Fiberglass vs. Graphite

[vespo]

I guess I'm a little bit "old school" - I have an old fiberglass spinning rod that I'v been using on and off since the early 80s. Despite being a bit banged up, it's my go-to rod for anything that doesn't involve long casts (at only 6' and with a lot of backbone, it's hard to  get it to load enough to for any real long-range work).

Lately I've been using newer graphite rods- a big old off-the-shelf surf rod, and a 7.5' for anything medium range.

As much as graphite rods have their advantages as far as sensitivity and ability to load easily go, they tend to feel flimsy to me, and overly "bouncy" when working lures or bouncing  sinkers on the bottom.

I have to admit that I have far to go before I can really say I'm used to the feel of the graphite rods, but I do feel that I'll always like fiberglass rods with good backbone better-

What do you guys think are the main advantages/comparisons between fiberglass and graphite? I mainly just feel more secure with glass and with graphite I feel like the rod is going to break even though they cast well and let you feel every little bump on the bottom. (I haven't jumped to braid yet, but I feel a signifigant difference even using mono).

[gottog]

As much as graphite rods have their advantages as far as sensitivity and ability to load easily go, they tend to feel flimsy to me, and overly "bouncy" when working lures or bouncing  sinkers on the bottom.

I have to admit that I have far to go before I can really say I'm used to the feel of the graphite rods, but I do feel that I'll always like fiberglass rods with good backbone better-

"Bouncy" might be the action of the rod.  Generally most graphite rods are stiff.  I have a few custom rods built on Graphite-USA blanks that are very lightweight, super sensitive, yet have a nice bend to them.

There's also composite rods out there that are a mix of glass and graphite.

Braid on a graphite rod can drive you nuts with it's over-sensitivity.  I use em and had a couple that took some getting used to.  My "go-to" rods are basically the all graphite ones.  A few composites in the mix for times were I need a softer tip and more give.

Glass?  To me they're like fishing a wet noodle rod.  Can't use mono any more either...like fishing with a rubber-band for line

Some swear by glass, others love graphite.  Most of it is personal preference.

[vespo]

I could be mistaking a composite for graphite, the rods I'm talking about are actually borrowed, so I haven't spent a whole lot of time on them yet.

[vespo]

It also might be that my old glass rod is just a fairly rigid rod all around. Admittedly I must've been 9 or 10 when I picked it out and didn't really know what I should be looking for other than the fact that it felt comfortable and seemed to be able to handle a decent amount of pull.

[gottog]

A word of warning with graphite rods and braid...no stretch in braid coupled with lightweight, thin-walled, graphite can cause lots of heartbreak...rod breakage too.

Have seen plenty of GLoomis rods go snap when someone sets the hook hard on a snag

High-sticking is also another no-no.