What's The Deal With Weight?

[Preytorien]

I read so many reviews and posts about rods and reels that are lighter than their counterparts. Nowadays, along with product quality is listed the weight (usually in ounces) of the product being marketed.

 

I have to wonder, how much difference does it make? A couple ounces here and there doesn't seem like much, a slice of bread is approximately 1 ounce. That doesn't seem like much to me.

 

Now keep in mind, I'm not a hardcore guy like many on here, who fish all day long. At most my trips are maybe 4-6hrs max. But I never notice fatigue from casting/reeling with any of my rigs. I have spinning and baitcasting setups of all weights and none cause me problems.

 

I could see where a pro, who fishes 350 days a year all day long could probably benefit from something light, but how would that benefit most of us?

 

I'm not trying to be a smart-aleck, I just wondered what the benefits were to an average fisherman.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

IMO it's not as much about being too heavy as it is about sensitivity. For rods, the weight/stiffness ratio is where sensitivity is derived from. An unnecessarily heavy reel mounted can, I suspect, deaden some vibrations and affect balance/feel. A lot of this may be splitting hairs, but that can be said of 90% of the topics we discuss. It all comes down to personal preference at the end of the day.

[Catch and Grease]

Because some people just like light rod & reels... If I had to pick between two combos exactly the same but one weighed less Id pick the lighter one every time.

[mjseverson24]

For techniques such as topwater, jerkbaits, jigs, texas rigs, and really any other where you provide most of the movement and action to the bait from moving the hand that holds the rod instead of the one that cranks the reel you will feel a difference between the heavier and lighter equipment. is it a ton??? eh sometimes it is quite a bit especially in tournaments where you are fishing hard for at least 8 hours, and most likely you did quite a lot of similar fishing recently during the prefishing stage. I would say though for the average recreational angler it probably would make too much of a difference outside of potentially increased sensitivity as DVT said...

 

Mitch

[CarolinaBoy4Life]

It's all based on personal preference. I tend to use my Carbonlite rod's over my ***'s because the weight difference. Is it that big of a difference? Not really but I just naturally reach for the Carbonlite. That can be said with any rod that is light weight and sensitive for me.

[Fishes in trees]

As I've gotten older, lighter rods & reels have become more important because they let me fish longer and give me less elbow pain at the end of the day.  The light weigh is more important to me in my jig/soft plastic rods as opposed to my moving bait rods.  As the years go by and I cycle through more gear, I'm pretty sure I will go lighter in my spinner bait and crank rods if I can.

[bass1980]

If your a one hand caster it does make a difference if your not a huge muscular person.

IMO it's more about pleasure than fatigue. Think about walking a mile with heavy work boots vs a light running shoes. Both will get the job done but one will be much more comfterable. My steel and core reel when paired with a light weight rod feels so comfterable to fish with. However when I'm fishing the slop I use a 7'3 H rod and those reel just doesn't balance well on heavy rods. So lightweight is nice but balance is probably more important.

[smalljaw67]

Back in the day when I got into this deal there really wasn't a rod that was light, not close to what we have today. My first G.Loomis rod was like incredible, up until that rod everything I had was heavy, my Lightning rod was my top of the line and the difference was amazing, it was the first time that I realized what light weight rods did, and that was better sensitity, but more importantly, my arms and wrist no longer ached when you were on a spinnerbait bite that lasted the whole day, all 11 hours. Since that time I've tried to keep my tackle light, when reels starting getting light it was a dream come through, I remember my 2nd generation Revo Premier, that reel on my 6'3" G.Loomis jerkbait rod was incredible, I could fish jerkbaits all day without having any problems it spoiled me. Now I no longer just like it but I need it, after battling cancer, my hands are plagued by neuropathy and nerve pain and light weight set-ups are the only thing that allows me to be able to fish power techniques like spinnerbaits and jerkbaits, I do like my glass cranking rod but that is only used for my larger DT-10, DT-14, DT-16 baits which only come into play a few trips out of the year and those days I feel it for a week after.

[WRB]

20 years ago my rods were either Fenwick Techna AV or lamiglas 7052 with Daiwa TD 103HTSA reels, both balanced perfectly; 4 oz rods with 8 oz reels or 12 oz combo. The only thing that has changed is slightly lighter thin wall rod blanks with light weight reel seats and micro guides, the reels are also slightly lighter; 11 1/2.oz combo.

The marketing of light weight is just that marketing. Comparing a 10 oz rod and 12 reel of 30 year technology to today's technology and you have nearly 50% weight savings, 20 year old technology you have 10% weight savings. Very few bass anglers go from 30 year old rod and reel to today's rod and reel.

Now if you talk about 7'11" swimbait or 8' flipping rods, yes there is good weight savings today verses 20 years ago. The average rod length today is 7', 20 years ago 6'6"" or 4" longer rods

The important factor to preventing fatigue is balance, the rod with reel should balance evenly at the front of the reel, without a lure tied on.

Tom

[Daniel Lin]

There's that hiking saying: ounces lead to pounds, and pounds lead to pain. Seems somewhat applicable here.

 

I'm also reminded of a saying from one of my past lives as a bike mechanic, courtesy of Keith Bontrager: Strong. Light. Cheap. Pick two.

 

I decided to go with the strong and cheap route..... I'm considering the extra weight as strength and endurance training for whenever I can really start to afford lighter rods and reels to fill out my arsenal. It's kinda like how, as a news photographer, I spend most of my day encumbered with about 15 or more pounds of equipment. But at the end of the day, I'm free as a bird. And my girlfriend wonders why I'm always leaving her behind when we go grocery shopping after I get back from fishing after work.

[SirSnookalot]

I don't think weight savings is over rated but where it matters may be the type of fishing one is doing.  Using spinning and 14-20 oz reel on a mh or hvy rod is not tiring at all, using it for bass would kill you.  I do appreciate some of my lighter set ups for inshore and for bass absolutely.   Bass fishing the casting has to be more precise, the better balanced combo aids in that.  

[Ozark_Basser]

I personally think a lot of it is marketing.  It matters a little, but not as much as companies would lead you to believe.  I don't buy anything according to weight but how it feels in my hand.  As far a reels, I focus more on ergonomics and what kind of brakes it has.  I love the way a revo feels in my hands, and I love magnetic breaks as opposed to centrifugal brakes.  As far as rods, I think sensitivity is getting way too played out.  I never have a problem distinguishing between different types of structure and especially bites as long as the rod is graphite, even with rods that aren't as well balanced as some others.  

 

Don't get me wrong, I love spending some money on expensive fishing equipment, but you don't have to.