Rod sensitivity vs weight

The Rooster · February 23, 2021, 11:17:17 AM

I have an old Quantum Tournament spinning rod, 6'6" length, IM8 graphite, M/F. I weighed it the other day without the reel on it and it was 5 oz.

I've recently been thinking of upgrading this to an equally rated St. Croix Premier, same length, action, and power. St. Croix lists this rod as weighing 4.3 oz.. That's less than 3/4 oz different compared to what my Quantum is now.

The Croix blank might be better, it probably is, but is it enough better to warrant the change? I'm looking for sensitivity to use small plastics rigs, Ned rigs, shakey heads and the like. Would the very small weight reduction make any helpful difference there also? I tend to see heavier rods as dampening sensitivity so lighter weight would help if this is true, but is maybe a 5/8 oz. reduction enough? If it helps, I'm also thinking of getting a new reel, too. Looking at one that's more than an ounce lighter. Overall, this would reduce weight by about 2 full ounces.

I have a friend who thinks I'm nuts focusing on just a couple of ounces, but I just bought another Premier rod with a new Carbonlite reel (it's a ML/F so not the same power and was bought for small crankbaits) and the total of those is 2.3 oz. less compared to the Quantum with the Pflueger Trion reel. The new one compared to the old one feels like a feather! Just 2.3 oz less and it's a night and day different feeling, which is what got me thinking if I upgraded then maybe I'd have more sensitivity.

Capt. BassinLou · February 23, 2021, 11:23:43 AM

I believe rod weight and balance play a huge role. Especially when fishing for a very long periods of time. Of course the type of techniques your throwing will play a role as well.

loomisguy · February 23, 2021, 11:27:19 AM

I really don't think that would be much of a upgrade. It's not so much the weight as the quaility and sensitivity of the blank.
I would suggest if you want a St.Croix to save up and get into the Mojo line up at least.
Especially if your looking for a bottom contact rod.

The Rooster · February 23, 2021, 11:30:14 AM

The Mojo actually costs less than the Premier. It has an SC III blank though, where the Premier had an SC II. That said, the reason I wanted the Premier is due to the way I hold a spinning rod. It MUST have a good sized foregrip. Mojo has none at all.

Deadeye · February 23, 2021, 01:00:20 PM

Quote from: Bassinlou on February 23, 2021, 11:23:43 AM
I believe rod weight and balance play a huge role. Especially when fishing for a very long periods of time. Of course the type of techniques your throwing will play a role as well.

This for me as well.

IF the Rod and Reel Combo is Balanced then the weight effect is greatly reduced.

For example if you take a 2x2x 8 ft piece of lumber and try to hold it by one end with one hand it's going to be hard to do.

Add a half pound or so to one end and then slide your gripe up about 12" and try holding it again.

Although you have actually added weight it will feel much better because there is a Balance Point.

Years ago as a young man I worked on Lumber Mills and by myself moved 4x6x 14's all the time. Same with 6x8x8 Railroad Ties.

It was all about finding the Balance Point then you could use its weight against its self to swing those heavy beams into place all day long.

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The Rooster · February 23, 2021, 09:22:37 PM

Quote from: loomisguy on February 23, 2021, 11:27:19 AM
I really don't think that would be much of a upgrade. It's not so much the weight as the quaility and sensitivity of the blank.
I would suggest if you want a St.Croix to save up and get into the Mojo line up at least.
Especially if your looking for a bottom contact rod.

Well, I went ahead and took your advice and bought a St. Croix 6'8" M/XF Mojo Bass rod and paired it with a Daiwa Fuego LT, 2500 sized reel. Gonna use this for plastics. This will be my first rod with a split grip. That's gonna take some getting used to.

I also actually thought the 3000 sized reel was slightly better balanced on the rod, but the larger spool on it compared to the smaller first guide just made me think it would hinder casts of weightless worms a little more. Maybe not, maybe I'm overthinking it. But anyway, it's done. I did like the T shaped power handle it had, but I'm also kinda hung up on having my reels match in terms of how they feel, and since I just bought a Carbonlite that has the smaller grip I went with the 2500 size Fuego so they'd match. I can just slide my hand up the rod blank 1/2" or so to compensate for the lighter weight reel in back.

They recommended 10# P-line Fluoroclear line for what I was doing so I let them spool that on for me.

loomisguy · February 24, 2021, 11:21:10 AM

That will make a nice Ned Rig , Shaky head and drop shot rod. In the future you may want to try 10 or 15 braid to a 6 or 8 lb leader.
The Fuego is a nice reel. The 2500 size will be fine.

ohiobass · February 24, 2021, 11:55:52 AM

a 6 oz rod, that is balanced can fell much lighter in the hand compared to a 4 oz rod that is not balanced. I always thought that most St Croix rods are not well balanced from factory. Seems most Dobyns are

.....nothing that a rubber chair end cap and a quarter or 2 inside it can't remedy.

loomisguy · February 24, 2021, 12:54:38 PM

I think the ol' St croix's are tip heavy is largely internet nonsense. I used to fish them for the Legend Elite down to the Mojo and I never had a single one that was much past the locking nut.
The same gets said about the NRX 894 With a Curado E7 it's right between the locking nut and hook keeper. heck it's a rod that get's fished with the tip down for the most part anyway.

The Rooster · February 24, 2021, 09:02:49 PM

Quote from: loomisguy on February 24, 2021, 12:54:38 PM
I think the ol' St croix's are tip heavy is largely internet nonsense. I used to fish them for the Legend Elite down to the Mojo and I never had a single one that was much past the locking nut.
The same gets said about the NRX 894 With a Curado E7 it's right between the locking nut and hook keeper. heck it's a rod that get's fished with the tip down for the most part anyway.

Honestly it's this right here that kept me away from the Mojo rods for years. I had heard they were tip heavy and it stuck with me. Never tried one until now. Lately I've been making a conscious effort to let go of a lot of the lore I've picked up over the years about fishing. So now, concerning the Mojo rods, I would just say folks who thought they were tip heavy just had the wrong reel on it. Mine feels fine.

When it comes to letting go of lore about such things as line guide size, that actually made sense to me mechanically when I first heard to get a spinning rod with a thumb sized stripper guide. For years I've insisted on a 25mm first guide and pairing that with a reel having the smallest spool diameter possible, to keep the line coils tight and let them pass through that first guide with minimal friction. Now I'm seeing rods with guides small enough I can just barely put my index finger into them. I've seen some even smaller than that. The Abu Garcia Veritas rod had one so small even my pinky wouldn't fit. So letting go of that will be a little tougher. But the two St. Croix rods I bought both have a stripper guide that's smaller than I'm used to, and it doesn't seem to be making any difference on the cast.