Balancing rod and reel

[pillcaster]

interesting link http://www.flyfishohio.com/a_question_of_balance.htm

According to this info, the 4 5/8 ounce 6wt power matrix I bought would need a reel weighing 7.24 ounces or so....
Ive got a made in usa pfluger metalist 1494da on it now, it weighs with line right at 6 ounces, and the outfit is a little tip heavy....
But 7 and a quarter ounces seems heavy to me, most reels that heavy are 8 wts.....
Just wondering what the FAOL brain trust thinks

[pspaint]

I have a preference for the heavier reels to begin with. I think they lessen the swing weight of the rod. 4 5/8 is pretty heavy for a six weight (unless it's 10' or more). The weight of that rod would put it up there with the average eight weight or heavier rod, so a 7-ish ounce reel is what it would probably take to balance it. I have an old 10' 6wt. T3 rod that weighs 5 ounces and I need at least a 7.5 ounce reel or heavier to balance it. It's less critical if you're using a small stream rod but when you start getting into heavier/longer rods, it makes a huge difference.

[pillcaster]

ty psp, its 9' salt w/ the "fighting butt"....good info ty

[Gemrod]

I always balance my rod and reel. But not where the article says. I want my rod to balance where my high sign finger is on the rod. Sorta the middle of my grip While I am holding the rod, and open up my grip so that the only finger touching the rod is my middle finger....THAT is where I want the rod to balance when a reel with backing and line is on it. Static weight that is. Of course it changes when you cast out line. But it is just where I balance my rod outfits.

I use two tv tables and a thin metal bookend. One tv table to put the book end on and the other tv table at the end of the rod...just to support the tip of the rod while arranging stuff and weighing it.

I took a plastic soda pop bottle, cut it in half and punched a hole in each side of one half with a single hole paper punch. Tied each end of about a 6-7" string into the home made cup holes.

i actually mount a reel that is supposed to fit the rod and mark the cenber of the reel foot...on the reel seat with blue painters tape. Then remove the reel.

Then pick up the rod fully assembled without a reel...and false cast a couple of times and find out where "I" like to HOLD the rod in my hand. (because I am going to be the one using the rod) I mark the spot where the top part of my high sign finger is touching the underside of the rod grip. When I turn the grip up slightly toward my face to look at my palm.....the top of the middle finger (at the fingertip) on the grip....is where I like to mark it.

Hang the home made plastic cup...I use the bottle cap end....not the bottom half of the container. I dunno...I just seem to like to funnel the weight down toward the bottle cap, instead of it being spread all around the flat bottom of the cup. Anywhooo.....I hang the cup, partially filled with some coins, on the mark I made on the reel seat.

Now I place the rod on the book end....again it is a very thin metal book end....I place the rod on the book end where I made the mark that my middle finger touches the grip...or say 3/16" up from the center of the fingernail. I like to make the mark where the top of my middle finger is touching the grip........the top edge of the finger.

I then fill the cup with coins till I get balance. Weigh the cup on a digital scale...which I got from harbor freight. I subtract 2 ounces for the lack of a line and backing being on the rod. So....if the rod balances at 6 ounces.....I figure I need a 4 ounce reel on that rod to make me happy. Doesn't have to be exact...probably within 1.5 ounces satisfies me. More than that and I get too tip heavy or reel heavy, and the rod is tiring to fish with for a day.

'tis just fyi
That's how I do my rods. I am sure there are a dozen ways to do it....and a dozen who say don't do it, and a dozen who say do it.
Just what I do...for iffen it heps anyone.

[pspaint]

ty psp, its 9' salt w/ the "fighting butt"....good info ty

Ty, that's still pretty heavy for a 6 wt., saltwater rod. Most of the ones i've seen are under 4 ounces. Orvis had a tendency to say their rods were extremely light (before the Helios) but they were actually kind of heavy. They're nice rods, just a bit heavier.

Gemrod... Wow! I usually just put the reel on the rod and say "that feels about right". lol.

[tailingloop]

I don't worry too much about how a rod/reel balances in my hand statically. It feels different once I start casting and varying the amount of line outside the rod tip. It is important that it is comfortable casting. I find that many of my rods it the 5-6 wt range are comfortable to fish with a wide range of reels on them, which when loaded with line may vary by 3 to 4 ounces in total weight.

[DarrinG]

I dont worry about how a rod/reel balances in my hand either. What I do worry about is how the combo actually "feels" in my hand when line is out the rod tip and I'm casting it at the normal distances I fish that particular rod/reel. Once you get line out the tip guide, all the balancing stuff with the line all spooled on the reel, sitting in your house, goes out the window, somewhat. I have one rod that actually feels better with a heavier reel on it at my normal casting distance. A lighter reel on it tires my hand/wrist/arm faster (swing weight) as it's then quite tip-heavy. I also have another rod that likes a light reel for my tastes, lightest reel I have.
I gotta get out and fish a rod/reel combo a little to really know what that particular rod/reel combo needs.

[Bobinmich]

Turns out this is one of those personal preference things for which there is no universal "right" answer. It has been discussed many times on this board and on others. In fact, JC himself, recommended you always try casting without a reel at all before you committed yourself to an opinion.

Personal casting (or carring and casting) technique has as much to do with it as anything. Distance casters would just as soon have no reel at all except it is required by the rules. Reason? You have to use energy to move the reel and that takes away from what ultamately ends up in the line. Some recreational casters, especially on smaller streams, use a lot of wrist and like a heavier reel to counter balance the rod tip (since they are rotating a lot at the wrist). People who have stronger wrists and tend to keep the wrist straight have a lower instant center of rotation (down at the elbow or lower) and prefer lighter reels.

So do whatever suits you. There is no universal correct method. I prefer the lightest reel possible. That is less tiring for me, especially on big water or salt. I like boo on little streams with a little tiny reel. I never worry about balance.

Bob