I am building my 1st split grip rod for a customer. I was fortunate enough to find out what he wanted to use on this rod for a reel. Acoording to what the rod wants to do with the reel, the balance point puts the center of the reel up 16" from the end of the rod. The rod blank is a SCIV 6'10" St.Croix. The rod feels good to me, but I'm not sure about the long fighting but section. I am using Micro guides on this rod so there is not much weight toward the tip. It will probably be fine, but I just thought I would see what the board has to say about it.

Thanks,
Steve

Steve Bro
(BroCo Custom Rods)

What is the application? Since it's a 6'10" rod, I am guessing that the rod length means something to your customer. I would definitely ask the customer his opinion. Most bass fisherman I know, including myself, don't like a long rear grip. I just measured all my baitcasters, factory and custom built, worm rod, jig rod, crankin rod, topwater rod, etc, and they are all 10.5" to 12" to the center of the reel. Just my opinion.
Steve

Steve-that sounds like you're building a casting rod-give us some more info about how it will be used, etc. For "normal" use as a bass rod that rear grip length sounds really long-but I only as a rule think in bass rod terms. For some uses that may be a appropriate length.

Chris

What is the blank power and weight without anything on it. Remember when you add the guides and finish you will again be shifting the CG forward some more. When you determined the balance point was the rear grip in place? The 16 inches you note may prove to be a little cumbesome when transferring the rod across the body. If this is a bass rod most rear grips for rods in that length are 10 inches or less. Rear grips do have limitations pertaining to various techniques and angler preference. Attaining balance at the center of the reel may not prove to be the best course of action. Build it as light as you can in a functional manner and you may find the the balance point just in front of the seat will be the more appropriate choice. Most people who build rods will find that balance at the center of the reel will require butt counter weights or just accept the fact that the best rod may not be balanced at the center of the seat. Good luck on dealing with a very complex issue.

I am about to wrap a 7'11" SCIV blank and am only going with an 11.5" to 12" to the back of the reel seat. 16" sounds like it would be a little long on a 6'10" blank...

thanks everyone. The rod will be used for smallmouth fishing, it is a casting rod, and the reel is a Quantum Accurist. I think it looks too long, it is very comfortable in your hand, but my 1st instinct was the but as Bill stated would catch your shirt as you switch hands after casting. I have the butt section dry fitted but not glued yet, I made the grip quite short as to only contact the amount of your hand that would touch it when you palm the reel. I think I'm going to shorten it up. The customer doesn't really know what he wants, he just said the he trusts my judgement, so I can only go off of what I would like. I keep going back to something that I heard on this board about, if it doesn't look right it probably isn't right, but sometimes in custom rod building your eyes are so adjusted to what looks "correct " because you have been staring at mass produced rods your entire life. I welcome any added advice, and thanks for the advice that I have recieved up to this point.

Thanks,
Steve

If you are going light with a split seat I suspect that a rear grip length including butt cap will be in the 9 - 9.5 inch range measured from the rear of the reel seat. You probably can not go overboard with weight reduction but the balance issue can easily deceive many - remember you are also going to tie on a lure that has weight in the end -

Not sure I understand where you're coming from - surely you're not positioning the reel on the rod by where it balances that blank, are you?

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

Most of my split grip bass rods end up having a measurement of 9" -12" from the butt cap to the back of the reelseat, it varies by technique and angler preference.

One other thing I noticed that you should keep in mind is grip length for the front part of the split. Most of my grip sections for the portion that is help while casting end up being about 4". This is so the angler can entirely hold onto a grip while casting. It is NOT comfortable over the course of the day to have the heel of your hand resting on the blank while you are casting, it @#$%& in fact. Remember, most bass fisherman change hands after the cast. to position their hand palming the reel while working the lure, when we cast our hand is behind the reelseat like normal.

Scott Sheets
www.smsrods.com

I like longer grips on my flippin sticks, easier to bury in your stomach and get good leverage. 16 inches would be to long for me though. On my earlier rods, I worked so hard to balance the rods right at the reelseat. I didn't move the reelseat to where it balanced, but with weights or balancing kits in the butt. I ended up with some heavier rods, but they would balance on your finger right a the reels center point. Hook on a weightless senko, and all that time balancing was gone. Now, I sometimes add a little in the butt if it is to front heavy, but it seemed like a waste of time to try to get it perfect. When I build a rod for someone, I have a few mock up handles that I let people try to see what seems the right length and most comfortable to them.

Gone Fishin

I guess the reason I was asking is because I never really balance my rods, I ask the customer what lenth handle they would like and they pick out a reel seat that they like and I build it. Thanks for your input, I'm going to move it back.

Steve

You are on the right track, let the intended use determine the handle length, build using the lightest possible parts and construction, and if you still decide that the rod is too tip heavy add the least possible weight to the butt to get the balance point that you want.

16" is way too long. For that length of blank, 9" to 11" of rear grip is plenty long. If the final "balance" is that big of a deal to you, don't epoxy the butt cap on until the rod is completely finished, add some weight into the end of the rod blank until balanced, then epoxy the butt cap over it.