As usual the editorial comments are right on target. This subject matter came up on the board about four months ago when Emory Harry ammended some of his writings about stiffness and sensitivity. He was told at that time what we planned for High Point.

There are other aspects that enter when bass fishermen are involved as well. Techniques range from light weight drop shot on one end to massive rods for swim baits on the other. All bass fishermen will use the term sensitivity in many different ways. The set up for a punch rod laying on the bottom of a boat for short term spot use during the day can be completely different from the same rod if it is used all day. Fatugue can change the level of sensitivity required in any rod whether it be a crank bait rod or a worm rod for pitching of flipping. Tip up - Tip down - cranking - ripping - jigging - swimming all may change the rod set up that each angler prefers. Overall weight and balance quickly enter the range of possibility.

Swampland, at the ICRBE, will provide test rods set up for surveying the preferences of builders and fishermen. The rods will be equipped with quick change butt cap assemblies. These set ups will allow you to hand test each rod in each configuration. You will be asked to check a block on a sheet for tabulation. It may surprise you a particular rod is more comfortable in the heavier condition. The bait casting reel of your choice will be installed for the tests.

How do you like your eggs? In the Army they may be all scrambled but a custom builder should have the skills to prepare a rod for a customer the way he wants them!

Test Rods: Worm - Crank Bait - Shakey - Swim

Please stop by the booth - handle the rods - log your preference.

Swamp Boyz

I believe also for got to mention temprature well change how a rod well work. The same rod well be stiffer on cold days and softer on hot days.
Good Wraps Bob

Bill,

Too bad you Swampboys "aint never" fished for Walleyes. I am still tring to find a rod that tells me they just sniffed my bait. Those pesky guys do not "hit" anything., they just come up and chew your bait and you never know it..

BTW, I expect to see Cyde your Gator froze up as he trys to cross the NC mountains. It is still cold here. If you can tell me where he gets frozen, I'll be glad to pick him up as a block of ice-minus his tail. I love fryed Gator tail!

Ed Smith
Flat Rock, NC

Bob, Hmmm, your comments raise up a very important issue as I'm doing some UL rods on the razor edge of almost being too light powered right now. It's 50-60 degrees here but these will be fished in summer temps of 90 under the sun so presumably, the black blank will be considerably hotter than 90 degrees.

Is there a GREAT difference in stiffness or just a bit. I thought the blank resin is heat resistant to about 300 degrees.

Mo



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2008 12:33AM by Mo Yang.

Edd you need a senitive rod like Steelhead fishermen use. Mo The more a rod is used the softer it gets. and if you keep it in a hot car or on a hot deck the rod well get longer and softer. In cold areas you can break a rod if it is transported in the back of a boat or pick up and start fishing with it, without warming it up some. These rod become stiffer and shorter, just plain phyics.
Good Wraps Bob

Ed a "sensitive" shakey or drop shot rod will detect a gill plate movement on a little fishy up to 10.34 feet away from the lure. There will be a rod for even your "hammer hands" to test in the booth! We would love to see your written opinions in the survey notebook instead of "HEARING" them!

Be very careful in your personal dealings with Clyde! The assortment of weapons and other devices in the piroque will get him through the circumstances you note.

Bob McK - looks like some of them "sammon" guys may be on to some of the "bass rod shake tricks" with blanks!

Swamp Boyz

The typical change in temperature found where we live is not going to change the stiffness of a graphite fishing rod by any amount the human hand could ever measure or even remotely detect. If that was the case, then the carbon fibers and resins used in these and other far more demanding applications would not be at all suitable for such purposes.

...................

Hey Bill;
That sounds pretty interesting I like the idea of trying your balancing system.

Here are my reels of choice so you know what to bring
Shimano Calais 4x8 DC
Diawa Steez
Shimano Chronarch 50 mg

If you decide to make the test available for spinning rods Please bring a
Shimano Stella 1000 spinning reel and a
Diawa Steez 2500



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2008 08:50AM by Steve Gardner.

Steve my southern bass bubbas do not know what a spinning reel looks like - even our light ones are set up for baitcasters with spirals. They would rather "bust the grass or roseau canes" with one ounce stuff but are moving in the direction of "shakey and trick worms" with the light stuff. I may try to get a "haybailer" or two done for the show! Thanks for the input!

Bill, I'm having a little problem w/ your " drop shot rod will detect a gill plate movement on a little fishy up to 10.34 feet away". Extensive research on my side of the Sabine, specifically the Laguna Madre, has shown time and again the distance to be 14.07 feet. I can only attribute this discrepancy to 2 things...the Laguna is hypersaline, which may skew the data, and the simple fact that for us, a "little fishy" is a trout or red over 30". We're gonna need to talk at the show.

Jerry, maybe we should gather a crowd before our "in tune" conversation begins!

Fun will be had by all - even Ed - if he survives his run in with Clyde!

I was under the impression over time a rod well get softer amd grow a little with constant use. Whwn it come to temps. if a rod is keep it a hot car at a outside temp. of 80 degrees the inside car tem. well be over 200. I alsobeleive a rod is cooked at temps of around 300. I maybe wrong. I hope someone who builds blanks well chim in.
Good Wraps Bob