Hello gentlemen, I have built close to 20 rods and mostly use 6' st croix rods. My question is whenever I build with a 6 1/2 rod they feel a little top heavy. Does it matter where the reel seat is placed, or can I put it anywhere. Do I need to bring my stripper guide closer to the butt. My static test comes out fine and the rods perform perfect, it just feels strange.

Six more inches can do a lot for a rod! :-)

The reel seat placement is up to you completely.

DR

If I bring down the stripper guide, would that help.

Moving the stripper would help a little, but not much. The place to save weight would be the last 2/3 of the blank near the tip if you are trying to get a balanced rod. By moving the reel seat forward a little, you will change the fulcrum point. This may be enough to gain the balanced feel you are looking for.

Eric

I thought moving it back would help, am I wrong

Moving the butt guide isn't going to affect much in the way of balance. As the rod gets longer, it's going to feel a little tip heavy. All you can do is use the smallest and lightest guides suitable for the task required and keep those wraps short and finish light.

I would build the handle length to suit the task needed and let the balance fall where it may.

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

An extra inch of length on the rear grip will most likely solve the issue AND be unnoticeable otherwise.

Next build, add an inch to the rear and fit everything to the blank. Give it a try. IF you like it, glue away. IF not, cut down the rear grip and refit the reel seat and front grip. Nothing lost in the process AND it gives you an opportunity to test the theory ... free of charge.

Jim -

Also the material used on the butt handle. Using a heaver material wood, exotic cork, some thing to add some weight to the butt of the rod. Not that it is good to ad any weight.

Bill - willierods.com

Kevin,
How long is the back grip on your rod or rods?

If you want a rod that is not tip heavy, when it gets past 6 feet, you need to either add butt length or add weight to the butt of the rod to have a perfect balance.

Most manufacturers elect to go with a longer back grip.

Take care
Roger

I always use wood split grips on my rods and place the reel seat 6 1/2 inchs from the end of the blank.

I have a couple that felt tip heavy till i put the reel on and that kind of changed the entire feel of the tip.

I would not move the seat just to change the balance of the rod. Put the seat where you need it to be for proper handling and let the balance fall where it may. Once you add a reel, line it and fish a plug, all that is going to fall by the wayside anyway.

Only thing I would advise is to always build the upper half of the rod as light as possible. A thread, short wraps, PG for finish. Make us of the smallest and lightest guides possible.