Do Graphite Fly Rod Have Memory?
- This topic has 10 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated Jan 28, 2013 at 2:16 pm by
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I think you will be fine.
I got a buddy who has his horizontal in his SUV
got another buddy who leaves his in the boat tray horizontal in the elements.
never hear of them having problems.
maybe just lucky
A concern I would have is with the knot strength. I learned from a wise Alaskan guide many years ago that the knot strength deteriorates significantly when the rig is left strung up for even just overnight. The tippet to leader and tippet to fly connections will/could likley fail at the first tug. Maybe explains why many fisherman ‘break off” the first fish of the day.
Mono only has a 12 month half-life after exposure to UV…
After 12 months mono can have lost as much as 50% of its breaking strain.
If you’re using flouro, not too much of an issue, its half-life is about 100 years…I recommend that leader and tippet is always changed after 3 months.
Depending on where you keep them and how you transport them they might be much more prone to being broken.
(1) Graphite has no functional memory unless it is subjected to extreme heat. Leaving a rod strung horizontally for years on a rack will not cause the rod to develop a set. This is a leftover collective unconscious-type concern from the days of bamboo, which could take a set.
(2) I am highly suspicious of the idea that knots inherently weaken if the rod is left strung. If that were the case the knots left tied on our reel would be weaker the next day (the amount of load on a knot from simply looping the fly over the butt end is negligible). First, I strongly caution you against believing what a guide says just because he is a guide. Second, I think it’s probable that this is another collective unconscious-type concern left over from the days of catgut, which could dry out. That or it’s just rank BS.
I have a horizontal rack in my garage which I am quite proud of. I have anywhere from a half dozen to a dozen rods strung on it at any given time of year, ranging from three weights to ten weights. Some of those rods have never been broken down even one time, since I have room in my SUV to run them through from the back to the front. I use them to fight everything from brookies to striped bass, from 7X to 20# tippet. I have never experienced “first cast knot failure” nor noticed any set in any of those rods.
Zach
PS Here’s the rod rack from when I first built it:
Direct sunlight can have an effect on knots (and lines, and waders, etc), especially if that sun is coming into a closed vehicle which can also result in pretty wide internal temperature variations, depending on locale and season. But I think we’re talking over a season, not over a day or two. Once (“back in the day”, as people say), I carried my Hodgman Wadewell waders in my fishing car (it was also my hunting car, as it was in fact my only car), a ’61 VW Beetle. The waders fit perfectly in the space behind the rear seat, which also was subject to direct sunlight. I did ruin the waders in one season, as the rubber boot portion developed numerous small cracks, which eventually opened deeply enough to cause multiple leaks. Converse Hodgman attributed those to the constant exposure to direct sunlight. Replaced them, covered them with an old towel, but still left them behind the seat. No more problems.
I’d be more worried about the ferrules getting stuck if the rod is left assembled for weeks at a time. Even with a light paraffin coating, some get pretty solidly stuck. And others work loose . . .
But, with normal fishing, I’d think the leaders would get changed frequently enough to not have excessive UV/IR damage.
And yes, fly lines can get cooked in sunlight too.
Y’all ever wonder what that smoky film that develops on the inside of car windows, particularly the front windshield, comes from? Mostly, it’s the plasticizers in the dash, seats, etc. So I’ve been told. Same “stuff” that keeps PVC fly lines nice and pliable.
Buzz
I take issue with conventional wisdom about the shelf life of mono, and maintain that if it stored in a dry dark environment it will last for years, I keep all my spools till they’re gone, and some sizes take a while to use up, plus I often have multiple spools in several different vests, bags, boxes, car, etc. I also keep my trout rods strung up in my car or in my woodshed for weeks at a time with no problems observed. Could it be that the manufacturers are perpetuating a myth?
Best,
JC
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