Rod action

[perchonthefly]

As a complete newcomer to tenkara and at the risk of appearing completely stupid, could someone please explain what the pairs of numbers relate to when discussing rod actions. I've seen numbers such as 6:4 and 5:5 but couldn't work out what they referred to.

Thanks for any help.

[Deleted]

These links may help a little:-

tenkaratalk.com/2012/01/tenkara-rod-action/

tenkaratalk.com/2015/02/tenkara-rod-flex/

David

[orangeotter]

You'll find that many makers no longer use this rating as one man's 5:5 is anothers 6:4. I think most of todays quality rods approximate to 6:4

[perchonthefly]

Thanks very much for those links, David. Not sure how useful the number system actually is in real terms, but it's a lot clearer now.

Much appreciated.

David.

[orangeotter]

you'd normally say that a 6:4 is suitable for moderate sized fish and flies but a 7:3 (stiffer) for larger waters, fish and nymphs.

[cm_stewart]

You cannot say the 7:3 is stiffer unless you are comparing the different actions in the same rod model. For example, a Nissin Fujiryu Tenkara 360 6:4 is stiffer and much more capable of fishing nymphs and landing large fish than a Nissin Pro Square 360 7:3. And that's even within the same manufacturer. Comparing across manufacturers is worse than useless - it is misleading because there is no standard.

[custheyder]

5:5, 6:4, 7:3 mean very little because as Chris says they are variable between models and manufactures. I've stopped using the system on Esoteric Tackle rods. Now I'm producing rods with profiles that deliver the best line possible while protecting light tippets.

My latest rod, the Strooan, has a 6:4 flex at full length but handles fish more like a 7:3 because of the changes in the curve profile. At it's shortest it's a 5:5 but still has the backbone of other manufacturers 6:4 and 7:3 rods.

The only way is to test rods and see which suits your casting and fishing style.