The sensitivity factor in a rod

[islandbass]

We have all heard that better rods offer greater sensitivity and notion is generally accepted.

I commented in a few other posts that I was quite surprised at how sensitive the Berkley Cherrywood rod was, especially for its price and indeed, it is sufficiently sensitive, even for drop shotting.

I have a rod designed for drop shot and other finesse techniques, a Lamiglas Certified Pro Drop Shot Special rod and I know it is an ultra-sensitive rod.  However, I haven't fished with it for quite some time and had forgotten about how well this rod transmits the feedback to me of what is happening on the far end of my line.

Two Fridays ago, only having the Cherrywood rod, I still managed to read the bottom terrain well and feel the strikes and thereby catching some bass.

Then this past Friday, I had my DS rod with me and I realized just how sensitive the rod really is.

This might be a poor analogy but here it goes:

The Berkley Cherrywood rod is a good rod with a decent amount of sensitivity.  It is leaps and bounds over my first $19.99 Wal-Mart special combo.  In terms of sound, the Wal-Mart special equate to mono-audio and the Cherrywood Stereo.

So back to the last Friday. As soon as my DS weight hit bottom and I dragged the weight, my hands couldn't take information.  If the Berkley Cherrywood rod offered stereo sound, Holy Smokes! My Lamiglas was giving me the same show in THX, cinema worthy!!!  You ever watch a DVD movie through the TV and the through a Home Theatre system? You will hear and feel things that you couldn't if you heard it only through the speakers of the television.  That is exactly how wielding the Lamiglas felt.  Fully THX, a complete listening experience!

This is not meant to be a bad mark against the Cherrywood.  It is a good rod and I like mine a lot.  But after having fished with both rods, I found the difference between the two was very noticeable. I would not hesitate to recommend a Cherrywood rod to anyone whose budget is at this price point.

My dad fished with me this past Friday and he used the Cherrywood rig.  I felt a lot more strikes than he, but was that the result of the equipment or does the difference in experience between the two of us play a significant role?

Granted, not all things were equal. The Cherrywood rig he used had 8# Rapala Finesse mono/2500 Shimano Symetre and the Lamiglas rig I used had 6# Sea Guar Invizx/Size 20 Rapala Sxi6 reel.

I will try to go through this test again but use the same reel and line for both.

So I'd like to know where you fall on this.  How important is sensitivity? Perhaps with certain applications, it may not be as critical, but for something like drop shotting or finesse fishing, an angler might wish to give himself the best possible chance to feel what the fish is doing on the other end.

[Alpster]

How important is sensitivity?

How important is catching fish?

Ronnie

[sal669]

Your DS rod is deffinitly better than the cherrywood, but I suggest you try annother experiment: use the same set-up on the DS, but change the line on the Cherrywood combo to 10lb Power-Pro with a 2-4 ft fluorocarbon leader. Than both you and your dad fish alternatively both rods. Then both of you decide which set-up is more sensitive.

Tight lines...

[flechero]

How important is sensitivity?

How important is catching fish?

Ronnie

Perfect response.  I'll add that when I began using better rods, I started catching bigger fish... as the bigger fish seem to more often pick up soft plastics as opposed to strike them.  A little extra sensitivity can go a long way.

[Catt]

I guess my Shimano Crucial CRC-X610MH has Bose surround sound  

A lot of sensitivity is in the hand of the angler, my 19 year old is just getting into fishing a T-Rig and if the bass does not know the snot out of it he can't feel it even with my best rod. On the other hand I can feel a ¼ oz bullet weight when it hits bottom in 20' of water, I just don't have to concrete as hard with the Crucial.

[flechero]

Good point Catt, it was brought up in another thread a while back but all hands are not created equal... meaning that not everyone will be able to feel the difference in all rods.  (and for that matter, some people haven't learned yet what feels they need to recognize.)

[Raul]

IB, you described it perfectly, stereo vs THX ( but the Cherrywood is more on the monoaural side   ) so you are getting the idea, catching bigger fish ? ---> probably, catching more fish ? ---> most definately.

Let me give you an example, my friend Pedro has always been cheap, obviously you know I 'm anything but cheap when it comes to tackle, we went fishing about a month ago to Zimapán, the fishing was tough, the fish weren 't biting hard; he was fishing finesse worms with a Garcia Conolon rod/Scorp Mg, me with my GLX/TDZ. While I pulled one fish around every 4-5 casts he was pulling one fish every 10-12 casts, same retrieval speed, same spots with the added advantage he was fishing from the bow, I was in the back of the boat so I was fishing "used" water, after about a couple of hours of me whupping his rear end he finally asked what I was fishing with:

R.- a finesse worm ?  :-? ,

P.- what !?!?  ,

R.- yup, same bait you are fishing with  , if you want I can lend you another rod

So I gave him a IMX/Ch50Mg I had right next to me.

P.- Oh wow ! man it weights nuthin !

R.- Pretty light huh ? C 'mon man make some casts.

At the third cast he set the hook on a nice two pounder, 4 more casts another fish. As the hours continued he began catching fish pretty much like me, at the end of the day he said

P.- Ratz ! I gotta get me one of these, how much ?

R.- 230 bills

P.-      

R.- C 'mon Pedro, don 't give me the   look, you spend more on other things that you seldomly use like your scuba diving equipment, how many time you went diving last year ?

P.- Errrrrr..... two  :-/

R.- How many times you went fishing last year ?

P.- Almost every weekend

R.- There you have it, ok, know that when scuba diving you need the best you can afford because your life depends on it, but you fish a lot more than you dive so the 230 bones isn 't really that much for something that you use almost every weekend.

Is the Conolon a bad rod ? no but compared to other sticks it 's from earth level to heaven.

[Bud]

You guys better watch someone will say you are spending to much on equipment.    That their $50 dollar rod is as sensitivity?      ;D ;D

[islandbass]

First, I'd like to say thanks for all of the awesome responses!

Alpster,

That hit me like an epiphany. ;D

Sal,

Thanks for the braid recommendation. I have used it in the past and am well aware of how it increases sensitivity for the angler. One low end I have made my walmart special seem like a st. croix. Alright, that is stretching it, but when I used braid with that rod, I know that the braid help me better discern the feedback.

Raul,

So did your buddy ever buy a similar rig? Great story! 8-)

-Alex

[Guest avid]

I can't believe their is actually a thread comparing a Berkley Cherrywood rod to  a Lamiglass drop shot.

What are you guys smokin' ?  

[Guest the_muddy_man]

The sensitivity factor in a rod: This can lead to a fast release and a little frustration on the ol lady's part

[michbass]

The sensitivity factor in a rod: This can lead to a fast release and a little frustration on the ol lady's part

LOL, Dont want to sensitive there, it could break easier on you too. Ouch!

[Catt]

What are you guys smokin' ?

Don't know but they aint sharing