From: dixon@spot.Colorado.EDU (Life is real?)
Subject: Re: Graphite vs Fiberglass Spinning rods
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Distribution: na
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 19:56:48 GMT

In article <374@evtprp0b.UUCP> mrt7455@evtprp0b (Michael R Tucker) writes:
>
>
>I have been looking at new spinning rods for myself and my kids.  I
>was wondering if anyone had any experience with the Fenwick Willow
>Action line of rods.  When I was starting out (mumble-mumble) years
>ago graphite was out of the question so I am used to fiberglass rods
>with a softer action than similar graphite rods.  Can anyone help me
>out?
>
>

Well,
  I personally believe it's largely a matter of preference, but here goes
a stab at the differences anyway (I use both by the way...depending on
what I'm fishing for):

Graphite:
---------
PROS
  Great feel and sensitivity. (Primary reason for developing it)
  Stiffer , i.e. better for big fish if line is not too light
  Lighter weight

CONS
  More expensive (usually)
  Stiffer, i.e. easier to break fish off especially with light line
  Less long term durability when being used for strong fish such as
   steelhead, i.e. they last less than 100 steelies before breaking.
  More brittle

Fiberglass:
-----------
PROS
  Less expensive
  Softer, i.e. allows lighter line for bigger fish with less risk of
   breaking off.  Also better for downrigging and other high bend/stress
   usages
  Longer durability, i.e. indefinate lifetime with any kind of fish
  Not brittle (remember those "Make a circle" Eagle Claw commercials?)

CONS
  Softer, i.e. large fish can keep the rod doubled over thereby not letting
   the rod do it's work since it's max'ed out all the time.
  Less feel

Now to prevent flames, I'd like to say that "in GENERAL" I'm right.  I KNOW
there are a WIDE variety of rods in both categories that help out quite a
bit in the above listed PROS and CONS.  Plus, it's like chevy and ford...
you'll never convince the too different sanctions to agree, so you'll have
to make your own decision in the end.

The way I decide what type of rod to use is to first decide what type of
fishing I'll be doing.  If I'm intending to do a lot of downrigging in
the ocean with it, I'll buy fiberglass every time.  In fact, I'll look for
a strong fiberglass rod with pretty even bend throughout, i.e. no sensitive
tip.  What good does a sensitive tip do when you're 108' down?  A sensitive
tip also means the rod's strength is in the butt, so there's a high stress
area between the outer 1/3 of the rod and the inner 2/3rds of the rod, and
that's where they break every time.  If I figured I was a good enough
steelheader that I'd be catching 30+ fish a year, then I'd have to consider
the cost of replacing a graphite rod every couple of years against the
lost benefit of having that sensitive tip so valuable to steelheaders.  Less
experience steelheaders *should* use graphite since they won't likely be
wearing out the rod, and the sensitivity will make up for some of the lack
of experience in detecting steelhead 'takes'.  If you're only going to be
fishing for fish less than 6-8 lbs, then why not use graphite?  You probably
won't wear it out, so go for the sensitive tip!  This applies to most bassers
and trouters in most of the country.  My own personal OPINION is that graphite
is preferable unless you expect to stress the rod hard or fear wearing it out
every couple of years.  So, I use graphite for all trout and flie fishing,
graphite for steelies and smaller salmon (silvers, humpies), and fiberglass
for downrigging and larger salmon like Chinook (King).  I sometimes also use
graphite for Chinook...depending on if I'm supplying gear to a friend or
not.  I use graphite for steelies because I only dream about catching 30+
fish each year, so there's plenty of time to wait for the rod to wear out
while I save money for the next one!

Just my 2-bits worth!

BTW, I don't know how the Willow Rods are...

Brian D.
briand@cv.hp.com