Where on the cork do you grip the rod?

[Carol]

Thanks, Gordy. That makes sense.

[Merlin]

Hi Gordy

Although the wrist joint cannot be locked as a clamp the situation varies from something close to a clamp as one drives the rod, to something close to a free end as we stop the rod (in a general sense). I can make all (5) various situations illustrated before appear with a (light) rod, even the fondamental frequency. That does not mean I can measure them with such a methodology, especially with loaded.

I think I better control a "clamped" situation with a light rod and a short line, and if I cast for distance, then I'm sure I am nearly in a "stopless" situation, whilst I let the rod unload on itself (on the first free-free mode then).

I guess the Abel arm moves the mass upwards allowing to keep the butt node on the handle and to limit the distance with the grip which improves comfort, especially with a rather "heavy" reel when using a light short graphite rod. This is the reason why I'm still using my old Hardy featherweight with my modern short light rods.

Merlin

[gordonjudd]

Although the wrist joint cannot be locked as a clamp the situation varies from something close to a clamp as one drives the rod, to something close to a free end as we stop the rod (in a general sense).

Merlin,

I agree. I think the bendform shapes of a forced rod are probably different than when the butt is not being translated or forcefully rotated.

I suspect that a baseball bat also has a bendform that is akin to the first clamped-free mode before it makes contact with the ball as well. But I think that being forced or not forced is what makes the difference in the bendform shape not how firm the grip happens to be.

Even with a death grip on the rod Haun measured his wrist stiffness to be around 40 n-m/radians which is a far cry from being clamped.

Gordy

[Carol]

I asked Mac about the Abel Arm:

Question: Was this Abel reel (pic attached) meant to accomplish something similar?
Answer: I don't think so because the reel seat is in the same position. What it does is would help to balance heavier rods.

[John Waters]

I experimented with repositioning the reel, including placing it above the thumb, in the 80’s. I also had an aluminium “U” strip that I could tape onto the rod and affix the reel to that to get various reel positions off the rod, similar to the Abel attachment, but found it had no benefit for me. However, with the reel above the thumb, I felt it allowed a faster turnover once the rod past the vertical. Of course that may have just been the fact that it was different and differences can sometimes be deceiving as to their perceived benefits vs. actual benefits. I did not follow up but may do so again and quantify the differences, if any.

John

[Paul Arden]

Hi Carol, I use many different grips but I've never felt particularly comfortable with that grip. I worked on it for a little while to try to get a few more inches of rod tip height on the forward delivery for distance casting. The grip that I like to teach for more comfortable casting is to throw the rod like it was a tennis ball.

I had some good times with Mac, and some great discussions too

Cheers, Paul

[Carol]

I had some good times with Mac, and some great discussions too

He is a colorful character, for sure, and very thoughtful about casting, fishing and guiding ...

[George C]

Hi all

Some educated insight would be appreciated.
I recently built a rod on a 7wt HT7 blank. I built it with a fixed fighting butt that moved the reel seat 1.5" forward (therefore shortening the effective rod length). I was unhappy with the grip shape and tried to reshape it with the swell higher up the grip but erred and took too much off below the swell. To get a comfortable grip I therefore need to slide my hand another 1-1.5" higher on the grip than I would normally. I cast with a relaxed grip and favor light reels but this is a saltwater rod and the filled reel weighs @6-7oz . The pivot point of my grip is now 2.5-3" further up the blank than if I had no fighting butt and the swell of the grip was in a normal position closer to the butt. The rod casts like a rocket launcher but I'm not happy with it. It feels nothing like the HT6, much stiffer and with less feedback to the rod hand. I'm wondering if I may have moved my hand position too far up the rod and if getting above or on the butt node changes the feel of a stiff rod? Or might the shorter effective length above my grip point be changing how I perceive loading of the rod?

I plan to cut all this mess off, reposition the reel seat all the way to the butt, reattach a fighting butt by using a short blank extension, and replace the grip with something more normal, so I'll learn something either way but I'm curious if people more knowledgable than I expect this will make a significant difference

Thanks for your input
George

[Paul Arden]

That’s a lot of work George. I’m sure that will make a significant difference. Let me ask Lee what his thoughts are. Cheers, Paul

[Paul Arden]

The opinion here is in agreement with yours, George.

Alejandro writes:
Raising the hand three inches is shortening the rod three inches, and without a doubt this can greatly change the sensations that the rod transmits and make it feel noticeably stiffer.