What makes a good rod?

Knowing hardly nothing about the technical side of rod making could someone tell me whats the main difference between a good blank and a bad one?? thanks.

Yoggy,
I don't know much about it but I would suggest the quality of the carbon cloth used and the amount of fiberglass used in the blank. I'm not sure there are many bad rods being produced these days as companies have low production costs now, using the Eastern market.

I read somewhere that it is all to do with the ratio of resin to carbon.Less resin = better blank= more expensive because of the higher carbon content.Century based here claim to have a grade of carbon cloth unobtainable in the far east due to military trading restrictions, mind you they do make some nice rods.With rods though it is a bit of beauty in the eyes of the beholder thing.Some rods I have been told are the bees knees feel horrible to me and vice versa.

How to tell a good rod?

I could write a book about that, having been partly involved in building rods and after haveing literally hundreds of them go though my hands during the past 50 years.

Might I suggest you look at Harrison's website. There is a link to it on this website.

Other than the fittings which should be of the very best, one way is the absence of flop. A good rod should also feel right.

It is perhaps in the field of fly rods that bank quality is paramount. Give a fly rod a wiggle and if it continues wiggling in you hand longer than about a second it is a crap blank.

This property is called "dampening".

There is also the question of section modulus. A good rod is stiffer for its cross section than a cheap rod. That means it will be lighter.

The combination of the correct pre-preg carbon and high quality resin is also important.

There is also that indefinable "feel" to a good rod that is often hard to describe in words.

High grade carbons and autoclave technology help produce a high end blank.

Thankyou,but surely there cannot be that many far eastern factories that produce blanks on a large scale?.The reason i ask this is with all the different companies that produce rods surely alot of these companies use the same blanks on their own particular rod?.Or have the likes of Fox,Drennan,etc have their own factorys??.

Can someone tell me what autoclave technology is? Is it that important or is it just another impressive soundbite that is used in adverts (like TFG's 'Designed to Matt Hayes exact specifications')?

An autoclave is essentially a heated vacuum vessel items are cured in according specific temperatures and pressure cycles.The process allows to produce dense, void free composites and is normally used for the production of high performance tools.

The design of the rod and it's taper are also important. A badly designed rod made from the best materials is still a bad rod.

I believe that in some forms of angling a high quality rod is more important.

For instance trotting or fly fishing demand much from a rod but in most Barbel or Chub fishing situations the rod hardly does any work.

in other words, they remove air bubbles from the carbon as well as curing, producing a blank with a consistant density.

My post above was in response to Robin after Woll's technical post )

Yoggy,

The scale that some of the far east blank factories manufacture to would astound you.

The main reason for this is the USA market and probably the most common blank made is the 5 1/2 to 6 foot blank used in the American style baitcasting rod or spinning rod.

I cannot think of a more popular type of blank used world wide, with the exception of a 9 foot weight 6 fly rod blank.

Remember the USA has well over 45 million regular anglers of which I would guess at least 20 million regularly fish for bass. The keen bass anglers will probably have up to ten bait casting outfits on their boats and they replace them regularly. Keeping up with the Jones is a big thing over there when it comes to the latest tackle technology. UK Anglers are only beginners in terms of being tackle tarts.

The UK rod market is infintesimal compared with that in the USA.

You are quite right about autoclaves Wol. In my early years as s design draughtsman I was quite involved with them.

my local tackle dealer reckons that the fox rep told him that fox rods are made from shakespeare rod blanks.
probably,most of the far eastern made rods come from the same factory.i`ve seen a few rods from the cheaper and mid range part of the market sporting various manufacturers logos,that look like they use the same blank,rings and reel fittings.

The Price

Ron,so are you saying that the yanks take their fishing alot more serious than we do??.Is there such a term as "coarse fishing" in the USA?,OR do they simply just lure and fly fish??.

Yoggy,

The big difference beween the USA and here first of all is that far more people per head of population fish in America. In the times I have been there, I have hardly met a white caucasian American who does not fish at some time during the year.

Because of the species there, which are mainly predatory, most people fish with lures and to a lesser extent flies. Although fly fishing is one of the fastest growing sports in this country, even faster I am told than golf.

The term: "Coarse Fishing", is of course unknown, although there is a tendency for some to call sitting on the banks of a river or lake with a baited rod - "N.gg.r Fishing"

A typical response when I tell an American that I fish is "Do you fly fish"?

When I answer yes they tend to say: "Wow that's so skillful - I think I would like to do it."

Although there is what can be termed - the Average Angler, who might fish a few times a year, mainly on vacation, the top angers take their sport VERY seriously indeed.

The most popular species by far is the Black Bass, both large and small mouth. The level of sheer technology devoted to catching this species would astound you.

Most American anglers fish from a boat. These are generally towed behind a vehicle, mainly a 4x4 truck which is fast becoming the most popular type of transport in the States. Angling is also very much a family sport. Wives and kids often go fishing with the man of the house.

The amount of money spent on tackle in the States is vast. With an estimated 45m anglers there, one can soon see why.

Angling is also encouraged, even at school level. And the annual Bassmaster tournament, which is televised, is watched by more people than the Cup Final in England, or so I am told.

All the top politicians fish by the way, from state senators to Bush himself.

The antis have no chance in that country.

value for money spent is a prime point with me when purchasing a new rod, 1stly i want a rod that will handle the tasks i use it for efficiently, 2ndly i want that rod to last a fair few years even with long hard use and without softening up and losing its effectiveness, i would rather pay ?200 for a rod that will carry out its tasks for 15 years than pay ?50 for one that wont, ?13 a year aint a bad figure to have a good rod to use and without nagging doubts whether it folds up on me if i am playing a good fish and a lot of pressure is used...j.w

Ron,it sounds if we brits are way behind the yanks in alot of things regarding angling,i like the idea that angling is encouraged in schools etc...and i agree with your statement the antis have no chance!!!.and by the way i"ve just looked at the "harrisons" website,i must say they do look and sound very good rods,a case of you get what you pay for.

I've got a couple of stick float rods made from Harrison blanks and I would never use anything else when fishing a river. One is 13ft and the other 16ft. With both of them I can strike at distance knowing that the line pick-up will be near perfect and, if the fish is a decent size, that the rod will absorb the shock and prevent a crack off but it's the "backbone" in them that gives me the confidence to put pressure on a large chub or even a barbel to keep them out of weed or snags.
The same rule applies for rods as with any other product, you get what you pay for.