Not the rod, but the reel. The reel is fixed at one location on the rod. It winds the fishing line around the spindle of the reel as you "reel it in".

I bought an old movie reel.

The reel on the fishing rod broke.

Done by rod and reel it is. Commercial fishing is not a sport.

It's possible but the reel and rod are not made to handle the stresses that monofilament fishing line will put on the gear. The drags on a fly fishing reel are not as robust as a conventional reel.