A new fan of glass rods!

[smalljaw]

I hated glass rods for a long time, they were heavy and just didn't feel right and then last week I got on the water and a Rapala DT Flat 7 was getting bit pretty good and as I was changing baits my friend told me to use his glass rod which I declined but he insisted I at least fish with it for a bit and so I did. There are two distinct things I really like, and that is the way the rod loads and, this is going to sound stupid, the lack of feel. I know, how could not feeling a lot be a good thing, well for me fishing cranks it was a good thing. First of all when I was using my graphite rod I would reel my bait into trash or rocks, stumps, and whatever and I would immediately stop and let the bait float up and then walk in over and around the cover by feel and that was a good thing but with the glass I hit the trash and it isn't until the rod loads a bit that I realize I hit something but this is were it helps. It seems that the extra crank or 2 I give after hitting an obstacle results in srikes, now I've got a lot of strikes by deflecting my baits off cover but it is usually when I stop the bait but this was different and the feel of the rod load up with a fish was different than just the rod flexing, I knew everytime it was a fish. I caught some good fish that day and the only way I can explain how it felt when hooking and fighting a fish is it is sort of a connected feeling, it is almost as if the flex of the rod goes right through your hands into your arms throough your body. It is a completely different feel and I really liked the way it worked with a crankbait and I believe the lack of feel actually got me a few strikes that I might not have got. I think if you are on the fence about a glass cranking rod I suggest you don't just pick it up but instead actually fish with it and see how it is, for me the extra weight compared to how it handled the fish isn't even an issue anymore, they are pretty good for cranking and I like it!!

[cornmuse]

Curious which glass rod you fished? I'm a fan of glass for many applications, it's far from an obsolete, old material.

Joe C.

[smalljaw]

Curious which glass rod you fished? I'm a fan of glass for many applications, it's far from an obsolete, old material.

Joe C.

The rod I used was a Lamiglass Excel 705 glass, but I ended up buying a never before used Quantum Tour Edition USA 706 MH, it is 15 years old I think but still had the plastic on the cork and tags attached and even the bar code from BPS. The funny thing is that rod feels very similar to my friend's Excel 705, the rod I got feels a bit heavier but not much but the action is identical and I was wondering if all glass rods were so close in action. I highly doubt they are because of the difference in price but the rod I just bought like I said is remarkably close to my friend's rod, maybe the same material?

[cornmuse]

I was wondering if all glass rods were so close in action.

I'm a pretty serious collector of fly fishing gear and glass rods in particular (I have somewhere north of 30) and in my experience the answer is absolutely no. Glass as a material for a fishing rod can have virtually any property. It can be nearly as light at graphite and have many, many tapers including extra fast tapers. The material will always exhibit a slightly slower return response compared to graphite using a similar taper and is typically much stronger in hoop strength. Lamiglass is (was) a big manufacturer of blanks and its possible that the Lami and Quantum rods share a blank design.

Joe C.

[KlingerNOK]

Yep. I have fished with customs built on that Lamiglas blank for several years now and it is my favorite rod to fish with, period. My wife and Dad feel the same way- my wife always wants to fish with one of the Lami's and my Dad now has two customs built on that blank (MB841E) because it is such a fun, effective crankin rod.

[smalljaw]

Yep. I have fished with customs built on that Lamiglas blank for several years now and it is my favorite rod to fish with, period. My wife and Dad feel the same way- my wife always wants to fish with one of the Lami's and my Dad now has two customs built on that blank (MB841E) because it is such a fun, effective crankin rod.

Well maybe you can tell me if this is true or not. My friend who introduced me and basically made me use his glass rod also steered me into buying the rod I now have because he told me the old Quantum fiberglass rods that were made in the USA used a Lamiglas blank. Now I don't know if that is true or just a rumor but there isn't much of a difference in action between his rod and my new old Quantum and that is why I was asking if all glass rods have that action or close to that action as my rod and my friends rod are close and from two different manufacturers.

[OThessalonikios]

The old Quantum Tours used Lamiglas blanks for a few years. They were really good rods for the money.

At one point, they even said "Blank by Lamiglas" on them but they were told to remove it.

Enjoy that rod. I used to have quite a few of them.