I am a bit confused as to wether a blank that has a 30Lbs LINE WT. specification would actually breake if the line Wt exceeded 30 Lbs. Also why is it that some manufacturers state Line wt. Specs and others state clear Poundage I.E. 20-50 lbs and not line wt.????



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2012 07:28AM by Chris Phillips.

Sometimes the safe deadlift capacity of the blank is indeed within the line pound rating. Exceeding this amount can put the blank in jeopardy. But so can a sudden load or shock that approximates the same thing.

Sometimes the rating is just a guess or recommendation by the maker as to what it thought to be a good match for the rod and the type fishing it was meant to do.

Manufacturers often have their own individual way of listing specs. Outside of length, there is no industry standard in this regard.

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Thanks Tom,
I came across this rod the other day which if it had no specs written on it I would bet my boots it could easily exceed 80lbs . However the specs refferred to 20-50 Line Wt. !!! which as i said , I think its way too low for this particular blank. So I thought maybe the rod will bend as desired (for blue fin tuna ), so long as it stays within the 20-50 Lbs limit. I dont think if it is exceeded it will actually break because as I said it looks a lot more powerful than that..

To make things even worse some manufacturers refer to line drag poundage?????? Any ideas as to what that means??? Not to mention the Japaneese PE rating for superlines and Jigging blanks...!@#$%^&*()



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2012 08:42AM by Chris Phillips.

Regardless of what pound test or line class you use, if your drag slips smoothly at say, 20lbs, then 20lbs is the maximum load your rod can experience.

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Tom,
I am becoming increasingly confused by these posts. What you stated in your post I agree with, but I was led to believe when I was wee lad with my first rod and reel that by setting the drag on the reel at a point below the breaking point of the line. you will not break your line or your rod. Of course if you lift a fish that exceeds the dead weight lifting capacity of the rod, then breakage can occur. I was taught and have practiced bringing a fish to the net and not trying to lift the fish with the rod.

Where I live we inshore fishing is primarily for bottom fish whose weight seldom exceeds 15 pounds unless you hook into a large Ling Cod or halibut. The latter is rather rare. We also fish for coho salmon and some time chinook salmon. The chinook can sometimes exceed forty pounds, but that is rare today. In late summer people go after albacore who make very strong runs and can reach 30 pounds. In general charter boat captains use lines in excess of 80 pound braid and tighten the drag way down so that you are basically winching fish up. I personally believe that you are no longer fishing at that point, but trying to fill your freezer.

I would really like to have a good discussion on line strength, reel drag settings and breaking points for rod blanks--perhaps an article in Rodmaker Magazine.

Sincerely,
Mike Blomme

Thanks Tom,
That is what I have always believed. So of what value are the manufacturer's line ratings?

Mike Blomme

Articles along those lines have already appeared in RodMaker, both in the form of the rod breakage article and the one more recently on deadlift capacity. The latter is in the online library. Maybe we can look at some more narrowly focused on this exact topic in the future.

Setting the drag to a breaking point below that of the line only ensures you will not break the line. To keep from breaking the rod you need to set it below the maximum deadlift capacity of the rod.

The manufacturer's line ratings, in my opinion, aren't very important. They're buying guides more than anything else.

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