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Rod actions (again)

M

Mark Evans 2

Senior Member & Supporter
Hi all

So rods like the FS Tamer series and the Guru Speci rods feel soft and floppy when held.

When it comes to their actual power, do they have the same power as compared to rods that recover quicker and feel stiffer, like the Korum and Drennan range of rods?

I think despite feeling less soft, the Korum and Drennan range are still meant to be 'parabolic' or have a through action?

For softer rods like the Tamer and Guru rods, would you need to up in test curve to land on a rod that felt similar to what you might have previously had?

I settled on my Guru rods but I still think they feel heavy and I'm still not a fan of 12ft rods. Thinking of switching back to maybe a single FS Tamer 11ft 2lb for the new season (I tried their 12ft 1.75 before) or I've seen a older Lone Angler 12ft for sale.
 
Hi Mark.
Soft or more thru action rods actually put more pressure on the fish but make it easier for us the angler. Check our Mr Tunley's video below so power as you put it is something you might consider after hooking a fish. We want though a rod to be able to cast and there it depends on what weight and how far you need to go.


Some rods do feel heavy in the hand but then you get what you pay for usually so a better quality carbon blank which is thinner, lighter and just as strong. I've tried a few rods myself for mainly general river fishing (roach, chub), and more powerful versions for larger chub/barbel so I tend to like something which does bend and isn't a fast taper thing. Currently on Mr Tunleys Dark Carbon 1.75 and 2.5 versions which suit me for my more powerful range, but I also bought a Nytro rod recently for lighter work so for value for money they seem great.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is the Test Curve on a rod can be something which gives us anglers a sense of how much power it has but power is subjective. Power on the fish in terms of bending is different that Casting Power. In an ideal world we'd be able to go to a tackle shop and there would be a place to try out rods in anger, put on your likely weight for casting and give it a fling out to the desired distance. I don't know if manufacturers do fishing events of this type or whether tackle shops could arrange something where you can try out various rods at a fishing venue. It would certainly be popular and for me we should as customers maybe push them in this direction.
I relate this to my golfing days as being a reasonable player it was always advisable to try before you buy to get a real feel for how the golf club might suite you. The same should apply to fishing rods so come on manufacturers and tackle folks, it's time to step up!
 
Morning Mark. I have an 11' x 1.75 lone angler and the same spec Torrix. They both have the same action, what I would call progressive. The 11' f.s. Tamer is more through action. I like using them all, but I am under arm casting on a small river, so do not need a rod to cast distance or big weights.
 
This is the thing, I feel a lot of 'barbel' rods now are made to suit the tips in the air, huge feeder or lead style fishing. On my local W.Avon and Arrow this just isn't needed. Everything just seems overly heavy these days, big heavy rods, huge reels. Even my 1.25 Guru Speci rod feels heavy with huge guides on it


I've seen the 11ft version of the Lone Angler rod for sale too, it's called the stalker so wasn't sure if the action would have been modified much from a standard Torrix but it's good to know it's the same or very similar.

I'm tempted to try the 11ft 2lb Tamer, surely with a lighter quiver tip it would for Chub too? Could be my 1 rod to cover all my Barbel and Chub fishing?
 
Mark Evans 2 said:
This is the thing, I feel a lot of 'barbel' rods now are made to suit the tips in the air, huge feeder or lead style fishing. On my local W.Avon and Arrow this just isn't needed. Everything just seems overly heavy these days, big heavy rods, huge reels. Even my 1.25 Guru Speci rod feels heavy with huge guides on it


I've seen the 11ft version of the Lone Angler rod for sale too, it's called the stalker so wasn't sure if the action would have been modified much from a standard Torrix but it's good to know it's the same or very similar.

I'm tempted to try the 11ft 2lb Tamer, surely with a lighter quiver tip it would for Chub too? Could be my 1 rod to cover all my Barbel and Chub fishing?
Click to expand...
I think you're over thinking it Mark . I use an FS Hi S in 2.0 on the Avon and it's perfect . I've needed every bit of the action as well when playing barbel away from the areas they were feeding .

The rod is a nice slim blank and a pleasure to use . I really would not go below 1.5tc my barbel angling ... more preferably 1.75 ..
 
Through action rods have more power (actual pull strength) than crisp/fast/tippy rods-
because more of the blank is being used in the fight -

They will be slower to cast and not transfer enough (fast, crisp) energy into a cast though - and the tip recovery will be slower
(the wobble will put friction on the line and hold the weight back
 
Golf clubs should be custom fitted mate, they are much more specific than fishing rods and have all sorts of ins and outs to do with player's build, swing speed, swing plane, wrist to floor measurements etc etc etc

Although you can get used to any set, it's much better to get fitted and have them all consistent -
I just use some classy spinning rods for anything up to small carp, some of my other heavier spinning rods make better big carp rods than a lot of carp rods!
As I trained as a rod builder I saw through a lot of ''species specific'' rods frankly and some of the ''creative'' money they charge doesn't cut it for me either
 
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