Cork or Foam Handle

AlloyToy

Thanks to a heads up from Brad I picked up a new Avet SX (black). Now I need a new rod

Primary use would be Fluke, Tog, Bass etc.......

Wondering what rod, and which you prefer cork or foam, and why?

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Scup

Maybe this is just because I am a slob, but most of my rods are foam and they do present a miner problem. Since I am commerical, and live on the water, I fish whenever I can get out. When tog fishing, I am always fussing cutting bait (mostly green crabs) with a pruner with one hand while holding the rod with the other. Hence, there are small pieces of green crab shell shards everywhere. After a couple of days of this type of fishing, my hands ached so bad I had to soak them in Epsom salts as they had a dozen small cuts in them. What happened is a few of the small sharp pieces of broken green crab shells embedded themselves into the foam. Every time my hand moved over the foam I would get another nick or two from them. May sound stupid, but my cork rods do not seem to pick up the shards as readily. If you fish only once a week, or are not as sloppy in preparing your bait as I am, I doubt if this would be a noticeable problem.

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"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go" by William Feather

Tuna Meltdown

Scup, I think your problem has more to do with the Saltwater and Fish slime in combination. I primarily tuna fish and I experiance the same thing you descreibe after a few days on the water. My hands dry out and start cracking to the point that it hurts to grip the wheel of the boat or a rod. Not sure exactly what causes it but it starts a few weeks after I start fishing in the spring and clears up in the late fall. It's painfull but not going to stop me from what I like to do.

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Dan Stewart
Tuna Meltdown
25' Seacraft

Philly Doug

Alloy, I have never found the "perfect" bass drift rod. Lee at Fisherman's Paradise knows I've tried a few......LOL.......I have, however, found a rod that I think is great for tog and I have it matched with an SX. G Loomis, Pro Blue. Seven feet long, line weight 12 to 25. Fast action, model PBR843C. Very light tip with a strong back that kicks in when necessary. Cork handle and I think cork communicates the bite better than foam. I used this rod today in depths from 50 to 100 feet with an 8 ounce weight. Loomis uses this same blank in a spinning rod that I use with a baitrunner for bass with chunk. Love catching bass with it. However, these rods are too light for drift fishing. Tip would be bent over with a heavy weight.

rydogg

cork imo is the better of the two.more of a natural feel and in most cases no where as thick as the foam which gives a better feel.

74Formula233

I have mostly foam, but like cork better in a lot of cases.

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