Fast Taper

[BigBassin144]

What is the purpose/advantage of having a fast taper in a rod? What kinds of baits are fast taper rods for?

Thanks,

BB

[jooleyen]

The action is determined by the taper (but you knew that). Spinnerbaits, jigs. It gives the rod power and sensitivity. A fast tip also helps you quickly fling baits into tight spots.

[Raul]

Sensitivity does not depend on how fast or slow the taper is.

[BigBassin144]

So pretty much, it'll help with accuracy, so it would get good for spinnerbaits.

Thanks guys.

BB

[jooleyen]

I think Raul is correct, BUT if you have a fast tip, the vibration will transmit through the blank and to your hand faster, right? If you have a slow rod, more of it will absorb and dampen the vibrations. Am I wrong?

[Jim80]

The taper of a particular rod also helps determine the overall action
for instance , some rods are " fast-taper" models, which means they
feature a lighter more sensitive tip that quickly tapers into a stronger
more stout portion of the blank . A "slow-taper" rod has a tip portion that tapers more gradually into the rest of the blank . Finally some rods are parabolic in design , which means thast there is very little difference in action throughout the entire length of the blank .

[jooleyen]

The taper of a particular rod also helps determine the overall action
for instance , some rods are " fast-taper" models, which means they
feature a lighter more sensitive tip that quickly tapers into a stronger
more stout portion of the blank . A "slow-taper" rod has a tip portion that tapers more gradually into the rest of the blank . Finally some rods are parabolic in design , which means thast there is very little difference in action throughout the entire length of the blank .

For more info.
http://www.addictivefishing.com/foru...-1.aspx#bm7218

[Jim80]

i figured that was enough of that , to make the point but it is a good read all the way through .

[Jim80]

http://www.addictivefishing.com/foru...-1.aspx#bm7218[/quote]
googled it right

[doc]

Gimme a stick, and empty spool of thread, 2 toothbrushes, and some power pro. Thats all I need.

Errr, and some ductape.

[Raul]

Originally Posted by jooleyen

I think Raul is correct, BUT if you have a fast tip, the vibration will transmit through the blank and to your hand faster, right? If you have a slow rod, more of it will absorb and dampen the vibrations. Am I wrong?

Sensitivity in the rod is given by the density of the fibers, how the fibers are aligned and wooven together, how much resins are used to bind the fibers together, how thick is the blank wall, all these factors are independent from the action and power of the rod.

You can have a rod that vibrates like nuts at the tip but that doesn´t mean the vibration will be transmitted downwards to the handle where you detect it, it´s the vibration transmitting properties of the blank material what gives you the sensitivity. A good example are those quite primitive glass rods many of us old farts began to fish with back then during the age of the dinosaurs, they vibrated like nuts but sensitivity wise they were pretty much dead.

You can enhance the sensitivity of the rig by fishing with denser line ( denser line transmits vibrations better ), from what is available in the market nylon is the poorest, braided is the most.

Extra fast, fast, medium fast, moderate ( action ) are terms to describe in which portion of the rod´s length the blank bends, it has nothing to do with the vibration transmitting properties of the material from which the blank is manufactured from.

[jooleyen]

Will I feel a subtle bite better with a 9' slow action rod or with a 9' ex. fast rod? They're both the same brand and model.

[BigBassin144]

Action won't effect sensitivity. Neither will the power of a rod.

BB

[Lancer6]

Let's simplify...at least by my standards of verbosity.
The MAIN advantage of the fast taper is to allow casting lighter lures effectively. Combined with a medium heavy butt section you have both distance AND power.
A fine example of this would be the Falcon LowRider 5-167 "Clark Wendlandt" Weightless Worm model, either the casting or spin version In Falconese the "5" in the spec means "Medium-Heavy". Also, if you want a lighter and more sensitive iteration of the same concept, try the St.Croix Avid in either the casting model or spin version (AS68MXF/Spin-AC68MXF/Cast.)
Now, according to St. Croix, these are (see the nice code?) a 6'8"Medium Power rod with an Extra-Fast tip action. Wellll, you seeeeee, St.C. underrates the power of their rods. Their medium is almost exactly someone else's Medium-Heavy...get it?
I have both the LowRider (cast and spin) and the spin version of the Avid. I toss unweighted 4" Senkos and some weightless worms on the LowRider and mostly 5" Senko/TikiStick/YUM Dinger on the Avid. I use #20 braid braid on all three, with #12 or #15 pure fluoro leaders (P-Line Leader Material...the best!) and can rifle the lures mentioned a lonnnnnnng way AND usually feel the presence of the fish. Or, shall I say, I may not feel them all, but I feel them MORE than with other combos of rod power/action and line/leader.
Howzat for "simple"?

Lancer6

PS: These rods, especially the Avid, can serve well in the dropshot mode, especially with 3/16 and up dropweights.

[Raul]

Jools, don´t mix stuff, rod action and power has nothing to do with rod sensitivity.

Let me give you an example so you can understand it better and show you why your assumption is not correct:

I have 1 Clarus rod I use for flipping, CSCX66H, it´s a 6´6" heavy power extra fast action.

I also happen to own a GLoomis GL2 MBR784 for worming & jigging in heavy cover and chunk rock bottoms, same length as the Clarus ( 6´6" ), same power rating ( Heavy ) but with a fast action.

If we followed the assumption: "the vibration will transmit through the blank and to your hand faster", then the Clarus rod in theory would be extremely sensitive while the GLoomis would be less sensitive because it has a slower action, in the real world such thing is far from being the truth, the Clarus is nowhere near as sensitive as the GL2 and weights twice as much as the GL2. What makes the difference ? the quality of the materials from which both rods are made from and how they are put together.

The GL2 has better graphite fibers, woven differently and with a lot less resin to bind them together ( reason why the rod weights a lot more ).

Being two rods made from the same materials but woven differently to give one a slow action and to give the other one an extra fast action sensitivity wise they would be the same.

The catch with sensitivity is that on one side of the scale you have all the technical stuff ( fibers, resins, vibration transmitting properties n´stuff like that ), on the other side of the scale you have the human being which is holding the rod. We are all different, the same way some people can take more pain ( for example ) there are people that have better feel capabilities in their hands, so when people say this or that rod is more sensitive than another it´s something you have to keep in perspective, the perspective that says that everyone is different and that the term "sensitivity" describes a sensation which for starters is a highly subjective appreciation.

I can´t detect the difference in "sensitivity" between a IMX rod and a GLX rod, the only difference I "feel" betwen both is that one ( GLX ) is slightly lighter than the other ( IMX ).

[islandbass]

Well said, Raul. That is just about the best examples I've seen on the subject. Glad I read it before attempting to take a stab at it. There is nothing else I can add except to say that the human factor indeed is very important too.

One rod can feel sensitive in one angler's hands and the exact same model will feel dead. There is a thread going on at TT where one person feels a higher end St. Croix was as sensitive as he had perceived and others who disagreed. No one is right or wrong. Some rods will feel better in our hands than others.

Heck, even an Ugly Stick feels sufficiently sensitive in my hands. No joke! No it is not on par with my lamiglas, crucial, or loomis rods, but I can feel a 5" dink strike a 5" senko with 10# mono (Big game at the time).

[Buzz Wing]

Very well said Raul, IB!

-Buzz