# Why are rod lure ratings ignored for popping cork rigs?



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

No one looks at those ratings.


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## JRHorne (Aug 6, 2019)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> No one looks at those ratings.


This is why we can't have nice things!


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## gibby (May 15, 2020)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> No one looks at those ratings.


Not to mention every manufacturer does it differently.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

gibby said:


> Not to mention every manufacturer does it differently.


That’s why no one pays attention to them. 
The number one way to know what rod you want is to handle it.


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## gibby (May 15, 2020)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> The number one way to know what rod you want is to handle it.


Exactly. I bought a daiwa aird medium that says 3/8 - 1oz. No way it can handle that and my mistake for trusting it. It's a good rod for topwater and for trout, but it can't set the hook on a weedless presentation period.

My falcon medium rated the same as the daiwa can handle anything I put on it, which I learned by testing it first. 

Likewise, I had an old berkely medium heavy I decided to try and a 30" red broke that one in half. TLDR, rod ratings are not an exact science.


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## NealXB2003 (Jun 8, 2020)

My .02 cents. Those ratings are for lures that are casted accurately at specific targets. Like flipping a jig for bass around dock posts, or slinging a spinnerbait next to lay downs. Casting as popping cork is more like a lob than a cast...


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

I don’t pay attention either. We spend our life wiggling a rod, so just give it a wiggle at the display. It wiggles right and approve the appearance. Buy it. Kind like lures.


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## JRHorne (Aug 6, 2019)

I should have known the answer from a bunch of guys was going to be "just grab it with your hand, shake it and play with it, and see if you like". Dammit we started doing this at like 6! There's got to be some more science behind these rods than that!

But seriously, that puts some of us who haven't been shaking the things consistently for 30 years at a bit of a disadvantage.


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

popping corks are for live bait. live bait is reserved for those 10 years old and under.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

JRHorne said:


> I should have known the answer from a bunch of guys was going to be "just grab it with your hand, shake it and play with it, and see if you like". Dammit we started doing this at like 6! There's got to be some more science behind these rods than that!
> 
> But seriously, that puts some of us who haven't been shaking the things consistently for 30 years at a bit of a disadvantage.


You take a piss every day. You have enough experience. Couldn’t even tell you what my rods say. I liked them, learned the capabilities and as long as it can cast further than distance to most fish I chase I’m happy. Can always make a long cast shorter. Now line, that makes a huge difference on any rod.


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## Ben (Dec 21, 2016)

Damn Millennials. This isn’t golf Bryson DeChambeau. Go grab a rod and wiggle it! Don’t need no UL, NEMA, NFPA or whatever ratings on a fishing rod.


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## gibby (May 15, 2020)

So this thread turned into a bunch of dudes talking about wiggling their .. uhm... sticks huh?


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

JRHorne said:


> This is why we can't have nice things!


 Are you using "popping corks" and "nice things" in the same discussion?


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## JRHorne (Aug 6, 2019)

crboggs said:


> Are you using "popping corks" and "nice things" in the same discussion?


Sure as sh!t am!

Good to see the general consensus here is that no one cares. I'll move on with my life.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Can't believe that no one on this thread actually had much of an idea about how "popping rods" (not popping cork rods...) actually came into being. I've been using popping rod blanks for years and years - ever since my very first bonefish rod (back before graphite rods were ever on the market..). 
Put simply, a popping rod action first came about when folks realized that rods that worked well with lures often times were a bit stiff at the tip and anyone trying to use one with a live shrimp for instance soon looked elsewhere. Live bait requires a bit softer tip to allow you to toss a relatively lightweight bait a good distance (with or without a popping cork) while still keeping it and the hook together... 
Most of the bonefish rods I've built over the years (both for myself and customers) were designed specifically to toss a live shrimp about sixty feet with six to ten pound mono and every one was built on a popping rod action blank, seven feet long rated for 6 - 12lb line... Those same rods worked very well with skimmer jigs in the 1/8 to 1/5 oz. size range. They also worked very well with small Rapala type swimming plugs (the kind that are very hard to cast with a normal rod for lures since they just don't weigh much at all...). Those same rods worked really well when tossing a small pilchard or crab - if you weren't planning on hooking really big fish... A 20lb permit on a bonefish rod is a chore (although years ago I did catch and release an 11lb permit on 4lb line with one...). 

All of the above is why "popping rods" aren't rated for as heavy a lure as other differently designed blanks... Yes, we set up beginners all day long with medium strength popping rods (blank rated from 8 to 17lb generally) that actually do have a popping cork as well... When their skills get a bit sharper that exact same rig with a bucktail or leadhead and Gulp tail underneath that cork is a great way to get them using lures...

I found when I took up guiding in the Everglades some years ago that my old bonefish rods were generally a bit too light so we used them only for small fish and when fishing super shallow tossing small jigs, etc. When I finally made the switch over to braid instead of mono - those old rods built on popping blanks came back to life in a big way... Using only 10lb braid on those same old lightweight soft rods my anglers were making really long casts, hooking and actually beating some very nice fish - "Who knew?"


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## Outearly (Oct 20, 2015)

I’ve built several fly rods. There’s a website -rodbuilding.org -that has useful information about that process.

A system was developed called the Common Cents System- that seems like a pretty logical way to figure out how a rod will load and cast.

A super brief description is that it uses weight hanging from a rod tip to get a measured angle on the tip when the rod is bent to one-third of its length.

If manufacturers would adopt a system like that, it might help us select rods a little more scientifically.

It’s pretty unlikely that’ll happen, so wiggle away.


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