Balance Rod And Reel?

[Bk4]

What determine that your rod and reel is balance with each other?

[mjseverson24]

well if you are just wanting to know about balance it depends on what kind of presentation you are using the combo for. typically i set them up in one of two ways. the first is a little bit rear heavy or tip up type presentation or a very close to balanced approach or even partly tip heavy approach. for finesse presentations and jigs/ t-rigs a tip up seems to work well, and for most horizontal baits i use the tip heavy approach or perfectly balanced. the way to tell if it is balanced is to put the real and line on the rod then find where you can balance the rod on one finger. if it is at the reel or behind then it is tip up balanced, it it is ahead of the real by a little bit then it is a tip heavy balanced. they both are good setups just for different presentations. 

 

Mitch

[Fishes in trees]

Balance means different things to different people.  The prior post defined it for the most part.  I have had buds comment on some of my rods feeling  "out of balance" to them.  A couple of them were rods I really liked and caught fish on.   

 

Anyway, the only balance question you need to answer is "Does it feel ok to you?   Can you execute the casts you want to?"

[skeletor6]

Balance depends on the rod, reel, and how you grip the rod/reel combination. A balanced combination will feel lighter than one that is out of balance. When deciding if a combo is balanced it is fairly simple. While holding horizontal, does the tip feel heavy and like it wants to pulll down? Does it feel butt heavy and that the reel tip floats up? Or is it completely level in your hand? Usually, perfect balance is not achieved, but the main advantage to a balanced rod is that it will feel lighter and cause less fatigue.

 

Perception of balance usually changes because of how an individual grips the reel. Hand placement can change the fulcrum, or the point of balance and grip pressure can determine the degree to which one feels a rod is out of balance. This is usually why people will say how the rod/reel combo feels to you in your hands.

[JellyMan]

My opinion is how it feels in the hand along with the technique you are using. When you fish and say "Man this feels so good", you know you are balanced.

[SirSnookalot]

I agree about where you grip the rod affecting the balance, I grip my spinning gear on the foregrip and it's more comfortable to me.  I'm only somewhat concerned not overly concerned about balance, using different lure weights on the same combo is going to change the feel.  I'm so used to using anywhere from say 1/2 oz to an ounce on mh rod I don't really pay much atttention to any difference.

[Sam]

Do the following with your baitcasters to balance the rod, reel, line and bait:

 

1.  Read rod's specifications and stay within them.
2.  Set the magnets on your baitcaster into an X pattern.

3.  Rig baitcaster with bait and weight of your choice.

4.  Set your bail.

5.  Point rod tip to 11 o'clock and release reel's spool.

6.  Goal is to have bait fall slowly to the floor and spool stop when bait hits the floor.

7.  Do not drop bait on carpet. Hooks will get caught in carpet.

8.  Adjust spool tension knob to have bait fall slowly to the floor so that the spool stops when bait hits the floor.

9.  Make final adjustments to tension knob and drag by repeating the process.

10. Go out side and cast the setup to make sure reel stops when bait hits the ground.

11. Do this everytime you change baits on your baitcaster even if you are in a boat or just bank fishing.

12. To stop backlashes until you get familiar with the balancing act throw bait as far as you can; pull two arm lengths of line off spool; place Scotch tape over remaining line on the spool. You may want to use two pieces of tape to cover the spool from left to right.

 

You may want less or more tension on your spool for each individual presentation.

 

Your rod and reel are now balanced and ready to fish.

 

Always remember to view the rod's specifications and stay within them. You can go a little less on the line test if you need to but please don't go over the maximum paramaters.

 

If you need to have your rod and reel placed on a pendilum and balance then you need to consider purchasing a rod that has screw in weights in the handle. The majority of rods do not have these screw in weights and you should have no problem with weight balance depending on the weight of the reel.

 

Hope this answers your question. If not, please eleborate in more detail.

[.RM.]

Do the following with your baitcasters to balance the rod, reel, line and bait:

 

1.  Read rod's specifications and stay within them.

2.  Set the magnets on your baitcaster into an X pattern.

3.  Rig baitcaster with bait and weight of your choice.

4.  Set your bail.

5.  Point rod tip to 11 o'clock and release reel's spool.

6.  Goal is to have bait fall slowly to the floor and spool stop when bait hits the floor.

7.  Do not drop bait on carpet. Hooks will get caught in carpet.

8.  Adjust spool tension knob to have bait fall slowly to the floor so that the spool stops when bait hits the floor.

9.  Make final adjustments to tension knob and drag by repeating the process.

10. Go out side and cast the setup to make sure reel stops when bait hits the ground.

11. Do this everytime you change baits on your baitcaster even if you are in a boat or just bank fishing.

12. To stop backlashes until you get familiar with the balancing act throw bait as far as you can; pull two arm lengths of line off spool; place Scotch tape over remaining line on the spool. You may want to use two pieces of tape to cover the spool from left to right.

 

You may want less or more tension on your spool for each individual presentation.

 

Your rod and reel are now balanced and ready to fish.

 

Always remember to view the rod's specifications and stay within them. You can go a little less on the line test if you need to but please don't go over the maximum paramaters.

 

If you need to have your rod and reel placed on a pendilum and balance then you need to consider purchasing a rod that has screw in weights in the handle. The majority of rods do not have these screw in weights and you should have no problem with weight balance depending on the weight of the reel.

 

Hope this answers your question. If not, please eleborate in more detail.

X2+   Total Balance...