My buddy left the the plastic on his rods until the cork was green from mildew.  Drove me crazy. Come to think of it, his couch still has a plastic cover on it.

I mean, isn't it slippery to have plastic on the cork,?

On 6/1/2023 at 5:19 PM, Jig Man said:

I fish it once to be sure that I want it.  Then I take it off and put shrink tubing on.

I too have started with shrink tubing. I enjoy the grip. Don’t get me wrong, fresh cork is better but the heat shrink is nice too

1 hour ago, ironbjorn said:

I mean, isn't it slippery to have plastic on the cork,?

Yes 

 

1 hour ago, ironbjorn said:

I mean, isn't it slippery to have plastic on the cork,?

Yes 

On 6/1/2023 at 7:07 PM, WRB said:

Who still supplies rods with plastic covered cork handles?

Tom

 

Many rods. My steez rods come with it as well as my conquests/NRX rods and Megabass P5s if I remember correctly 

On 6/1/2023 at 5:45 PM, MN Fisher said:

I take the plastic off soon as it arrives and U-40 the cork ASAP.

Yuppers. The plastic stays on for 0 seconds. 

I haven't had a new rod with plastic cover on it in many years. Seriously  why put anything on a cork fishing rod?  You bought the cork because you like it so enjoy it as is.  Take the stupid plastic off the rod and go fishing!  Cork lasts a long time and it doesn't need polyurethane spray on it either. 

Leave it on till I get home 

It's a fishing rod, not a piece of furniture. It never even occurred to me to leave plastic on.

Unless I am not sure if the rod will serve its intended purpose, I remove it in precisely 38 seconds after taking the tag off.

2 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

I remove it in precisely 38 seconds after taking the tag off.

We're gonna have to put you on a stop-watch, dude.

 

3 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

We're gonna have to put you on a stop-watch, dude.

 

I waited 40 seconds once and I broke that rod my second outing with it - so I'm convinced that's bad luck

On 6/1/2023 at 10:23 PM, MN Fisher said:

All my St Croix's have come with 'shrink wrap' over the cork.

I don’t find this with SC’s I ever bought. I don’t believe I’ve ever ordered one by mail. Bought from a dealer. Some still in plastic sleeves, but no shrink sleeve on cork. 
 

But I think if you received ones with plastic cork protection that’s a positive. Most of my Abu rods have come with shrink sleeve. 
 

Good fishing. 

I never understood why people leave the plastic on. To me it seems ridiculous. Why buy cork, then leave it covered with plastic??

I've never left plastic on over the cork handle, kinda defeats the purpose. Imo 

On 6/1/2023 at 4:12 PM, Dumbbassanglr said:

Just thought this is a fun random topic. When you buy a new rod do you take the plastic off right away or do you fish it for awhile until the plastic breaks off?

 

 

I take off the plastic immediately and treat it with silicone.

 

Makes it easier to clean.