I've been using a fly rod for Salmon and Steelhead fishing for the past 5 years. I dug out my MH 6'6" spinning rod and Shimano reel that I've never used yet and found out how much easier that would be to use from my boat.

Not sure if this is correct but I place the support leg of the reel between my middle finger and ring finger to enable me to flip the bail open with my pointer finger, hold the line, and make the cast. Even with a 6'6" rod, my setup is tip heavy. Having a longer fore grip would allow me to balance the rod after the initial cast by moving my hand up onto that fore grip afterwards. That would seem to be a pain to do all day. If I make an 8' spinning rod, it would seem my balance problem would be worse with a longer rod. I see there are a lot of screw in butt weights available but aside from the "using less guides and finish", is there another alternative to balancing an 8' spinning rod? Thanks.

Epoxy SMALL weights (split shot or pencil sinker) into the butt to get the balance that you want

Mike

Hi Tim, as you know most of my builds are spinning. i have a 10 fter. over here if you would like to have a look see. John

The New Concept guide system will help keep the weight off the tip of the rod without sacrificing guide placments. I made up a 9 footer with all single foot guides. My last 5 or 6 guides were 8mm, and the stripper was a 30. The rod has great balance, just slightly butt heavy, just the way I like it.

Thanks Rich, what blank, total number of guides and sizes plus tip top did you use? Was there any thing special about the handle and reel seat set up to get it a bit butt heavy? You can just email me without cluttering up this forum, thanks.

graystroke77@hotmail.com