FISHING RODS:  Fishing rods can be as simple as a cane pole (pole made of bamboo) with some fishing line tied to it.  The line is typically about as long as the pole and you just swing the bait out into the water, and if you catch a fish you lift the whole, rod-line-hook and fish up all at once.  More sophisticated rods have reels to cast the line out further and help retrieve the fish.  Spinning rods typically have bigger guides (rings) for the line to go through near the handle and get smaller at the tip.  The picture below shows two types of spinning rods (one with a closed-face reel and one open-faced)

Another type of rod much like the spinning rod is a bait-casting rod, but the guides are all fairly small.  The image below shows a fly-fishing rod.  These rods are a little tougher to learn to use but can be great fun, because you need to practice and can get a lot of satisfaction from learning something tough.