R
Ron 'The Hat' Clay
Guest
Have you noticed that many rod manufacturers are producing more rods with Cork Handles?
About 10 years ago there appeared a plethora of rods with artificial foam rubber handles. It appeared that manufacturers wanted us to believe that this was to be the stuff of the future and the material to be seen with.
However ask any angler who holds his rod most of the time such as lure fishers, fly fishers and river trotters or touch legerers. They will tell you virtually to a man that there is nothing like natural cork and there is nothing so horrid as foam rubber.
Why, you may ask?
Take fly rod handles for a start. If you use foam rubber, you will find it quite compressable. Try squeezing it, and then squeeze the cork. This reduces considerably the sensitivity of your grip. Secondly, cork is warm in summer and cool in winter. Thirdly, cork lasts.
I have had cork handled rods that have lasted over 40 years.
For fly rod handles, if there WAS anything better you can bet the likes of Sage, Loomis, Hardy, Orvis and other top fly rod producers would be using it.
And the same goes for other types of rods, especially those you hold all the time. Cork is superior.
However I do see many anglers fishing cork handled rods, even fly rods with the plastic sleeve still intact. For goodness sake take that plasic sleeve off the rod. The cork won't breath and is likely to rot if condensation gets under the plastic.
Not only that you are negating of of the main reasons why cork is used. You can grip it and there is nothing quite like the feel of a natural cork handle. It's almost sensuous to the touch.
Using a rubber handle is a bit like having you know what, with a length of inner tube!
About 10 years ago there appeared a plethora of rods with artificial foam rubber handles. It appeared that manufacturers wanted us to believe that this was to be the stuff of the future and the material to be seen with.
However ask any angler who holds his rod most of the time such as lure fishers, fly fishers and river trotters or touch legerers. They will tell you virtually to a man that there is nothing like natural cork and there is nothing so horrid as foam rubber.
Why, you may ask?
Take fly rod handles for a start. If you use foam rubber, you will find it quite compressable. Try squeezing it, and then squeeze the cork. This reduces considerably the sensitivity of your grip. Secondly, cork is warm in summer and cool in winter. Thirdly, cork lasts.
I have had cork handled rods that have lasted over 40 years.
For fly rod handles, if there WAS anything better you can bet the likes of Sage, Loomis, Hardy, Orvis and other top fly rod producers would be using it.
And the same goes for other types of rods, especially those you hold all the time. Cork is superior.
However I do see many anglers fishing cork handled rods, even fly rods with the plastic sleeve still intact. For goodness sake take that plasic sleeve off the rod. The cork won't breath and is likely to rot if condensation gets under the plastic.
Not only that you are negating of of the main reasons why cork is used. You can grip it and there is nothing quite like the feel of a natural cork handle. It's almost sensuous to the touch.
Using a rubber handle is a bit like having you know what, with a length of inner tube!