Physics Of Fishing

[HoosierHawgs]

I was having some fun in my Physics class thinking about different ways physics applies to fishing. Obviously there are nearly infinite applications of physics to fishing. Parabolic motion, free fall, work and energy. They all apply to fishing! Anyone here ever thought about physics and it's fishing applications?

[Bankbeater]

Nope.

[FD.]

Dude, you need a girl friend...

[K_Mac]

While I agree with FD, I remember when the light went on for me in trigonometry. Understanding that math has interesting real-world application was eye opening, although I didn't have the aptitude to really test that idea very much!

[HoosierHawgs]

Dude, you need a girl friend...

To much time and money lol!

[deep]

Yes. Riddle me this. Why would a 1/2 oz jig sink faster than a 1/4 oz jig (same trailer)?

[Weld's Largemouth]

I guess center of mass is pretty important when it comes to creating and balancing lures such as crankbaits.

[Mike L]

Why do I need to know any of this?

Mike

[Darren.]

My head is starting to hurt. Let's leave math

and physics out of the sport... mmm k?

 

Just kidding...

[HoosierHawgs]

I just thought it was a cool topic. I enjoy Physics/Calculus and am kinda a gear head.

[A-Jay]

By any Calculations this is a Mega Mini Dink ~

 

A-Jay

 

[Josh Smith]

Yes, I do all the time.  I come from a family of engineers, scientists and educators.  There is no hope that I won't think about this.

 

Josh

[HoosierHawgs]

Yes, I do all the time.  I come from a family of engineers, scientists and educators.  There is no hope that I won't think about this.

 

Josh

That's actually pretty cool! Do you happen to be an engineer or scientist?

[Josh Smith]

That's actually pretty cool! Do you happen to be an engineer or scientist?

 

Sort of, I guess.

 

Josh

[HoosierHawgs]

Sort of, I guess.

 

Josh

I'm starting to find that kind of stuff more fascinating now than ever. I plan on majoring in mechanical or civil engineering in a year.

[scaleface]

In an alternate universe I am fighting the world record bass right now and the girl from the   AT&T commercial's  is wearing a bikini and trying to net it .

[Fishing Rhino]

Yes. Riddle me this. Why would a 1/2 oz jig sink faster than a 1/4 oz jig (same trailer)?

 

That's simple.  The drag on the trailer is the same for each weight, therefore the heavier weight would exert greater force on the trailer, unless..............the jigs are made of different materials.  For example, a quarter ounce jig made of tungsten will have a much smaller profile than a quarter ounce jig made of lead.  A jig head made of lead will be smaller than one made of bismuth (I think that's a metal used in place of lead)  So, a tungsten head will fall faster than a lead head, which will fall faster than a jig head made of bismuth.

 

So, in addition to the weight, the shape of the weight, (Think streamlining) is a factor to be considered.  The trailer acts like a parachute.  It has drag when falling through the water column.  A heavier person will cause a parachute to fall faster than a lighter person, because the parachutes are the same size and configuration. therefore they have the same "drag".

 

A fishing rod is a class three lever with the fulcrum on one end, and the weight (the fish) on the other.  The force is exerted between the two.  If I recall my physics correctly, a class one lever has the fulcrum in the middle, with the weight on one end and the force on the other.  A class 2 has the fulcrum on one end, the force on the other, and the resistance in between.

 

Then we have the reel which is a pulley, actually several pulleys when you include the gearing, which produces a mechanical advantage, either in speed, or power.  Then on baitcasters you have an inclined plane which operates the level wind.

 

Here's a question.   Is the handle on a reel a lever, or, a pulley?

 

I think that takes care of the three basic machines in physics, lever, pulley, and inclined plane.

 

I suspect the original poster is sorry he started this thread.

[soflabasser]

Yes I have taught about how physics can be used to describe different aspects of fishing.

[Weld's Largemouth]

 

Here's a question.   Is the handle on a reel a lever, or, a pulley?

 

lever*

[geo g]

Nope, nope and nope!  I try to clear my mind and only think about how much fun it is having a fling with mother nature.    

[Fishing Rhino]

lever*

 

If it's a lever, is it a class one, two or three.  Where is the fulcrum, and where is the resistance?   We know the force is at the handle.

 

Here's an old coffee grinder.  Is the crank on this a lever, or a pulley/wheel? 

 

[Team9nine]

When it comes down to it, fishing is pretty much nothing but one big physics lesson.

[Rick Howard]

To much time and money lol!

 

I can make an argument that fishing takes more of both lol.

 

Yeah I think about the sciences and how they apply to fishing.  Its just the way my brain works.  Sometimes knowing something works is not enough and my brain wants to figure out why it works.  

[deep]

That's simple.  The drag on the trailer is the same for each weight, therefore the heavier weight would exert greater force on the trailer, unless..............the jigs are made of different materials.  For example, a quarter ounce jig made of tungsten will have a much smaller profile than a quarter ounce jig made of lead.  A jig head made of lead will be smaller than one made of bismuth (I think that's a metal used in place of lead)  So, a tungsten head will fall faster than a lead head, which will fall faster than a jig head made of bismuth.

 

So, in addition to the weight, the shape of the weight, (Think streamlining) is a factor to be considered.  The trailer acts like a parachute.  It has drag when falling through the water column.  A heavier person will cause a parachute to fall faster than a lighter person, because the parachutes are the same size and configuration. therefore they have the same "drag".

 

A fishing rod is a class three lever with the fulcrum on one end, and the weight (the fish) on the other.  The force is exerted between the two.  If I recall my physics correctly, a class one lever has the fulcrum in the middle, with the weight on one end and the force on the other.  A class 2 has the fulcrum on one end, the force on the other, and the resistance in between.

 

Then we have the reel which is a pulley, actually several pulleys when you include the gearing, which produces a mechanical advantage, either in speed, or power.  Then on baitcasters you have an inclined plane which operates the level wind.

 

Here's a question.   Is the handle on a reel a lever, or, a pulley?

 

I think that takes care of the three basic machines in physics, lever, pulley, and inclined plane.

 

I suspect the original poster is sorry he started this thread.

 

 

Haven't perused the whole post yet. Sorry about that.

 

Anyway, this chap Galileo dropped dropped a bunch of different things (with different masses/ weights) from the top of a tower and (tried to) prove(d) that the (falling) speed is not a function of the mass.

 

Which is easy to see if you inspect the laws of motion under Newtonian physics (constant acceleration/ v = u + ft etc).

 

All other things being identical, the volume of a 1/2 oz jig is larger than that of a 1/4 oz jig. Buoyancy is a function of the volume, and friction is proportional to velocity, yada yada.

 

Long time back I tried to work this deal out, mathematically, with a bunch of assumptions (of course). I forget what I actually derived, but I think it's what the consensus is. That is, a heavier jig falls faster.

 

Not sure what pulleys and the other stuff have to do with jigs.

[Fishing Rhino]

Haven't perused the whole post yet. Sorry about that.

 

Anyway, this chap Galileo dropped dropped a bunch of different things (with different masses/ weights) from the top of a tower and (tried to) prove(d) that the (falling) speed is not a function of the mass.

 

Which is easy to see if you inspect the laws of motion under Newtonian physics (constant acceleration/ v = u + ft etc).

 

All other things being identical, the volume of a 1/2 oz jig is larger than that of a 1/4 oz jig. Buoyancy is a function of the volume, and friction is proportional to velocity, yada yada.

 

Long time back I tried to work this deal out, mathematically, with a bunch of assumptions (of course). I forget what I actually derived, but I think it's what the consensus is. That is, a heavier jig falls faster.

 

Not sure what pulleys and the other stuff have to do with jigs.

 

Pulleys and the other stuff has to do with the physics of fishing.  The title of this thread is, the physics of fishing.

 

In a vacuum, a feather would fall as fast as a rock.  And, without something attached which creates drag, a five pound rock will fall as fast as a one ounce rock.  However, the "same trailer" throws a monkey wrench into the works.  Just as a rock will fall faster than a feather, a jig head will fall faster than the trailer, unless the trailer is attached to the weight. 

 

So, the drag of identical trailers is the same as they fall through the water.  If the trailer by itself fell at the same rate as the jig head, then the weight of the jig head would be immaterial.  Water resistance is far greater than air resistance for falling objects.

 

Question

Do falling objects drop at the same rate (for instance a pen and a bowling ball dropped from the same height) or do they drop at different rates? I know a feather floats down very slowly but I would think a heavy object would fall faster than a light object. Thanks for your help. I have a bet on this one.

Asked by: Terri

 

Answer

If no air resistance is present, the rate of descent depends only on how far the object has fallen, no matter how heavy the object is. This means that two objects will reach the ground at the same time if they are dropped simultaneously from the same height. This statement follows from the law of conservation of energy and has been demonstrated experimentally by dropping a feather and a lead ball in an airless tube.

When air resistance plays a role, the shape of the object becomes important. In air, a feather and a ball do not fall at the same rate. In the case of a pen and a bowling ball air resistance is small compared to the force a gravity that pulls them to the ground. Therefore, if you drop a pen and a bowling ball you could probably not tell which of the two reached the ground first unless you dropped them from a very very high tower.

Answered by: Dr. Michael Ewart, Researcher at the University of Southern California

 

http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae6.cfm

 

 

Compare the red highlighted above to this from my post.  So, in addition to the weight, the shape of the weight, (Think streamlining) is a factor to be considered.  The trailer acts like a parachute.  It has drag when falling through the water column. Water drag is far greater than the drag created by air.