So, Glenn, I noticed in your videos that you hold your reel, your baitcasting reel in your hand. Why do you actually hold it that way versus holding onto the rod itself? That's a really good question. It basically boils down to control and sensitivity. So let's talk about control first.
Rods, they're designed to have that reel at a point where it's kind of a fulcrum point, it's the pivot point, the balance point of the rod. This allows you to have maximum leverage when you're setting the hook and you're fighting the fish back, that's the spot where kind of the sweet spot where you'll have that. So the reel is strategically placed where you should have your hand. But in addition, that rod handle, that's designed to actually go here underneath your arm and to press against that.
So when a fish bites, it actually fights. As the rod tip pushes down, the handle pushes up against your arm and it enables you to have more leverage. If you had to hold just the rod handle, then all of that weight is on your wrist and you've got to really muscle them. You're working two, three, four times as hard to pull on that fish versus if you had that rod handle resting against your forearm.
In addition, it enables you to have a lot more sensitivity. The line is really your only connection between you and that fish or that lure. And so, when the lure is bouncing on the bottom, or when there's a bite, those little vibrations come up through the line. When they touch the rod guide, some of that vibration is transmitted down the rod, and the rest of the vibration also goes down through the line to your reel.
So the reel seats are designed in such a way that first of all, there's a blank on the bottom side of it, and that's where your fingers touch. So you have your fingers touch on the actual blank itself so you can feel those vibrations coming through the rod. If you had a hold of that cork handle, or that EVA foam handle, that foam, it deadens all that and you're not gonna feel that vibrations coming through the rod.
The line connecting all the way down to your baitcaster, all that vibration's gonna be vibrating right through the baitcaster right to your hand. So between your hand touching the rod, and your hand touching the baitcaster, you're gonna have a lot more sensitivity and be able to detect those subtle bites as well as being able to have a much better feel for what is on the bottom of the lake.
