I have been reading through some of old posts on rod balance and a question came to mind about the rod/reel relationship.

Does have any suggested fly reel weight (mass) for certain length fly rods?

For example, i have a 6 weight fly rod and a 5/6 reel. Although the combination is theoretically "matched", because the reel is relatively lightweight the rod feels tip heavy and it isn't the most pleasant outfit to use for things such as high stick nymphing.

So back to my original question. When trying to match a rod/reel, are there any general guidelines for the rod length/reel mass weight ratios?

thanks,
Tom.

Use a larger diameter reel. That gains you a better retrieve ratio (arbor size has nothing to do with retrieve ratio - we don't go fishing with empty reels) and weight that helps balance the rod, if that's important to you.

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

AMEN TOM! I have been trying to tell that to the sales reps for 15 years!

Tom L,
Personally I think the idea of balancing a reel/rod during casting is overdone. I cast my fly rods w/o grips (so w/o reel attached) before I build and some blanks cast better with no weight attached to the bottom of the blank. I understand the concept of the wt of the reel offsetting the swing wt of the rod but I don't think it is all that important except on the heavier rods - # 10 and above. Where it is important - to me - is when I am stripping back line. I like a neutral balance where I don't have to apply thumb pressue to keep the rod tip down - or index-finger pressure to keep it up during the retrieve. So if I try to balance at all, I do it with reel attached and all line I usually use out side the tip-top.
Herb

I agree with Tom and Herb. The first step is to find what is most comfortable for you when fishing for some time. Proper balance becomes more critical with heavier gear. Note Tom suggested opting for a larger size DIAMETER and not simply a larger ARBOR. The goal here is to add weight by adding line. Sometimes a narrow arbor reel will hold the right amount of line to add the desired weight.

There are other low tech methods for adding weight such as spooling a length of lead core line under the fly line. Some just wrap it around the reel foot.

Once you decide how you like the rig to balance there are lots of ways to make it happen.

You really cannot go off the "reel size" I have some reels (Hardy) that are very heavy for their size and others (Lamson) that are very lite for their size. If somebody has the exact reel you are in the game. You also need to know what type of fishing they are going to do most as that will help determine where the tip will be. Highstick nymphing and swiing will want (in most cases) for the tip to ride a little higher. As David said you can always put lead wire or the like around the reel arbor prior to the backing to "balance" things out if need be.

Best of luck.

Thank you for all the input. The suggestions on how to balance the rod are also very helpful as i don't have a wide variety of reels to choose from at the moment and am planning on building a new rod for spring trout fishing.

best,
Tom.

With the longer trout rods, 9' and longer, and highly machined light reels, they just don't balance. The only time it bothers me is when I am hiking to the river. I don't want to add weight to try to balance the combo, but maybe a downlocking reelseat would help?

Greg Foy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> maybe a downlocking reelseat would help?

I was wondering the same thing. I have two 10' blanks (4 and 5 wt) I am ready to start working on. I have uplocking reel seats for them but now wonder if I shouldn't get downlocking. Anyone have preference one over the other?