jimmyjoe

Hey, @A-Jay! I saw the video of you breaking your rod in the thread on high-sticking started by @papajoe222. That was EXACTLY the kind of thing I was wondering about! When you started the back lunge, the rod wasn't high enough to qualify as being high-sticked. But just a little give on the part of what was on the end of the line, and the resulting back-movement of your rod, and BOOM! ... there it was. Broken rod. I wondered whether a moderate action rod might not have saved you there. I can't be sure, but my impression is quite often, fishermen who set their hook strongly, especially with extra-fast action rods, are right on the edge of high-sticking as well as breaking their rods. A little too much give and backward movement, and the best of intentions go south. Now, more than ever, I realize why I like fiberglass rods. They're not perfect, but they have some really nice characteristics. jj

Whoa, Nelly! Hold on ... I may have taken the wrong road back there at the last turn! ? ? Sorry 'bout that! Composite has a slower speed. Graphite has the fastest speed, composite is next, and fiberglass is the slowest speed. "Speed" (not settling time) means the time to return to center after you deflect the rod tip a given amount and then let go. So if you take the tip, hold it away from the rod axis 12 inches and let go, the amount of time it takes to re-center itself is "speed". It might be a hundredth of a second, it might be .015 seconds. More time is slower speed. That has nothing to do with "action", which is the point along the blank where the tip deflection transitions into backbone. Yes, the "action" is described with words that sound like speed: fast, slow and moderate-fast. I think that's unfortunate, but there are a lot of things about this industry that are unfortunate. If you use the rod filter provided by Tackle Warehouse, they list "taper" for the same thing we call "action", and they use the word "action" for the same thing we call "power". It's messed up. Totally messed up. And it has been messed up for years. I can't be sure, but I think a lot of this confusion comes from flycasting terminology. I like to blame them for lots of stuff. ? ? ANYWAY .......... ? ......... what I was asking about was what I call action, or the point on the blank where the floppy tip transitions to the stiff backbone. An extra-fast action is one that has a floppy tip that is relatively short, and transitions to the stiff backbone out towards the higher end of the rod. On a 7' rod, an extra-fast might transition 15 or 16" from the tip. A fast action would transition maybe 2' or even 28" from the tip, and a moderate-fast would transition maybe 3' or so from the tip. So I didn't understand why a manufacturer didn't make a rod out of composite material that had an extra-fast action, or tip that transitioned out there towards the end of the rod. I just thought it was doable, that's all. So anyway .... to get back on track. I was asking whether rods that transitioned way out towards the end (extra-fast) were more susceptible to breakage than rods that transitioned more towards the middle of the blank, like fast and moderate-fast. I think @The Maestro understood what I was getting at, but I'm not too sure whether all the other people who responded to my question are on board. Sorry for the confusion. I hate it when things get complicated. ? ? ? jj

If you hold your rod at 45 degrees, you can almost never break it because it will flex completely before it breaks. I say "almost", because you actually can break the rod ... you just need to be errant about your handling. But if you lift the rod to a more vertical angle, like 90 degrees or almost 90 degrees, the flex of the tip can't transfer to the body. It can't pull the body down, in other words, because the angle of compression is parallel to the shaft. So the tip takes all the stress and ..... POW! it breaks. Because the rod's (or stick's) angle is so high when that occurs, they call it "high sticking". jj P.S. - Dang! Beat by @MN Fisher again! ? jj

I think so, too. Fiberglass and high-glass-content composite seem much more durable and able to absorb shock than graphite. And yet ..... I can't think of one single extra-fast-action rod that is composite. Hmmmm ......... ??? jj

I deliberately used the phrase "sudden load" and not the word "fish". The reason is simple: after I break it, I don't care what I broke it on. I just want to hedge my bets and not break it. ? jj

This goes back many years. I'm asking because I know things can change. I've been under the impression that extra-fast action rods are more prone to break than fast or moderate. The reason is that the transition (or "knee") of the blank, where the softer tip transitions to the stiffer backbone, is confined to a shorter portion of the blank, and therefore undergoes greater stress under sudden load. A fast or (especially) moderate action distributes this stress over a greater portion of the blank, and therefore are stronger. Right or wrong? As always, thanks for the feedback. ? jj

My retailer had the KVD rod that you mention on the rack. I hefted it. I'm used to heavy rods, because I use fiberglass. That rod was too heavy/unbalanced for my purposes. YMMV. jj

The biggest question that you're going to have to answer (and unfortunately, only you can) is one of sensitivity or feel. Some people use slack-line for Neds and Senkos, and watch the line. No real sensitivity needed. But some people use semi-slack techniques, and use touch far more than sight. For those people, going from a Ned to a Senko might (or might not) call for a different rod. And if you're talking about hard jerkbaits and not soft jerkbaits, then the rod for topwater-and-jerkbaits might be different .... I would use a little heavier power with a somewhat softer tip. BTW - I use MH/F or MH/MF for hard jerkbaits, and a M/MF for soft ones. I don't use a casting setup for Neds or Senkos, but that's just me. My choices are made to 1) get some distance and accuracy. I figure why use it if you can't put it where it needs to go, and 2) set the hook. I don't believe in playing the fish; I had enough of that for 10 years. Hook'em and haul'em. ? jj

There's the answer. Popularity means sales, and sales rules the market. jj

I admit that I had not even considered Duckett. Their Green Ghost and Micro Magic had the worst guides to use in slop. I see the Incite has regular guides. I'll take a closer look at them. Thnx. jj

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love this place 'cause I fit right in! ? jj

This is to the person who PM'd me about this subject. I accidentally deleted your message, as well as my reply, and I forgot your usename. I know, I know ...... I'm old. ? I'll answer your suggestion here. I have the 7'-06" Daiwa Fuego rod, H/F, 1/4-1 and 1/2. I've had it set up for heavy stuff, and never even thought to try it for lighter weights. Today I put a Curado 200 on it, loaded with 12 lb. Big Game line. I already knew this would cast 1/2 oz. well, with good enough distance and fairly good accuracy. I tried a Super Fluke, and not only did the distance shrink, but the accuracy was miserable. A heavy 1/4 oz. spinner was about the same way. This is not the rod for small treble hooks. Micro Double Cowgirls and Musky Killers? Yes. KVD Magnum Squarebills, 8.0? Yes. Even 1/4 oz. spinnerbaits casted OK, and I'm sure they'll hold. But not smaller trebles. It's too stiff. So for me, this is a 1/2-1+ oz. rod, not a 1/4-1+ oz. rod. But thank you for the suggestion! Now we know. ? jj

Is this a trick question? You remember those great big, thick unabridged dictionaries that they used to have sitting on a little stand in libraries? You know ... the ones that had little pictures next to some words to illustrate them? Well, if you looked up the word "stupid", it had a little picture of me next to it. ? ? jj

For me, that's the first option, not the last option. ? jj

In case you hadn't noticed, I was asked what my preference was. I gave my preference. I don't recall saying that other people had to agree. jj

Pretty nice to call up a company and get straight advice, ain't it? jj

Are you kidding? ? Some places, you can go 90-120 miles and be in another world! Being on this forum has taught me two things: 1) Some things are common to all bass fishermen everywhere. 2) Some things are so different that you might as well not even mention them. The problem is figuring out which is which. jj

Yeah, I know. I'm just trying to figure out which way to go with the least compromises. I'm aware that it's difficult finding just one. Thnx, jj There's a retailer about 75 miles away who handles a few Tatula rods! I know it's not many, but I'll make a call and see just which ones what he has. Thanks, @Catt!

Funny, but we keep coming back around to those ARK Tharp series rods, again and again. I'm getting more curious of them as time goes on. The Hammer, though, doesn't look (on paper) as if it would be any good for cranks. Is it? jj

Simple: for nylon, I like the Curado better. For braid, I like the Tatula better. jj

I'm not so much looking for a rod to use both bottom and moving as much as I'm looking for a rod that will be competent with a wide range of weights. I fish from shore. When I fish lakes, I get there at or before dawn and take off walking until lunch. Tramping around the trails (and off the trails into the grass), I want to take only one rod with me. Maybe I'm asking too much, but I'd like a rod that would 1) cast super flukes (they weigh 1/4 oz.) a decent distance, 2) cast a 1/4 oz. spoon as well as a 1 oz. spoon, 3) handle whatever is in-between, and 4) yank a fish out of blowdowns with authority when need be. And yes, I'd like it to be good-to-go with crankbaits, too. That's my idea of a do-it-all rod. I haven't decided whether I'd prefer nylon or braid for line yet. Think I got a chance? jj

I have 2 Curado reels, one Tatula and used to have an Ambassadeur, which had a longer handle than either of the other two. Bottom line: no problem. As fishermen, we watch the line, we watch the lure, we watch the rod tip ..... but we don't sit there and watch the handle go 'round. Good luck! jj

If you'll use this for deep cranks, you might want to consider the one with the lower gear ratio. jj

Glad you got the problem solved. jj

The next time you see someone post bad spelling, remember this ? ? : Owed to a Spell Chequer English is a very irregular language filled with many strange spelling and pronunciation rules. To highlight this, we thought we republish a poem (that’s been in the public domain for a number of years) illustrating this. It’s called “Owed to a Spelling Chequer” and has many variations – we liked this one... I have a spelling chequer It came with my pea sea It plainly marques four my revue Miss steaks eye cannot sea When eye strike a quay to right a word I weight four it two say Weather eye am wrong oar write It shows me strait away As soon as a mist ache is maid It nose bee fore two late And eye can put the error rite Its rarely, rarely grate I’ve run this poem threw it I’m shore your pleased two no Its letter perfect in it’s weigh My Chequer tolled me sew! (Sauce unknown).