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Post by turborat on Jan 26, 2011 6:40:52 GMT
Hi I'm comparatively new to boat fishing and I have to confess that in the 9 months I've been at it, I remain confused about specifications for boat rods. Test curves? Whats that all about?
12, 20, 30 & 50 lb rods don't seem to be the correct or most obvious descriptions. Surely it would be more helpful if the ratings where like beach casters where the suitable weights are indicated. I appreciate that they would not relate to casting, but from what I have seen up to now the deciding factor for the rod required for downtide fishing is the weight you need to hold a bait on the bottom. So the rods should be rated for the weight they will handle.
I expect that the test curve rating comes from gods own country across the Atlantic where the rods are graded for fishing for pelagic quarry where weights to get the bait down are not a factor.
As I said I'm new to this and may have it all wrong, but I'd be interested to hear what more experianced anglers think.
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Post by Henry on Jan 26, 2011 11:49:31 GMT
Couple of pointers:
You can't go wrong with an abu suveran......bit more expensive but you get what you pay for.....shop around for the best deal.
Downtiders are usualy rated in lb class for the rod while uptiders usually have a lead rating (typical 5 - 10oz).
As a rough guide:
12-20lb class is more suited with weights <1lb
30lb class will handle weights <2lb
50lb class will handle as much as you can comfortably fish with.......any more than 2lb though and I would opt for a move inshore!
In general a 12-20 rod, a 30 and an uptider will cover 99% of the fishing you will do (unless you are obsessed by sharking or deep water wrecking for BIG eels)
Throw in a couple of spinning rods for plaice and bream fishing if you do a bit in shore and your covered from all angles.
Hope that is of some use.!
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Post by turborat on Jan 26, 2011 12:06:55 GMT
Henry, I quite like the Abu Rods and I'm sure that what you have advised regarding the weights they will handle is correct, but I think you are missing the point of what I have asked. I have made my selection of the rods I want to use but had to base my selection on observing rods in use by other people or trying rods because the LB rateing told me nothing. Should not the downtide rods be rated for the weights they handle rather than the test curve?
Abu 20-30 Lb may be comfortable to fish with 2lb but a Shimano rod of the same lb rating might not. Bring in 'Made for Braid' into the equation and it gets worse.
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Post by sailorboyrob on Jan 26, 2011 12:08:00 GMT
In general a 12-20 rod, a 30 and an uptider will cover 99% of the fishing you will do (unless you are obsessed by sharking or deep water wrecking for BIG eels) Even then I wouldnt step upto a 50lb class. You can only pull them so hard! |
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Post by sailorboyrob on Jan 26, 2011 12:34:01 GMT
The ratings on boat rods is based the line strength that the manufacturer recomends that you use with that rod. IE if you put 80lb braid through a 20lb class rod then you will more than likely snap the rod before the braid goes. Its not like the test curve system used for carp rods, or the recomended casting weights used on uptiders and beach casters. All of them are very different and as you get more experianced with each form of fishing they become less mysterious. I find the test curve method of rating rods baffling as an extremely powerful feeder rod will have a lower test curve than a light float fishing rod, purely cos it has a more flexible tip. The problem with rating a rod with the weight that it will handle is that just because a rod will handle say 2lb of lead, you dont always use 2lb of lead with it, and indeed you could quite easily use more lead if you needed to. In an extreme case you could be skate fishing, for which you need a 30lb class rod, or a rod suitable for 2lb of lead. But you may only be using half a pound. In this case reason for the heavier rod has nothing to do with the amount of lead being used, but is for applying the required pressure to the fish in order to land it. If you were to fish with a 12lb class rod suitable for half a pound of lead, then the skate would just laugh at you and swim off. To add even more confusion into the mix specialist braid rods tend to have a softer tip section to make up for the lack of stretch in the braid. This would mean that a 30lb braid rod could have exactly the same test curve as a 12lb normal rod. To add even more confusion into the mix you then have the IFGA ratings for game fishing, which im not sure anyone outside the IFGA understands, as a US 30lb class rod is the same as a UK 50lb class rod?  |
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Post by Henry on Jan 26, 2011 12:35:34 GMT
Henry, I quite like the Abu Rods and I'm sure that what you have advised regarding the weights they will handle is correct, but I think you are missing the point of what I have asked. I have made my selection of the rods I want to use but had to base my selection on observing rods in use by other people or trying rods because the LB rateing told me nothing. Should not the downtide rods be rated for the weights they handle rather than the test curve? Abu 20-30 Lb may be comfortable to fish with 2lb but a Shimano rod of the same lb rating might not. Bring in 'Made for Braid' into the equation and it gets worse. All rods are different, some stiff, some soft at the end of the day the best thing to do is go into your local takle shop and have a play with one/get some advice.......doesnt mean you cannot still buy online. |
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Post by eccles on Jan 26, 2011 12:47:30 GMT
My first very knowledgeable skipper (we always caught with him) told me that unless you are going for tope or conger, a 20lb x 2 metre boat rod will take care of most situations. I latterly bought a 20lb Shakespeare Ugly Sapphire (don't know whether they still do them) and loaded the Shimano TLD 15 reel which I hung on it with 20lb line as you might expect.
Here we are 15 years later and I am still using said combo. I have hauled a 25lb Cod up from a wreck with it in the past with little difficulty so I conclude my old skipper was right. Have never gone after conger or tope so can't comment on that situation.
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Post by turborat on Jan 26, 2011 14:57:55 GMT
In an extreme case you could be skate fishing, for which you need a 30lb class rod, or a rod suitable for 2lb of lead. But you may only be using half a pound. In this case reason for the heavier rod has nothing to do with the amount of lead being used, but is for applying the required pressure to the fish in order to land it. If you were to fish with a 12lb class rod suitable for half a pound of lead, then the skate would just laugh at you and swim off. Its all very confusing..you see thats much what someone else said..... then I saw this chap land a 30 lb Blond on an uptide rod in a tide that was making the downtiders struggle with 2lb of lead. When I asked it was the 3rd one of that size range he had had over the last few years and said he only used and uptide rod which was rated 4-10ozs so was it 20 - 30 0r 50 LBs rated? |
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Post by Purple on Jan 27, 2011 0:57:54 GMT
eccles - conger are better done on a 30/50 as you really need to block that first run hard
tope can be played a bit, so you can let the drag take some of the strain off the rod and line
other than that - i agree - a 20/30 will handle most things
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Post by Henry on Jan 27, 2011 8:53:36 GMT
In an extreme case you could be skate fishing, for which you need a 30lb class rod, or a rod suitable for 2lb of lead. But you may only be using half a pound. In this case reason for the heavier rod has nothing to do with the amount of lead being used, but is for applying the required pressure to the fish in order to land it. If you were to fish with a 12lb class rod suitable for half a pound of lead, then the skate would just laugh at you and swim off. Its all very confusing..you see thats much what someone else said..... then I saw this chap land a 30 lb Blond on an uptide rod in a tide that was making the downtiders struggle with 2lb of lead. When I asked it was the 3rd one of that size range he had had over the last few years and said he only used and uptide rod which was rated 4-10ozs so was it 20 - 30 0r 50 LBs rated? Again depending on the make of rod the power of the blank will differ.....as a rough guide an uptider will have a similar lifting power to a 20-25lb class downtider. I think you are trying to over complicate things, there is no need to try and convert test curve to pound rating to lead weight handling capability. You have had some sound advice looking at the posts above...... |
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Post by Canuck on Jan 27, 2011 10:19:51 GMT
Was always led to believe that the 20lb, 50lb etc are the test curve rating. I think is done by fixing the end of the handle in a fixture pointing upward then a spring balance would be clipped to the rod tip and pulled horizontally until the rod has bent through 90 degrees and the reading represented the test curve.
Hope this helps, apologise if I'm wrong.
Rich.
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Post by deckchair farmer on Jan 27, 2011 17:46:20 GMT
Couple of pointers: You can't go wrong with an abu suveran......bit more expensive but you get what you pay for.....shop around for the best deal. Downtiders are usualy rated in lb class for the rod while uptiders usually have a lead rating (typical 5 - 10oz). As a rough guide: 12-20lb class is more suited with weights <1lb 30lb class will handle weights <2lb 50lb class will handle as much as you can comfortably fish with.......any more than 2lb though and I would opt for a move inshore! In general a 12-20 rod, a 30 and an uptider will cover 99% of the fishing you will do (unless you are obsessed by sharking or deep water wrecking for BIG eels) Throw in a couple of spinning rods for plaice and bream fishing if you do a bit in shore and your covered from all angles. Hope that is of some use.! Do you know if they have sorted them out henry? I have had two 50lb suverans snap on my boat and know of two others snapping... all in the same place? this was 18 months ago so it could well be sorted out now... |
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Post by Henry on Jan 27, 2011 18:32:07 GMT
Don't know Nick....never had one go myself...never had a 50 though  ....and I do abuse them!! my 12-20 gets a full on curve lobbing a pound cannon ball and 4 squid 40 yards behind the back of the boat!! A mate has just upgraded to the evo's ....look very nice so will let you know how he gets on with them |
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Post by deckchair farmer on Jan 27, 2011 18:41:23 GMT
Don't know Nick....never had one go myself...never had a 50 though ....and I do abuse them!! my 12-20 gets a full on curve lobbing a pound cannon ball and 4 squid 40 yards behind the back of the boat!! A mate has just upgraded to the evo's ....look very nice so will let you know how he gets on with them The ones on my boat both went with good fish on at the net! All the broken ones I had on board had the same fault. One side of the blank wall was too thin!!! like a rizla!!! Bad building, bad quality control...... |
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Post by Sunny on Jan 27, 2011 22:24:04 GMT
I bought 4 Suveran Pro-Boat 30Lb class downtiders & one Pro-Uptider. The uptider has been impeccable. Two of the Pro-Boat 30Lb rods broke - very early in their life - on my boat. I did one and a mate did the other... both on big Conger near the boat; and both rods went in exactly the same spot. I got mine from those useless gits Poindesters (voted worse customer service tackle shop on the south coast); who refused to even speak to ABU  Rovers returned their broken ones .....and ABU are not denying a manufacturing flaw. However, the other 2 Pro-Boats are still going strong and I love em .....terrific blanks ...with a superb action |
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....and I do abuse them!! my 12-20 gets a full on curve lobbing a pound cannon ball and 4 squid 40 yards behind the back of the boat!!
