Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Here is a test to further confuse ya .  Take a weight and scale it . "I have 2.5 pounds with a digital scale  "  Now run a line down the guides of your stick , Tiegh  the weight and put a loop on the string at ,or near the reel seat so you can hook the scale to it . lift the weight flat stick and note the weight .  Now pick the stick to 80-85 degrees and note the weight . Why does it vary so much?

Quote from: Keta on Today at 04:14:09 PMThe 6.25' AR rod results were similar but it is a lot easier pulling 20# with.

That makes sense.  Easier from the shorter lever (rod length).   No change in drag because the coefficient of friction for UHMWPE (braid material) on polished ceramic insert material is crazy low, and if you were actually adding a couple pounds of load from friction, it  would show as substantial wear on the line if it didn't break outright.

Yep, No friction with rollers and practically no friction with ceramic guides.

I am pretty convinced that getting different results on straight pull vs. bent rod is an artifact of static (startup) drag testing. The static load is applied very differently in these two methods, and some of the static load turns into stored energy on the bent rod, and will not be observed using a kinetic  (running after startup) drag test.

I have yet to see an explanation of why the bent rod would make a difference otherwise. But I have provided an explanation  of why it would not.

Unlike the video where they just yank on some line with a scale while swinging a rod and call it "scientific", a halfway decent scientific approach requires both controlled testing and a plausible explanation of why the observed results are happening that is consistent with known science (in this case Physics, and more specifically Tribology).


I am not criticizing Lee's tests. He is not hanging "scientific" on his observations.  He has provided us with some useful data.  The rest of the scientific work has yet to be done.  And frankly, I don't think it is worth doing. But if somebody wants to defend that rod angle makes a difference on ongoing drag, feel free to pick up from here.


One other point is that drag is just one part of managing the load on that big tuna.  There is also the amount of load applied when the fish is not taking line.  I think this is probably where we find the biggest difference between the angler who struggles on a big tuna for a couple hours and the one who has it at the rail in under 20 minutes. 

Like almost all fish species, tuna don't have a reverse, plus they  have less endurance  for turning than straight line swimming.  Keeping its head pointed toward you as much of the time as possible  will wear out the fish much faster than if you keep letting in turn around. That takes consistent winding load, the higher the better.

For awhile, I was playing with the idea of making a big game rod butt with a reel seat that could slide a very short distance do it could punch against a load sensor.  Stick some batteries in there and a transmitter, make or tweak some software, and now we could record the load that the angler was applying to a fish throughout the fight, and could compare the histograms of various  anglers.  This would help identify what the guys who are landing big fish quickly are specifically doing differently.  But I think we already know most of it.

It could probably be done for under $2000 USD, maybe a lot less.  The interesting part was figuring  out roughly how to do it.  The less interesting part was spending the money and time to build it, recruiting anglers willing to try it with their valuable cow tuna fishing opportunities, training, etc.  But if somebody else wants to run with it, I am willing to look at it some more.

-J

Most welcome. This was a fun rabbit hole to go down. Imma guess I have a good two dozen across the Squidder / Baymaster / Surfmaster  / Beachmaster flock.


Then, when you think you have a handle on it (see what I did there), you will stumble across a 250 Surfmaster and 259 Livebait Caster. "Hey, what's this, now?" Then you will find 99 Silver Beach. It will be too late when you realize, "Oh crap...I had two Baymasters, now I have ten Jigmasters, and ten reels in between. What the hell just happened..."

Then, Cortez Conversion packages start showing up. It happens.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Also if the person next to you is bringing up a fish, don't drop your line til it's up. Fish come up spiraling. Your line dropping straight next to something coming up spiraling is a recipe for disaster.

I think if 5 people are using mono leaders and one is using thin braid, the thin braid will move through the water differently than the 5 lines of mono that all travel together.

With that said I fish braid exclusively and had gone several trips in a row without a single tangle with others on a boat with 45 people on it. But last trip there were a bunch of beginners, and it was tangle city. Not saying your boat mates were beginners. But that was an interesting difference I noticed last trip.

The 6.25' AR rod results were similar but it is a lot easier pulling 20# with.

    Me thinks in the near future , there will be microprocessor drag control built into the reels with touch screen  to program the desired  drag .  No more scaling needed .      As of now I am the microprocessor .

on the retrieve, guys will let the braid pile up on one side or the other.  on the next cast or drop, the loose braid on the top of the pile falls or slides sideways and gets wrapped up.  the success of any cast depends on how smoothly and evenly the braid is laid down on the previous retrieve.  that's why alot of guys have started using tranx reels or lexas for casting jigs. you've gotta pay attention. 

         If we are talking about tangles in the water  and enough weight to hold bottom , there is no difference .    Now if you hook into a fish that likes to fight in the horizontal water column , than you will have tangles .