TritonGlenn
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I've had a few people ask me about this post, and I actually had to go searching for it (or re-write the whole thing). I found it in Teri's discussion about the Boyd Ducket rods, but thought it would be more convenient if I just reposted it here. I'm seriously considering doing a video and putting it on YouTube. If you guys think it would help with this explanation, please let me know and I'll get my wife to film me performing this test.
The cut and paste:
Most factory rods, including quite a few high end models (unfortunately), are not splined correctly. Now, before I get into this, I'll preface it by saying that some do not subscribe to this way of thinking, and some adamantly argue against it. That's fine. They don't need to fish with my rods anyway, so it really doesn't affect me personally if they don't agree.
The spline, or the natural "arch" of the rod will allow it to bend perfectly DOWN. The way it is supposed to. If the spline is not positioned correctly, when the rod bends down, the blank will also rotate in your hands slightly (and sometimes... not so slightly - actually, quite harshly).
Have you ever owned a rod that always seemed to wear you out, even though it wasn't that heavy? It seems like your wrists hurt after a day of using it? Every time you set the hook on a fish, the rod seemed to torque sideways a little bit when you slammed the hook home on a largemouth (or other fish)? More than likely, your rod is splined very wrong.
To check the spline on any rod, and it is much easier to do this on a rod blank, vice a pre-built rod, but it can be done on either:
Place the rod butt on a smooth surface that won't "grab" the rod at all. It should roll smoothly when you twirl the rod with your fingers with the butt resting on the floor. Lean the rod tip down to about a 2 oclock position, with the butt still on the floor. With one hand, take your index finger and lay the rod on top of it. so that the rod is resting between the floor and your index finger. Now take your other hand and place it palm side down on the rod, approximately halfway down the length of the rod. Press down gently so the rod has a slight bend in it. With the hand you have at the mid-point of the rod, roll your hand over it so that the rod starts rolling underneath your palm (and across the top of the index finger on your other hand. As you roll the rod, it should naturally "jump" to a spot that feels like it doesn't want to move from. That is the "spline". Do it a few times to repeat the results until you are sure you know where the spline is. I normally have someone else put a piece of tape there and mark it perfectly with a pen so I know where it's at when I'm done.
Now, on a spinning rod, the guides should be mounted so that they are ON the spline. On a baitcast rod, the guides should be mounted so that they are 180 degrees from the spline. This way, when you set the hook or bend the rod, no matter how it is set up (spinning or baitcast), the natural spline goes DOWN - all the time.
If the spline of a rod is to the right, when you set the hook, the rod will twist right. If it's on the left, the rod will twist to the left. If it's on top, the rod may twist fairly violently either way. If it's down - the rod doesn't twist. Period.
I sincerely hope this is understandable. It's really easy for me to show someone in person with the rod there. If needed, I can take some pictures of the process to clear up any misunderstandings of the procedure.
For fun one day, go to a store that stocks a variety of high-end bass fishing rods. Check the spline on them. I think you will be surprised. I've found two companies in all my years that consistently spline every single one of their factory rods correctly. I'm not going to name names, because I haven't checked them lately and I don't want to misrepresent something. I will say this though - MOST rods are incorrectly splined. I do one of two things these days if I'm not building a custom. I either go through the stack and find the one that is splined the best (or as close as I can get to perfect), or I just buy it, take it home, strip the entire rod and rebuild it correctly. I've only done that a handful of times (rebuilding a brand new rod), but the resulting rods have always been my favorites.
All the best,
Glenn
The cut and paste:
Most factory rods, including quite a few high end models (unfortunately), are not splined correctly. Now, before I get into this, I'll preface it by saying that some do not subscribe to this way of thinking, and some adamantly argue against it. That's fine. They don't need to fish with my rods anyway, so it really doesn't affect me personally if they don't agree.
The spline, or the natural "arch" of the rod will allow it to bend perfectly DOWN. The way it is supposed to. If the spline is not positioned correctly, when the rod bends down, the blank will also rotate in your hands slightly (and sometimes... not so slightly - actually, quite harshly).
Have you ever owned a rod that always seemed to wear you out, even though it wasn't that heavy? It seems like your wrists hurt after a day of using it? Every time you set the hook on a fish, the rod seemed to torque sideways a little bit when you slammed the hook home on a largemouth (or other fish)? More than likely, your rod is splined very wrong.
To check the spline on any rod, and it is much easier to do this on a rod blank, vice a pre-built rod, but it can be done on either:
Place the rod butt on a smooth surface that won't "grab" the rod at all. It should roll smoothly when you twirl the rod with your fingers with the butt resting on the floor. Lean the rod tip down to about a 2 oclock position, with the butt still on the floor. With one hand, take your index finger and lay the rod on top of it. so that the rod is resting between the floor and your index finger. Now take your other hand and place it palm side down on the rod, approximately halfway down the length of the rod. Press down gently so the rod has a slight bend in it. With the hand you have at the mid-point of the rod, roll your hand over it so that the rod starts rolling underneath your palm (and across the top of the index finger on your other hand. As you roll the rod, it should naturally "jump" to a spot that feels like it doesn't want to move from. That is the "spline". Do it a few times to repeat the results until you are sure you know where the spline is. I normally have someone else put a piece of tape there and mark it perfectly with a pen so I know where it's at when I'm done.
Now, on a spinning rod, the guides should be mounted so that they are ON the spline. On a baitcast rod, the guides should be mounted so that they are 180 degrees from the spline. This way, when you set the hook or bend the rod, no matter how it is set up (spinning or baitcast), the natural spline goes DOWN - all the time.
If the spline of a rod is to the right, when you set the hook, the rod will twist right. If it's on the left, the rod will twist to the left. If it's on top, the rod may twist fairly violently either way. If it's down - the rod doesn't twist. Period.
I sincerely hope this is understandable. It's really easy for me to show someone in person with the rod there. If needed, I can take some pictures of the process to clear up any misunderstandings of the procedure.
For fun one day, go to a store that stocks a variety of high-end bass fishing rods. Check the spline on them. I think you will be surprised. I've found two companies in all my years that consistently spline every single one of their factory rods correctly. I'm not going to name names, because I haven't checked them lately and I don't want to misrepresent something. I will say this though - MOST rods are incorrectly splined. I do one of two things these days if I'm not building a custom. I either go through the stack and find the one that is splined the best (or as close as I can get to perfect), or I just buy it, take it home, strip the entire rod and rebuild it correctly. I've only done that a handful of times (rebuilding a brand new rod), but the resulting rods have always been my favorites.
All the best,
Glenn
