Rod or Pole colour

chub_on_the_block · May 6, 2012

F/glass or split cane rods once came in all sorts of different exotic colours, including shades of orange/red/burgundy/ steel blue etc, usually with baroque whipping etc. These days everything seems black or shades of black. Bit like cars i guess.

But why arent very pale colours used?. I am thinking of poles in particular here as they would be less visible against the sky for fish just off the tip.

Windy · May 6, 2012

I'd agree. The underside of most fish are white / silver for a good reason.

chub_on_the_block · May 6, 2012

Thanks Windy.

Just searched to see if rod colour has been discussed elsewhere and theres several fly fishing threads pointing out the weakness of glossy as opposed to matt finishes - the flash of light off them during fly casting potentially spooking the fish. Curiously, green was a favourite colour for several posters. I confess i would like some shade of green - purely on cosmetic grounds though. At the end of the day colour is probably the least concern compared to the action/sensitivity/power etc etc that make a rod fit for the task you are using it for. But i would still think that a rod that gets progressively lighter towards the tip end should be less visible.

beerweasel · May 6, 2012

I agree about fly rods flashing but for most fishing (trotting, ledgering and spinning) rod colour doesn't matter.
It is an issue with close quarter free lining and pole fishing.
I've had Reed Warblers land on a cane rod but never carbon, perhaps we should have leaf shaped rod rings.

Windy · May 6, 2012

I believe that Duck Egg Blue, the paint used on the underside of the Spitfire, was / is extensively tested by the RAF at the time and reckoned to be the best overall camouflage against the varying British sky.

Bone Fish are overall mirrored silver, so reflect their surroundings entirely, and are effectively invisible in a foot of water.

S-Kippy · May 6, 2012

I can't see duck egg blue rods selling no matter what the RAF say.

A matt finish is much more important than colour which doesn't really bother me.Given a choice I'd go for green or brown for no better reason than they look nice and in a matt finish are fairly unobtrusive.

steph mckenzie · May 6, 2012

i don't suppose it matters when you cast 20 yards plus, bloody fish would have good eyesight to see the colour of your rod from that far away.

I think it might be more of a personal confidence thing than an actual, you'll catch more fish thing.

sma · May 6, 2012

I remember reading an article by Denis White about 15 years ago. He painted the top three's of his pole grey. His reasoning was that was the colour of the underside of the heron, and in his words, " nature is never wrong".

peterjg · May 6, 2012

Good point. I'm not bothered what it looks like. Yes, rods and poles should really be a matt grey colour, especially if you are fishing close in laying-on in clear water. Why risk scaring the fish, instead most rods look very pretty all shiny and black?

Lord Paul of Sheffield · May 6, 2012

Most of my rods are grey colour but master line rods are a nice green , not sure if it makes my odds

mark brailsford 2 · May 6, 2012

S-Kippy said:
I can't see duck egg blue rods selling no matter what the RAF say.

A matt finish is much more important than colour which doesn't really bother me.Given a choice I'd go for green or brown for no better reason than they look nice and in a matt finish are fairly unobtrusive.

Never understood that thing with the underside of WW2 Aircraft, those planes would just look dark against a bright background anyway!

I really like the gloss blanks on my rods and have never found them a problem, even when I was fly fishing! gloss black looks really classy, but then I am a tackle tart!!

chub_on_the_block · May 6, 2012

mark brailsford 2 said:
Never understood that thing with the underside of WW2 Aircraft, those planes would just look dark against a bright background anyway!

They werent exactly silent either. The camouflage on the upper side made more sense when parked on the ground but attacked from the air.

Going back to rod colour, i guess the preponderance of black is because it saves cost spray painting the carbon. There used to be some eye catching colours when it was more popular to invest in the appearance though.

I agree with others on here that the only time a pale tip section could be of any potential benefit is for close range work, in shallow water (or with fish high up in the water).

mark brailsford 2 · May 6, 2012

chub_on_the_block said:
They werent exactly silent either. The camouflage on the upper side made more sense when parked on the ground but attacked from the air.

Going back to rod colour, i guess the preponderance of black is because it saves cost spray painting the carbon. There used to be some eye catching colours when it was more popular to invest in the appearance though.

I agree with others on here that the only time a pale tip section could be of any potential benefit is for close range work, in shallow water (or with fish high up in the water).

To be honest, I don't think it matters at all whether a blank is gloss or not IMO.

steph mckenzie · May 6, 2012

I can just see the fish saying to itself .... look at that eejit sat there fishing with his awful coloured rod. If he thinks for 1 second that i am going to pick his bait up attached to that hook and hook length material then he is up a gum tree ... Now if it was a nice grey coloured rod then that would be a totally different challenge.

Bloody puddled i tell ya. If it helps you to fish with more confidence then go for it, but you'll still catch fish if you present it properly and at the right time, place blah de blah.

alan whittington · May 6, 2012

Ive always said,if someone was mad enough to sponsor me and their trademark was shocking pink rods i would use them,ive never seen a fish spook from the sun glinting off a gloss rod,it would be different if our rods were over a foot thick,but they are so slight,they dont know they exist,on fisheries that allow cars to be parked on bankside,the fish dont spook away from red or orange cars...except if you slam the doors.

barbelboi · May 6, 2012

It’s probably the shadow that will spook fish rather than the colour, especially if it’s a pole putting a shadow at distance where the fish aren’t used to it. With rods, even if you are fishing the margins, the rod will probably blend in somewhat with the natural bank side growth and in many other aspects the bait is so far away from the rod (trotting – far side of the shelf - pellet wagler, etc) that it’s not going to matter. My personal preference is a matt rod – if used with thought the only thing the fish should see is the terminal tackle and that’s what matters.
Jerry

terry m · May 6, 2012

I am not convinced that rod colour would make any real difference to catch rate, furthermore the current approach of black or grey blanks is a little boring if nothing else. I'm for a bit of colour but not too garish.

freebird7 · May 6, 2012

Lord Paul of Sheffield said:
master line rods are a nice green ,

I really really Like that matt green finish Im sure thats one of the reasons im reluctant to give my old carbon fibre John wilson carp rod up. I just wish masterline made better rods overall as Im sick of stark black.... Sure the colour doesnt really matter but when you spend alot of money on something its nice if it looks nice too.

steph mckenzie · May 7, 2012

I like a Burgandy or a Green coloured rod finished off with gold coloured whippings.

Don't know why i guess it just looks right in my eyes.

barbelboi · May 7, 2012

steph mckenzie said:
I like a Burgandy or a Green coloured rod finished off with gold coloured whippings.

Don't know why i guess it just looks right in my eyes.

Bet you've also got a dark set of polariods Steph

Jerry

Rod or Pole colour

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