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Old 02-19-12, 02:49 PM   #1
Jrob78
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Default "Xfast action, soft tip"

Quote:
Originally Posted by joedog View Post
I was visiting some of the lesser forums. A couple have a very high tournament fishing population. Over and over folks were making coments like this, "I use a 7' MH fast action or extra fast action but you have to get one with a soft tip!" This was a frogging rod discussion. Again, extra fast action tells you there is a soft tip, right?
Fast action means you have a soft tip but not quite as soft as an extra fast. Right?

Tavery5, am I still not understanding? These folks are miss using terms, right?
Or at least repeating terms, right?

One 'yes your right' answer requested.

I understand what a soft tip means but it is really hard to explain without making things more confusing. It also illustrates why power and action alone don't always tell the whole story of a rod.

Action simply tells you where on a blank the flex starts. Power simply tells you how much weight it takes to fully flex the blank. Power and action together give you an idea of where on the blank your rod will bend and how much weight it will take to make it bend. That's what the chart on the other thread is for.

A soft tip means exactly that, the very tip of the rod flexes very easily. An extra fast action means that the last 1/5 of the rod flexes, a soft tip means that that last 1/5 flexes easily. It very quickly flexes into the back bone of the rod which is very strong, the soft tip allows you to cast and work lighter baits like frogs but still quickly get into the powerful back bone of the rod to get fish out of cover. Action will tell you where a blank flexes but it doesn't explain how it flexes and how that correlates with power.

This is why TT uses the R.O.D. system for measuring blanks and other systems like Common Cents are also used to gather more accurate measurements of blanks, from tip to butt. Blanks are made by overlapping layers of carbon fiber and glue. How and where those layers are placed effect how and where the finished blank will bend and how much weight it will take to bend. It is possible to make one section super strong while making another section super light. Action and power do tell you part of the story but not all of it. Add to that the fact that there are no industry standards for any of this, things get even more foggy. I think this is also why technique specific labels on rods are becoming more prevalent. A 7' heavy/fast rod that is labeled "frogging" might not be the same as a 7' heavy/fast rod that is labeled "c-rig" from the same manufacturer. They are both technically 7' heavy/fast rods but they have a different taper and flex differently.

I'm sure this probably hasn't really helped anyone's understanding but the truth is, without doing your own deflection tests on different blanks, or learning to make sense of someone else's deflection tests, you won't fully understand the characteristics of a given rod until you've fish it yourself.
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