FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

A fishing rod is a long, thin rod used by anglers to catch fish by manipulating a line ending in a hook (formerly known as an angle, hence the term “angling”). At its most basic form, a fishing rod is a straight rigid stick/pole with a line attached to one end (as seen in traditional Tenkara fishing); however, modern rods are usually elastic and generally have the line stored in a reel mounted at the rod handle, which is hand-cranked and controls the line retrieval, as well as numerous line-restricting rings (also known as line guides) that distribute bending stress along the rod and help dampening down/prevent line whipping and entanglement. To better entice fish, baits or lures are dressed onto the one or more hooks attached to the line, and a bite indicator is used, some of which (e.g. quiver tip) might be incorporated as part of the rod itself.

Fishing rods act as an extended lever and allow the angler to amplify line movements while luring and pulling the fish. It also enhances casting distance by increasing the launch speed of the terminal tackles (the hook, bait/lure, and other co-launched attachments such as float and sinker/feeder), as a longer swing radius (compared to that of a human arm) corresponds to greater arc speed at the tip under the same angular velocity. The length of fishing rods usually vary between 0.6 m (2 ft) and 4.6 m (15 ft) depending on the style of angling, while the Guinness World Record is 22.45 m (73 ft 7.9 in).

Traditional fishing rods are made from a single piece of hardwood (such as ash and hickory) or bamboo; while contemporary rods are usually made from alloys (such as aluminium) or more often high-tensile synthetic composites (such as fibreglass or carbon fiber), and may come in multi-piece or telescoping forms that are more portable and storage-friendly. Most fishing rods are tapered towards the tip to reduce the gravitational leverage front of the handle that an angler has to overcome when lifting the rod. Many modern rods are also constructed from hollow blanks to increase the specific strength of the design and reduce the overall weight.

In contrast with fishing nets and traps, which are usually used in subsistence and commercial fishing, angling with rods is a far less efficient method of catching fish, and is used more often in recreational fishing and competitive casting, which focus less on the yield and more on the experience. Fishing rods also come in many sizes, actions, hardness and configurations depending on whether they are to be used for small, medium or large fish or in different fresh or saltwater situations. Various types of fishing rods are designed for specific subtypes of angling, for instance: spin fishing rods (both spinning and baitcasting rods) are optimized for frequent, repeated casting, and are usually lighter and have faster action; fly rods are designed to better sling heavy lines and ultralight artificial flies, and are usually much more flexible; surfcasting rods are designed to cast baits or lures out over far distances, and tends to be quite long; ice fishing rods are designed to fish through small drilled holes in ice covered lakes and usually very short; and trolling rods are designed to drag heavy bait or lures through water while boat fishing, and usually have greater ultimate tensile strength due to the large sizes of the target fish.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

At 5:12 A.M. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, an earthquake woke up residents of San Francisco and tossed them from their beds. Little did they know that it was going to be one of the deadliest natural disasters in the history of the United States. Read our article, Remembering the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.””

Question of the Day

What is a cumulo-pileus cloud? How rare is it, and under what conditions is it likely to be formed? Also any information on other rare cloud formations and conditions would be helpful.

A cumulus cloud is a detached, fair-weather cloud with a relatively flat base and dome-shaped top. A pileus cloud is a smooth-cap cloud that forms in a stable layer above a cumulus cloud when air is temporarily forced upwards by the vigorous thermal below. Its shape explains its name, which is Latin for a close-fitting cap used by ancient Romans. We don’t think it would be considered a rare formation. There are so many cloud variations that it is impossible to describe them all, let alone their rarity or lack thereof, but two come to mind. First are nacreous clouds, often called “mother of pearl” clouds because of their iridescence. They form in the stratosphere and are visible at night when illuminated against a dark sky by the Sun from below the horizon. They are frequently sighted in Antarctica and were first described in 1911 by a member of Scott’s last expedition. Second are noctilucent clouds, which are seen in latitudes higher than 50 degrees, usually about midnight. They look rather like cirrostratus clouds with a blue or yellow tinge. They appear to form at altitudes of about 50 miles and travel northeast at 100 to 300 mph, but it is not yet known if they consist of ice crystals or dust.

Advice of the Day

Time flies whether you’re having fun or not.

Home Hint of the Day

If your wood-splitting maul handle is continually getting chewed up when you miss your target, take a 6-inch piece of 1-1/2-inch black plastic water pipe, slit one side, slip it over the handle up by the head and clamp it down with a couple of hose clamps.

Word of the Day

Rostrum

The beak or head of a ship. Beaklike projection of the anterior part of the head of certain insects such as e.g. weevils. The long, projecting nose of a beast, as of swine.

Puzzle of the Day

What kind of ears do engines have?

Engineers!

Died

• Edouard Albert Roche (astronomer) – 1883
• Albert Einstein (physicist) – 1955
• Thor Heyerdahl (Norwegian adventurer and author) – 2002
• Dick Clark (entertainer) – 2012

Born

• James Woods (actor) – 1947
• Eric Roberts (actor) – 1956
• Conan O’Brien (talk show host) – 1963
• Melissa Joan Hart (actress) – 1976
• Miguel Cabrera (baseball player) – 1983
• America Ferrera (actress) – 1984

Events

• San Francisco earthquake– 1906
• Beatification ceremony for Joan of Arc held in Rome, Italy– 1909
• Old Yankee stadium opened in N.Y.C.– 1923
• First U.S. public laundromat opened, Fort Worth, Texas– 1934
• League of Nations dissolved– 1946
• Actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco in a civil ceremony– 1956
• Lighted fishing pole patented– 1978
• The longest professional baseball game started on this night. The 33-inning game spanned 3 days, beginning on April 18, extending into April 19, and ending on June 23. The Pawtucket (Rhode Island) Red Sox beat the Rochester (New York) Red Wings 3-2. Cal Ripken was playing 3rd base for the Red Wings– 1981
• Beauty and the Beast was the first Disney animated film to become a Broadway musical. It opened on this day at New York’s Palace Theater– 1994
• Cardinals gathered in Rome to select Pope John Paul II’s successor– 2005
• Catherine Ndereba, of Kenya, won the 109th Boston Marathon for an unprecedented fourth time in the women’s division– 2005
• Aaron Caissie set a world record by balancing 17 spoons on his face– 2009

Weather

• The temperature soared to 90 degrees F in New York City– 1896
• Logan Airport in Boston reported a temperature of 2 degrees F– 1964
• The Red River in the Fargo-Moorhead region of North Dakota rose more than 20 feet above flood stage.– 1997
• The temperature reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit in Del Rio, Texas– 2006

COURTESY www.almanac.com