Rod/Reel balance (not AFTMA)

[BenzoV]

So my understanding is that purely for casting, trying to balance the rod with a reel does not really hold up, and the lightest reel possible will be best (no reel is ideal). But Andre's one post made me think, in that he said rods are for more than just casting, and the overall experience should be the deciding factor when choosing a rod, rather than just the casting performance.

Specifically for short line nymphing, is trying to balance the outfit of any benefit, or are you just making the whole outfit heavier to handle and thus more tiring?

The guys over at the fiberglass forum seem to be obsessed with finding the right reel to balance the rod. I was thinking maybe because of the extra weight of FG rods, but I'm busy building a glass rod with a 15mm butt and a 3mm tip and that weighs a 113g (almost 4 ounces) with a grip, seat and tip top fitted but nothing else yet...more like a heavy spinning rod than a fly rod, but anyway my point is that I thought I'll need a nice heavy reel to "balance" the outfit, but even though the reel I fitted gives a perfect balance at the front of the grip, the rod still feels a 100X better without a reel at all.

So, assuming for a moment that it does nothing for casting, does a balanced outfit increase the overall fishing pleasure of an outfit?



(P.S maybe this issue should be laid to rest and we should just work out more).

[GGY]

I sold all my Sage Clicks for this very reason. I have always fished what others would consider 'big' reels on my rod's.

I have been happily fishing a Stealth SLA3 on my 3wt and have now moved to fishing Greys GX500 678 models on both my 10 ft 3 and 6wts, since they balance these rods.

[KevinE]

I personally like an outfit that feels "balanced". I find it terribly distracting carrying around an outfit where the reel is too light for the rod, making the rod want to tip forward all the time. It's probably not so much of an issue these days since graphite rods are so light that you can invariably balance them with a light reel. But when you have a slightly heavier (read longer) rod, I reckon a reel with a little more substance makes the whole outfit feel better in hand, both for carrying and casting.

[Andre]

Very interesting Gary...I have found that with my style of nymphing with a soft tip 10 foot rod, a heavier reel suits the application better. For some reason, it seems easier to get better "leaverage" for want of a better word. When operating the rod tip, a heavier reel seems to load the tip metter.... hope Im explaining this correctly. Never quite put this into words before. Also put my "Click" way when fishing the ESN 2wt. gone for the danielsen midge rathe. a couple of ounces heavier, but feels better than the Click.

I sold all my Sage Clicks for this very reason. I have always fished what others would consider 'big' reels on my rod's.

I have been happily fishing a Stealth SLA3 on my 3wt and have now moved to fishing Greys GX500 678 models on both my 10 ft 3 and 6wts, since they balance these rods.

[Andre]

So my understanding is that purely for casting, trying to balance the rod with a reel does not really hold up, and the lightest reel possible will be best (no reel is ideal).

But Andre's one post made me think, in that he said rods are for more than just casting, and the overall experience should be the deciding factor when choosing a rod, rather than just the casting performance.

Specifically for short line nymphing, is trying to balance the outfit of any benefit, or are you just making the whole outfit heavier to handle and thus more tiring?

The guys over at the fiberglass forum seem to be obsessed with finding the right reel to balance the rod. I was thinking maybe because of the extra weight of FG rods, but I'm busy building a glass rod with a 15mm butt and a 3mm tip and that weighs a 113g (almost 4 ounces) with a grip, seat and tip top fitted but nothing else yet...more like a heavy spinning rod than a fly rod, but anyway my point is that I thought I'll need a nice heavy reel to "balance" the outfit, but even though the reel I fitted gives a perfect balance at the front of the grip, the rod still feels a 100X better without a reel at all.


So, assuming for a moment that it does nothing for casting, does a balanced outfit increase the overall fishing pleasure of an outfit?



(P.S maybe this issue should be laid to rest and we should just work out more).

Perhaps we should just give up fishing...then it wouldnt matter