Balancing Rods

[cottny27]

How many of you have used a rod that is balanced?  Its addicting.  I got this cheaper rod to beat up at the strip pits this year.  I drilled out a 7/8" hole in the butt and dropped in 2 ounces of weight then capped it off the best I could.  I believe the weights were from a BPS kit.  I cannot fish with a rod anymore that is not balanced.  A heavy tip drives me crazy.

 

Any of you have this same o.c.d problem??

[The Next KVD]

Yes I do!  I build my rods now so I add weight before putting the butt cap on but with production rods I would go and buy those rubber caps that go on the end of folding chair and table legs.  Put a few quarters in there and the rod will balance out nicely.  The total rod weight may weigh more than it use to be but it feels lighter because I balance mine to the middle of the reel seat.

[A-Jay]

I've played around with the rod balancing over the years.

 

For bottom contact & drop shot applications,  I prefer a neutrally balanced (or even tip up) posture.

 

For cranking, top water and most all moving baits, a neutral or tip down "balance" works for me.

 

Wildly out of balance (tip up or down) feels unnatural and if I can't over come it - the stick is headed to the BR Flea Market.

 

A-Jay

[cottny27]

When you say "a few" you really mean 6-8?  I'm noticing on 6'6" to 6'9" split grip M/MH rods usually around 2oz will do the job.  

[Tywithay]

When you say "a few" you really mean 6-8?  I'm noticing on 6'6" to 6'9" split grip M/MH rods usually around 2oz will do the job.  

That's far too much weight to add, in my opinion. If I need to add more than a 1/2oz to the butt to balance it, with a reel attached, then I wouldn't bother purchasing the rod.

[Mike L]

That's far too much weight to add, in my opinion. If I need to add more than a 1/2oz to the butt to balance it, with a reel attached, then I wouldn't bother purchasing the rod.

Agree,

2 oz is a huge amount of weight to add to get a rod, any rod, to balance.

There really has to be something special about it.

And if there were I'd probably just put it somewhere and not use it.

That's one reason why I won't buy a rod I'm interested in site unseen or unfelt (is that a word?)

Mike

[cottny27]

Tywithay, I don't know of a single baitcast rod that will balance with a 1/2oz at the reel seat. A neutral balance..unless the rod mfg has weights already added.

[cottny27]

I just did a Quantum Smoke 6'9" MH/F rod that only weighs 3.4oz.  It took 2ozs in the butt to balance.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

To each his own. 90% or better of the topics we discuss boil down to personal preference at some point. On custom builds, I definitely consider balance during the design and using an appropriate grip length and material, light weight guides and of course well designed blanks the builds feel and fish exceptionally well. Of course the client gets whatever they want, but only on very rare occasions do I add any extra weight. We pay premium prices for lightweight, sensitive blanks and can't see weighing them down unnecessarily. 

[Tywithay]

Tywithay, I don't know of a single baitcast rod that will balance with a 1/2oz at the reel seat. A neutral balance..unless the rod mfg has weights already added.

I have a few rods that have no weight, and still balance right under the nose of the reel, even with 5.5oz reels. The blanks taper has a lot to do with it, as do lightweight components, and a proper grip length. I do not like split grips, because they don't often balance well and have no real benefit otherwise.

[Lucky Craft Man]

I'm pretty fanatical about balancing my rods (I sent you a link to a post I made discussing how I like to balance my fishing rods).  Even though more weight is added overall, there is nothing like a rod "floating" in your hand that is balanced just right.

[cottny27]

DVT, what kind of overall weight can you get on a custom built rod?  Are we talking under the 3oz mark?  I am talking about balancing at the reel seat and not on custom builds mainly Abu's & Quantums right off the shelf.

[cottny27]

I should have specified more.  I'm talking about split grip rods in general.  Tywithay, what brand of rods are you using that balance?

[cottny27]

Lucky, I agree 100%.  Fishing bottom contact lures you are dragging the lure only and not the weight of the rod with it.  Bite detection is sooo much better.  Fatigue is way less...casting is much easier.  

[Tywithay]

I should have specified more.  I'm talking about split grip rods in general.  Tywithay, what brand of rods are you using that balance?

Edge, Kistler, Megabass, and ALX.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I've had a couple Med power Hi-mod spinning rods just shy of 7' come in at 2.9 oz. Lighter power rods can be well under that.  Reel size, shape and weight combined with how you grip the reel all affects the feel too. For example, I almost never fully palm a casting reel, so I get away with a hair longer butt. Conversely, I grip a spinning reel with the stem between my pinky and ring finger, sometimes completely in front of the reel so I like a shorter butt on those. No rod would balance with the reel seat as the fulcrum point unless the butt was rediculously long. To me, "Balance" is matching a rod, reel, line and bait to all work together to make the best possible  presentation, not to simply teeter on an arbitrary point like a see-saw.

 

Accomplishing the feel you want is more challenging with production rods like you said though. I can see a cap with a washer or 2 But, 2 oz is a lot of weight percentage wise.

 

Again, there is no right or wrong here, all personal preference. I'll even add a piece to the equation: Lots of guys talk about how a casting rod balances better with one reel than another. I have trouble understanding how this is when the reel sits right where you hold the rod (fulcrum point).     

[Lucky Craft Man]

 

Again, there is no right or wrong here, all personal preference. I'll even add a piece to the equation: Lots of guys talk about how a casting rod balances better with one reel than another. I have trouble understanding how this is when the reel sits right where you hold the rod (fulcrum point).     

 

In my case, since I palm the reel, I like to balance the rod and reel just behind the top screwdown nut where my middle finger would be positioned.  So for me, the weight of the reel would factor into how my rod balances, because my fulcrum point is just in front of the reel.  For guys who like to have the fulcrum point right in the middle of the reel seat, then it wouldn't matter much which reel is used (though on a technical and minute scale, the shape of the reel and the positioning of it's center of gravity could shift just slightly in front of or behind the center reel seat location, but I don't think it would be all that noticeable).

[rippin-lips]

Production off the shelf Powell Endurance rods.

[cottny27]

Yeah, I'm talking about balance at the reel seat with split grip rods. That is pretty darn close rippin-lips I would not even have to tinker with that one.

[mjseverson24]

 

Again, there is no right or wrong here, all personal preference. I'll even add a piece to the equation: Lots of guys talk about how a casting rod balances better with one reel than another. I have trouble understanding how this is when the reel sits right where you hold the rod (fulcrum point).     

The center of gravity has a lot to do with how the rod and reel feel in your hand. By placing a heavier reel on the rod you can move the center of gravity farther back towards the reel seat. This will reduce the amount of torque required to be introduced by your wrist to lift the rod tip. How much less??? well the lighter the rod the more noticeable the change, and if you can get the balance point to be exactly at the joint in your wrist the tip would feel almost weightless. Almost...

 

Mitch

[cottny27]

The fulcrum point for me is at the reel seat so the weight of the reel makes no difference.  I balance my rods by themselves and add the reel later.  If change reels at any point, it still remains in balance.