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| Rod Survey: How do you grip your rod? And why?
I usually “palm” my reel it seems most comfortable and I’m able to finesse my baits a little better. Sometimes when working bigger jerk baits or setting hooks with live bait I’ll hold it on the fore grip.
[;)] |
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| I almost always palm the reel. I feel i get a better/quicker hookset that way and it is more comfortable for the most part. The only exception is if i'm using a 7000 and my hand starts to get sore after a long day of palming the thing, then i'll grab by the foregrip.
B |
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| I palm it. I have big hands so it`s no problem to grip it. I fish with a couple smaller guys that favor the fore-end grab because they can`t palm the reel comfortably. Beav |
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| Hmmmmm............
How do I grip my rod?
Hmmmmmm.............
Nope, too easy
[:halo:] |
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| I palm my reel too. I would put my hand in front of the reel becuase it's less stressful but it's not comfortable for me. It's also a pain when you have to cast. |
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| Used to grip the fore handle, but finally switched to palming a coupleyears ago. I feel you can get a faster hookset. |
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| When I was first getting into fishing centuries ago, boron rods were the hot ticket. I couldn't afford boron or the less expensive graphite rods, so I used the relatively cheap fiberglass rods. To match the sensetivity of their fishing rods, I held the rod in front of the reel and held the rod between my index finger and middle finger with the other two fingers. In that way I could hold the line between my thumb and index finger to feel even the lightest bites. This was habit that has carried over to my muskie fishing as well. The benefit is that three fingers would nearly have to break, to lose the grip on the rod. |
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| Hi,
I generally hold the rod by the foregrip. My hands are big enough to palm 7000s, but over the long term it's hard on your hands. I know a couple anglers whos hands are in bad shape from palming muskie reels for years.
I don't switch hands when I cast, so my hand never leaves the foregrip. I can go through an L-turn, pick the bait out of the water and have it in the air in one motion, so it's pretty efficient, and less motion equals less fatigure over the course of a long day.
One thing I do generally do is have larger tapered foregrips on my custom rods. I have them changed on production rods as well. Skinny foregrips will lead to hand cramps when you hold the rod like this, but with a larger foregrip, it's no problem.
Cheers,
RK |
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| RK...very interesting perspective. I just started casting left-handed this year because I'm having rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder after Thanksgiving. I feel a little akward yet with my casting but the way you explain it, it sounds like a better way than I`ve been trying it. If you don`t want to go into detail here, send me an e-mail. I feel like I`m learning to cast all over again. Beav |
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| I palm my reels all the time except when jigging Fuzzy Duzits. But when I first started muskie fishing back a some years ago in Minnesota I use the four grip. It must be a Minnesota thing not to palm the reels, (right RK!)[:bigsmile:] |
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| I only used the foregrip before puberty. Once my hands were big enough to palm the reel... I never considered anything else. I still chuckle when I pull out my original 5'6" Custom made St. Croix and remember the days of tossing those 8" Bobbies all day long with that broom stick... and hanging on for dear life by the foregrip. I know there are some very proficient musky hounds (RK, Stange, etc.) that use the foregrip.... but it just seems barbaric and cumbersome to me now. Both methods work... so do whatever feels comfortable to you.
jlong |
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| Hi,
Jason S - there are so many cheap shots I could take at your post, but in the interests of cross-border peace, I'll hold off...[;)]
Jason L - Cumbersome? Part of the problem there is probably that you are using stock length rear grips. Cut them down to about 9" or so, so it isn't hitting you in the gut every cast, and it'll be a different story. And don't switch hands when you cast.
Honestly, in terms of efficiency, nothing beats grabbing the foregrip with your left hand and keeping it there till you set the rod down. I can make a lot more casts in a day, and feel a lot better at the end of it by not palming the reel...
Cheers,
RK |
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| I''m w/ Rk only I crouch down low on a strike then leap up + backwards to set the hook using both hands on the forgrip. Used to grab the rod + swing the sucker like a baseball bat w/ both hands but people started getting scared so I stopped. Ever watch a tom cat? Check one out sometime... they don''t miss nothing![:sun:] |
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| RK,
I just don't have the mumbo jumbos to cut the handle off one of my rods. Second, in my opinion.... the longer the butt section of the rod the BETTER. In fact, I often plant the butt seat right into my hip and rip baits straight up. When I palm the reel, I like to LOCK the butt against my forearm too for leverage. Never thought I'd hear myself say I prefer BIG BUTTS... but in this case I'm afraid it is true.
Third, a longer butt/handle improves the ability to counter balance the rod... making for a virtually weightless stick at the pivot point (reel) that I think is essential for finesse applications that require lots of quick, sharp rod tip motions and slack line management.
For chuckin' chickadees and other baits that simply need to be cranked in... or baits that only need a subtle pull I can see how your method can kick butt, however I'd hate to see you slack snap a reef hawg for 17 hours straight with one of your chopped off rods.
I'm sure with your technique you make many more casts than I can (sounds like you are a casting MACHINE), but I bet your baits don't dance as pretty as mine [:bigsmile:]. Which is more effective at catchin' skis????? I dunno[:halo:] !
As long as a rod feels comfortable and gets the job done (each job requires a different tool however)... I don't think it matters how long it is. And one last thought, when you say you are using an 8 footer... do you mean that is how long it ORIGINALLY was before you cut the handle off or is that the actually length?
jlong |
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| Hi,
Once you cut off half a dozen rod butts or so, it starts to get easier...[;)]
When I really need to rip something, I just stick the rod but into my hip, and I'm using my whole forearm instead of my wrist. Same with Reef Hawgs (though I don't use them much anymore. Such lousy hookers...). The rod motion isn't any different really.
As far as length, depends on whether or not the rod is a custom.
If I'm cutting a production rod, it'll start out as say an 8' and end up as a 7'7" or something, but the business end is the same as your 8' without cutting the blank - I just don't have a bunch of rod sticking out behind me.
Custom rods are different. My Thorne Bros bucktail rod is 8'3" total length with a short butt, for example. So the business end is actually quite a bit longer than it would be if it had a standard 13" or 15" handle vs. my 9" mushroom butt.
Cheers,
RK |
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| RK,
If I EVER get to the point where I'm considering chopping one of my sticks.... it is time for me to seek therapy. Considering how many hundreds of lures I have laying around because I decided to try and "improve" them..... I don't even want to think about how costly a few rod "modifications" could be.
Thanks for sharing your unique style.... hopefully I will learn something from it. You must have made some impression on me last winter considering I did cave in and bought a 7'6". It will be a while, however, before I go to an 8 footer... and it will be even longer before I chop one!!! Maybe I'm just a slow learner....
jlong |
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