BLOG: Hot rod appeal

They say one of the most exciting things an angler can do is chisel their own lure or turn their own rod, especially when their home-made creation catches its first fish.

While I have never constructed my own lures (just yet!), I've built up a few rods over the years and I can attest to the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment they provide. It’s a primeval feeling that validates my ability as a hunter. While this may seem an odd statement by today’s standards, I happen to put great stock in the foundations of our sport - namely the hunt, the catch and the kill.

While the foundations of the sport remain constant, I am always eager to learn new techniques or try new concepts. While much publicity is generated around lures and reels, fishing rod technology and innovation seems to play second fiddle to some degree.

It’s obvious that reels are precision instruments with minuscule tolerances that seemingly make them far more complex, but are they really? Listening to experienced rod builders explain how the recipe of a blank creates different actions for different tasks, is quite remarkable. Then add in high-tech materials like carbon, titanium and silicon carbide and the humble fishing pole sounds more like a spaceship.

There is no denying the technology is sound, but the marketing hype is just as impressive. The trend in recent times has seen a shift towards split grip handle configurations which it's claimed give better casting and hook-setting performance, sensitivity and reduced weight.

While I agree the new split design looks super cool, I find it very difficult after a few years of use to substantiate these claims. While I agree that overall weight is reduced by removing a small portion of the grip, it is very negligible. Unless a portion of your bare hand comes in contact with the blank, I cannot see how sensitivity can be increased. The rods I own have the heel of the hand - the most sensitive part of the hand - still placed on the grip. Improved casting and hook-setting performance I believe is great marketing hype. I am yet to define how a grip design such as this can improve either. This design was adopted in the American bass scene where such "improvements" in technology and design are readily employed by anglers who cannot afford to get left behind.

The last point is on grip materials. I am a huge cork advocate. However, we are seeing more rods designed with EVA gips, namely duralon. There are many reasons for this but mainly the real problem is supply. Cork is a natural resource that is becoming harder and more expensive to source. EVA is not bound by the same constraints, is cheaper and more readily available. While duralon is a far better material than the original hypalon, which was akin to holding a cake of heavy soap, I still don’t feel as confident or as comfortable with it. Once again, they look super cool with camo prints and assorted jazzy colours, but is it a fashion accessory rather than a bonafide improvement in materials? I’m not sure yet, but I hope cork grips continue to be made available nonetheless.

Sometimes it’s difficult to separate the marketing from the science.