Balanced Tackle

It has ocurred to me of late that when advising new comers to purchasing rod and reels, little is said about balancing the rod. I purchased an 8'-0" 6 wt bamboo rod a while back and when i fished with it the first time, I discovered that I got very tired of casting because the rod was top heavy. I later switched to a heavier weight reel and that made a world of difference. I recall seeing books mentioning this aspect but few exist today. I suppose with reels made from bar stock material attached to graphite rods that the opposite is true, i.e., many rods are butt end heavy. Any thoughts and experiences to share?

fritz
your right about not a lot is said about balanceing the rod with the reel and line. I just take it for granted that people understand that part of the out fit, I have seen a lot of combos that are sold and found that the rod and reel are balanced. I try to make sure all my rod are balance with the reel in use make for an easyer day on the water. All of the good fly shops, at least the ones I visited do the same thing and make sure that the rod and reel sold balance. I do thing thou more should be said on balanceing the rod and reel
Ghost

Interesting thread!

If you have one handy take a look at the center "Hub" on a Medalist reel. It is removable so weight in the form of lead shot can be added to balance the reel and rod. So I'm of the opinion that this has been a concern for a lot of years.

A top heavy rod can be a very tiring thing to fish all day and I admire those that fish bamboo. I love to fish them but not all day!

Hi Fritz,

I have a 6 wt with a mid weight reel on it that is tip heavy. I have wanted to try a heavier reel on it, but have not gotten around to it yet. It is not terribly tip heavy, but enough that I do not like using the rod as it currently set up.

A second six weight, like the other 6 wt a 9' travel rod but somewhat lighter, ballances nicely with the reel that lets the other rod be tip heavy. The difference in fishing the two rods is night and day.

Regards,

Gandolf

Sorta makes you wonder about Tenkara with no reel.

Any complaints from the Tenkara crowd?

I agree.....especially with the faster action rods. We all chase the latest machined alum reel that is lighter and lighter. But personally, too light of a reel on a fast action rod makes it feel very tip heavy. It's amazing sometimes just how much affect even an ounce of weight in a reel will change your setup.

Custom rod builders are very aware of this and some go so far as to find out which reel will be used with the rod so they can choose reelseat type and weight to 'even out' the feel of the rod in hand. Or if a rod comes out way tip heavy with customers choice O' furniture, heavy metal can be added to the butt during the build to help lighten the 'tip feel'. Tip light isn't as easy to cast as tip heavy but tip light or tip even sure is easier to carry around and cast all day.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose