Long rods, short rods, crisp rods, slow rods etc and your style of fishing.

[Stephen Louw]

Why do most people then fish a stiff #5 on the Vaal and Orange?

Why do most people look under rocks to see what's on the menu, and then fish an orange hot-spot?

[Korrie]

Power of habit and because other people told them to do so

[Grant111]

An interesting point that Jiri Klima made on his visit to SA and seeing the guys fishing very stiff rods.
"you like to fight the fish, we prefer the rod to do the work" Or something to that effect.

Interesting you say that Korrie.

When Jiri Pejchar was here a few months ago he said my Infinity 10ft 5wt was a bit to soft for nymphing and I think I agree. To me a stiffer rod is better for the Vaal from 2 aspects. More pulling power in the current and it must be more sensitive.

In my mind a stiff tip must be more sensitive than a soft tip.
A soft tip just protects a tippet but you don't strike hard on a SM anyway so it can't be about protecting tippet.
I have never broken a tippet once on a strike or on the initial take and I usually fish .22 dia Maxima Ultra Green (2.7kg.)

So would a 6wt Infinity be a lot more stiff than the 5?
Or is the Infinity just a soft rod anyway and it would be better to change brand/model?






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[Korrie]

For SM, you need a bit of back bone.
I think a infinity #6 will be better, still a sensitive tip, with more backbone

[Grant111]

For SM, you need a bit of back bone.
I think a infinity #6 will be better, still a sensitive tip, with more backbone

I do think the 5 is a little under gunned sometimes but the question is ..... is a stiffer rod more sensitive?


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[dollar]

found this from explorer t50 rod
"It's has a powerful fast action blank that still has a responsive and life like feel. Not a broom stick." - i'm bedazzeled

@Grant111 - i use #3, #4 & #5 for the vaal, greys and hardy, they all sensitive but attritubed to the correct set up with weight and correct drift. sometimes, a simple lite hand hold will/can transmit sensitivity, all this with fly line along the blank

[Grant111]

Dollar.

I understand what your saying but I'm still stuck with the same question.

"Is a stiffer rod more sensitive that a soft tip?" Take different lengths out of the equation, so same brand but fast vs medium rod.

If there is a mechanical engineer on this group maybe you can answer the question from a pure scientific point of view.

This question relates to short line nymphing specifically.

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[dollar]

yes Grant111, fast action rod is more sensitive than slow rod.

[Grant111]

Thanks Dollar.

So that all comes back to the question Korrie originally posted and what Andre always bangs on about.

Not all rods are equal. Not all rods are suitable to the application.

So for Vaal fishing it makes sense to me now why some people swear by rods i would never have thought correct for the application, and here I don't mean expensive Hardys or Sages'. They love things like 10ft 5 or 6 WT VISION, Bomber, magnum, T50 etc, so mid range fast sticks.

I also think people don't want to fish expensive sticks on the Vaal in case they break them or are ridiculed but I think that's where they might be wrong.

So a fast super lite 5 or 6 10Ft is probably the best rod for the Vaal.
Fast = sensitive and Lite for less arm fatigue. Of course the "lite" in the sentence usualy means expensive and people don't want to break expensive things, but so what if it breaks?. They all come with lifetime warranties so it really doesn't matter if you fall and break it.

So now it would seem I'm in the market for a 5 or 6 WT super fast, super lite weight 10FT. Make sense?


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[Korrie]

I have said this in the past and I am saying it again, and I hate repeating myself.

If you are wanting to "pick up the takes" on the rod tip, you are missing a lot of takes.
A fast light rod will register or pick up the takes a tiny bit easier or make you feel it a bit easier than a softer rod.
BUT that is so marginal.
You need to start fishing with an indicator, that will register much more takes and different types of subtleness that will not be registered by a rod tip