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5' W&G Featherlight

Shopping for a 5' ultralight rod and reel today at my favorite outfitters... dedicated for slipbobber fishing. I expected to walk out of there with an okuma celilo like my other ul rigs. I handle a W&M featherlight fiberglass rod. A rod very similar to the rod I started fishing with as a young lad. I paired it up with a Quantum Q Ray on sale at under 18 bucks. Bought a bulk spool of 4lb mono suffix elite on sale for 9.00 for 3000 yds.. Mind you I havnt used a fiberglass rod and mono in years.

Spooled it up and walked to the bridge with bobbers and worms. Hooked up right away and it felt like I set the hook into Sponge Bob. The sensation is completely different than graphite an braid. Nonetheless had fun with this nostalgic rig.

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Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on September 23, 2013 at 5:54pm: Very interesting conversation. Im not a huge braid fan, being more in line with Tony. But Im willing....

Comment by Leo Nguyen on September 23, 2013 at 5:32pm: Glass rod + braid = WOAH NILLY! I have a glass rod myself, with 4lbs braid, and like you said, you can feel practically everything. My wife complaint that my set up has been way too sensitive. She doesn't like it. She likes the "tug my line and I'll have your behind" trout/bass rods. She's trying to have the feel for the ultralight panfish and telescopic rods..but..kind of a hard sale right now. She wants to hunt anything larger than 10lbs, and willing to put up with the hellish conditions if it means she can land a 400lbs tuna. Love that girl!

Comment by Slip Sinker on September 23, 2013 at 5:17pm: here is the braid i prefer to use for bluegill and have also used as a leader on my flyrod to enhance the floating of poppers and bugs. it is very sensitive and with the bright yellow allows some sight fishing... you could feel a tiny jig hit the back of a bluegills throat. ive decided to experiment with the new glass rod loaded with this braid to see how much sensitivity could be added to this rig.

Comment by Leo Nguyen on September 23, 2013 at 11:41am: Once again Tony, dead on.

In my neck of the waters, windy environment will not allow me to use light jigging. It involves with some weight, which add tension to the line, creating that increase of sensitivity. You are smacked on with the drag. I set my drag to less than 1lb test drag for smaller species, but do very well with larger species.

Comment by Tony Livingston on September 23, 2013 at 11:28am: Maybe I'm confused here, (probably), but it seems to me that line stretch is both good and bad, depending upon where your allegiances lie. The makers of braid are quick to denounce mono as having too much stretch, which they claim interferes with proper hooksets, and reduces sensitivity. As far as reduced hooksets go, I'm not trying to drive a 1/2" diameter blunt hook through a Whale Shark....I'm trying to stick a razor sharp #8 Gamakatsu through a BG's lip....never had any problem.

Sensitivity...what am I feeling for? If I'm fishing in a manner that involves tightlining, I'm going to feel a fish irregardless of the line. If there's slack in the line, then the sensitivity is not going to be there anyway?

Now the folks who produce mono will claim that stretch is a good thing....it's a shock absorber they say. Well maybe, I can kind of see that, but if my drag is quality, and functioning correctly, do I need a shock absorber?

Where I find stretch to be beneficial is in casting flyweight offerings with spinning gear....no float, and very very little weight. If I use the correct rod,a little line stretch will allow me to load the rod better for a greater casting distance, vs. a line with no stretch. A rod not well suited to this technique may break the line, however.

Comment by Tony Livingston on September 23, 2013 at 10:29am: Good luck Leo, I found my glass beads at JoAnn Fabrics. Actually, I'm building slip floats right now as I type. Going to Nebraska this weekend, might find time to wet a line in a big BG pond somewhere....

Comment by Leo Nguyen on September 23, 2013 at 10:11am: Tony, brilliant! Need to get larger boring diameter glass beads that don't weigh too much. The float is weight sensitive as it is already.

Just a warning John. It's quite sensitive, and you have to readjust yourself on the hookset timing when using braid. It's a whole different dimension of fun.

Comment by John Sheehan on September 23, 2013 at 10:03am: Thanks for your insight Leo and Tony .I have always fished mono and have dealt with losing fish, coil memory and stretch .I may find a situation and fishing style that will favor braid . I like the idea of no stretch and better hook sets.

Comment by Tony Livingston on September 23, 2013 at 10:02am: Leo, if I may offer a suggestion.....skip the metal grommet and pick up some glass craft beads. Those Thill pro series floats with the metal grommets are my choice for off-the-shelf units also, but did you ever ask yourself just what was gained by switching to a premium float with a metal grommet, when they still require a PLASTIC bead to prevent the stop knot from sliding through that big hole?? Isn't plastic what we're trying to avoid, to keep our line from cutting into it?

I use glass beads....tinier hole in the middle means no plastic bead necessary, and we all know how great ceramic guides are on a rod.

Comment by Leo Nguyen on September 23, 2013 at 9:42am: The opposite John. Braid is coated with a waxy layer, which helps to maintain and prevent wears on rods, reels, and guides. I can't say the same for the slip bobbers/float that don't have a metallic grommet. Dry braid lines will cut deep into plastic over time. This is why I use Thill's, or put a bit of a zinc/copper based grommet on my float/bobber with a bit of marine apoxy to hold it in place. Works like a charm for years.