How do you determine rod & reel balance? 2024
Lard_Bass reply :
I have been reading about how you guys make sure the rod and reel are balance. How do you guys determine this?
.ghoti. reply :
Hold the rod and reel like you're retrieving, with the rod parallel to the ground. Now loosen your grip. Does the rod tip fall towards the ground? If it does, it's tip heavy. If it doesn't, it's balanced. Simple, eh?
What you make of that is up to you. For moving baits, like cranks and spinnerbaits and the like, it's a moot point. You don't need a balanced setup to throw moving baits, and you wouldn't want to add enough weight to the rod to bring it into balance anyway. It would take way too much weight to accomplish that. And when you changed baits, the balance would change. Silly to even try.
For tip up applications; plastics and jigs, a lot of people prefer a balanced or nearly balanced setup. I prefer to not add weight to my setups. When the rod tip is close to vertical, the rod/reel is pretty close to a neutral balance anyway.
I discovered that I did not like a perfectly neutral balance by trying it out. ReelMechanic's website has a very nice tutorial on adding weight to the rod butt. I followed his directions and ended up with a perfectly balanced rig. After the glue had setup, I took it out to give it a spin, and hated it. Not Reel Mechanic's fault. I was the one who thought I wanted to do it. He just shows a cool way to get it done. I ended up selling the rod to a friend who liked it like that.
You'll just have to try it for yourself. BPS has a slip on weight kit that will allow you to do a test drive without spending a lot.
The best way is to try out the rod/reel combo before you buy. If it doesn't balance the way you want it, either try a shorter rod, or one with a longer handle.
Cheers,
GK
dbass reply :
Some easy reading......
Here's the articles...
When To Balance A Rod
How To Balance A Rod
Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!
Lard_Bass reply :
Thanks for all the tips. I am confused about one thing though. I have read in several places about people recommending a magnesium reel to balance the St. Croix Avids. I just tried my Daiwa Laguna which is about 9 oz on my new St. Croix Avids (AS66MF and AS68MXF) and the tip falls toward the ground. If I added a lighter reel, wouldn't the balance problem get worse? Shouldn't you add a heavier reel?
.dsaavedra. reply :
maybe i missed reading something, but how does a balanced rod make it more sensative?
.dsaavedra. reply :
oh and how does a balanced rod feel "feather light" wouldnt the added weight just make it be heavier even though it is still balanced?
Lard_Bass reply :
dsaavedra, glad to see I am not the only one confused. I am trying to reconcile if balancing a rod basically negates the purpose of having light weight gear.
.dsaavedra. reply :
Quotedsaavedra, glad to see I am not the only one confused. I am trying to reconcile if balancing a rod basically negates the purpose of having light weight gear.
lol thats what im starting to think too.....why buy lightweight stuff if you need to add weight to it to get it to balance....
twors reply :
QuoteQuotedsaavedra, glad to see I am not the only one confused. I am trying to reconcile if balancing a rod basically negates the purpose of having light weight gear.lol thats what im starting to think too.....why buy lightweight stuff if you need to add weight to it to get it to balance....
now your catching on... 
Wayne P. reply :
The idea of balancing your outfit is for two purposes. First is to prevent the muscle fatigue in you arm that occurs trying to hold up the weight of the rod ahead of the reel. Second the weightless feeling of a well balanced rod helps detect light bites as even the slightest resistance of a fish can be felt as your arm muscles are not tensed trying to overcome the rod tip weight. I balance my rods so that the rod tip rises when held lightly. Even though you add weight to the overall rig, it feels lighter when done properly.
Low_Budget_Hooker reply :
QuoteHold the rod and reel like you're retrieving, with the rod parallel to the ground. Now loosen your grip. Does the rod tip fall towards the ground? If it does, it's tip heavy. If it doesn't, it's balanced. Simple, eh?What you make of that is up to you. For moving baits, like cranks and spinnerbaits and the like, it's a moot point. You don't need a balanced setup to throw moving baits, and you wouldn't want to add enough weight to the rod to bring it into balance anyway. It would take way too much weight to accomplish that. And when you changed baits, the balance would change. Silly to even try.
For tip up applications; plastics and jigs, a lot of people prefer a balanced or nearly balanced setup. I prefer to not add weight to my setups. When the rod tip is close to vertical, the rod/reel is pretty close to a neutral balance anyway.
I discovered that I did not like a perfectly neutral balance by trying it out. ReelMechanic's website has a very nice tutorial on adding weight to the rod butt. I followed his directions and ended up with a perfectly balanced rig. After the glue had setup, I took it out to give it a spin, and hated it. Not Reel Mechanic's fault. I was the one who thought I wanted to do it. He just shows a cool way to get it done. I ended up selling the rod to a friend who liked it like that.
You'll just have to try it for yourself. BPS has a slip on weight kit that will allow you to do a test drive without spending a lot.
The best way is to try out the rod/reel combo before you buy. If it doesn't balance the way you want it, either try a shorter rod, or one with a longer handle.
Cheers,
GK
I am on the same page with you. When I was using the extremes for jigging, I noticed one day that they were very tip heavy. I bought and slowly added the counterbalance kit sold by BPS. By the time it was balanced, it didn't feel right anymore.
I'm going to go back and read DavidG's articles now and see why.
As always Dave,, you're a great resource! Thanks
Alpster reply :
There is a personal preference issue here also. I personally like a rod to be a little tip heavy. I usually fish with the rod tip up and when I palm a reel I put all but my pinky in front of the trigger.
Ronnie
Chris at Tech reply :
To me, balance is 99% about comfort in the user's hands.
If you're able to hold the rod in a comfortable position, then to me it's balanced.
I don't think adding weights to a combo to balance it adds sensitivity, per se. Rather it just makes it more comfortable to use, and when you're more comfortable you're more effective fishing.
Lard_Bass reply :
I read DavidG's articles which were very informative. According to the articles, balancing a rod for jump lures (jigs, worms, spoons, etc.) helps sensitivity. However, there is little advantage for adding weight to a lightweight high-performance rod.
I will probably try to balance my rod that I will be using for jigs and plastics but not for cranks / tight line moving lures. DavidG, do you want a balanced rod for techinques such as walk the dog or topwaters where you have more of a slack line? I assume it doesn't matter since you really don't rely on sensitivity for those techniques.
QuoteTo me, balance is 99% about comfort in the user's hands.If you're able to hold the rod in a comfortable position, then to me it's balanced.
I guess this is why people go for lightweight reels to enhance comfort then.
.ghoti. reply :
David's tutorial on how to weight the rod for the balance point you want is very well written and illustrated. I had no problems following his directions. But, if you're going to do this, make sure you want it that way. Once the weights are glued in place, you're not gonna be able to get "em back out. I'd suggest that you buy one those BPS add-on kits, and try it out first.
I really did not like that big rubber cap from the BPS kit on the end of my rods. They just get in the way. I was always getting it hung up in my vest. That's why I did the glue in weighting.
When fishing plastics or jigs, I hold the reel in my palm, with my thumb and forefinger grasping the line. I do this to keep a little tension on the line as I crank it in. I find that winding in slack line, which is gonna happen when I fish plastics, contributes to the backlash problem. Held that way, with the rod tip up, the setup is close enough to being balanced that I need no extra weight on the rod. Again, this is just my preference. You'll have to try it yourself. You may like it, you may not.
My real problem with the neutral balanced rod was casting accuracy. I'm not a professional fisherman, but I can generally hit what I aim at. But, not with the rod in "perfect" balance. One of my grand-dad's sayings comes to mind; " He couldn't hit a bull in the *** with a bass fiddle". That's me with the "balanced" rod and reel.
Cheers,
GK
flechero reply :
To you guys who don't understand how this works, let me try a simple analogy:
Take a long stick (or even a rod/reel) of some sort and hold in in the middle (or in front of the reel) where it will sit level [balance] in your hand without you having to apply pressure... it feels like whatever the weight is. Now with the same stick/rod hold the end or rear part of the grip and it will feel much heavier to hold it level. That illustrates the difference in the balanced version. With the "lighter" feel, in most cases, you have the ability to detect a lighter tick, pull or movement of the line and that's why people say it's more "sensitive".
If you were to buy a lighter reel and then balance the combo, you'd still have the same weight rod and also have the balance. But as pointed out, it all comes back to preference of feel. Some love it and some hate it, but very few are indifferent on it. ...lol
dbass reply :
As Ronnie stated, rod balancing is a personal preference thing mostly. After market rod balancing has always been a personal preference thing. I don't like to do it when it is easier to balance at building time, with the build components.
I took one Of my very first pitchen sticks that was as tip heavy as a broom and 303 would be. I neutral balanced the combo to the reel seat. The rod felt good while just handling the combo.
Took it out into the yard to test cast, using my style of pitching the butt section felt like it was trying to beat the tip section on the cast and make the casting process feel un-natural. I personally don't balance my rods anymore.
Lard_Bass,
Your AS66MF only weighs 3.8 oz.QuoteI just tried my Daiwa Laguna which is about 9 oz on my new St. Croix Avids (AS66MF and AS68MXF) and the tip falls toward the ground.
Your AS68MXF only weighs 3.8 oz
You would have to add about an 11.0 to 12.0oz reel to start to get the tips at a more neutral balance..The only time you can balance with a reel is at the time of the build the seat and grips have to be set at the right points on the blank...
Re-Read the articles on when to balance you will notice a paragraph....QuoteQuotedsaavedra, glad to see I am not the only one confused. I am trying to reconcile if balancing a rod basically negates the purpose of having light weight gear.lol thats what im starting to think too.....why buy lightweight stuff if you need to add weight to it to get it to balance....
QuoteNOTE: If your using high end/high modules rods (GLX, SHX, RX8, SCV, etc.) for these techniques, there is little advantage to adding weight to a lightweight high-performance rod to enhance it's sensitivity.
dodgeguy reply :
QuoteHold the rod and reel like you're retrieving, with the rod parallel to the ground. Now loosen your grip. Does the rod tip fall towards the ground? If it does, it's tip heavy. If it doesn't, it's balanced. Simple, eh?What you make of that is up to you. For moving baits, like cranks and spinnerbaits and the like, it's a moot point. You don't need a balanced setup to throw moving baits, and you wouldn't want to add enough weight to the rod to bring it into balance anyway. It would take way too much weight to accomplish that. And when you changed baits, the balance would change. Silly to even try.
For tip up applications; plastics and jigs, a lot of people prefer a balanced or nearly balanced setup. I prefer to not add weight to my setups. When the rod tip is close to vertical, the rod/reel is pretty close to a neutral balance anyway.
I discovered that I did not like a perfectly neutral balance by trying it out. ReelMechanic's website has a very nice tutorial on adding weight to the rod butt. I followed his directions and ended up with a perfectly balanced rig. After the glue had setup, I took it out to give it a spin, and hated it. Not Reel Mechanic's fault. I was the one who thought I wanted to do it. He just shows a cool way to get it done. I ended up selling the rod to a friend who liked it like that.
You'll just have to try it for yourself. BPS has a slip on weight kit that will allow you to do a test drive without spending a lot.
The best way is to try out the rod/reel combo before you buy. If it doesn't balance the way you want it, either try a shorter rod, or one with a longer handle.
Cheers,
GK
i take all my rods and balance them except my pistol grips.i had tennis elbow from casting a few years back and the only way i could fish was with a balanced rod.a balanced rod put less strain on my elbow when flipping/pitching or casting.this is why all my rods are balanced right at the center of the reel.even with moving baits you get more sensitivity with a balanced rod because you are not fighting the weight.
Lard_Bass reply :
QuoteThe only time you can balance with a reel is at the time of the build the seat and grips have to be set at the right points on the blank...
DavidG, is getting a light weight reel pretty much pointless?
Wayne P. reply :
Dodgeguy, tennis elbow is why I started balancing my rods also.
dbass reply :
Stop taking my quotes out of context.....QuoteQuoteThe only time you can balance with a reel is at the time of the build the seat and grips have to be set at the right points on the blank...DavidG, is getting a light weight reel pretty much pointless?
Lard_Bass,
Quote:
I just tried my Daiwa Laguna which is about 9 oz on my new St. Croix Avids (AS66MF and AS68MXF) and the tip falls toward the ground.
Your AS66MF only weighs 3.8 oz.
Your AS68MXF only weighs 3.8 oz
You would have to add about an 9.0 to 12.0oz reel to start to get the tips at a more neutral balance..The only time you can balance with a reel is at the time of the build the seat and grips have to be set at the right points on the blank...
Lard_Bass reply :
DavidG, I was simply asking a question. My apologies for the confusion. I am just trying to understand the benefits of a light reel given that it negatively affects rod balance.
Raul reply :
With off the shelf gear you will seldomly get a neutral balance outfit just because the reel seat isn 't glued in the place where it will balance neutrally with THAT reel you have in your hand, in order to achieve such only a custom built rod could do it but that rod will be only for that reel and no other reel alone.
Reason why "custom built" may mean somebody just piecing a rod togeteher ( blank, guides, reel seat ) and adding a fancy paint job in the backyard or somebody that is actually building you a rod with a specific construction taking into consideration your specific needs plus your specific desires.
dodgeguy reply :
i would not be able to fish otherwise.also a lighter combo takes less weight to balance so it still makes sense.
Lard_Bass reply :
Quotei would not be able to fish otherwise.also a lighter combo takes less weight to balance so it still makes sense.
Great point. I didn't even think that if you had a butt heavy combo, there's really no way to balance it besides lightening up on the reel.
mayassa reply :
I thought I would balance one of my rigs but never did I always liked the light weight feel of everything as a whole, maybe I will try it over the holidays
dodgeguy reply :
use the slide on butcaps bps has.if you don,t like it just take it off.you have to be fair about it and fish with it for about a month.
Wayne P. reply :
You can do it cheaply also. Some of my rods have balancers that I made. I got some plastic chair leg tips from Lowe's that were close to the diameter of my rod butts. I then bought some lead egg sinkers in 3/4 oz,1 oz and 1 1/2 oz. I put the sinkers on a concrete floor with the hole verticle and whacked them with a hammer until they were the diameter of the inside of the chair leg tips. Then I inserted one of the weights into the chair leg tips and slipped it on the rod butt to check for balance. Most of the time the 1 oz. was the correct size. A wrap of tennis racket handle tape keeps them in place.
mayassa reply :
Thats a good idea, I can try it with out messing up my rods
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