Good points.

I have focused on gross deflection, as I suspect that is most of what the bite detection is about. While I think your points on vibration transmission are valid, I have not often seen a steelhead vibrate. My theory is that the hand must move for the bite to be felt, and that the rod is the device which makes the hand move. Therefore, for bite detection, the best rod would have zero length, infinite stiffness, and zero mass. Right?