensitive enough for delicate presentations. 

The Fenwick HMX is made from a smooth intermediate modulus carbon fiber blank, which gives it a lot of sensitivity for picking up the gentle strikes of big winter-run steelhead and trout. It’s also superbly balanced and fantastic for making long, accurate casts with big lures into all a leviathan trout’s hidey-holes. With more backbone than a tyrannosaurus and more durability than a diamond cutter, the Fenwick HMX can also fight big fish and pull you free from snags without your having to worry about the rod breaking, letting you worry more about the fishing and less about your equipment. While the rod is a bit long for fishing on smaller rivers and from brushy banks, when it comes to big rivers and big trout, the Fenwick HMX is definitely the way to go. 

Best for Small Streams: Bass Pro Shops Microlite Glass

Buy it from Bass Pro

Pros

• Short and Sweet
• Extremely Flexible and Sensitive
• Fun to Fish

Cons

• Not the best choice for big rivers, lures, and trout

---

Specs

• 
  Length:

  
  5 feet

• 
  Power:

  
  Ultra light

• 
  Action:

  
  Slow

• 
  Line Weights:

  
  2 to 6 pounds

Features

• 
  Cushioned cork handle

If you’re the type of trout angler that enjoys walking along tiny babbling brooks and small gin-clear creeks to catch small and beautiful trout, then the Bass Pro Microlite Glass rod is right up your alley. With a Bonded high-density fiberglass construction, the Pro Microlight has the perfect amount of flex for flipping light baits and lures into pools and pockets, while its short length makes it fantastic for weaving through and fishing around low-hanging branches and thick brush. 

The Bass Pro Shops Microlite Glass has become my go-to small stream brookie rod as it’s perfect for dipping worms and spoons into deep pools and pulling chunky trout out of fast riffles and small waterfalls. It’s truly the best small stream rod I’ve ever used, though if you use it for anything larger than a 10-incher, you’re in for a battle.

Best Backcountry Rod: Ugly Stick GX2

Buy It from Bass Pro

Buy It from Amazon

Pros

• Rugged and durable
• Well balanced
• Easy to carry
• Looks cool

Cons

• A bit too stiff for small water and small fish

---

Specs

• 
  Length:

  
  5.5 feet

• 
  Power:

  
  Light

• 
  Action:

  
  Medium

• 
  Line Weights:

  
  4 to 10 pounds

Features

• 
  Cushioned cork handle

• 
  Two-piece rod

In the backcountry, things can be tough, rugged, and wild. To fish in it, you need a rod that’s every bit as tough and rugged as the wilderness you’re exploring, and that’s exactly what the Ugly Stick was designed for. Combining all the strength of graphite with the flexibility of fiberglass in a perfect blend, the Ugly Stick GX2 is the perfect backcountry trout rod because it fishes great and is famously indestructible. You can smack it against branches, drop it on rocky banks, bend it on snags and big fish, and use it for an extra tentpole, without worrying about it breaking when you’re so far from home. No matter what you do to it, the Ugly Stick just keeps on fishing. 

With a light action and decent flex, the Ugly Stick is the perfect rod for fishing high mountain lakes and backcountry rivers. Its versatile design allows for both long and accurate casts and short, precise presentations, making it ideal for fishing with both a limited amount of small lures and/or any baits you can dig up along the bank. Combine that with short length and two-piece set up, making it ideal for jamming in a backpack or a saddlebag, and the Ugly Stick GX2 becomes the perfect rod for all your backcountry needs. 

How I Tested the Best Trout Rods

All of these rods have been run through the trout fishing gauntlet and have been tested on small creeks, large rivers, lakes, and stocked ponds across the US. On each one of these trips, the rod was assessed for certain characteristics that I believe are vital for trout fishing success, including:

• Casting Distance and Accuracy 
• Sensitivity and Versatility
• Balance and Weight
• Comfort 

Things to Consider Before Buying One of These Rods

Trout fishing is more than just angling; it’s an exact science. With dozens of different trout species living in hundreds of different environments and feeding on thousands of different prey items, being a successful trout angler is all about precision. You have to present the fish with the exact right baits and lures at the exact right times with the exact right tools, and it all starts with your fishing rod. 

Choosing a trout rod is all about finding a stick that works with the fish and the water you’re fishing. If it’s too heavy or light, you won’t be able to fish the right lures and baits the right way to make a trout strike. If the rod is too long or too short, you won’t be able to use the rod to its full potential and will end up leaving a lot of trout and trout fishing opportunities behind. 

Rod Action

It’s important to remember that rod power and action are two very different things. Power is how much force it takes to bend the rod, and action is how and where the rod bends. Fast action rods bend at just the tip, creating more backbone and allowing you to generate more power in your cast. Slow-action rods bend throughout their length, creating more sensitivity and allowing you to fish with more finesse. You need to consider both of these factors when selecting a trout rod and choose one that’s going to work for the bulk of the trout fishing you’re going to do. 

If you’re casting a lot of lures on a lake or large river for small to medium trout, then a light-powered rod with a fast action may be perfect for you. However, if you’re doing the same thing with larger lures and larger fish or if you’re drifting with baits for subtle strokes, you need to adjust the power and action of your rod accordingly. This doesn’t mean that you have to go out and buy a dozen different rods with a dozen different actions to be a good trout angler, but it does mean that you should have a couple different rods that work for different sized fish and different presentation styles. 

Rod Length

Rod length isn’t something that a lot of anglers consider, but it’s vital to have the right length rod for the right trout fishing situation. A longer rod will allow you to make longer casts, be more precise with delicate presentations, and offer better leverage on open water and for bigger trout. However, a longer rod is not the best choice for fishing on small streams and in tight quarters where your back cast can get caught in bushes and the name of the game is making short, accurate casts around rocks, logs, and other structure. 

Again, this doesn’t mean you need a dozen different rods with a dozen different lengths. Yet, it does mean you should have a couple of rods of different lengths to cover all the different types of trout water you’re likely to be fishing. 

Final Thoughts on the Best Trout Rods.

Growing up, all I ever did was spin fish for trout. I had one rod that I took everywhere with me, fishing it in everything from stocked ponds to enormous raging rivers. While I caught a lot of trout, there were still times that I wished I had different type of rod or even a second rod to bring on my trout fishing excursions. Even at that young age, I recognized that there were trout I wasn’t landing and even trout I wasn’t able to fish for because my rod just wasn’t up to the task. 

As I grew older and had a bit more cash in my pocket, I was finally able to add a couple of the best trout rods to my collection, and the difference in my trout fishing was night and day. Suddenly I was landing more trout and bigger trout on lakes and rivers I’d fished dozens of times before. I was able to cast farther and, be more precise with my presentations, and expand my horizons by fishing trout waters I never even would have bothered with before. Having the right rod can open a whole new world of trout fishing for you, and all you have to do is find the right tool for the job.

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