I'll chime in with Bill on this one.

'Balance' as associated with ANY fly rod is always purely subjective. It's only personal preference, and what 'feels right' to you won't neccessarily 'feel right' to someone else.

Dudley is absolutley corrrect, this should have been in with the 'myth' thing.

For me, the lightest possible overall set up is the aim, but it's NEVER critical with todays fly rods and reels. I'll not spend an extrra $25 to save a 1/2 or even one full ounce. Don't matter that much.

Don't sweat the weight of the reel, try the ones you can afford, and pick the one that feels best to you.

And, while 'balance' may be an 'accepted fact' there are lots of those out there. Many folks once actually believed the earth was flat, others thought it was carried around on the back of a turtle. Same kind of thing.

Good Luck!

Buddy