I've just finished wrapping a Dan Craft FT 1008-4 blank with Forecast gold ring ceramics. I know 10' rods are a bit tip heavy to begin with and harder to balance especially with the heavier ceramic guides. I used high frame 16 & 12 strippers, and then 10-10-8-7-7-7-7-7-7 with a 7 lightweight tip top - (11) guides in all. To balance the rod as is, it takes about 1.25 ounces of lead in the butt end. The rod without wrap finish is 4.8 ounces so adding the lead will bring it to about 6 ounces without finish. When doing the static test, it appeared all of the flex was in the upper tip section. Based on this, I'm inclined to think I could pull off one guide and space the rest out just a bit more, especially towards the butt end.

Are my best options to;

- go ahead and add the 1 1/4 ozs of lead as is
- go back and try to eliminate one guide
- go back and try to further space the upper guides away from the tip some

Since I still struggle with knowing what a good looking static test really looks like, I probably put guides a bit too close rather than too far apart. My spacings are; 4 7/8, 9 7/8, 15 7/8, 22 7/8, 30 5/16, 39 1/2, 48 1/2, 57 3/4, 67 3/4, 78 1/4, 89. Any help in the best way to balance this rod would be appreciated. Thanks.

Tim,
Go into the search engine, researching authors, put in Bob Meiser, back in I believe August he gave a guide spacing for a switch rod he made out of that blank, think he said he used 6 or 7 and the tip. With the power this rod has and it's ability to throw weight I think I'd go to a bigger reel to help balance the rod. That way you get benefits all around.

I plan to use an Orvis Large Arbor V with this rod for chuck n' duck Salmon fishing. The reel with backing and running line weighs 8.8/8.9 ounces. This is heavy enough and a heavier reel (or more lead in the butt) defeats the purpose of trying have a lightweight outfit. I'll check what spacings Bob used. I'm thinking though since it will rarely be used in a traditional casting manner with 9wt fly line and more of throwing weighted drfit type rigs, that spacing out the guides just a bit more won't hurt that much.

Tim. I would never add lead to any rod. I can't imagine that 8 oz. reel wouldn't balance the rod. You might consider building the rod with a 4" intergral fighting butt and extra long foregrip. This will help with the weight and allow a two handed cast, if you so choose.

I can't imagine adding lead,or any other kind of weight to ANY fly rod blank,for ANY reason.That would just ruin it IMHO.

You want the rod to balance in your hand with a reel on it,not without,so the reel you choose will make all the difference in the world as far as how the outfit balances.A reel that is too light will make the rod feel tip heavy and very fatiguing to cast.A reel that is too heavy is not preferable either,but won't be as noticable as one that is too light because the weight is near to your hand.

I have a 10 ft 9wt GLX and usualy use a Redington AS 9/10 on it which weight about 8 ounces I think(give or take 1/2ounce or so) and it's a perfect match.I also have numerous AS 7/8 reels and when full with line,they are "almost" heavy enough for this rod.The 7/8 will perfectly balance my Dan Craft SIG V 10ft 7wt and that reel weighs just under 7 ounces(6.8 I think).Based on this I am 99% sure that a 7.5 ounce reel would balance my 10ft 9wt GLX just as well as my AS 9/10,yet would be the lightest I could go without having a tip heavy rod and thus be the most desirable option.I haven't built on a 10ft 8wt FT yet,but I know that it would be very similar to my 10ft 9wt GLX as far as how heavy the reel needs to be to balance it.

Remember you need a heavier reel to balance a 10ft rod than a 9ft rod and a 10ft rod with a reel heavy enough to balance it will be WAY nicer to cast than a 10ft rod with a really light reel on it even though the total weight of the complete outfit is lighter on the one with the light reel.

I would just find a reel that will balance the rod nicely and forget about adding weight to the rod itself.Find a reel that weighs 7.5-8.5 ounces and you can be sure it will balance well,yet not be too heavy for your needs.If you are using it as more of a 2 hander,with an extended butt,you could probably get away with a slightly heavier reel if you needed to,but the one you mentioned should be more than heavy enough to balance this rod without added anything to the blank.

As for guide placements,if you can't contact Bob,contact Dan Craft or John at Rocky Mtn.I'm sure they have all built enough of them to give you a good idea of the guides and numbers of each you will need,as well as a spacing setup that will get you pretty close to your target placement and you can just tweak things from there if need be.