A fishing rod's main function is to bend and deliver a certain resistance or power: While casting, the rod acts as a catapult: by moving the rod forward, the inertia of the mass of the bait or lure and rod itself, will load (bend) the rod and launch the lure or bait. When a bite is registered and the fisherman strikes, the bending of the rod will dampen the strike to avoid line failure. When fighting a fish, the bending of the rod not only enables the fisherman to keep the line under tension, but the bending of the rod will also keep the fish under a constant pressure which will exhaust the fish and enable the fisherman to catch the fish. Also the bending lessens the effect of the leverage by shortening the distance of the lever (the rod).
