“Well,” FisherSpouse said instructionally, “You want to
check flexibility.”
Standing under the arch of fishing poles that designated the
store’s fishing aisle in case we otherwise couldn’t find it, Fishergarten
watched as FisherSpouse pulled the tip of a rod steadily downward, creating an
ever-narrowing bell curve of bendable graphite.
“Maybe you shouldn’t force…” Fishergarten started.
“No, it’s made to do this,” FisherSpouse said. “It has to
hold a fighting fish.”
He pulled again, just slightly – and it snapped. Fishergarten
and FisherSpouse stared at the disembodied tip.
“I’m guessing it wasn’t supposed to do that,” Fishergarten
finally breathed.
“No,” FisherSpouse said testily, reaching for his wallet.
“No, it wasn’t.”
To avoid buying any more unusable fishing rods, Fishergarten
turned to Google for guidance and found this,
this
and this -- plus her bible, “Fishing for
Dummies.” Technically, she found, FisherSpouse meant to demonstrate the
“action” of the upper “blank.” If Fishergarten is reading this right, the blank
is the body of the pole and so named many years ago.
“I don’t know, man,” one Neanderthal said to another over a few
beers and a campfire. “Let’s name it tomorrow. It’s late, I’m beat, and I’m
just drawing a blank.”
The power is the force needed to bend the blank, and action is
how far the blank bends. It looks more like a line graph than a bell curve,
which is probably where FisherSpouse miscalculated.
Fishergarten then turned to an informal survey, asking "What is a good beginner fishing rod?":
FisherSis: “Semi-heavy for the lunkers and not too light of
action. And don’t use my name in that blog thing you write.”
FisherSister-in-Law (FisherSIL): “Think of it as anatomy and
physiology. The blank is the anatomy, the action and power are the physiology,
but they need the reel or the heart to start. Okay? Oh, and don’t be using my
name in that blog. Remember the cease-and-desist order.”
FisherSon: "Mom, I'm trying to work."
FisherDaughter and FisherDaughter-in-Law (FisherDIL),
finally reached in faraway Twin Lakes, Colorado, an area with sketchy cell
reception: “Rod…reel… already strung.
...Not
… telescopic kind. … Don’t … names … blog.”
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Because Colorado |
FisherDaughter may still be scarred by the previous summer’s
Twin Lakes incident, when she hooked a rock while fishing off of a 10-foot dirt
cliff.
“See mom, you just pull the rod to the side this way,” she
demonstrated. “Then you pull it to the other side and try to work it loose.”
FisherDaughter jerked the line to the left, eliciting a sharp crack. In an
inadvertent action, the top half of her telescopic blank sailed over the cliff
and into the water.
“Hmm,” said Fishergarten, peering down as the waves lapped at
the broken blank.
“It’s unfortunate, Mom,” FisherDaughter said briskly. “But it’s
an old rod.” She cut the line, and the blank sank. Fishergarten made a mental
note to check the executors of her living will.
Finally, Fishergarten settled on 5 feet 6 inches of gleaming
pink Shakespeare graphite that she calls the 12.84 because that’s what she paid
for it down at the Walmart. Handily inscribed on the blank are the words
Action: Medium. Enough said, we think.
Next week, we’ll have some reel fun, but meantime,
FisherFriends, use the comments section below to tell us about your first
fishing rod. What did you like and not like? Let’s see some action and not
leave this blank, okay? And as always, have fun!
I feel your pain Fisherspouse. Broke the tip clean off of my favorite pole rolling up the car window. Didn't notice til I got to the lake...
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