Wednesday, January 9, 2008
physics of a fishing rod
Physics of a fishing rod
In recant years there has been a concept developed about fishing rods so that they are more enjoyable to use for the sporting angler. Normally with conventional rods the guides are located on the upper side of the rod along with the reel. This makes the rod top heavy and it has a tendency to feel like it is going to roll over in your hand.
To avoid this the concept of oscillating guides has been developed. Although the reel remains situated in the same place it always was the guides are shifted. The first guide starting at the bottom of the rod remains in the same place. The next three guides get 1/3 of a turn on the rod blank so that the guides following are on the downside of the blank. When weight is applied to the tip of the rod that weight is transferred to lift up the fishing reel. This saves the angler quite a bit of effort because the reel is the heaviest part of the rod, and instead of the angler holding it up the fish does it for him. The way the guides are located it redistributes downward force. It is impossible to just change the direction of the force directly, but the way the guides are located it curves the force so that the angler can use it to their benefit.
Another important step of this process is making sure that the guides are spaced so that the line does not touch the blank. If the line touches the blank then the force is being transferred from the line to the blank. This means that the rod would not gain the turning force that is used to keep the reel upright. To avoid the line touching the blank the guides need to be spaced pretty close together. Generally a spacing between 12-4 inches is appropriate although some rods depending on the stiffness may need more or less. A stiffer rod will need less guides then a soft one.
In recant years there has been a concept developed about fishing rods so that they are more enjoyable to use for the sporting angler. Normally with conventional rods the guides are located on the upper side of the rod along with the reel. This makes the rod top heavy and it has a tendency to feel like it is going to roll over in your hand.
To avoid this the concept of oscillating guides has been developed. Although the reel remains situated in the same place it always was the guides are shifted. The first guide starting at the bottom of the rod remains in the same place. The next three guides get 1/3 of a turn on the rod blank so that the guides following are on the downside of the blank. When weight is applied to the tip of the rod that weight is transferred to lift up the fishing reel. This saves the angler quite a bit of effort because the reel is the heaviest part of the rod, and instead of the angler holding it up the fish does it for him. The way the guides are located it redistributes downward force. It is impossible to just change the direction of the force directly, but the way the guides are located it curves the force so that the angler can use it to their benefit.
Another important step of this process is making sure that the guides are spaced so that the line does not touch the blank. If the line touches the blank then the force is being transferred from the line to the blank. This means that the rod would not gain the turning force that is used to keep the reel upright. To avoid the line touching the blank the guides need to be spaced pretty close together. Generally a spacing between 12-4 inches is appropriate although some rods depending on the stiffness may need more or less. A stiffer rod will need less guides then a soft one.
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