"If people can't or won't measure the difference in sensitivity between two rods and quantify this difference i"

Phil, I know this message is a futile attempt to inform, but most rod experts believe that sensitivity is proportional to the natural frequency of the blank. If this is true, then the blank with the higher natural frequency will be the most sensitive. I can give you an easy, repatable process that will measure the natural frequency of a blank or rod. There is no sensitiveomter, so this is as good as it gets. It's this or nothing. Do you want to measure the "sensitivity" of your rods or do you want to keep complaining? Your choice. E-mail me if you want the method.

I mostly fish salt water with a fly rod, usually a floating fly line, and often flies tied on circle hooks. I keep my hooks sharp. I do not jerk my fly line to set the hook, and I don't think I know a fly fisher who does, with the possible exception of some self-proclaimed fly fishers who I suspect "sweeten" their flies with pieces of bait. In short, I don't have much need for sensitivity fly fishing. Even when I'm bait fishing with spinning or casting gear I use circle hooks, leave the rod in a rod holder or a sand spike, and let the fish hook themselves: no sensitivity involved and no curiosity about rod frequencies of any sort. Same for trolling. By the time I sense a bite at the end of twenty or forty feet of fly line it's usually too late to set the hook. If I used my fly rod to drift worms, eggs, or salted minnows I might worry about my rig's sensitivity to bites - but I probably would use a bobber instead. No matter how sensitive the rod I use I suspect the average fish will spit out a metal, plastic, or wooden lure before I can sense the hit and set the hook. Everyone is entitled to his own beliefs, but not his own facts.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2022 07:52AM by Phil Ewanicki.

I guess if I was using a bobber ("strike indicator") LOL! on a fly rod, sensitivity wouldn't matter to me either. Then I probably wouldn't be posting in a sensitivity thread 8 times either.

Some savvy fly rod anglers cast a dropper leader rig: a nymph or small streamer tied on a light tippet to the main leader in tandem with a very buoyant floating fly (like a deer hair floater) which also acts as a strike detector. Light travels faster than a tug on a line with slack in it.

Has anyone done any comparison of the MHX-Elite-X or MHX-Elite-Pro rods
vs Point Blank or NFC? I am interested in Finesse blanks 1/8-1/2oz weights?, 7'2" ?

Mikew

I and another who has done the TNC evaluation have found that the NFC X-Rays are lower in TNC than similar Point Blanks. I have not tested any MHX products. Another builder with access to a lot of blanks has his own process which correlates well with my TNC process and he may chime in with results on MHX.

I use the Point Blank 701MLF for what you are looking for, and it's a great blank. Works well for other techniques, too. The 731MLF is just a little higher on ERN and just a little slower on AA. One advantage of Point Blanks is that there are CCS data provided on their web site. So when you find what you like, you know what it is, and can select others to duplicate it or go on either side confidently when looking for other blanks. Kudos to Anglers Resource.

The Rainshadow RX10 7 foot 2 inch spin blank is a very good one for what you want, too. CCS data also available.

The casting version of the RX10 blank that Michael mentioned would also be a very good choice for what you want to do. I built a spinning rod on the ETEC72M blank that I fish a 1/8 oz shaky head with a 4" straight tail Robo Worm on it, and it's awesome.

The sensitivity of a rod depends entirely and completely upon the the sensitivity of the line. The smallest amount of slack in your line greatly diminishes the sensitivity available to you, regardless of the composition or construction of your rod - or line.

Michael Danek Wrote:
, but I have tested the Xrays that everyone
> seems so hot for.

Were your findings consistent with Norman's?

Do either of you two have other data on other popular blanks you could share with the class?

@TOM KIRKMAN - you're the first person I've ever heard say longer rods are more sensitive- from an engineering that would seem counterintuitive if by sensitivity you mean feeling vibrations transmitted through rod to hand that is. That's not the same as detecting a bite, which could be sensed in other ways, but would differ from what I think the common conception of sensitivity is.

@JASON I thought Kistler stopped using NFC for blanks - unless you mean from before they switched.

Yes, Norman and I have consistent data, and consistent with a couple other builders, too.

I will share the process and you can do it and come to your own conclusions.

My email is open