Curious as to what rod attributes seem to make a fly line track smoother than others. I find with ulta fast blanks the fly line tends to wobble a bit more at the line tip than in softer blanks. Is this more of a response to the line speed or are there other factors that come into play?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2011 11:08PM by Larry Damore.

You will probably get a varied bunch of responses to this question. Here's mine..........................I think it has more to do with the amount of line carried in the cast and the casting stroke.

My reasoning: An extra fast blank does not cast short lengths of line as well as longer ones, thus if trying to cast short the rod does not load properly and may "wobble." Additionally an extra fast blank requires a short casting stroke which is intended to load approximately the upper 20% of the rod which might cause the "wobble."

This pure conjecture on my part...I think that faster blanks "wobble" at the tip because that is where they are more able to flex. A slower blank is going to wobble further down, making it harder to notice, but I would bet that it still wobbles.
Weight of components, weight of blank, amount (weight) of line being cast and blank construction are some of the factors that affect "damping", the ability of a rod to deaden the "wobble", but here, too, I'm just guessing. I hope that some of the engineering guys chime in.

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO

This is about line control. Where the tip goes-the line will follow. It is the hand of the caster that dictates the rod tip direction and its track, and therefore the track of the line. there are many who are capable of casting a line with no rod at all!
It is only at the end of the back cast and the forward cast that the resonance of the rod could affect the efficiency of control of energy transfer to the line during the cast.The faster the taper of the blank , the faster the resonance and recovery in the blank should be, but will take more skill to control because of the more efficient and faster transmision of energy to the line during the cast. Different blank tapers will suit different people according to their prefferences, skills, and experience.
Component choice and placement can further tune the blank while the line choice can help tune performance of the caster. Those are my thoughts!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2011 11:33AM by Earl Hamilton.

Earl 2X . Motion of the arm & the rod as an extension determines "bounce" of the rod tip

Sorry, I may not have explained myself correctly. I am not refering to rod/tip wobble. What I am refering to is the line "wobble" at the point when the fly line starts to turn over. Like a wagging tale before the turnover. Allthough the line will track exacrly where you want it, at the tme of the turn over the last 3 or 4 feet of line dont turn over smoothly. Kind of like holding a shoe lace out the car window at 20mph and then holding that same shoe lace out the window doing 80mph. I was wondering of it is more of a touque issue or really more of a line speed issue. Still not sure im exlaining right. Is this understandable?

Line speed. It's a casting "error."

Each rod action requires a slightly different stroke and timing on the part of the caster.

...........

Usually a speed thing. Line, leader and fly all play a part but comes down to control of the line speed for whatever you have in your setup. Watch your line in your back cast and see if you notice the wobble. Then watch your forward cast and see what if anything differs. If you do see a difference/wobble on your forward stroke, try to feel what was differnt or try to mimic the back cast going forward. Most folks go back nice and smooth and then rush forward trying to shoot everything on the reel.

Todd Kreikamp Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Usually a speed thing. Line, leader and fly all
> play a part but comes down to control of the line
> speed for whatever you have in your setup. Watch
> your line in your back cast and see if you notice
> the wobble. Then watch your forward cast and see
> what if anything differs. If you do see a
> difference/wobble on your forward stroke, try to
> feel what was differnt or try to mimic the back
> cast going forward. Most folks go back nice and
> smooth and then rush forward trying to shoot
> everything on the reel.

----------------------------

Which is when I wind up with a "loop pile" of line 10 feet in front of me /////// LOL

Always happens when you have that fish of a lifetime in front of you! Had a tarpon or two laugh at me over the years.