Fishing rod sensitivity

[OkieBoy17]

Okay I came across a forum talking about rod sensitivity. Stating that the reasons you want a sensitive rod is for bottom contact lures to know when you bait hits bottom. And to feel that bottom. Now it had me thinking about my rods sensitivity I use a kistler helium 3 as my jig and wirm rod now i don't have a problem detecting strikes and knowing when my bait gets hit but I can't feel when my bait hits bottom I usually look out for when my line has slack. And it would be so helpful to know when my jig hits bottom so I could hop it off the bottom more better. Just curious if any of you feel the same as me or do you have a great feel for what your baits doing 

[CroakHunter]

Use your fingertips to feel the line

[Russ E]

type of line has a lot to do with sensitivity also. 

as a general rule:

mono is the least sensitive

flourocarbon is usually better

braid is the most sensitive.

 

I have switched over to braid for most bottom contact lures. with a good rod you can feel every rock or tree the bait bumps.

 

I suggest not using your fingertips with most braided lines.  setting the hook on a big fish and having the drag slip, while the line is between your fingertips, is something you usually only do once.

[haggard]

Baitcaster: strip off line one foot at a time and let the lure sink; if line goes taught in a couple seconds, you're not there yet - strip off another foot and repeat. If line goes limp, you're at the bottom. I usually do this in freespool mode (thumb bar pressed) while keeping gentle thumb pressure on the spool, instead of pulling against the drag - thinking this won't wear out the drag system as fast.

 

Spinner: with bail open, lift the rod tip and let back down; if line stays taught you're not at the bottom. Repeat.

 

I use mono (not as sensitive as other line types) and when fishing 30-40 feet or so I have a hard time sensing the bottom so I use the above techniques a lot. Only thing I've found that helps is repeatedly popping the lure up and letting it sink again, and on the pop I can feel the resistance as the lure frees itself from the mud. For rocky bottoms, dragging the lure back towards me lets me feel the bottom, but then it often gets snagged.

[Catt]

2 hours ago, CroakHunter said:

Use your fingertips to feel the line

 

A rod's sensitivity is only as good as your sense of feel!

 

My worm/jig rod is a Shimano Crucial, my reel is a Shimano Calcutta spooled with 15# Big Game.

 

I can feel a 1/4 oz Texas Rig hit bottom in 15-18' of water...if it aint to windy.

[LionHeart]

Being able to feel a lure hit bottom ain't always easy, or even possible for that matter.  If you are fishing somewhere with a soft bottom mixed in with whatever else, the best way I know is to watch what your line and spool are doing.  

 

This is one of the reasons I like using yellow braid to a leader on both of my bottom contact rods.  It is impossible not to see.

 

I also try to keep my spool tension knob as loose as possible so the weight of the lure keeps it turning as it falls.  If the line twitches, or the spool stops early, I bring the line to semi slack and feel for a fish on the other end.

 

I am continually surprised by how much vibration braid transmits even when It's fairly slack.

 

[Catt]

Ya wanna learn how to "feel" better?

 

Night fish around the New Moon phase!

 

Removing your sense of sight will increase your sense of feel!

 

[A-Jay]

4 minutes ago, Catt said:

Ya wanna learn how to "feel" better?

 

Night fish around the New Moon phase!

 

Removing your sense of sight will increase your sense of feel!

 

The ultimate teacher ~ 

A-Jay

[Fishydishy]

On 8/24/2018 at 3:15 PM, OkieBoy17 said:

Okay I came across a forum talking about rod sensitivity. Stating that the reasons you want a sensitive rod is for bottom contact lures to know when you bait hits bottom. And to feel that bottom. Now it had me thinking about my rods sensitivity I use a kistler helium 3 as my jig and wirm rod now i don't have a problem detecting strikes and knowing when my bait gets hit but I can't feel when my bait hits bottom I usually look out for when my line has slack. And it would be so helpful to know when my jig hits bottom so I could hop it off the bottom more better. Just curious if any of you feel the same as me or do you have a great feel for what your baits doing 

do you feel the lure hit bottom in shallower water? You shouldn’t have a problem feeling it hit bottom in less than 15 feet of water with a sensitive rod like a helium 3. Deeper than 40 feet can be a different story. 

 

For me, feeling the lure hit bottom is one way to determine the sensitivity of a rod. That’s how I compare the sensitivity of different rods.

[NOC 1]

20 minutes ago, Fishydishy said:

do you feel the lure hit bottom in shallower water? You shouldn’t have a problem feeling it hit bottom in less than 15 feet of water with a sensitive rod like a helium 3. Deeper than 40 feet can be a different story. 

 

For me, feeling the lure hit bottom is one way to determine the sensitivity of a rod. That’s how I compare the sensitivity of different rods.

If nothing else you should be able to feel the weight come off of the rod tip when the lure hits bottom even on something not so sensitive. On a sensitive rod you can usually feel the little thump as it hits down and feel the weight change. If you can feel neither then you are either fishing with a broomstick or you have ham fists.

[Bankc]

What kind of bottom are you fishing in?  For me, it's usually soft mud, so I can't feel it hit bottom either, no matter how sensitive the rod.  I can feel it hit other things though.  

 

Also, the more line that is out, the less sensitive it will feel.  So long casts or deep water will numb the rod a good bit.  

 

Back in the day of fiberglass rods where sensitivity didn't exist, we'd keep a finger on the line to "listen" to what the bait was doing.  These days, you can sometimes tell what's happening on a less sensitive rod by watching the tip.  It can sometimes show you what you can't feel.  And it helps to keep the rod kind of loose in your fingers.  Not so loose that it's in danger of slipping free should you get a hard strike, but also not a death grip.  You just want to give it a little play so you're not dampening the action of the rod and pressing too hard on your finger pads to be able to feel slight changes.  

[Manifestgtr]

You can practice feeling that sensation by doing some little pops and lifts. If your rod is lively, you should be able to feel that landing on most bottoms...even on a somewhat slack drop. If you have 20 feet of slack, might be a bit tougher. 

[NOC 1]

1 hour ago, Bankc said:

What kind of bottom are you fishing in?  For me, it's usually soft mud, so I can't feel it hit bottom either, no matter how sensitive the rod.  I can feel it hit other things though.  

 

Also, the more line that is out, the less sensitive it will feel.  So long casts or deep water will numb the rod a good bit.  

 

Back in the day of fiberglass rods where sensitivity didn't exist, we'd keep a finger on the line to "listen" to what the bait was doing.  These days, you can sometimes tell what's happening on a less sensitive rod by watching the tip.  It can sometimes show you what you can't feel.  And it helps to keep the rod kind of loose in your fingers.  Not so loose that it's in danger of slipping free should you get a hard strike, but also not a death grip.  You just want to give it a little play so you're not dampening the action of the rod and pressing too hard on your finger pads to be able to feel slight changes.  

Depending on what rod I'm using I can still feel soft mud, but you are right that depth will reduce the feeling. But even then I can feel when the weight leaves the rod as it hits but that gets pretty subtle too if you are using say, anything below 3/16 oz. I find the biggest difference other than the rod is using Tungsten weights. With a Tungsten Shaky head and my most sensitive rods I can feel individual pebbles on a gravel bottom.

[FryDog62]

On 8/24/2018 at 6:52 PM, Russ E said:

type of line has a lot to do with sensitivity also. 

as a general rule:

mono is the least sensitive

flourocarbon is usually better

braid is the most sensitive.

 

 

I agree with this... only exception is if you need to detect bites on slack or semi-slack line or on the initial fall... then I think the denser fluorocarbon will transmit bites better than braid. 

[Dwight Hottle]

The rod your using is known for its sensitivity so your good with that. Some line types can help increase what your feeling especially braid & flouro as others have mentioned. Your sense of feel will sharpen with practice. 

[Darth-Baiter]

I can’t feel anything unless the slack is out of my line.  My kayak is drifting, current is moving my bait, the line rainbow arches to the target, etc. I never feel “touchdown”.  I watch my line and pick up slack when it does. I get a tiny bit of slack everytime I let the lure drop. 
 

the feel is when I’m working the bait.  

[newapti5]

Besides the line choice, the rod choice, the position choice, and the day/time choice, I just think that the lure choice plays a role as well. A light jig with a thick skirt and fat trailer, especially those with flappy arms, will fall much slower, and only hit bottom gently. A jig like that won't get snagged often, but it's hard to feel the bottom with that. 

 

About rod sensitivity, does anybody feel that sometimes it's "too sensitive?" My new Steez spinning rod is sensitive alright, but it amplifies even the slightest bumping between a Ned rig and the rock bottoms. I sometimes couldn't tell the difference between that and a subtle bite. This never happened to my other high-end rods. I guess I am just not used to that "sensational feeling" a Steez rod can provide. 

[CrankFate]

On 8/24/2018 at 9:59 PM, Catt said:

Ya wanna learn how to "feel" better?

 

Night fish around the New Moon phase!

 

Removing your sense of sight will increase your sense of feel!

 

i am one with the force

[softwateronly]

Darth Baiter said it and I don't think it's brought up enough, it's far better to bottom contact fish when the boat isn't moving.  Reading the bottom and discerning weeds and rocks from fish needs all the other bait inputs under control or at least it really helps.  I'm fortunate enough to have a boat with a trolling motor, but if the wind is moving, I drop an anchor most of the time.  Matter of fact, I can fish the bottom fine with a wind blown bow in my line but if I can't hold anchor my "sensitivity" goes out the window.

 

scott

[Diggy]

19 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

I agree with this... only exception is if you need to detect bites on slack or semi-slack line or on the initial fall... then I think the denser fluorocarbon will transmit bites better than braid. 

Me too and I was a die hard braid guy. I feel those "thunks" on straight fluoro that I did not feel on braid. If if I bring one reel with braid, I'll add a leader so I get flexibility based on the area (rocky,snaggy) to break off....plus it saves baits from shredding from the straight braid.

[dodgeguy]

On 8/24/2018 at 9:59 PM, Catt said:

Ya wanna learn how to "feel" better?

 

Night fish around the New Moon phase!

 

Removing your sense of sight will increase your sense of feel!

 

100 percent

[Tennessee Boy]

Here is my humble estimates on the factors that determine how well vibrations are transmitted to you hand.

 

97% - The amount of bow in your line.  This is affected by the amount slack the angler is allowing,  current,  wind,  the amount of line out, lure weight,  and the type of line.

1% -  The moment of inertia of the rod and reel

 

1% - The stiffness of the rod

 

0.9999% - Line stretch

 

0.0001% - The ability of the rod to transmit vibration. (Like most people I’m probably over estimating the importance of this one)

 

None of this matters if you’re brain is not trained to interpret what you’re hand is feeling. 

[The Maestro]

2 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Here is my humble estimates on the factors that determine how well vibrations are transmitted to you hand.

 

97% - The amount of bow in your line.  This is affected by the amount slack the angler is allowing,  current,  wind,  the amount of line out, lure weight,  and the type of line.

1% -  The moment of inertia of the rod and reel

 

1% - The stiffness of the rod

 

0.9999% - Line stretch

 

0.0001% - The ability of the rod to transmit vibration. (Like most people I’m probably over estimating the importance of this one)

 

None of this matters if you’re brain is not trained to interpret what you’re hand is feeling. 

I agree with most of this in principle.  I think most people place too much importance on rod sensitivity when it comes to detecting bites. The one thing I won't debate though is that a sensitive rod just makes fishing more fun even if it doesn't actually result in more fish landed.

[Deephaven]

Assuming a tight line, the best sensitivity adder you can have is braid.  If you can't assume that then it can be the largest detraction from sensitivity.

 

I keep harping on this site about using the word vibration and sensitivity together.  There is NO vibration imparted from a fish or the bottom.  It is simply a force you feel.  Think of it that way will help you understand what is important.

[NOC 1]

5 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Here is my humble estimates on the factors that determine how well vibrations are transmitted to you hand.

 

97% - The amount of bow in your line.  This is affected by the amount slack the angler is allowing,  current,  wind,  the amount of line out, lure weight,  and the type of line.

1% -  The moment of inertia of the rod and reel

 

1% - The stiffness of the rod

 

0.9999% - Line stretch

 

0.0001% - The ability of the rod to transmit vibration. (Like most people I’m probably over estimating the importance of this one)

 

None of this matters if you’re brain is not trained to interpret what you’re hand is feeling. 

LOL...so you think that using something like an NRX or Z-bone will only make 1.0001% difference in feeling vibrations?

Baloney.

 

At that point you wouldn't be able to tell much difference between a Dobyns Fury and an NRX and anyone who has ever used an NRX will tell you that is in no way shape or form true. It's OK to use budget gear if that is what you like, but there is no point in pretending that there is no real difference.

58 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

I keep harping on this site about using the word vibration and sensitivity together.

Yes. You do.