I was looking at a Lamiglass "popping" rod 3 piece 7'6" blank-LGC IMP904-3 8-17 Lb. line. My question is how would that action be rated? Fast? Moderate? I was going to use it in freshwater, I want the 3 piece design, but wanted to know how that blank would translate to freshwater stats. I think its 3/8th to 3/4th lures but I mostly wanted to find out the fast/moderate/slow action question. Thanks. BilllyR

Popping rods are available in different actions - I have some that are fast while others are moderate.

Either contact Lamiglas or find another builder that has built that specific blank. Maybe one of them will chime in here.

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The IMP Lamiglas blanks listed can be seen in a rod cataloged as the Certified Pro popping and some of the Travel rods. It's mod fast actioned, if you've been playing with some of the graphite crankbait rods, it's powered similar to them. Popping rods also come in fast and xfast actions, the XMG 50 Lamiglas and Roque blanks are like that. I find the actual power of the blank to be similar with softer/faster tips.

Billy,
One of the reasons that these rods are typically called "popping" rods is that the series was originally designed to pitch freshwater shrimp and other delicate live bait in off shore bay waters in a slight jigging or popping action.
One of the prime requisites of this style fishing is a light tip, so that during the cast, the delicate bait is not ripped off the rod.

Conversely, if you have a stiff rod with a stiff tip, you get so much speed and acceleration on the tip, that the delicate bait tends to be left in a pile at the feet of the fisherman.

Also, since this series of rods was designed for bay or flats fishing, where it is not uncommon to encounter some good sized fish, the butt section of this series of rods tend to be stiff enough to land these larger fish.

I frequently use this series of rods for freshwater fishing - when making live bait rods. This is the type fishing, where in the midwest we call it Lindy rigging. In this style of fishing, the line is threaded through a walking sinker of weights - varying from 1/8th to 1 oz. On the hook side of the walking sinker a swivel is tied to keep the walking sinker from going any further up the line. Then a leader from 1 foot to 15 foot is tied on the swivel. In use, the hook - which may have a bead or two in front of it - is used to secure a live bait like a minnow, crawler or leech. Then, the rig is used to fish for the well known midwestern Walleyes.

With this style fishing, and the type bite that is encountered - often a very light bite - it is necessary to use a rod with a light tip and a slow to moderate action. This allows the bite of the light biting fish to move the tip, wihthout feeling excessive pressure from the rig. The fisherman, may then feed line if necessary to secure a good bite on the light biting fish. If fish are agressive, the rod tip will get a sudden sharp bend, and all that is necessary is a good sharp lift on the rod to set the hook.

So, for this style fishing, the characteristics of the popping rod, with the light tip, the ability to cast live bait without flipping the live bait off the hook, and having enough butt strength to land a larger fish - if encountered all part of the typical popping rod blank design.

Take care
Roger

p.s.
A nice article on "popping" fishing and the equipment used to fish.

[www.tpwd.state.tx.us]

[en.mimi.hu]

Take care
Roger

Interesting....

"Popping" here in Australia until very recently meant throwing large cup faced lures for catching big aggressive fish like Giant Trevally, Coral Trout etc.
Over the last couple of year, the writings of a couple of journalists have caused an evolution toward using "poppers" on smaller fish like whiting and bream in shallow water.

We tend to designate fish names to blank types.
If I was to say to someone I was building a "bream rod", "kingfish rod" or "red emporer rod" they'd have a pretty good idea of the action of the rod and it's characteristics.
Some big fish have a "soft" mouth and a timid bite, requiring a different action to others of the same size that are aggressive in their feeding.

Sorry to digress and ramble. I just find it fascinating how the nomenclature has developed so differently.

Excellent point Owen
the nomenclature" popping" means very different things in different countries and different fisheries

Whilst the freshwater examples above relate "popping" rods to live bait & soft tips.................
Popping rods for lures in fresh or salt water generally relate to stiffer tipped rods relative to the same lure weight in crankbait use, to make the lure 'pop'
in the bluewater scene a popping rod is very stiff tipped to move the popper violently , with larger lures requiring stiffer blanks, so the angler effort in popping is not just lost in blank tip deflection , resulting in inadequate accelleration of the lure.

Mongrel language this 'english' ..........one word !0 meanings................dependent on the context.

Billy,
I have the IMP 903-3 that I use for freshwater. It is what I would call a fast action. Great rod for throwing small lures at big fish. It has a "light" tip and a stout butt, and casts a country mile. Contact Lamiglas with specific questions about your blank, even though I believe it is no longer being made. Their customer service dept is awesome. If you decide you don't want the blank, would you be so kind as to drop me a line? I would love to get my hands on a 904-3.
George

Being a freshwater fisherman, I prefer a popping rod with faster tip, depending on what type fish you are fishing for I use etiher a MHF or MLF but always witha fast tip. JMHO