RE: FW: RE: Fighting Foregrip

Dusty...

I've been fighting tarpon year round for 45 years.

I agree 100% with Steve on every point !!!

                                                                        Gordy

 

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From: dsprague01@xxxxxxxxxxx
To: hillshead@xxxxxxx (Gordon Hill)
Subject: FW: RE: Fighting Foregrip
Date: Sun, 05 Feb 2006 18:22:52 +0000

Gordy,

You might want to share this with the group.

Best,

Dusty

 

-------------- Forwarded Message: --------------
From: <srajeff@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <dsprague01@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: Fighting Foregrip
Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 16:22:25 +0000

Hi Dusty,

Thanks for the inquiry about fighting grips on tarpon rods.

Good tarpon rods are designed to be about 90% good for casting, the other 90% needs

to be tough as hell to fight the fish. That's the problem, they need to do both. The best casting rods

do not have a fighting grip. These rods feel lighter and  cast easier. Anglers soon learn

to fight the fish by keeping the hands on the casting handle, and hug the fighting butt into the hip area

and fight the fish by twisting the body and keeping the butt loaded against the fish. "Down and dirty",

as it were is the best way for fish fighting in shallow water. The only time I advocate a fighting grip is

in very deep water (blue water), were the fish ends up below the boat, and the angler must pump up the fish.

Leverage provided by fighitng grip above the casting grip helps, if the blank was designed

much stiffer in the lower half. This is critical because if you take the good casting rod and simply add

the fighting grip, you actually will loose fighting ability. The blank diameter and stiffness in front of the

fighting grip is smaller than just in front of the casting handle, and therefore less stiff. 

To retain fighting/lifting power, the butt section must be redesigned to have the same blank diameter

in front or the fighting grip, as the rod without the fighting grip does just in front of the casting handle.

Whew.. I hope this is understandable.. 

If the angler is going to fish for tarpon in the flats, stay away from the fighting grip rods. 

If the angler is going after tarpon in deep water like Casa Marr in Costa Rica, lead core line, dredging,

and where casting is not critical, then a fighting grip is a good idea.

Steve  

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From: dsprague01@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:dsprague01@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 5:03 AM
To: Steve Rajeff
Subject: Fighting Foregrip

 

Morning Steve,

A question was asked of me by a casting student; hope you can enlighten us both....

 

He is shopping for a tarpon rod and asked about the advantages/disadvantages of a rod with a fighting foregrip.  He also asked if rods with the foregrip are designed differently than those without.

 

Appreciate any thoughts you have.

 

Thanks,

Dusty Sprague