This document discusses the misconceptions around rod "test curves" and explains that they do not accurately reflect a rod's true strength. It provides examples showing that rods with lower test curves can sometimes outperform rods with higher test curves, depending on factors like the rod's taper, action, and construction. The document advocates evaluating a rod's capabilities by loading it up with weight until it reaches its handle, rather than just considering its published test curve. It also examines different factors to consider when choosing a rod, including its intended use, the fishing environment, and preferred fishing style.
This document discusses the basics of rigging, including different types of rigging materials and how to inspect them. It covers chain, synthetic, wire rope and mesh slings. Specific things to look for when inspecting each type are provided. It also discusses how sling angles affect load capacity and tension, and provides charts to determine these effects. Different types of sling hitches like vertical, bridle, basket and choker are illustrated and described. Hazard recognition for rigging operations and basic crane signals are also covered.
Three employees were injured in separate rigging accidents over a two month period. In the first incident, an employee was struck in the head by a metal pulley when the nylon sling it was attached to broke under tension. In the second incident, an employee was struck by a falling 2,000 pound concrete form that broke loose from its rigging during a crane lift. In the third incident, an employee was fatally struck on the head by a drilling pipe that came loose from its rigging during a lift. The document outlines 10 rules for rigging safety including knowing load weights, rigging capacities, center of gravity, sling angles, inspections, and using tag lines and signal persons.
The document displays the user interface for a software called BlackBook, which allows managing employee information. The interface includes sections for managing employees, broadcast messages, accounts, content, an advisor, and other tools. It also includes the user's account information.
Kepler's laws describe the motion of planets orbiting the Sun. Kepler's first law states that planets follow elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus. The more distant the foci, the more elongated the ellipse. Kepler's second law says that a line connecting a planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times. A planet moves fastest when closest to the Sun. Kepler's third law relates the square of a planet's orbital period to the cube of its average distance from the Sun.
The document proposes a DXTC-based HDR texture compression scheme called DHTC that can compress HDR textures into an 8-bpp format while maintaining near-lossless visual quality. DHTC extends the existing LDR texture format DXTC to support HDR by using techniques like adaptive color transforms, local dynamic range reduction, joint channel compression, and point translation. Evaluation shows DHTC provides better compression quality than previous work, and also supports compressing LDR textures and 1-bit alpha maps within the same format.
Rigen ingin memperdalam pengetahuannya dan menjadi arsitek serta pergi ke Paris dan menunaikan ibadah haji. Ia juga ingin mengenal berbagai galaksi dan menjelajahi dunia.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive function. Exercise causes chemical changes in the brain that may help protect against mental illness and improve symptoms.
The document discusses the history and development of a new technology called blockchain. Blockchain was originally developed for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as a way to record transactions in a decentralized manner without the need for a central authority. It has since expanded and many now see potential for blockchain to disrupt numerous industries by reducing costs and improving security and transparency for various types of transactions.
This document discusses the basics of rigging, including different types of rigging materials and how to inspect them. It covers chain, synthetic, wire rope and mesh slings. Specific things to look for when inspecting each type are provided. It also discusses how sling angles affect load capacity and tension, and provides charts to determine these effects. Different types of sling hitches like vertical, bridle, basket and choker are illustrated and described. Hazard recognition for rigging operations and basic crane signals are also covered.
Three employees were injured in separate rigging accidents over a two month period. In the first incident, an employee was struck in the head by a metal pulley when the nylon sling it was attached to broke under tension. In the second incident, an employee was struck by a falling 2,000 pound concrete form that broke loose from its rigging during a crane lift. In the third incident, an employee was fatally struck on the head by a drilling pipe that came loose from its rigging during a lift. The document outlines 10 rules for rigging safety including knowing load weights, rigging capacities, center of gravity, sling angles, inspections, and using tag lines and signal persons.
The document displays the user interface for a software called BlackBook, which allows managing employee information. The interface includes sections for managing employees, broadcast messages, accounts, content, an advisor, and other tools. It also includes the user's account information.
Kepler's laws describe the motion of planets orbiting the Sun. Kepler's first law states that planets follow elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus. The more distant the foci, the more elongated the ellipse. Kepler's second law says that a line connecting a planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times. A planet moves fastest when closest to the Sun. Kepler's third law relates the square of a planet's orbital period to the cube of its average distance from the Sun.
The document proposes a DXTC-based HDR texture compression scheme called DHTC that can compress HDR textures into an 8-bpp format while maintaining near-lossless visual quality. DHTC extends the existing LDR texture format DXTC to support HDR by using techniques like adaptive color transforms, local dynamic range reduction, joint channel compression, and point translation. Evaluation shows DHTC provides better compression quality than previous work, and also supports compressing LDR textures and 1-bit alpha maps within the same format.
Rigen ingin memperdalam pengetahuannya dan menjadi arsitek serta pergi ke Paris dan menunaikan ibadah haji. Ia juga ingin mengenal berbagai galaksi dan menjelajahi dunia.
The document discusses the benefits of exercise for mental health. Regular physical activity can help reduce anxiety and depression and improve mood and cognitive function. Exercise causes chemical changes in the brain that may help protect against mental illness and improve symptoms.
The document discusses the history and development of a new technology called blockchain. Blockchain was originally developed for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as a way to record transactions in a decentralized manner without the need for a central authority. It has since expanded and many now see potential for blockchain to disrupt numerous industries by reducing costs and improving security and transparency for various types of transactions.
The document introduces the Zend Framework. It discusses that the framework is a modular collection of PHP classes based on PHP 5 best practices. It strives to provide an industry-leading framework for PHP application development and simplify common tasks. Key features of the framework include an MVC structure, input filtering, mail sending, searching and more. The framework is open source and licensed permissively to allow for any use.
This document discusses high availability and load balancing through clustering. It defines high availability as using multiple redundant computers and connections to provide continuous service if any component fails. Clustering software distributes work across nodes so the cluster appears as a single system. When a node fails, its work is transferred to remaining nodes via failover. Common uses are for critical databases, file sharing, business apps, and websites. Key terms discussed are nodes, failover, clustering, and shared cluster storage. Advantages are continuous service but open-source options require Linux experience for support. The conclusion states clustering is best for highly available services and makes upgrades less stressful.
Ad:Tech Sydney - Google is 14 - Treat it like a 14 year oldLouder
Google is now 14 years old. As a 14-year-old, Google remains the dominant force in search with over 93.5% of the Australian search market share. Search engine optimization in 2012 requires investment and expertise to influence organic search visibility, improve paid search quality scores, and focus on user experience across multiple platforms through content strategy and conversion optimization. For businesses, search engine traffic contributes significantly more visitors than other sources, with consumers increasingly looking to search engines like Google to find brands.
This 3 page document contains brief sections on different topics. Page 1 is titled "Test page title", Page 2 is titled "Title 2", and Page 3 is titled "Title 3". Each page provides a short description of its respective titled topic.
1) The document defines and describes several types of natural disasters including tornadoes, volcanoes, wildfires, avalanches, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
2) It explains the characteristics and causes of each type of disaster such as tornadoes being funnel-shaped windstorms, volcanoes forming at tectonic plate boundaries, and tsunamis being large sea waves caused by underwater earthquakes or landslides.
3) Details are provided on the specific mechanisms that cause volcanic eruptions and characteristics used to classify different types of wildfires.
Penzias and Wilson discovered a faint 3.5 degree Kelvin microwave background radiation coming from all directions in space. This matched theoretical predictions of radiation leftover from a hot, dense early universe. Princeton astronomers recognized this as evidence supporting the Big Bang theory. The discovery provided strong evidence against the steady state theory of the universe and helped establish the Big Bang as the leading model of cosmic origins.
The document introduces the Zend Framework. It discusses that the framework is a collection of PHP classes based on PHP 5 best practices. It aims to simplify common tasks, provide a starting point for applications, and demonstrate PHP 5 best practices. The framework strives to make PHP competitive with other technologies and provide high-quality, PHP 5 compatible components. It uses a BSD style license and modular design. Example uses of controllers, input filtering, mailing, and searching are provided.
La cultura colombiana favorece el consumo de pan fresco artesanal sobre el pan empacado. Para tener éxito, las panaderías deben ofrecer productos frescos de alta calidad y buen sabor.
The document introduces the Zend Framework. It discusses that the framework is a collection of PHP classes based on PHP 5 best practices. It aims to simplify common tasks, provide a starting point for applications, and demonstrate PHP 5 best practices. The goals of being an industry-leading framework, requiring few dependencies, and having a minimal object hierarchy are discussed. Reasons for creating another framework include keeping PHP competitive and providing clear licensing. Key aspects of the framework like licensing, installation, MVC pattern, input filtering, mailing, and searching are briefly summarized.
The Rainforest Alliance has succeeded in driving widespread adoption of sustainable practices in forests, farms, and businesses around the world. Their work transforming land use and business practices to be more sustainable has been at the forefront of efforts to tip the balance towards a sustainable future. They have brought billions in benefits through conserving over 100 million acres of land and improving lives of over 1 million workers and families. Looking ahead, they believe sustainability will become the norm in key industries by making responsible production an integral part of successful economic activity in the 21st century.
The document celebrates seasonal traditions, mentioning making panellets for an anniversary festival and enjoying their autumn taste, giving letters to the Three Wise Men for Christmas, and having the log poop out gifts on Christmas.
The document discusses the impacts of new imperialism, both positive and negative. The negatives included loss of independence and control over land for native peoples, death from diseases and resistance to European rule, breakdown of cultures through assimilation and westernization, replacing of authority figures, and economic dependence on imperial powers. The positives included some improvements from westernization like sanitation, hospitals, and schools, the elimination of slavery in some areas, and increased life spans and literacy rates and infrastructure development. Industrialization is connected to imperialism through economic expansion and goods being valued on international markets. Slavery supported imperialism through providing labor and economic benefits.
Este documento describe cómo insertar una hoja de cálculo en un documento. Se explican los pasos para agregar una hoja de cálculo nueva o existente y ajustar su tamaño y posición dentro del documento.
El documento menciona lugares y características de la ciudad de Nerva en España, incluyendo una plaza con nieve, un museo, paisajes, un paseo, el ayuntamiento, un campo de fútbol y dos cerros llamados Colorao.
The document provides instructions for several different saltwater fishing rigs. It describes the components and assembly steps for rigs like the Bomber Rig (a general purpose distance rig with two snoods), Conger Running Leger (for conger with a heavy duty snood), Deep Spinning Plastics rig (for casting plastic lures), Dvice Rig Single Hook Paternoster (heavy duty rig for cod and other groundfish), and Feathers/Hokeyes rig (for various species when fished with or without bait). Diagrams and detailed explanations are given for over 30 different rig types to target various saltwater fish.
This document provides a beginner's guide to fishing in South Carolina. It covers angler ethics including practicing catch and release and properly handling fish. It reviews safety considerations and an overview of basic fishing equipment like rods, reels, hooks, line, bobbers and sinkers. It provides instructions for knot tying, rigging bait and lures, casting techniques, and identifies common freshwater bait like worms, crickets and minnows. The guide also touches on fish anatomy, rules and regulations, invasive species identification, finding good fishing spots, setting the hook, cleaning your catch, and includes a table of contents and references section.
The document introduces the Zend Framework. It discusses that the framework is a modular collection of PHP classes based on PHP 5 best practices. It strives to provide an industry-leading framework for PHP application development and simplify common tasks. Key features of the framework include an MVC structure, input filtering, mail sending, searching and more. The framework is open source and licensed permissively to allow for any use.
This document discusses high availability and load balancing through clustering. It defines high availability as using multiple redundant computers and connections to provide continuous service if any component fails. Clustering software distributes work across nodes so the cluster appears as a single system. When a node fails, its work is transferred to remaining nodes via failover. Common uses are for critical databases, file sharing, business apps, and websites. Key terms discussed are nodes, failover, clustering, and shared cluster storage. Advantages are continuous service but open-source options require Linux experience for support. The conclusion states clustering is best for highly available services and makes upgrades less stressful.
Ad:Tech Sydney - Google is 14 - Treat it like a 14 year oldLouder
Google is now 14 years old. As a 14-year-old, Google remains the dominant force in search with over 93.5% of the Australian search market share. Search engine optimization in 2012 requires investment and expertise to influence organic search visibility, improve paid search quality scores, and focus on user experience across multiple platforms through content strategy and conversion optimization. For businesses, search engine traffic contributes significantly more visitors than other sources, with consumers increasingly looking to search engines like Google to find brands.
This 3 page document contains brief sections on different topics. Page 1 is titled "Test page title", Page 2 is titled "Title 2", and Page 3 is titled "Title 3". Each page provides a short description of its respective titled topic.
1) The document defines and describes several types of natural disasters including tornadoes, volcanoes, wildfires, avalanches, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
2) It explains the characteristics and causes of each type of disaster such as tornadoes being funnel-shaped windstorms, volcanoes forming at tectonic plate boundaries, and tsunamis being large sea waves caused by underwater earthquakes or landslides.
3) Details are provided on the specific mechanisms that cause volcanic eruptions and characteristics used to classify different types of wildfires.
Penzias and Wilson discovered a faint 3.5 degree Kelvin microwave background radiation coming from all directions in space. This matched theoretical predictions of radiation leftover from a hot, dense early universe. Princeton astronomers recognized this as evidence supporting the Big Bang theory. The discovery provided strong evidence against the steady state theory of the universe and helped establish the Big Bang as the leading model of cosmic origins.
The document introduces the Zend Framework. It discusses that the framework is a collection of PHP classes based on PHP 5 best practices. It aims to simplify common tasks, provide a starting point for applications, and demonstrate PHP 5 best practices. The framework strives to make PHP competitive with other technologies and provide high-quality, PHP 5 compatible components. It uses a BSD style license and modular design. Example uses of controllers, input filtering, mailing, and searching are provided.
La cultura colombiana favorece el consumo de pan fresco artesanal sobre el pan empacado. Para tener éxito, las panaderías deben ofrecer productos frescos de alta calidad y buen sabor.
The document introduces the Zend Framework. It discusses that the framework is a collection of PHP classes based on PHP 5 best practices. It aims to simplify common tasks, provide a starting point for applications, and demonstrate PHP 5 best practices. The goals of being an industry-leading framework, requiring few dependencies, and having a minimal object hierarchy are discussed. Reasons for creating another framework include keeping PHP competitive and providing clear licensing. Key aspects of the framework like licensing, installation, MVC pattern, input filtering, mailing, and searching are briefly summarized.
The Rainforest Alliance has succeeded in driving widespread adoption of sustainable practices in forests, farms, and businesses around the world. Their work transforming land use and business practices to be more sustainable has been at the forefront of efforts to tip the balance towards a sustainable future. They have brought billions in benefits through conserving over 100 million acres of land and improving lives of over 1 million workers and families. Looking ahead, they believe sustainability will become the norm in key industries by making responsible production an integral part of successful economic activity in the 21st century.
The document celebrates seasonal traditions, mentioning making panellets for an anniversary festival and enjoying their autumn taste, giving letters to the Three Wise Men for Christmas, and having the log poop out gifts on Christmas.
The document discusses the impacts of new imperialism, both positive and negative. The negatives included loss of independence and control over land for native peoples, death from diseases and resistance to European rule, breakdown of cultures through assimilation and westernization, replacing of authority figures, and economic dependence on imperial powers. The positives included some improvements from westernization like sanitation, hospitals, and schools, the elimination of slavery in some areas, and increased life spans and literacy rates and infrastructure development. Industrialization is connected to imperialism through economic expansion and goods being valued on international markets. Slavery supported imperialism through providing labor and economic benefits.
Este documento describe cómo insertar una hoja de cálculo en un documento. Se explican los pasos para agregar una hoja de cálculo nueva o existente y ajustar su tamaño y posición dentro del documento.
El documento menciona lugares y características de la ciudad de Nerva en España, incluyendo una plaza con nieve, un museo, paisajes, un paseo, el ayuntamiento, un campo de fútbol y dos cerros llamados Colorao.
The document provides instructions for several different saltwater fishing rigs. It describes the components and assembly steps for rigs like the Bomber Rig (a general purpose distance rig with two snoods), Conger Running Leger (for conger with a heavy duty snood), Deep Spinning Plastics rig (for casting plastic lures), Dvice Rig Single Hook Paternoster (heavy duty rig for cod and other groundfish), and Feathers/Hokeyes rig (for various species when fished with or without bait). Diagrams and detailed explanations are given for over 30 different rig types to target various saltwater fish.
This document provides a beginner's guide to fishing in South Carolina. It covers angler ethics including practicing catch and release and properly handling fish. It reviews safety considerations and an overview of basic fishing equipment like rods, reels, hooks, line, bobbers and sinkers. It provides instructions for knot tying, rigging bait and lures, casting techniques, and identifies common freshwater bait like worms, crickets and minnows. The guide also touches on fish anatomy, rules and regulations, invasive species identification, finding good fishing spots, setting the hook, cleaning your catch, and includes a table of contents and references section.
The document provides definitions and descriptions of various knot tying terms and knot types. It defines terms like bight, running end, standing part, and types of knots such as overhand loop, figure eight knot, bowline knot. It also describes different rope materials like manila, sisal, nylon, polypropylene. The document discusses advantages and disadvantages of synthetic rope and provides instructions on how to identify different rope types and care for rope. It recommends making a knot board to display common knots.
This document provides information and recommendations to consider when purchasing a fly rod. It discusses defining your fishing needs based on the fish species, weather conditions, and water type. It also covers fly rod specifications like length, weight, line weight, and action. The document recommends a medium action rod for beginners and suggests rod lengths and weights depending on the target species. It highlights the importance of the rod, line, and reel weights matching and closes by stressing the importance of choosing a correctly sized rod for one's fishing needs.
This document provides a beginner's guide to fishing from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. It covers topics such as angler ethics, safety, equipment, knot tying, rigging, casting, baits and lures, fish anatomy, rules and regulations, invasive species, identifying good fishing spots, how to set the hook, handle fish, clean your catch, and includes references. The guide emphasizes practicing catch and release fishing ethically and properly handling any fish that are kept to eat. It also explains the basic tackle, knots, rigs and techniques needed for a beginning angler to enjoy fishing.
As you can see through these, a bit of a swallow tail on it, and their quite wide to the tail but narrower on the nose area. These boards are quite thick to the rail area as well, and these all perform really well in some waves at the time.
The document discusses various issues with rigging, including that rigging is complicated and breaks for no reason. It also mentions that rigging is worn out and too expensive to replace with hardware store items. The document then provides information on proper rigging use and inspection, including graduation rules for different types of rigging use, manufacturer and wear identification, and inspection criteria. It also covers wire rope construction, types of synthetic round slings, and various rigging configurations and their capacities.
The document provides an overview of sailboat rigging, parts, points of sail, maneuvers, and rules of the road. It defines different types of rope and knots commonly used in sailboats. It also explains the concepts of tacking and jibing, points of sail like close-hauled and reaching, and rules that govern vessel interactions like give-way and stand-on vessels.
Anchors are used to restrict the movement of vessels in water. They prevent boats from turning broadside to waves during storms. There are two main methods for dropping anchor - "walk out" and "let go". "Walk out" involves lowering the anchor under power so the cable does not run freely, while "let go" allows the anchor to drop from the hawse pipe under its own weight. When anchoring in deep water, it is best to walk out the anchor slowly within 20 fathoms of the seabed and then let go. Anchoring at high speed requires allowing more cable, up to 90 fathoms, to run out to prevent damage from the strain. Riding at a single anchor in
Ferreterro India Product Catalogue 2024-25 with range of Lifting And Cargo co...ferreterro1
Ferreterro India Product Catalogue 2024 with Complete Range of Lifting Slings, Cargo Control, Tie Downs, Van restraint products, Cargo Bars, Chains, Non Skid Chains, Manual Hoists, Ratchet Lever Hoists, Electric Hoist, Alloy Steel Long products, Wire Rod, Steel Strips, Shackles, D Rings, Winches, Winch Straps, Winch Bars, Ratchet Load Binder, Decking Beam, Jack type Cargo Bars, E fitting, E tracks, Rope tie offs, Crampons, Tugger Snow Shoes, Avalanche Air Bag, Elbow Pad, Boat Slings, Spark proof Slings, Ratchet Tie Down ,Composite strap, lashing strap, lashing buckles, Dunnage bags Yarn and Other Products
The document discusses the potential benefits of using rattan wrapped wood grips on fishing rods instead of cork. It notes that rattan grips were commonly used before cork became popular in the late 1800s, and that rattan is lightweight, durable, attractive, easy to clean, and transmits vibrations better than cork. The document then provides detailed instructions for how to make a rattan wrapped grip, including the necessary materials, soaking the rattan, wrapping techniques, splicing pieces of rattan, and finishing details.
This document provides an overview of outdoor activities for men, including rock climbing, kayaking, scuba diving, windsurfing, standup paddleboarding, backpacking, parkour, skateboarding, BMX, and rock climbing. It discusses essential gear, training tips, and locations for each activity. The document is intended to help men test their limits through adrenaline-fueled outdoor sports and adventures around the world.
The document provides information on various rope knots and techniques, including:
1) Stopper knots and joining knots that are used to prevent fraying or join ropes.
2) Fixing knots like the clove hitch and round turn and two half hitches used to fix ropes to poles.
3) Loop knots like the bowline and figure eight loop that create loops to attach to ropes or carabiners.
4) Splicing techniques for preventing fraying or joining ropes like the back splice, long splice, and eye splice.
How to choose your your first surfboardkrishruthers
For beginners looking to buy their first surfboard, the document recommends starting with a longboard that is at least 24 to 36 inches taller than your height, at least 19 inches wide, and at least 2.5 inches thick. Longboards provide more stability for paddling and catching waves as a beginner. The document also recommends soft top boards made of softer, spongy materials for added safety, as beginners are likely to get hit by their boards. Once surf skills have improved, the document suggests upgrading to a higher performance hard top board.
This e-book will teach you how to:
- Use basic climbing gear
- Tie into the rope
- Belay (lead and top rope)
- Climb efficiently
- Understand fall potential
Plus much more.
Further information:
* Perfect for those who want to start rock climbing.
* 100+ accurately drawn, full-colour illustrations.
* Strong emphasis on climbing safety.
* 63 information-packed pages.
* Updated December 2017
This chapter provides guidance for beginners on learning to surf, including selecting an appropriate board size, catching your first waves, and developing proper technique. It recommends starting at an uncrowded beach break and practicing catching small rolling waves while lying down before progressing to standing up. Following the "golden rules" of surfing safety and etiquette is emphasized. Developing a smooth style requires regular practice in different wave conditions over an extended period of time.
20 secrets to help you catch fish all summer longLeo Erwin Garcia
This document provides 20 tips for catching different types of fish during the summer months. Some key tips include using saltwater flies to catch lazy smallmouth bass, adding a bobber to catch crappies under docks, presenting drowned grasshopper flies to catch trout feeding below the surface, and using stinky chicken bait to catch large blue crabs. The tips cover techniques for bass, trout, pickerel, crappies, stripers, catfish and other species found in rivers, lakes and coastal areas during the summer season.
1. Before you ask which rod/what test-curve read this...
by Gary (bb king) Staddon
This misnomer that is 'test-curve'
All too often people get hung-up on what test curve rod they have, or ought to have. There never
seems to be an internet forum that doesn't have a thread from someone seeking advice, or giving
advice, bleeting on about test curves. But what are they?
A test curve is a BIG red-herring, that's what it is.
A rod's measured test curve is a figure given to the amount of weight that, when applied to a rod
will cause that rod to bend into a 90 curve.
Yep, that's it. That's all.
It bears no resemblance to what a rod is really capable of.
At this moment in time plenty of readers will be mumbling something under their breath like
twaddle , or something to that effect. Fine, but read on and learn.
Let's take a hypothetical situation; but answer in your own mind. What rod will be the most
powerful between a 13 match rod and an 11 1.25lb Avon rod?
How many of you plumped for the Avon? Chances are you'll be wrong. If you don't believe me,
and you have access to both, I'll offer you a challenge. Thread up both rods and attach a spring
balance to the end of the line on each in turn. Bend into both with as much gusto as you dare.
You are not looking to determine a test-curve, as that is not 'real-world'. No, real-world is where
you have a decent fish heading for a snag and you bend into into to stop it in it's tracks and that
will require you put a much greater bend into the rod, down to the handle if you can/dare.
See, with an Avon, the action is 'all-through'. So, by the time the rod bent anywhere near to its full
load it is bent down to the handle. This will give you a good 90 bend, which might be reflective of
it's test-curve, i.e. 1.25lb of force. (Note the subtle difference there, more coming).
So how would the match rod have faired?
There is a good chance that the match rod will have a test-curve somewhere around 8 ounces.
So, after a decent strike the rod would have achieved its' test-curve. BUT, as match rods tend to
be more tip-actioned to progressive the bend at the point of test curve will still be within the top
third of the rod. There is still two thirds of the rod with which we can apply a loading to. This is all
IN ADDITION to any test curve. It could be that, by the time we have applied considerable (but
safe) force to either the point where the blank 'locks-up' or we reach the handle, there may be 2lb
or more of pressure exerted on our spring balance.
Are you surprised that the match rod came out on top? For many years my favourite barbel rod
was an old 12' match rod. The top half soon bowled over but the real strength lay in the amount of
force that could be exerted between the mid-point and the handle.
So you can start to see that action has perhaps a bigger part to play than test curve alone. The
two do need to be considered hand in hand. But that is not to say that two progressive actioned
1.75lb rods will be as powerful as each other. Physical construction and tapers will determine
that. Beyond action there are other factors which play a part, such as blank diameter, wall
thickness and material strengths. This is why there are always new rods available on the market
2. each year. There are just so many permutations to arrive at the end result - a fishing rod.
( I carried out this experiment using a custom built Harrison Avon 11' 1lb 6oz rod and a 12' MAP
CFS float rod. It was not a scientific test, or approach, but I was able to comfortably hold a spring
balance at 2lb 4oz with the avon rod, with a two-handed peak pull of 3lb. The float rod is
reasonably soft and also through action. I was able to comfortably maintain 2lb 12oz on the
spring balance with a 3lb 8o z peak pull. Rather than just pulling the tip around in a shop, if you
were able to load up a reel and run line out to a spring balance to perform the above test you
would have a far better idea of a rods' capabilities.)
Rod Function
Let's look at what we are asking the rod to achieve:
The first function that a rod has to perform is to carry a reel and line guides. We can use a
wooden broom handle to achieve this aim, but we want something that is light enough to hold
comfortably, a reel fitting that is secure and combined with a handle that again is comfortable.
Line guides need to be of a type that are suitable for the type of line being used and which are
able to carry the 'action' of the rod without creating an excessive change of direction at the
line/guide interface. This will cause un-necessary friction which can damage the line through heat
build up and cause scoring to poor quality linings.
Consideration should be given to rod length but is perhaps not as big an issue. Firstly, we will
want it to be long enough to perform casting and striking functions. The longer a rod is the better
it is to pick up line on a lengthy cast. So do you regularly cast big distances? We also need to
consider our preferred swims. Do you fish 'Parrot cage' swims where a 12' rod will be a
hindrance? Do you need length to get past nearside vegetation? A by-product of length is
unfortunately weight. The longer you go, the more weight you add. If you intend to touch-leger or
'roll' baits all day long a light weight rod will be less tiresome.
The next function is to deliver our baited rig to our desired fishing point. Hitting big distances with
big leads will require a rod with plenty of 'backbone' and length. Test-curve is again a misnomer
to casting distance. Look at the thousands of match anglers who regularly cast 5-6oz
swimfeeders across big rivers like the Trent or Severn using quivertip rods. These quiver tips
might be rated between 2-4oz!! Hmmm. Have I got you thinking now? See, the real power lays in
the rod blank as a whole, which we saw earlier, and that means more than any test-curve. If your
preference is for small distances you might find that a short rod is more suitable. If you use
swimfeeders or PVA bags then you will want a rod that is capable of handling this weight.
However, if all you need to do is cast a swimfeeder or PVA bag no more than a few metres then
you should find that even a soft rod will be able to manage to 'lob' this. You may loose a degree
of finesse but that may be a trade-off you can live with.
Another area to consider, although this doesn't affect all styles of fishing, is whether or not the rod
tip is going to be used for bite detection. The main significance being if we are going to use a
quivertip or the standard rod top. If we are using a standard rod top is it going to be soft enough
to indicate bites sufficiently. One point to also consider is that as soon as a quiver tip is bent over
and the action of the rod proper is in play you are actually using a shorter rod. For instance, if you
have a 12' rod of which the last two feet are a quivertip, as soon as you have a fish on it is being
played below the 10' point of the rod. With a standard tip the full 12' of rod is in play.
That leaves us with the most important aspect of our rod to consider. Its' fish playing capability. In
short, we use the rod when playing fish for two purposes. One is to exert an amount of pressure
on the fish, through stiffness of the blank and by leverage. Stiffness can be achieved by wall
diameter/carbon strength or by choice of taper. That means we can have a strong powerful blank
that retains a through action, or a finer one but with a steeper taper leading to more power as the
taper progresses. That is not to say that there are just the two types of construction. No, far from
3. it, it is a minefield of choices out there. The second purpose is to act as a shock absorber. It is
easy to see past this last point. If we use a high stretch monofilament line then we can afford to
loose some absorbency in the rod. On the other hand, pre-stretched monofilament or braided
lines have no stretch so the rod is required to perform greater if we are to avoid pulling out of the
fish. Furthermore, if we regularly fish close in we are playing fish out on a much shorter line,
therefore there is less line to stretch and again we will require more absorbency from the rod.
Similarly, as the fish is going to be played a shorter distance it is going to be quite lively by the
time we have it at the bank. This is where sudden last minute lunges are likely to be quite
powerful as opposed to those from a fish that may have been fought 60 yards to the bank.
Consequently, we will want a rod that has a very safe, soft action to prevent hook pulls or line
breaks right at the net.
So we can see, two rods rated at 1.75lb test curve can have very different characteristics. A
progressive actioned 1.75lb rod will still have more play left beyond its' rating compared to a
through actioned rod of a similar rating. The through actioned rod will be more suited to a smaller
river where its' inherent softness will be advantageous to hard fighting fish at close quarters,
whereas a more progressive action will have more backbone to fish at greater distances. When
choosing a rod though, compromise can be achieved by perhaps looking at a lower test-curve but
progressive actioned rod, as its' initial power may seem soft it will have more 'deep-down' power
than one of a higher yet 'all-through' action.
If you watch anglers as they play fish close to the net you will see better what the rod is doing. A
tip action rod will be fairly straight in the blank with the tip folding over. Even if the rod has more
power further down, the angle of fish - line - rod will prevent the rod from loading. A through
action rod being softer will be more 'hooped' in comparison. At the net the through action rod will
be most advantageous as it will absorb lunges better. On the other hand, if you are fishing
25-30yds or more out, the strength of a progressive rod will allow a greater degree of control due
to its greater backbone.
Ergonomic Considerations.
There are many ways in which you can alter a rod to suit your individual style. Little touches
which can make a difference. The difference in price between a good quality 'off-the-shelf' and a
bespoke hand built rod are not as great as many people would think. The real benefit is in being
able to have the rod crafted to your own taste, be it style of handle, size, quality and spacing of
guides to blank colours.
Personally, I prefer a short handle to a rod. I believe that the 2-4 inches off the butt allows for
manouevering the rod around the body much better and saves the butt catching on my jacket. It
also serves to give me just those few extra inches where I feel it counts, above the handle. Take
this little test. Put a reel on one of your rods and measure how much handle extends beyond your
elbow. The only time extra handle length is of any real benefit is if you really launch into a big cast
with both hands.
Other nice touches that can be added are such things as hook keepers (again, I prefer mine to be
located to the side, so that when I hold the rod across the back of my hand for baiting etc. I don't
have the wire keeper digging in). You can add isotope holders, depth markers and all manner of
simple tweaks to make your life simpler. If you feel that the balance of the rod is 'top-heavy' you
can load the butt with a small amount of lead to counter-balance the outfit.
Summary
I hope that you will now see how choosing the right rod for you and how you intend to use it,
require more than choosing one with the stated test-curve that is fashionable at the time. Asking
fellow anglers what they use gives an indication of an option, but how would their styles fit in with
your intended useage? You can't beat giving a rod a good old waggle, but the best place to do it