Hello,
I'm on the last step of my first build and had a question. I haven't attached the butt cap yet because I was worried about balance so here are the questions I have. The rod is tip heavy and I know that has to do with reel seat placement but I like the current handle length.If I add about 3/4oz to the butt the rod is a little tip up with my finger right above the reel seat. This rod will be used for texas rigs and the like so it will be fished tip up 95% of the time. Is it worth epoxying the weight inside the butt of the rod to balance it out. This isn't a flipping rod but I don't want to fight the tip all day long.
Thanks,
Jason

Try to light the tip up some more........

Fish the rod without the butt cap and determine if the balance is as bad as you think it might be. A little tip down on a light rod might not be as bad as you fear.

If you just gotta add weight, there are specialty weighted butt caps that permit you to vary the weight to dial-in a desired balance point.

Or maybe this is the rod for weight forward applications giving you an excuse to build a second rod with longer grip and lighter tip for a weight aft rod.

Think about it this way. If you're holding the rod with the tip up while fishing, how does the perceived imbalance have any effect?
The only time you will notice this "imbalance" is if you hold the rod parallel with the water. How often do you do that when fishing a jig or worm?
Do as Mr La Mar suggested, and fish it for a while. You may well discover your unbalanced rod fishes just fine.

Whatever you do, don't make any addition of weight in the butt permanent. You might try something that can be easily removed once you decide whether or not you like the way handles with the addtional weight, and without.

..............

Static rod balance is something to consider, but as Tom pointed out, try the weighted test without making it permanent. You will find a whole different world when actually fishing the rod with a line in the water and a lure with some resistance. Real world fishing is the better test. Experiment with removable weights first in the water and see what you like. Sort of like test driving the car on the road. It might not handle the way it looks by just sitting in it.
Mark

One thing is for certain. The science of physics and common sense predict the more weight you move the more work you do. I think the concept of sensitivity is more useful to psychologists and neurologists than it is to people actually fishing.

Jason,
Another option when looking for better balance and sensitivity, use a shorter rod. I still have a collection of great handling 6 foot rods and have no intention of getting rid of them. Depite the trends, shorter rods still have their place.

Double post.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2016 01:14PM by Spencer Phipps.

Just my .02, but the lighter a rod is the less important balance becomes. A rod with a total weight of three ounces can be out of balance and not bother you as much as a rod with a total weight of six ounces that is out of balance.

Jason, try it temporarily and fish with it. Don't worry about the opinion of others to much on this topic. You'll know it when you feel it. All the weight does is help you keep the tip up with less effort, causing less fatigue over extended periods.Lynn

Jason, to answer your question "is it worth it"? IMO yes ..... a rather emphatic yes actually. It is definitely worth it. Despite explanations to the contrary, the only time you don't feel an out of balance rod and reel combination is when it's either pointing straight up, or straight down. Neither of those rod positions come into play very often, if at all, while fishing a bait. Any kind of bait.

As far as the physics and science behind I guess not adding weight to the butt? Weight added at the butt is going to help overcome the mechanical advantage of the lever (the length of the blank and its guides) on the opposite side of the fulcrum. (your hand) Any perceived extra work that may be required to hold the a slightly heavier rod is going to negated by not having to fight the tip. And you're most definitely right ... you don't want to fight the tip all day.

I agree with Ken somewhat in that lighter unbalanced rod and reel combination may be easier to handle, I don't agree that the balance becomes less important. It's simply more manageable.

Yes, you can use reel seat placement to help achieve better balance without adding weight, but as this is a topic near and dear to my heart, and as you can see, a contested topic on this site, I have done experiments with reel seat placement and its effect on rod and reel balance. You have to move a reel seat quite a bit to equal what a little bit of weight at the butt can achieve. In one experiment I had to move the reel seat 2" further up the blank to achieve the balance that 3/8 oz of weight at the butt would do. 2" is a lot, and can severely affect the fishability of the rod.

I agree with Mark in that actually fishing it would be the penultimate test. Although I don't personally think you need to go that far. I would have line ran through the guides, but with no weight attached. If you want to add the weight temporarily somehow and try it out first, that is certainly not a bad idea, and easily done. Some tungsten weights (because they're smaller) and a bit of duct tape, and you're on your way.

Below is a link to a post I put up on this site a few months ago. In it was an experiment I did with my last build. It may be something you want to read just to see where I'm coming from.

[rodbuilding.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2016 05:06AM by David Baylor.

In past years, I have added weight to the butt of a rod to achieve balance with the reel intended for the rod to balance out.

However, now - for the last many years, if I find that the rod is going to be somewhat butt heavy, I just move the reel seat forward the necessary amount to achieve balance with the intended reel on the rod.

I have compared the rods to which I have added weight compared to the rods that I have not added weight and even though some of the butt lengths are a touch longer that I might absolutely prefer - I do find that the lighter balanced rod is overall a better rod to fish with.

Everyone has to make their own decision.

==========================================
By the way, an easy way to achieve rod balance on most rods is to leave the end 3/4 inch of the blank bare. Then, to achieve balance, wrap lead tape around the butt of the rod blank. When you have the necessary tape wrapped on the rod to achieve balance, then wrap masking tape on top of the lead tape to get to the inside diameter of the butt cap and then glue the butt cap to the end of the rod. '

Lead tape is used every day to balance the shafts of golf clubs and to also balance the handles and grips on tennis rackets.

[www.google.com]

I've been fishing for 58 years and I guess I still don't get it, of all my rods I've used over the years, short of some trout gear, my bass and walleye rods are the lightest, easiest rods to fish all day/multiple days/weeks. I went through an investigative stage 20 years ago with bass and walleye rods, playing with handle length and adding weight, what I found out was extending my handle length made for some really terrible performing rods as far as casting ability, presentation, etc. On the weight front I found out that what I started in motion while casting also has to be stopped from moving when I stopped the cast, nothing counteracts the other it just adds up. This phenomenon is most apparent, for me anyway, while fly fishing where how you start and stop your casting stroke is so important.
For salmon/ steelhead fishing my rods range from 8 to 13 ft long. None are counter weighted, none have caused undue stress. some of my 8 ft. rods are built on the blanks you use for swimbaits, though actually the bass anglers found out that they could throw swimbaits on our 8 ft back bouncing rods.
I am in the light rod, reasonable handle length, and no weight group. of all the species of fish I now fish and have fished, bass angling is about the easiest on me as far as equipment/the fish is concerned. I am of course saying this as a non tournament angler, and I know that confidence in yourself and your gear is all important to success, but I also know the last place I look for that success is my fishing rod, till I have all the other ducks in a row a custom fishing rod built as I need it does little good.

Spencer’s answer is the most conclusive of all; lighter is better. It is all about physics in general and “polar moment of inertia” in particular. Think about it; added weight in the butt section to “balance” a rod still, none the less, has to be accelerated in the initial portion of the cast and also decelerated at the end of the cast. The only thing left is convincing everyone else that a two foot rod is all we need. At the end of the day, I will take a lighter rod over a balanced one any day of the week!!!

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.