OhioOutdoorsman
Member
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2006
- Messages
- 624
I have one decent quality bamboo, 3 glass rods, multiple graphite rods of different actions and qualities. I am also nearing my 50th rod build, mostly graphite, some glass.....I have cast them all, usually with several lines before I sold them.
The differences in how the three materials actually perform in trms of casting distance and accuracy is widely overstated. I guaruntee that if you took Dave's bamboo and your best cannon graphite, on a calm day, you would be able to cast the bamboo within probably 20ft and definitely 30ft of each other in terms of length (70 or 80ft vs 100ft) if you practiced on each for a month.
There are differences in how they feel:
Graphite has a natural oscillation that is much quicker
Graphite is lighter
Graphite blanks, especially, the high modulous ones, have a more defined spine
Glass rods have slower oscillation, grass even slower
Glass rods dampen quicker than graphite, grass even quicker
Its easier to make a soft tip on a glass or bamboo rod, its easier to make a stiff butt on a graphite rod.
Glass is more durable, high modulous graphite probably the least durable.
What does all this mean? Probably minor differences at most in your ability to catch fish.......
The glass and boo rods present flies slower and more delicate in general. They protect tippets very well. They have much slower hooksets IMHO.
Graphite rods are less tiring to cast heavy flies with big line weights on windy days and tend to have stiffer butts for manuevering big fish.
So, in short, when it comes to feel, they feel very different, and how a rod feels determines largely how much a fisherman enjoys casting and fishing it. How the rod affects your ability to cast and fish, the differrence is much more subtle, a difference an outside observer would only barely notice, and fish probably don't notice at all.
So when it comes to what is "best", there is no "best", only what is best for you.......
I personally enjoy fishing glass the best......its relaxing to cast, is durable and relative cheap so I don't have to worry about breaking it, and it slows my hooksets down (which for me helps increase my hookups), and I get to feel the rod flex all the way to the butt when fighting a fish......would I catch more fish or cast a lot better on a grass or graphite rods......probably not. But that isn't what matters. After all, we're doing this for fun.
The differences in how the three materials actually perform in trms of casting distance and accuracy is widely overstated. I guaruntee that if you took Dave's bamboo and your best cannon graphite, on a calm day, you would be able to cast the bamboo within probably 20ft and definitely 30ft of each other in terms of length (70 or 80ft vs 100ft) if you practiced on each for a month.
There are differences in how they feel:
Graphite has a natural oscillation that is much quicker
Graphite is lighter
Graphite blanks, especially, the high modulous ones, have a more defined spine
Glass rods have slower oscillation, grass even slower
Glass rods dampen quicker than graphite, grass even quicker
Its easier to make a soft tip on a glass or bamboo rod, its easier to make a stiff butt on a graphite rod.
Glass is more durable, high modulous graphite probably the least durable.
What does all this mean? Probably minor differences at most in your ability to catch fish.......
The glass and boo rods present flies slower and more delicate in general. They protect tippets very well. They have much slower hooksets IMHO.
Graphite rods are less tiring to cast heavy flies with big line weights on windy days and tend to have stiffer butts for manuevering big fish.
So, in short, when it comes to feel, they feel very different, and how a rod feels determines largely how much a fisherman enjoys casting and fishing it. How the rod affects your ability to cast and fish, the differrence is much more subtle, a difference an outside observer would only barely notice, and fish probably don't notice at all.
So when it comes to what is "best", there is no "best", only what is best for you.......
I personally enjoy fishing glass the best......its relaxing to cast, is durable and relative cheap so I don't have to worry about breaking it, and it slows my hooksets down (which for me helps increase my hookups), and I get to feel the rod flex all the way to the butt when fighting a fish......would I catch more fish or cast a lot better on a grass or graphite rods......probably not. But that isn't what matters. After all, we're doing this for fun.
