"Backbone" does it exist??

[tonyb 1,017]

Hey guys, an interesting point was raised the other day at the ramp when I bumped into a very knowledgeable fisho of my acquaintance. He noticed my 4 to 8 kg Drop shot spinning rod, which is rigged with the large eyes on it for an egg beater, was fitted with my Abu 9000c overhead reel for a snapper session!His issue was, that the two different styles of reel, load up the rod in opposite directions and he said that a "backbone" was built into the rods to compensate for this :unsure:Any thoughts/comments on this?

[rocknev 2]

sure does have a backbone..... on a blank, without anything on it, if you put it on rollers,load it up with a bend and it will find its own centre, or natural way it will bend....depeneding on how the rod will be set with the eyes determines if that back bone goes on the top or on the bottom .the bottom for a eggy, the top for an overhead.i once bought a rod cheap at a garage sale... still got it somewhere, and when fighting a fish, it tends to SPIN to one side, to where the natural backbone is.... at utter pita to be honest....i just did a youtube search, and found this excellant video...hope this helps...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLRZQp3l6L8&feature=related

[coonta kinta 1]

Yes its true.A blank can have a number of "backbones" and when building a rod it should be built on which ever one is the most dominant.Easiest way to test for the bone is to load the blank up if it is not aligned on the bone properly it will want to twist in your hands to a position where the bone is at the top edge of the blank.When building your own rod, the runners are placed on top of the blank / bone for use with overhead/baitcasting reels & below the rod for use with spinning or Alvey reels.Using a spinning rod with an overhead or vice verse can be done, but is not adviseable on account of a number of reasons, they being guide placement, size & the bone. Spinning rods have fewer guides generally than overhead rods as the line does not come in contact with the blank under load. The opposite is the cast with overhead style rods. Having the line tough the blank under load can have detrimental effects to the line with obvious results. The line can also take "short cuts" where its sits below the blank, not following its curve smoothly.To see if your "off the shelf is built on "the bone", provided the length allows u to do this. Place the butt, with the reel removed, against the inside of your foot and load it up. Try this with the runners at different angles to the ground and see how the rod will try to return to a certain position. Not always accurate with built up sticks, but with unfurnished blanks you'll be able to see easily what all the fuss is about

[tonyb 1,017]

WOW, that's blown me away guys, 64 years on the planet, take away ten years to grow past the toddler stage and the rest fishing my heart out and I'd never heard of "backbone" :ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:As they say, "you are dead when you stop learning"Thanks both of you for awesome reports

[Cal 480]

Forgive me if I"m wrong but I thought these wizz bang graphite numbers didnt really have to be mucked around with to find one,they load up and lock up perfectly the same every time ,whether you turn the rod around or not.Classic example is the shimano Backbone elite 10 footer ,built for an OH but I know a guy that uses an eggy shimano baitrunner on his ,and loves it,makes no difference either or other.

[brenton 637]

I'm not sure on that Cal,when i buy a bream stick i still find they have a preferred curve and if your lucky you can get one that lines up with the guides,most times not though. cheers brenton

[tonyb 1,017]

Aaaah Haaaah, the plot thickens, there are two sides to every coin Interesting input Cal, it might just be that there is an exception to every rule. Now to check out my "dropshot" for graphite content

[Cal 480]

brenton wrote:

I'm not sure on that Cal,when i buy a bream stick i still find they have a preferred curve and if your lucky you can get one that lines up with the guides,most times not though. cheers brenton

Neither am I brenton,thats just what i was told once,never really checked to be honest,but I wouldnt think there would be many out there as fastidious with their knowledge of gear as you so that confirms it for me,it makes you wonder though how accurate mass produced rods are in this regard,ie how many out of a thousand or so made may not quite be spot on?@ Tony the subject of carbon ect in blanks is a very interesting one,almost deserves a thread on its own,as in what does IM7 ect mean,it really is quite an eye opener,and in many cases more doesnt always mean better.Cheers

[urhookedfish 12]

Backbone in a rod definately does exist thats for sure...but I am with Cal in that I have a 6'6 Calstar grahite snapper stick :cheer: and it was clearly made for overhead use (short spacing between eyes and heaps of them), but quite often I use my Daiwa 4000 sized spinning real on it, to throw softies on it or to use it for bait fishing.I'm finding it very good, the extra eyes don't even cause much of a problem. I really can't notice any difference in how the rod performs under load. In fact I am more than happy with how it performs when using it as a spinning rod. The only prob your going to have tony is not enough eyes to suit your overhead. you may find that when the rod is fully loaded that the line hits the rod, which is not what you want to happend. Just wondering if you have fully loaded it up and looked at how the line sits above the rod???Cheers Brett