Rod Experts Every Rod Is Different

[bigbill]

Ok med and med/hvy

[poisonokie]

If you had read anything "RW and guys"  posted to help you, you would know that med and med heavy aren't actions.

 

Action does get used interchangeably with power, though, and I can see it either way. You'd think a "heavy action" with a fast taper (heavy power/fast action) would have a stiffer tip but with the same bend as a "medium action" with a fast taper, but that's just not always the case. It's just all so subjective.

[corn-on-the-rob]

I'll try my best.

 

 POWER (descending order)

Xtra-Heavy

Heavy

Medium Heavy

Medium

Medium Lite

Lite

Ultra-Lite

 

In that order, provided from the same manufacturer, is power. That means strength, particularly of the "backbone". The backbone is usually meant as the portion of the rod where it stops bending when adequately loaded and below (towards the handle). A heavy POWER rod will have a higher backbone strength than a medium POWER rod of the same manufacturer.

 

ACTION

Xtra-Fast

Fast

Moderate

Slow

 

Action is basically the amount a rod tip will deflect (bend) before it "reaches" its backbone. Any power rod can theoretically have any action, and visa-versa.

 

 

 

If you took a Medium Power and Heavy Power rod of any action (even dissimilar) and tied unbreakable line to a tree and began to pull back with steady increasing force:

 

They would both load to their action point, then when stressed too far, will begin to yield (bend where it shouldn't aka well below the action point) and eventually fracture. The major difference is, the LARGER POWER rod will take more force before it yields/fails, theoretically.

 

 

If you took a Fast Action and a Moderate Action rod of the SAME POWER and tied unbreakable line to a tree and began to pull back with steady increasing force:

 

At the very start, the initial pull back, they will bend very similar at the tip, then as force increases, the FASTER action rod will start to resist bending more, hitting its backbone sooner than the MODERATE rod. Since the moderate rod is still absorbing energy while the faster one is already at its backbone, even though you are pulling both with the same force, the tree feels a little less from the one that is still bending. Once both are fully bent to/past their action points, the tree is now feeling the same "pull" from both. Any further pull will be felt the same from the tree, until BOTH rods fail at the same time, because their power will limit their strength, and same power = same fail, THEORETICALLY.

 

 

 

I tried to explain it a little differently and tried to simplify, if anyone has anything else to add or correct me on, feel free!

[Deleted account]

Golf clubs, firearms, bicycles, cars, enthusiasts can argue about the darndest things..

 

As long as the biggest hacks keep buying the "best" equipment, its all good... Cha Ching.

[Jaw1]

BB I get exactly what your talking about even if your terminology is a little off. Keep asking the questions you need answered and ignore the snide remarks that's what this site is about right?

[Raul]

 

I never understood all this stuff. The more I look into it, the more I get confused. I find a med rod in one brand is stiffer than a M/H includes l another brand.

 

 

It´s simple to explain, there´s no standard that rod manufacturers have to comply, power and action vary from one manufacturer to another, in all the years I´ve fished and owned certain brands I´ve found that for example St.Croix rods are "stiffer" than GLoomis rods with the same power and action rating, old Berkley LRs, Series one and Bionix that were what I used back in the 80´s and early 90´s  are similar to GLoomis rods, actually one of the reasons why I jumped to GLoomis was that they felt pretty much like those rods I used to fish with. I like one particular feel and behavior in the rod that´s why I don´t mix brands and also that´s why I seldomly try something else, so far, from all the other rod manufacturers out there there´s only two besides GLoomis whose rods I like: GraphiteLeader & Shimano, I have purchased form others and end up selling them.

[bigbill]

When I used the Shakespeare, quantum, eagleclaw and Southend rods I never had this problem. It was either UL, L, MED, etc. No taper, no guessing today it's all different.

I fished with two rod setups for decades. Then I got into different baits which needed different setups, topwater a stiffer rod, stronger line test, crankbaits a tad less stiffness, lighter line test. Jigs stiff rod strongest like test, c-rig less upper stiffness strongest line test with leader. The test of the leader, weight dictates the rate of fall.

Light baits, small spinnerbaits, shorter rod, lighter test.

I couldn't get by with one or two rods.

[WIGuide]

Bill, take a look at this, it should clear things up.

 

http://stcroixrods.com/why-st-croix/power-action/

[Raul]

When I used the Shakespeare, quantum, eagleclaw and Southend rods I never had this problem. It was either UL, L, MED, etc. No taper, no guessing today it's all different.

I fished with two rod setups for decades. Then I got into different baits which needed different setups, topwater a stiffer rod, stronger line test, crankbaits a tad less stiffness, lighter line test. Jigs stiff rod strongest like test, c-rig less upper stiffness strongest line test with leader. The test of the leader, weight dictates the rate of fall.

Light baits, small spinnerbaits, shorter rod, lighter test.

I couldn't get by with one or two rods.

 

 "different baits which needed different setups"----->  Sounds to me that you have been sold the idea that you "need" lure/technique specific gear, for me it´s simple, UL all the way up to XH power and "fast" action is what I use which power depends on conditions and what I´m going to fish, I dare anybody to prove I´m wrong with my approach.

[Deleted account]

 "different baits which needed different setups"----->  Sounds to me that you have been sold the idea that you "need" lure/technique specific gear, for me it´s simple, UL all the way up to XH power and "fast" action is what I use which power depends on conditions and what I´m going to fish, I dare anybody to prove I´m wrong with my approach.

 

No, you are right, technique specific exists only between the ears of LMB anglers (and rod catalogs of course)...

[poisonokie]

No, you are right, technique specific exists only between the ears of LMB anglers (and rod catalogs of course)...

 

I don't know, I think each rod has one presentation that it's best at, whether it's marketed that way or not. If that's the technique you have the most fun/success using, and it jives with the reel and line you use, then that's the rod you should buy.

 

For instance, if you like fishing frogs more than anything else, buy a frog rod, not a flipping stick. It will perform both tasks well,as well as c rigs and deep cranks, but will excel with frogs.

 

Obviously no one rod is going to work for every technique, but will cover a range while being the most effective with the one you had in mind when you bought it.

[bigfruits]

now that we have power (ul,l,ml,m,mh,h) and action (moderate,fast,extra fast) defined, here is a simple way to look at it.

 

lets say were not worried about horsing fish out of cover - look at the lure ratings instead of the power. a rod with max lure weight of 3/8 is not going to be ideal for casting 3/4oz spinnerbaits. 

 

if youre buying a rod to throw 3/8oz jigs (trailer weight is significant!) and 1/2oz spinnerbaits, you probably want most manufacturer's MH which typically has a max lure weight of 5/8-3/4oz. aim for the middle (or a little higher) of the rod's lure weight range.

 

the only thing you need to know about action is that moderate is ideal for cranks and not much else, fast is the best all around action, and extra fast is best suited for jigs and plastics, some hardbaits. some jig and plastics fishermen prefer fast actions.

 

when you find a rod online that youre thinking of pulling the trigger on, post the make and model on here and someone will probably chime in. tell them what you want to use it for. they can tell you if it has a soft tip or not which you cannot tell from the action and power ratings. they can tell you if its a fast that fishes like an extra fast, etc. the only way to know without handling it.

[Choporoz]

BB, along with what Jrob78 posted is that manufacturers use different materials, carbon fiber, scrim materials, resin compounds to build their rods, this makes it nearly impossible to develop and industry standard, about the best you can hope for is that rods built by the same manufacturer are consistant.

I'm struggling with this point....

 

Materials aside, the terms power and action, as used by most who have contributed here, apply to flex, arc, physical shape, response to force, etc.  All of which should be measurable regardless of material.  I'm no mathematician or engineer, but I'm 99% certain that a standard for the commonly accepted terms of 'power' and 'action' could be developed.....IF the 'industry' wanted to.

[poisonokie]

Yeah, but each rod maker has a certain idea about what those ratings should represent, so standardizing it across the industry might serve to alienate their customer base. That's part of what sets a brand apart from others. Daiwa guys don't want a rod that feels like a Loomis and vise versa. Different materials and production processes will yield rods with different characteristics even if the rod taper remains the same. Tackle Tour's RoD wrack is a great representation of that.

[Molay1292]

I'm struggling with this point....

 

Materials aside, the terms power and action, as used by most who have contributed here, apply to flex, arc, physical shape, response to force, etc.  All of which should be measurable regardless of material.  I'm no mathematician or engineer, but I'm 99% certain that a standard for the commonly accepted terms of 'power' and 'action' could be developed.....IF the 'industry' wanted to.

 

I don't disagree with what you have said.  I will add this, do you think it would be better to have the industry comply with a rigid set of standards that may eliminate some of the individualism and creativeness, or, develop a new method of rating rods that would better describe how each rod performs to a given set of standards.