ncr1 wrote:Primary Considerations
Here are three examples of different rod actions. The first one is a Shimano Tcurve 37kg game rod pulling against 18kg of drag, the second is one of my builds, a Calstar 6455XXH, deadlifting 18kg of weight, and the third is a ‘new generation’ Black Hole game rod connected to a big tuna. As you can see, the bend of each rod from the rod tip ‘shuts off’ at different points further down the rod. The Tcurve stops bending at around the stripper guide, the Calstar stops at the foregrip, and the Black Hole keeps on bending right through to the reel seat.
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Leverage Efficiency
Although I haven’t done any comparative measurements between these rods (nor has anyone), the physics of a third-order lever tells us that the more action and more flex the rod has, the more efficient they become as a lever. In other words, when pulling back against 18kg of drag, the angler will not have to work as hard (i.e. provide as much opposing force) with a softer action rod (e.g. Black Hole) versus a faster action rod (e.g. Tcurve). Taking a coarse example from the videos in my previous post, I’m going to guess that the 12kg of drag that Winga was connected to with his fast-action Tcurve could have meant that the load transferred to the effort point (i.e. the load Winga has to pull back against at the harness lugs or foregrip) may have been around 40kg+ (a rough guess). In contrast, because of the soft action Black Hole rod that Kilsong was using, he may have only needed to exert 30kg of pressure at the effort point (again, a rough guess), even though he was using a much heavier drag of 20kg+. Therefore, the action of the rod can have a significant influence on the overall leverage efficiency. So if you’re in the tackle shop testing rod designs and are having trouble leaning back comfortably on 18kg of drag, then perhaps choose a rod with a softer action.
There are also other aspects of rod design that can significantly increase leverage efficiency in addition to the action of the blank - having a shorter rod, having a longer butt, or having a bent-butt fitted. All modifications relate to the physics of a third-order lever with the aim of reducing the overall load at the effort point. Remember, the ultimate aim is to find the right combination of design aspects that allows you the angler, to lean back against as much drag as possible.
Line Retrieval Efficiency
But if leverage efficiency were the only important aspect of rod design, then we’d all be using very short and very soft game rods. But of course, there are more things to consider. One of the most common complaints you hear about someone using a soft action or ‘soggy’ rod, is that it can seem more difficult or cumbersome to get line back with every pump-and-wind. Think about a scenario where you are hooked up to a feisty marlin or a mentally-unstable mako that is zooming and jumping across the surface of the ocean and you’re at the other end winding like mad, trying to keep the line tight as possible to make sure that the hook stays connected. During an extended fight, there are also those valuable (and often short-lived) moments where the fish eases off a little bit and starts edging in your direction, towards the boat. Alternatively, a fish that has been hanging deep for a while suddenly begins to angle towards the surface and your captain responds by slamming the throttle in reverse to try and use the boat to intercept the surfacing fish. At each of these times, it can be important to ‘make hay why the sun shines’ and get the maximum amount of line back on the reel as possible as quick as possible. A soft Black-Hole style game rod, although fantastic for leverage efficiency, may not be so great in these faster-paced situations since every wind of the reel has to not only has to take up the slack in the line, but it also has to take up the slack in the rod (i.e. the rod’s flex). For situations where maintaining ‘contact’ with the fish is paramount, a more stiff, T-curve style action game rod would be preferred since the minimal flex in the rod allows you to more easily maintain the pressure on the line and make every pump-n-wind as efficient as possible. In addition to the relative stiffness of the game rod, the relative line retrieval efficiency can also be greatly improved by increasing the overall length of the rod. This is because a longer rod provides a larger sweeping arc, meaning that the rod tip moves faster and over a greater distance with every pump-n-wind, allowing more line to be recovered with every down sweep.
But here represents a major dichotomy in game rod selection – a softer, shorter game rod offers the most leverage efficiency, whereas a stiffer, longer game rod offers the greatest line retrieval efficiency. It is therefore up to you to decide what characteristics are the most important for the style of fishing that you will be doing – you will have to compromise somewhere. This is where I believe a major disconnect exists between the range of commercially available game rods on the market in Australia, and the demands of the Portland barrel fishery. It seems as though the vast majority of game rod designs in this country are intended for marlin fishing, where the primary intention is often to back down on a jumping fish as quick as possible, stick a tag in it, and let it go in as best condition as possible. And stiffer rods like the Shimano Tcurve are ideally suited to this style of fishing. But when it comes to fighting a big barrel bluefin that is slugging it out deep during most of the fight, a lack of overall leverage efficiency in these stiffer rods can really come back to bite the angler. I believe this is why many/most anglers out of Portland generally spend around 2-4 hours fighting a 100kg tuna, whereas in contrast, our friends in the United States are consistently bowling over 200-400kg tuna in less than an hour. We can learn a lot from our northern hemisphere neighbours – they’ve been tackling mega bluefin a lot longer than we have. Understanding a bit more about the advantages of rod design is an important part of the learning process.
Reliability
You’ve finally connected to the fish of a lifetime. You saw the massive splash as it slammed the short rigger and now it is just peeled 500 metres of line in just a few seconds. By the time you’ve picked up the rod and had your harness fitted, the fish has calmed down a bit, but you feel the weight of the beast, a lot of weight. The adrenalin is pumping and your mind is racing – ‘I don’t want to lose this fish, I don’t want to lose this fish!’ Yet you fight against your natural inclination and instead you decide to slide the lever drag on the reel up into the sunset zone. There is now 18kg of drag coming off the rod tip! ‘I’ve only got this one chance and I’m going for broke. Every single part of this outfit needs to hold together!’
Having a quality game outfit that is unwaveringly reliable is more than just for practical reasons and minimizing the risk of catastrophic gear failure, but it’s also crucial from a psychological aspect. If you carry any doubts about the reliability of your gear into battle, then you are probably going to more timid in your approach and not ‘attack’ the fight in the way you should. If the line is in good condition, if your knots and connections are solid, if you’re reel is well serviced, and if you’re rod is suited to the task, then there is no reason why you should lose the fish because of gear failure. You should feel entirely free to ‘go for broke’ at the maximum drag settings. Don’t buy any rod if you can’t rely on it when you need it most.
Secondary Considerations
Bait/Lure Presentation Capabilities
Of course, all other considerations of rod design are pointless if you can’t hook the fish in the first place. Generally, softer rods are more problematic in this regard.
A soft, bendy rod like the Black Hole offers amazing leverage efficiency and as you saw in Kilsong’s video and this parabolic flex can be a very powerful weapon against big tuna. But these rods were originally designed to be worked by hand all day jigging lures. They were not designed to sit in a rod holder and troll lures behind a boat. You will notice at the start of the video that Kilsong is able to simply drop a bait in front of the tuna – that made things a bit easier. The walls of the rod blank in these jigging-style rods are quite thin in comparison to traditional fiberglass trolling blanks and it is generally not recommended to apply any great pressure to these rods while they are sitting in a rod holder. This is the same reason why I would never attach a bent butt to one of these rods (or any other graphite composite rod for that matter) – the connection point just wouldn’t be reliable enough if any decent amount of strain was applied. The ‘bounciness’ or ‘flickiness’ of the rod tip may also be a hassle when trolling lures or drifting with baits, since there is more chance that a loop of line will flick back and accidently get caught up on the rod guides. I believe it is for these reasons that high leverage jigging rods are not yet at a point of replacing old school fiberglass trolling rods.
Roller versus Fixed Guides/Tops
Everyone seems to acknowledge that roller guides are the best choice for minimizing wear on the line during a long fight. However, are the overall benefits of rollers worth the extra cost, the hassle of maintaining and servicing them, and a potential risk of line being caught up in between the roller and the frame?
For me, the answer is yes – as long as they are of premium quality. Avoid poor quality rollers like the plague! I always use Aftco rollers, although I would also be happy to use Alps or Winthrop on my rods if someone were to give me a set for free (the latter being incredibly expensive). However, my choice of brand is based entirely on established reputation and word of mouth rather than having any direct performance comparisons. I would be happy to use other brands if the justification were there.
In regards to the differences in friction and associated line wear between roller and fixed guides, I believe that in most circumstances, the risk of busting off from line wear because of the type of guide is minimal, even negligible. A set of quality Fuji silicon carbine guides that are spaced correctly on the rod are incredibly unlikely to wear the line down to breaking point. However, the reason I prefer rollers to fixed guides is that the former makes it a little easier to retrieve line while fighting a big fish. Think about when you’re pulling in the anchor – it’s always just a bit more efficient to pull that rope over a roller that is moving, rather than a fixed surface. The same thing applies with a fishing rod. And when you’re onto a big barrel with maximum drag, rollers can make an appreciable difference when retrieving line.
Tertiary Considerations
Foregrip Design
Many of the game rods that are marketed as being in the ‘premium’ range (commercial and custom built) are often fitted with a leather grip. This type of foregrip consists of a strip of leather spiraled around an EVA or cork under-base. There is no doubt that they look great, but in terms of functionality, they don’t make a lot of sense in my opinion. First of all, they don’t offer any more grip than the other traditional types of rubber foregrips (e.g. EVA or hypalon) and some people even claim that the leather can become slippery when wet. Secondly, leather grips are more difficult to construct than just putting on a standard rubber grip meaning that they generally add extra cost to the overall rod. And thirdly and perhaps most importantly, foregrips are pretty much useless when fighting a big fish.
When you’re connected to a barrel and pulling back against maximum drag using a correctly-fitted harness, there should be no need to touch the foregrip at all if you are using the correct fighting technique. The left hand should act as the level-wind, guiding the line evenly back onto the spool, whereas the right hand should be dedicated to winding the handle and adjusting the lever drag when required. Using your hands and arms to pull back on the rod is just wasted energy. Therefore, the only time a foregrip should be used is when taking the rod from the rod holder and holding it until the harness is attached. A hard-wearing rubber foregrip is all that’s required.