Sensitivity, Separating The Reality From The Propaganda

[flippin Dan]

just wanted to add that every time I set the hook there was a fish there. I did not jerk 40 times on 5 bites.

[Michael DiNardo]

I am crazy, or do I "hear" the bite? I don't mean hear the fish biting, but hear the tap through the inside, like through my bones to my ear. Anyone else get this? I'm probably not describing it right.

I know exactly what you mean by this and I totally agree. I agree with those that say the line makes the most differnce in feeling the bite.

Mike

[Diggy]

always an interesting read

[kickerfish1]

A six page thread is back from the dead! Let the fun continue...

[roadwarrior]

I am crazy, or do I "hear" the bite? I don't mean hear the fish biting, but hear the tap through the inside, like through my bones to my ear. Anyone else get this? I'm probably not describing it right.

I think you described "it" perfectly! When I switched my jig rig to braided line, the touch was amplified.

Braid has made a significant  difference in my jig fishing. I am still experimenting with a fluorocarbon

leader vs. direct tie.

[lmoore]

Boy was I feeling argumentative when I posted in this last spring?!? Hard to tell I'd been cooped up inside all winter. :/ Some of what I posted was hard to read without flinching....sorry guys!

[gripnrip]

I'm so glad this thread was ressurected. I am in the market for 5 to 6 rods this year. This will help me make my decisions easier! Thanks!

[Sherlock 60]

My biggest asset in fishing is that I'm an idiot. I know nothing of rods, reels, techniques, and have no desire to learn more. I never have and never will buy into the sensitivity issue of rods and won't buy into the concept that the higher price tag of your equipment increases your pleasure, comfortable and smooth operating equipment can come on any ones budget. What increases my pleasure is catching great fish, and that I do it well. Am I great fisherman, not really, just happen to be in a great location, lowly spinning gear is all I need.

Until I joined this forum I had no idea bass fishing was difficult, and so complicated, yet I've been catching them for 60 years on unsensitive and unsophisticated gear and a few lures I can carry in my pocket.

 

 

And he probably has more fun than the rest of us!!

[J Francho]

I wouldn't say that's true at all. 

[Sherlock 60]

Some guys collect coins, stamps or sports cars they never drive!

Other guys collect fishing equipment.

 

I often refer to myself as a "fishing tackle collector" rather than as a fisherma.

 

To each his own. Some people buy Yugos and some buy Ferraris....some people buy Snoopy rods and reels and others will buy a Steez. The industry needs them all in order to thrive.  

[BassThumb]

Great thread.  Thanks for the effort you put into testing your theory and sharing it with us.

[Basswhippa]

I had a 6'10" telescoping medium heavy All Star IM10 rod that I could feel the rattles in my 3/8 ounce Denny Braeur Rattleback jigs with 20 pound Big Game monofiliment.  I broke the rod.  I have not had a rod that sensitive since.  Anybody had a rod you could feel the rattles in a jig?

[SirSnookalot]

And he probably has more fun than the rest of us!!

Naw, there's no fun in fishing in Florida .

[Sam]

 

I think Gary has ham hands. Or at least, too much time on his hands.

But seriously, interesting post. Doesn't change what rods I'm going to use. Just have someone put the rod tip to their voice box and hum. If you can feel it, it's plenty sensitive.

 

Don't give away all the secrets!!!!

I keep a finger on the line at all times with the exception of moving baits.

I also use the most sensitive rods on the market at a fair price.

But I rely on what my finger tells me when fishing plastics and jigs.

[Sam]

P.S. If you don't have anyone to hum at the end of your rod you can start your car's engine and open the hood and place the tip on the motor before the motor gets hot.

And no comments about humming at the end of your rod!

[shootermcbob]

I don't know what makes one rod more sensitive than another. I do know that, after fishing with Kistler, powell max and endurance rods, shimano compre, crucial, and cumara rods, cabelas brands, and bass pro brands that without a doubt...FOR ME... the cumaras are CLEARLY more sensitive than the other rods. At least, they are in my hands.

 

However, I had no issues detecting bites with any of them. I am able to feel bites on the cabelas xml rods I still have without problem.

 

I have a powell max 703c and a cabelas xml ...same rods, same line and lure ratings, only difference is powell is an extra fast action while the cabelas is a fast action. cabelas is full cork grip and powell is split grip...and I am selling the powell because ...IMO...in my hands, the XML is a more sensitive stick. WHY? I do not know, but I can feel it. NOT to be taken as a knock on powell rods at all, I have a few others I really, really like.

 

I fish mostly yozuri hybrid ultrasoft, but also some cabelas flourocarbon line, and some big game mono.

 

I also fish some braid, and again...FOR ME,...fishing with the braid enables even more "feel"...but I don't think it is the rod, rather the braid that is responsible for this.

 

As for where I feel the bites, I am not sure. I will have to pay more attention...but at times I feel a tick, at times I feel pressure, and at times i feel a thump.

 

Final take...maybe sensitivity is more a personal, individual thing rather than a marketing ploy???

[BassCats]

I have used top of the line gear and have used budget gear. What I noticed is that when fishing on others boats and fishing tournaments I had a habit of breaking my expensive ultra "sensitive" rods that didn't weigh more than a feather. When I did this I would grab my berkley lightning rods or a basspro bionic rod that I carried as back up. I never felt that I caught less fish or didn't feel as much. The difference was the weight of the rod and the comfort of the trip. I no longer buy the expensive rods cause I got tired of breaking them. The lighter more "sensitive" rods are more brittle and have a tendancy to break faster if not treated like a baby. I am rough on my gear because I move around a lot and fish in multiple boats. If I was going to fish all day I would like the lighter rod, but not at the expense of having it break or having to worry about how I carry it or store it. I had the pleasure of being on a team that was sponsored by G Loomis, then American Rodsmith, then Duckett rods. I prefered the American Rodsmith rods with the winn handles. But they no longer make freshwater rods. Sensitivity is more based on how much attention you are paying to what you are doing. I have seen people with G Loomis rods, shimano reels and power pro line; not feel a bight that I saw because they were not paying attention. I am also a big fan of watching your line and my hand is in front of my reel with line touching at least one if not normally two fingers at the same time.  Figured I would put my say in and revive a thread for the new year.

[Nitrofreak]

I have done away with rods all together, where your hands come in contact with any fishing equipment needs to be an extention or a continuation of what you are feeling at the other end of your line.

 

My hands are rough and callused to the point that there is not much sensitivity in them at all, I have tried some pretty expensive rods in recent history and non of them are what they claim to be for me.(Sensitivity wise)

 

The line is more important to me than the rod itself is and how well it will transmit information from my bait.

[roadwarrior]

I have used top of the line gear and have used budget gear. What I noticed is that when fishing on others boats and fishing tournaments I had a habit of breaking my expensive ultra "sensitive" rods that didn't weigh more than a feather. When I did this I would grab my berkley lightning rods or a basspro bionic rod that I carried as back up. I never felt that I caught less fish or didn't feel as much. The difference was the weight of the rod and the comfort of the trip. I no longer buy the expensive rods cause I got tired of breaking them. The lighter more "sensitive" rods are more brittle and have a tendancy to break faster if not treated like a baby. I am rough on my gear because I move around a lot and fish in multiple boats. If I was going to fish all day I would like the lighter rod, but not at the expense of having it break or having to worry about how I carry it or store it. I had the pleasure of being on a team that was sponsored by G Loomis, then American Rodsmith, then Duckett rods. I prefered the American Rodsmith rods with the winn handles. But they no longer make freshwater rods. Sensitivity is more based on how much attention you are paying to what you are doing. I have seen people with G Loomis rods, shimano reels and power pro line; not feel a bight that I saw because they were not paying attention. I am also a big fan of watching your line and my hand is in front of my reel with line touching at least one if not normally two fingers at the same time.  Figured I would put my say in and revive a thread for the new year.

 

Just stirring it up? That's okay, we need a liitle to lighten things up this time of year. So here's my take:

 

I began fishing higher end rods in 1997 and have moved up since then. In 16 years I have never broken

a rod  fishing or been with any friends that have broken one either.

 

I have never been a line watcher. Heck, I can't even see some of the line I fish! If you are really interested

in improving your feel, fish at night.

[.RM.]

Just stirring it up? That's okay, we need a liitle to lighten things up this time of year. So here's my take:

 

I began fishing higher end rods in 1997 and have moved up since then. In 16 years I have never broken

a rod  fishing or been with any friends that have broken one either.

 

I have never been a line watcher. Heck, I can't even see some of the line I fish! If you are really interested

in improving your feel, fish at night.

Or during the day with your eyes closed/blindfolded.......

 

Tight Lines All!  

[WRB]

Here is a question for your sensitive feelings"; will a guitar play under water?

If water dampens a guitar string from vibrating, what makes anyone believe they can feel a fishing line vibrate underwater! What you feel is line movement, the lure moving not line vibrating. The lure or fish must move or add weight to the line or you will not detect the strike. The rod isn't capable of attenuating or amplify line movement, it can dampen it.

The modern rod weighs about 1/2 today than rods a decade ago. The newer rods have better guides with less line drag. FC line isas a lower coeffient of drag going through the rod guides and the water, then mono line. Super braids have a Teflon coating that helps to lower drag. All these low coeffient of drag elements allow us to feel line movement easier and the rod materials do not dampen feed back as much as the older rods did. The lighter weight rod and reel combinations allows the angler to feel line movement better than heavier weight older rods.

Feel the line your finger tips and watch the line with your eyes and enjoy fishing with today's lighter weight rods and reels.

Tom

[Hyrule Bass]

ive long been a believer that the sensitivity thing is overrated. If i can feel bites just fine on a $35 ugly stik, then why would i even think of paying $100+ on rods that many of yall seem to constantly break on hooksets? its not worth it to me. any amount of sensitivity difference between a cheap rod and expensive rod is real minimal and not worth the extra money to me.

 

and dont tell me i would feel more bites with an expensive rod i didnt know i was getting with the cheap rod. Ive seen fishing shows using underwater cameras and the diver telling professional fishermen to set the hook they were getting a bite, but the fisherman never knew it until the underwater cameraman told him...

[Nitrofreak]

Here is a question for your sensitive feelings"; will a guitar play under what?

If water dampens a guitar string from vibrating, what makes anyone believe they can feel a fishing line vibrate underwater! What you feel is line movement, the lure moving not line vibrating. The lure or fish must move or add weight to the line or you will not detect the strike. The rod isn't capable of attenuating or amplify line movement, it can dampen it.

The modern rod weighs about 1/2 today than rods a decade ago. The newer rods have better guides with less line drag. FC line isas a lower coeffient of drag going through the rod guides and the water, then mono line. Super braids have a Teflon coating that helps to lower drag. All these low coeffient of drag elements allow us to feel line movement easier and the rod materials do not dampen feed back as much as the older rods did. The lighter weight rod and reel combinations allows the angler to feel line movement better than heavier weight older rods.

Feel the line your finger tips and watch the line with your eyes and enjoy fishing with today's lighter weight rods and reels.

Tom

 

You are correct in saying a line does not vibrate to the extent of a guitar string under water, however it is able to transmit, the guitar string is not a good example for what you are reffering to, the guitar string requires some sort of magnification to produce sound,  however if you were to take two cans and tie them to a piece of fishing line and stretch the line between 2 people a voice can be heard at the other end.

 

Lines will transmit relations to the bottom, anyone who has ever drug a jig across pavement, small gravels, can pull the line and feel what the jig is transmitting without using a fishing rod. 

[WRB]

You are correct in saying a line does not vibrate to the extent of a guitar string under water, however it is able to transmit, the guitar string is not a good example for what you are reffering to, the guitar string requires some sort of magnification to produce sound, however if you were to take two cans and tie them to a piece of fishing line and stretch the line between 2 people a voice can be heard at the other end.

Lines will transmit relations to the bottom, anyone who has ever drug a jig across pavement, small gravels, can pull the line and feel what the jig is transmitting without using a fishing rod.

Actually water completely dampens your line vibration, what you feel is the line movement as the jig stops and goes as you drag it actress a rough surface. Try tying the line on the rod tip, drag it across the pavement out of water and the rod will transfer far more feeling down the rods length then it will dragging the same jig under water. The key with both these experiments is the line is tight. If the line has slack and you hit the jig with a hammer, you will feel nothing unless the blow moves the line, no vibrations will transfer through slack line in water or air.

Sound waves travel faster and further in water than air, our ears can't hear them very well, but you can feel them underwater and bass lateral line feels them, rambling off topic.

Yes we get better feedback with high modulus rods materials, but....nothing can compare with your finger tips detecting line movement.

Don't you wonder how anyone could catch bass with jig using 100% fiberglass rods, before graphite rods came on the market! Don't get me wrong, I love the new light weight modern rods, however I still fish them using my finger to feel the line so I will not miss the slightest line movement.

Tom