which is more sensitive: soft tip or stiff tip?

[21farms]

i was just reading on another thread here that a rod with a soft tip is more sensitive than a rod with a stiff tip. i've read that before and i think a lot of people believe that. however, all else being equal (rod blank length, power, materials, etc.) i don't see how that's possible. i mean, a more limber tips allows you to see light bites better but, as far as sensitivity is concerned, i'm inclined to believe the exact opposite is true: a stiffer tip transmits more vibrations to the rod handle than a soft tip since a soft tip would actually absorb some of the vibrations instead of passing them on. your insights appreciated.

[thelatrobe33]

Your inclination is correct.

[cueball]

While it may be true that the stiffer tip transmits vibrations better, that my not result in more fish detected or landed. At times the fish bite such that you do not feel a tick, all you feel is extra weight. A softer tip is better in that situation because you have a better chance to know the fish is there before the fish knows you are there. Part of it is that you do see the tip bending more than it should from the sinker alone. Using combination of watching your line, watching the tip along with feeling the bite through the rod is going to detect more fish than just weighting to feel the bite through the rod.

Also, when fishing with a small open hook, such as nose hook drop shot, a stiff tipped rod can pull the hook with such force and speed that it can pop the hook out of the fishes mouth without hooking up.

[21farms]

cueball, yes, i totally agree with you. each taper has its best-suited uses and i use them all from moderate to mod-fast to fast to extra fast for their appropriate applications. i was only addressing the commonly-held notion that rods with a soft are more sensitive.

[Bronzeye]

Seems to me that once a tip deflects, it is transmitting vibration less than one that does not. Until that point, a thinner rod tip is more sensitive because it has less mass to absorb the vibration. So a rod that is more sensitive than another to a three-pound bass' inhaling might be less sensitive to an 11-inch crappie's strike.

[smalliesteve]

You have to watch out for people's interpretation of what sensitivity is. Some people apply the term sensitivity to how flexible a rod's tip is, not how it transmits vibrations. i.e. softer tip = more sensitive
Let me take your thought process to an extreme.
A 6 ft, 1/2 in diameter solid steel rod will not deflect (noticeably) on any bass that's ever been caught. You won't feel a thing with it though because it's so heavy.

Stiffness directly influences force transmission, however weight and damping also affect things. You can't say "all things equal" because a stiffer rod will usually be heavier. And from an engineering perspective, there is no "doesn't deflect" it's all a matter of how much. My point being, I don't think you can throw out a general rule like "stiffer tip is more sensitive" because you're ignoring too many other variables that play into the picture. IF everything else is truly equal (it's not) then yes a stiffer rod will be more sensitive.

Again, I don't think simply saying "rod x has a stiffer tip than rod y, therefore it is more sensitive" is in any way valid.