| I ask this on the general discussion board but did'nt get a response so I'll try the pro's -- I've lost several fish the last 2 years while fishing with my favorite rod , a 7 footer , maybe 7'2" , that I sling bucktails with and twitch minnows , It's a long lean casting machine , I love throwing those spinners a mile and burning the retrieve back to the boat , it's been very effective but I 've noticed I've lost lot's of fish on this rod but next to none on my 6'6" rod that is much stiffer . Does anyone else fear losing fish with long rods because you can't drive the hook home good, Does anyone use the ole double hook set when fishing with a more limber rod ? How about the hooks - Do you think it's a lot easier to drive home a thin hook like on some of the older mepps vs the heavy duty hooks that have real thick metal ? I've thought about changing the hooks on my favorite spinners Some jerk bait hooks could tow in a 30 ft boat( -- and YES I keep my hooks very sharp !! ) Any opinions ? Take Care ManitouDan |
| Good question Dan,
In response I will tell you that there are several things at work here. The first is hooksetting force. More pounds of force are exerted with a shorter stiffer rod. Simple physics will prove this. Just pick up a full can of soda with your hand, then tie it on the end of your line with that 7 1/2 foot rod to lift it and see which requires more effort on your part. However you can move more line with a longer rod therefore if you are a big strong guy the hookset force should be sufficient to drive the hooks home. Keep in mind though that thin hooks will penetrate easier but they also "flex" more so they may not dig in the way that you would like. I prefer a stout hook myself.
I also use longer rods most of the time but not the ones that have a lot of give to them. Mine are pretty stout and do not have a lot of excess flex to them. They are harder to cast, but I can set hooks good with them. I prefer the long rods because of the way I can figure 8 a fish at the boat.
Also long casts can be a problem for hookset force. The longer the cast, the more likely a poor hookset will result. Todays super braid lines help, but you still have to move a lot of line to get a good clean hookset and get hook penetration.
I guess that I don't have any clear cut answers except to tell you that if you have long, rather limp rods that you will have problems on long casts and with big fish. I won't even get started with my theorys on round bend vs "other" hooks. That I will save for a time when I can demonstrate in person. Hope all of this helps in some way, Mike |
