I am a avid bass fisherman and admitedly very tough on my equipment. Would it be better to get a "tougher" blank say a St. croix III or is the inrease in sensitvity/weight in the SCIV trump that? My question isn't only pertaining to St. Croix, more on philosphy of durable vs fragile. Again, thanks for all the great and prompt responses!

Well, if it won't hold up to what you're doing then having the most sensitive rod in the world isn't an advantage. I think you want to find the blank that offers you the level of durability you need and then build it as light as you possibly can.

Or... begin treating your equipment with a bit more care, if that's possible.

Also understand that the higher modulus rods aren't exactly fragile nor "brittle." But because the material they're made from is stiffer by weight you don't need as much of it to do the same job. Thus you end up with a less substantial structure which isn't likely to take as much in the way of bumps, bangs, drops, whacks, etc.

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

That’s a question only you can answer, it comes down to your comfort level. To get a more sensitive blank you have to improve the power to weight ratio, as you make the blank lighter you decrease the durability. Somewhere on that performance – durability curve you will find what you are comfortable using.

All bass fishermen who purchase their rods will soon find the proper compromise for all task specific uses. A sensitive drop shot or shaky head is one thing but asking the same degree of sensitivity of a frog rod, punch rod or flipping stick may be a little expensive. The Castaway XP3 line of blanks listed on the Swampland site utilizes a multi modulus design to provide the best of both worlds at a reasonable price. Please use the Contact Us Link on the Home Page of the site for personal contact of the specific use of each blank.

[swamplandtackle.com]

This is an issue that surfcasters and surf rod builders deal with all the time. There are still guys out there fishing 40-year old Harnells that weigh as much as a truckload of broken dreams; they argue, correctly, that the rods are virtually indestructible -- the fact that they're still useable after many decades is a testament to that.

But those glass blanks are heavy, and most surfcasters, myself included, find something that weighs less than an anvil to be much more pleasant to fish with. So we use graphite, or glass/graphite composites, as a compromise.

So much of building fishing rods is about compromise. Doing something gives you some of X, but at the expense of some of Y. This subject is a good example of that. Find a blank that's durable enough for what you'll do to it, and then use your skills to get the most out of it.

If you look at a modulus of elasticity curve (stress versus strain curve) for any elastic material including graphite the slope of the line is modulus of elasticity. The area under that sloping line is called strain energy. It tells you how much energy the material will absorb before it reaches it's yield point and breaks. The higher the modulus of elasticity, the steeper the slope of the curve and the less area under the curve or the lower the strain energy. In other words the higher the modulus of elasticity the lower the strain energy. You can think of strain energy as toughness. So the higher the modulus of elasticity the more fragile a blank will be.
If you look at the modulus of elasticity curve you will also notice that as the modulus of elasticity increases the amount of strain for any given stress decreases. This means that as the modulus of elasticity of the material in a blank increases a blank will not deflect as far as a blank made of a lower modulus of elasticity material before it reaches the yield point and breaks.
So as you go to a lighter blank so as to get better sensitivity the price you pay is a more fragile rod.
There are some new blanks on the market though that are constructed of high modulus material in the butt section where the stress and strain is lower and intermediate modulus toward the tip where the stress and strain will be higher. This results in a blank that is almost as light, and therefore sensitive, as one constructed of high modulus material but almost as tough as a blank constructed of intermediate modulus material.

I have several ST. Croix SClll rods that I built for bass fishing and they are tough rods...I am very happy
with the ST. Croix SClll...I do not have any of the SCIV OR SCV...I use these rods for worms, jigs and spinnerbaits just all around fishing...

Desmon,
I always put it this way to people. Buy the best you're comfortable paying for and breaking or loosing . This means if you break a rod every 6 months or how ever often you do, it doesn't "hurt". I know guys that make well over $100k per year and they cry when they break their Bass Pro Extremes they paid $70 for. He doesn't break them often, but it sure bothers him when he does. I could never build a rod for the guy as I know it would kill him if he were to ever break it.

I've also seen the other extreme with a guy that I know doesn't make $35k and he buys the best of everything. I've sold him a few rods that he loves but he mostly buys Japanese rods that cost a fortune and there is no exchange warranty like Loomis or St. Croix.

It's very much a personal perspective. Only you know what you can live with. Another thing you might consider is buying close outs or special deals. You can save 50-70% and get great quality without the price. Your selection is limited to what's on hand, but if you break a nice blank you paid $50 for, it doesn't hurt near as much.

Good to have another bass guy around,
Robert



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2008 10:29PM by Robert Russell.