slightly crooked rods

[Wishing2BFishing]

I have been "eyeing up" some of my rods and notice a slight bend near the tip. Is this just my perception? Is this because some of the guides are not straight? Is it because the rods were sold this way and I did not notice this? Or is this because I left my line w/ tension on the rod during the season and it caused the rod to warp? Any thoughts . . .

[robertrinaustin]

Because of the way rod blanks are constructed, it's nearly impossible to build a straight blank. Also, with today's modern resins used to make rods, they should not take a set from keeping your line tight.

[Mattman]

A straight rod blank is actually not very common.

I know some builders that don't want a straight rod blank. One with a gentle curve is much more desireable to them as it has a defined characteristic that can be worked with.

[Wishing2BFishing]

interesting . . . I did not know that curved blanks were the norm. Now I am eyeing up all my rods. It seems about half have a slight curve near the tip.

[robertrinaustin]

interesting . . . I did not know that curved blanks were the norm. Now I am eyeing up all my rods. It seems about half have a slight curve near the tip.

I bet they all have a curve. It's just most rod companies build their rods in such a way as to hide the "curve".

[Steve Williams]

like they said above, most all blanks have some curve to them. however, i have had more than one builder tell me they wouldn't build on certain blanks because the blanks had too many bends in them and they couldn't get any straight enough to build on.

i personally think if you are going the custom route, st. croix and rogue have some of the "straightest" that i have had built. i have had them built on loomis, st. croix, graphite usa, shikari, ATC, rogue, seeker and a few others and those two were typically the straightest.

the custom builders can add some good input to this post.