Rod or Reel, Which is more Important?

If the pos reel can't make the cast, what good is the expensive rod?





I fish therefore I lie

Craig wrote:

it acts as an amplifier and magnifies the vibration


From where does it get the energy to amplify the signal? You cannot amplify
energy or motion without consuming more energy from another source. Laws of
physics and all.

RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

Think megaphone Rich, and you will have your answer.

--
Craig
You will only be as successful as you see yourself being!

Craig wrote:
Think megaphone Rich, and you will have your answer.

??

A megaphone directs and concentrates sound, it doesn't actually amplify it.
The increasing surface area of the cone moves a greater volume of air as
the vibration travels along the cone, but the total amount of energy is not
increased. Sound is energy. You cannot increase the amount of energy in a
sound wave (or a line vibration) without taking energy from some other
source. The megaphone uses energy that would have been expended sending the
sound waves in other directions to throw the sound farther in the direction
it is aimed. In the case of the line, if you were holding it directly
without a rod interfering, all of the energy in its vibration would be
deposited on your fingertips. You cannot direct it any better than that.

RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing

Craig, are you a rod builder?





I fish therefore I lie

Rich wrote: "A megaphone directs and concentrates sound, it doesn't actually
amplify it. The increasing surface area of the cone moves a greater volume
of air as the vibration travels along the cone, but the total amount of
energy is not increased. Sound is energy."

The basic principle still applies, through the redirection and concentration
of vibration through the guides and blank (and its basic shape). Now let's
face it, by the time your line travels through all the guides, most of its
energy has been absorbed and redirected by the rod and its compotents.

--
Craig

The Rod is flexible therefore absorbs energy not amplifies it. The stiffer
the rod tip the more energy it can pass on, but it does absorb some of it
anyway.

Physics 101


"Craig" wrote in message
.com...
I will agree with you in that your fishing line is a transmitter of
vibration. However, your rod is your primary tool/instrument for
detecting
vibration because it acts as an amplifier and magnifies the vibration
signal.

Nylon monofilament is a poor transmitter as is fiberglass in a rod.
Copolymers and Fluorocarbon lines are better and superlines like Fireline
and Spiderwire are good transmitters of vibration. But even the best of
the
superlines still need the amplification help of a rod so that the angler
can
detect it. Touching the line above the reel may give you an added sense
of
feel, but it is the amplified vibration of the rod (even a fiberglass one)
that helps you detect the lines signal.

It all starts with the guides. The harder, smoother, more dense the
material used to make a guide insert the more vibration it will transmit
to
the guide frame. Again, the harder, more dense the guide frame the more
vibration it transmits to the rod blank. The more guides making contact
with the line, the better the signal.

The harder, more dense the material used in the construction of the rod
blank the more vibration reaches the hands and reel of the angler
unchanged.

I have an article coming out in the December Issue of FLW Outdoors that
will
further explain this and the differences in graphite.

--
Craig Baugher
"You are only as successful as you see yourself being!"

"Illinois Fisherman" wrote in message
y.com...
The Rod is flexible therefore absorbs energy not amplifies it. The stiffer
the rod tip the more energy it can pass on, but it does absorb some of it
anyway.

Physics 101


"Craig" wrote in message
.com...
I will agree with you in that your fishing line is a transmitter of
vibration. However, your rod is your primary tool/instrument for
detecting
vibration because it acts as an amplifier and magnifies the vibration
signal.

Nylon monofilament is a poor transmitter as is fiberglass in a rod.
Copolymers and Fluorocarbon lines are better and superlines like
Fireline
and Spiderwire are good transmitters of vibration. But even the best of
the
superlines still need the amplification help of a rod so that the angler
can
detect it. Touching the line above the reel may give you an added sense
of
feel, but it is the amplified vibration of the rod (even a fiberglass
one)
that helps you detect the lines signal.

It all starts with the guides. The harder, smoother, more dense the
material used to make a guide insert the more vibration it will transmit
to
the guide frame. Again, the harder, more dense the guide frame the more
vibration it transmits to the rod blank. The more guides making contact
with the line, the better the signal.

The harder, more dense the material used in the construction of the rod
blank the more vibration reaches the hands and reel of the angler
unchanged.

I have an article coming out in the December Issue of FLW Outdoors that
will
further explain this and the differences in graphite.

--
Craig Baugher
"You are only as successful as you see yourself being!"





It absorbs some of the energy, but that energy has to go somewhere. Some as
heat, and some just reflects inside the rod. If the natural frequency of
the rod is close to the frequency of the energy transmitted through the
line, then the energy can actually build in the rod, causing greater
movement. Example was the bridge in Washington that got to whipping and
fell down as the frequency of the bridge was the same as the wind coming
down the river. Senior moment as to name of bridge. Actually, I think the
really good rods, just do not absorb as much of the energy as the poor rods.
A lot less dampening. Sort of like a shock absorber. The ideal rod is a
hand line. All the energy is sent to the fingers. And if you do not
believe this, look at a Mexican panguerp that fishes for a living with hand
lines. They will outfish a rod fisherman all the time. May be hard to cast
and retrieve a spinnerbait, but they do not require the sensitivity of a
worm.
Bill

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
ink.net...

It absorbs some of the energy, but that energy has to go somewhere.

To the Reel and line. Those are the only options left. If the line is tied
to the end of the rod, then all of the energy would be transmitted to the
rod tip. Remember the old cane pole method, that soft tip moving every time
you got a bite.

Some as heat, and some just reflects inside the rod. If the natural
frequency of
the rod is close to the frequency of the energy transmitted through the
line, then the energy can actually build in the rod, causing greater
movement. Example was the bridge in Washington that got to whipping and
fell down as the frequency of the bridge was the same as the wind coming
down the river. Senior moment as to name of bridge.

That bridge was put on a heavy constant strain created by the wind. The
harmaonics of the bridge bed swaying - each section in an opposing movement
to the other section, destrored it. I say the film on that once.

Actually, I think the really good rods, just do not absorb as much of the
energy as the poor rods.
A lot less dampening. Sort of like a shock absorber.

Graphite is a lot stiffer material than fiberglass, so it is supposed to
transmit more feeling. For hypthetical purposes lets just say that
fiberglass has a dampening factor of 50% from the tip to the handel, braided
line 2%, that leaves 48% for the reel to absorb. Of the 50% for the
fiberglass say half of that energy is felt in the handel on the rod. Now
look at graphite with a dampening factor of only 25%, the line is still at
2% the reel at 48% but now we have a 25% increase in the energy felt at the
handle. This is not the exact figures but an example of what I am trying to
say.

Take a willow branch and swing at the ground, then take a golf club and
swing and hit the root of a tree and your hands will sting like crazy. The
stiffer the material the better it transmits. It cannot amplify the
vibration but it conducts it better. For every action in nature there is an
opposite and equal reaction. Not an opposite and more amplified/concentrated
reaction.

In vertical jigging you use a medium or medium heavy graphite rod for better
feel for the jig. For casting surface plugs your better off with a composite
or fiberglass rod so you don't pull the plug away to fast, you need the
shock absorber.

The ideal rod is a hand line. All the energy is sent to the fingers. And
if you do not
believe this, look at a Mexican panguerp that fishes for a living with hand
lines. They will outfish a rod fisherman all the time. May be hard to
cast
and retrieve a spinnerbait, but they do not require the sensitivity of a
worm.
Bill

I could not agree with you more.

Craig wrote:
Now let's
face it, by the time your line travels through all the guides, most of its
energy has been absorbed and redirected by the rod and its compotents.

Actually, during the important parts of the retrieve (eg when my bait is
sinking or still) my line is always slack. In that situation, virtually
nothing is transferred to the rod, and I feel every hit with my fingers on
the line, rather than through the rod.

But even so. As I said in the beginning, if you had the line in your fingers
and no rod, at all, you would feel more than you feel through a rod. All
rods diminish the vibration to some extent. It takes energy to move the rod.
The lighter the rod, the less it takes. The stiffer the rod, the less energy
is lost in bending the rod and the more will reach the other end. So in the
best rods (eg, lightweight construction, high modulus) the signal loss in
negligible, but it is still a far cry from "amplifying" the signal.

Semantics aside, I strongly agree with your contention that a light,
sensitive rod does more to increase your fish catching potential than a
quality reel.


RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing