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Rod Power

A

Alan Towers

Active Member
Do rods lose their power over time? I have had a Peregrine 11ft 1.75 GTI for ten years and it is my favourite rod, for the last five years I have used it on the Swale and landed some really nice fish.I noticed a couple of times this season in a particularly deep swim that fish got the better of me maybe the power needed just wasn't there. It was probably just my incompetence but I would welcome any views.
Regards
Alan
 
I think they get softer with age/use. Iv got a spod rod that doesn’t seem anywhere near the 5lbtc it’s supposed to be. Iv got a newer 4lbtc spod rod that I use for a marker rod that seems sturdier
 
@Bob Gill is the best man to answer this
But I’m going to say no.
There is a break in period after the rod has first being built where the whippings and fixtures move about a fraction and settle in and you get a bit of creaking with the first couple of good sized fish you hook but I’ve not ever noticed a deterioration in power over time. Maybe I haven’t caught enough fish to notice it but my rods (some are 20 plus years old) perform as good now as they ever did.
That’s my thoughts anyway.
 
Yes Alan,I think they do.Going back to a Pete Stone specimen (a great Barbel rod) in the early 70's,through Graham Phillips and Tref West on Pulse and Harrison blanks,all appear after time to have lost power,none of them where abused by chucking feeders that were too heavy,but they all had a great deal of use and had a few Barbel.I'm not qualified to explain why it happens,whether or not its the constant flexing,I don't know.All I do know is its a great excuse to buy another rod.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
@Bob Gill is the best man to answer this
But I’m going to say no.
There is a break in period after the rod has first being built where the whippings and fixtures move about a fraction and settle in and you get a bit of creaking with the first couple of good sized fish you hook but I’ve not ever noticed a deterioration in power over time. Maybe I haven’t caught enough fish to notice it but my rods (some are 20 plus years old) perform as good now as they ever did.
That’s my thoughts anyway.
Click to expand...
Reckon that's summed it up for more modern rods and carbon. Some materials used in rod building can give you that initial crack and creaking, but that can be lessened in some areas by using appropriate materials.
Fancy my old aramid/carbon Tricasts (early 80s) my have softened minimally but this was early days of carbon and other fibre mixes.
My well used Conoflex beachcasters and pike rods (fibreglass) showed little sign of losing power.
One rod that did exhibit softenening was traced to fine surface hairline cracks and when over stressed sent it to the rod happy hunting ground in the sky.

Cheers
Bob
 
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