How can you tell if your fly fishing outfit is well balanced?
An outfit only needs to be reasonably balanced in hand. As soon as you take line from the reel and put it out the guides, it all changes. The longer the cast the lighter the reel, the heavier the load. etc.
Do you mean balanced in the hand, or the line weight properly matching the rod? “Balanced” refers to either one.
Chuck
An outfit only needs to be reasonably balanced in hand. As soon as you take line from the reel and put it out the guides, it all changes. The longer the cast the lighter the reel, the heavier the load. e
Good question…and answer…seems to me within reasonable parameters it changes…so do we tend to over emphasize it???
So does that mean a bit heavier reel to compensate for the loss of line weight would be in order. You would want the best balance to happen when the line is mostly out. Therefore an out of balance combo at the start would become a balanced combo during a long cast. hmmmmm I bet it doesn’t really matter.
Dear Paul,
If you are walking down the trail to the river with your rod held loosely in your hand by the grip and the tip keeps stabbing into the ground you need a heavier reel.
That’s about it dude.
Best Wishes,
Avalon 
Avalon , I think you nailed it. However I always carry my rod with the tip behind me. But I like your logic just the same. :lol:
If the rod says 6 and your line says 6 and your reel is just about full it’s balanced. I had a friend who put a very large automatic reel on a delightful Leonard cane rod. He claimed it was balanced, I suggested that he was not. If you walk a trail with your rod pointed in front, hook your dry fly into the ‘keeper.’ This will give you a balancing point to hold onto. You will, however, find this causes sharp pains to sections of your first fingers. This is the result of some idiot putting a ‘hook keeper’ at this exact point and the hook is stuck in your finger. Should you trip at this time you will impale yourself even further/farther (they both apply) and bust the living crap out of your rod as well.
If you decide to, instead, turn your rod to the rear as you tread the trails, your finger will still be securely affixed to your rod but if you stumble you will only destroy your pride, which is considerably of less value than a decent casting weapon.
Agree, 6wt. rod, 6wt. line, but what about like a One Ounce 4wt.? (Seeings how that is Orvis, I will stick with Orvis for example) The Mid-Arbor II is a bit heavy and the Battenkill LA II is kinda big, so that leaves the BBS or the CFO. I think you just have to go with what feels right and definitly, make sure all #'s match.
Dear Gnu Bee,
I tried the rod tip behind me deal, but I like to walk and whistle and sing along the stream and I could never be sure of where the tip was when I did that. :lol:
Knock on wood, but I haven’t damaged a rod by leading with the tip. I’ll bet I saved some waders though. Knowing the rod tip was entering an impenetrable thicket I learned to change course.
Best Wishes,
Avalon
I always TRY and have an outfit as closely balanced as possible using the point where the grip meets the blank as the fulcrum. This is done with the rod STRUNG UP.
BUT, when you fish bamboo rods in excess of 7 foot, it isn’t always possible unless you use heavier reels which are getting harder and harder to find unless you go the designer route. Boy how I miss those old Hardy Uniqua’s I used in the past! As a result I am used to a tip heavy feel on my set-ups.
I really didn’t think balance made much of a difference to me in the fatigue arena until I bought a baitcasting rod that had adjustable weights for the butt of the rod to balance it. I am impressed what a difference a balanced rig like this has on my wrist/shoulder/forearm at the end of a long day of chucking lures. The fly casting motion is totally different so I can’t make a comparison but I have to believe that what ever balance is for you; if you have it in a fly fishing outfit your body will feel better after a long day fishing.
Unless of course if you carry your rod with the tip forward, fall and bust off enough length to unbalance the outfit. 
I am not sure there is a “cut in stone” answer to your question except for you to use what is comfortable for you. Many years ago, when I fished the bass tournament trail, all my casting rods had the adjustable weights that you installed on the end of the handle of the rod to help balance the outfit. Since I fished a lot of jigs/grubs in deep water I weighted all my rods so the tip was light and the handle was heavier. This made the rod, when held, tip up in front during fishing which gave me more “feel” on what my lure was doing. As long as the line had contact with the tip guide on a tight line, it transferred more “feel” to my hand. Now that I no longer fish tournaments and only fly fish, I have my fly rods set up the same with the handle heavier so the tip would transfer “feel” to my hand. This works for me because I nymph/streamer/wet fly fish 99% of the time and I need and am use to fishing by “feel”. Just my way, you find your way and go fish.
“Stopping a fly rod is what makes the line go.” The heavier the rod/reel/line is, the more work it takes to stop it. The longer the rod is the harder it is to stop also. A perfect example was the tragic design called ‘Trident.’ It was purposely made tip heavy. They even boasted of a slug or such was up there. A boon for ‘tennis-elbow’ surgeons. The first group of field testers reported they all had sore arms, but cast until their arms nearly fell off. It sold well to newby’s as the tip continued forward bringing the line with it.
They later moved the weight to the handle and tried to claim how great that was. Hey, if tip heavy is so great, how can butt heavy be so great. It was a classic in advertising, but they pulled it off. Some still swear by the rods.
When casting, if you can feel the tip whipping forward or not feel it at all, it is a rod I would not care for. When the overall balance seems to make the rod ‘disappear’ and your attention is on the casting or the fishing, then you have a comfortable outfit. Very few pass this test.
Here is a response from a fellow that I know to someone who asked the same question. He wrote this years ago. Something to think about.
With all due respect to your efforts in trying to help others, the “balance” you have achieved, in my opinion, is nothing more than an illusion. The moment you begin extending line past the tip of the rod, that so-called balance point changes. And it continues to change with each inch of line that is extended. Consider what the “balance point” of a rod would be with 30 or 40 feet of line extended past the tip. In reality, there is no such thing as a “balance point” or a “fulcrum point” on a fly rod. The rod is a flexible lever designed to enhance and magnify the movement and power of the caster’s arm, and was never intended to be balanced. In fact, the act of balancing a lever actually negates the mechanical advantage it was designed to achieve.
Added weight to a rod, whether it be above or below the grip simply makes it more difficult for the caster to overcome inertia and wind resistance, the two negative elements that limit the caster’s ability to increase the tip speed of the rod and his ability to swing it with less effort. And, as is well known, the more tip speed a caster can obtain, the further he will be able to cast, with less effort.
For years, rod manufacturers have been using the best engineering techniques available to shave mere fractions-of-ounces off top quality rods and reels, because they know that the lighter outfits not only make more efficient casting tools, but they make them easier to use, as well. My advice to all who are considering drastic tactics to increase the weight of their outfits, is to pass-off such theories as nothing more than efficiency- and distance-robbing procedures, which do nothing more than degrade the cast that they are trying to perfect.
And lastly, please know that I mean no disrespect with my idea. I offer it only as my opinion for what it may be worth to others, some of which I understand and appreciate will have a differing viewpoint. I guess that’s why they make reels of varying weights.
Kind regards,
A fellow I know, Emerger, wrote this. I do not disagree.
Have a great day,
Alaska Dean
Hi Guys,
Didn’t expect to get all these answers, opinions, theories, etc. Thanks to all of you.
Hadn’t been in this site for awhile and had forgotten how awesome it is.
Paul
I’ve found at least for me that the balance between the weight of the reel on the rod does make a difference to me. I like a balance point somewhere towards the front of the cork grip. To me that is just what “feels” right.
In fact as reels have gotten lighter and lighter - it’s harder to find a reel to balance out the older and the less expensive rods out there. I’m convinced that is at least part of the reason that the high end rods feel better to some. When you put a high end reel on it (a $600 rod) - it balances out. But anput a high end light reel on a lower end but quality rod -d the balance is off and it feels tip heavy. But put a heavier reel on the rod and it balances out and just feels right.
Nothing scientific here. Just my observations and opinions.
Greg