There are two main tasks before a nod in mormyshing:
- - creating the right game;
- - high information content and sensitivity to bites.
Only a nod with an ideal load can cope with this task. A sign of a classically correct load is a bend in the form of an arc with an angle of 90 degrees when the nod is in a vertical position. Obviously, the bend of the nod must correspond to the weight of the jig. And the universal nod from the store cannot provide such a bend. You need to select a nod for the specific weight of the jig. Select ideal nods for scales 0.12; 0.15; 0.18; 0.2; 0.26; 0.32 grams in the store is simply impossible. The maximum that can be achieved is to select three nods for this entire range. For some scales they will be underloaded, for others they will be overloaded.It is to create the perfect balance that athletes nod manually.
We nod
To make a sports nod yourself you will need special material. The best material is considered to be lavsan. You can buy it in the form of a film, or you can find a product from which you can cut a strip.
A classic example of a suitable Dacron is X-ray film. You can also use pads from a computer keyboard or old floppy disks. Personally, I prefer X-ray film. To begin, we cut off a strip of the required width from the general fabric. I use nods 6-7 cm long, this is the average length range. There are athletes who use long nods of 8-9 cm, and on the contrary, there are short nods of 4-5 cm. This is a matter of taste. For a nod you need a trapezoidal strip with a lower base of 4-5 mm and an upper base of 1.5-2 mm. Conventional X-ray film is 0.16 mm thick and requires grinding.
Stitching should not be done evenly, but by creating a taper in thickness. It is convenient to grind off the film with a scalpel; if you don’t have one, then use regular sandpaper. A utility knife is not suitable for such work. The nod is ground off on both sides. After preliminary preparation of the nod, a hole for the fishing line should be made at its end. It is not recommended to make a hole with a hot needle, as it strongly melts the film. You can make a hole without heating, and grind off the edges with sandpaper.
When hanging the jig, you need to achieve the perfect bend. The bulk of the work is done. The tip of the nod is colored with a permanent marker so that the bite is visible. If the fishing rod has a factory connector, then a manufactured nod is inserted into it. If there is no connector, you should make it yourself.To do this, you will need a wire braid or cambric, which will serve as the base of the connector, and a heat-shrinkable tube, which will serve as the outer sheath. The cambric is selected so that its diameter coincides with the diameter of the whip. A lavsan blank is glued onto the cambric, which is fixed on top with a heat-shrinkable tube. All that remains is to make a hole for the fishing line to pass through and the sports nod is ready.
The photo shows the load of a jig nod made using the described technology, 0.2 grams.
