I've noticed that a lot of rods advertise that they're made of IM6 or IM8 or IMwhatever graphite blanks. What exactly does this mean? Are higher numbers better? Do they contain more graphite or something?

IM(not sure)........ sorry

"The processing of carbon fibers produces three types of fiber: "High Modulus" fibers with marginal strength and marginal elongation to failure, "Intermediate Modulus, Intermediate Strength" fibers with higher elongation to failure, and "High Strength" fibers with marginal modulus and marginal elongation to failure."

Im6: 760ksi tinsel strength 40 millionths modulous

Im7: 780 ksi tinsel strength 40 millionths

Im8 790 ksi tinsel strength 44 millionths modulous


No material is better than another just some materials are stronger than others and some are stiffer than others. still each material should be used according to it's strengths.
Fot instance if you want a " softer " rod you might choose im6 instead of Im8 or if you wanted a stiffer rod you might choose the IM8

Or maybe you want a rod thats stiff in the tip but light and a but section that loads well you might make the tip out of im8 and the butt of im6..
there is no quality difference between im6 and im8 or any other material just different charecteristics and therefor different applications..

Great IM education.

Thanks,

IM IMpressed!

Hmm. I'm looking for a spinning rod that I can use for bottomfishing and saltwater salmon. It gets rather windy, so watching the rod will not be enough. I need one that will telegraph light strikes by vibration when I'm holding it. I have a B'n'M Buck's Ultimate that I use for jigging in freshwater, and you can almost feel the fish breathing on your lure. Is there a difference in the sensativity of the types?

the company i work fpr only makes fly rods so sencetivity isn't an issue taken into consideration in the course of designing a rod and i am not a rod design expert however if i was to attempt to make a rod with a sencitive tip for feeling bites it would be out of a high modulous high tinsel strength tip
the reason being is it would allow me to build a quickly responding tip with a minimum of material. but thats just the guess of a guy who cuts graphite all day with a razor knife not the guy with the experience and knowledge..

IM wondering why people spend 69 bucks on a pole that doesnt do much more than one for 35?

How about the 20 dollar special that says
"GRAYFITE".... makes me think of the "ROLAX" watches street people tried to sell you in Asia.

Hey guys there are many members of this board are to salmon and steelhead fishing what tiger woods is to golf.. do you suppose that Tiger can tell the difference between a 50 dollar putter and a 1500 dollar one??
I am betting he can. Why? because he has enough skill that he has the ability tp perform at a level a 50 dollar putter can't,

Many anglers on this forum have a higher performance level than that of a 50 dollar berkley..
A 300 dollar loomis has much higer performance that more skilled anglers can appreciate and use.
Likewise fly rods from the company i work for range from 6-900 dollars and to thoes who can perform at tle level of our rods believe they are worth every penny. U thank God that people are willing to pay for high performance fishing equipment. If they weren't I wouldnt have a job and in fact my boss wouldn't either.

I don't know. I personally am a firm believer that at a certain point, the value drops because of quality in relation to the price. If a $100 rod has only slightly worse performance than a $600 rod, then you just paid $500 extra for an incrimental increase in performance. IE the $600 might be better, but it's not worth the difference in price. I personally am not willing to do that. I like to shop around for my money, and if a $40 rod performs as well as a $100 one, guess which I'll be buying? My favorite freshwater jigging pole set me back $37 from Cabela's, and it's far better than any other rod I've used that's worth 3 times (or more) the price.

Arklier..... the price tag doesn't catch the fish, so use what pleases you and I'll use what pleases me. Frankly I get a kick out of outfishing the $500/lb guys, but then if I could afford it without feeling guilty, maybe I would have the best. One thing about it....the fish I catch fight just as hard and taste just as good. Fishing to me is ALL about fun....if and when it becomes something other than that, I'll find something else to do.

In most cases its the indian, not the arrow, but you'll notice the best indians usually carry the best arrows.
I personally feel that the more sensitive the rod, the more fish you will catch. Skimp in non feel applications (ie trolling, bobber and Jigfishing, etc) But not in BBins, sidedrifting, driftfishing etc. Bottom Line IMHO, Don't shoot yourself in the foot by using crappy gear.