On the rods that i have built so far i have placed the reel seat around the 8 inch mark from the butt these have all been 7ft light spinning
rods to use tossing small hardbodies.My next build is a 7ft6in so i was wondering if i put the reel seat at 8 inches from the butt again would
it cast better than if i placed it 10 or 11 inches.So i guess the question is does a rod act longer if you had two identical blanks and one reel seat
is placed further towards the butt and one is placed further up.I realise that the choker guide is going to be further down the rod on the rod with
the shorter butt and you are going to need more guides on the running train.The split grip rods come to mind as ones that have the higher reel
seat.For the fishing i do i dont need the extra length in the butt to rest on my forearm as the fish arent that powerful.Just hoping to build the best
casting and most comfortable rod i can so any help would be great.

cheers

Ray Balmforth
Figtree
NSW
Australia

Hi Ray,
Sent you an email to let you know what's been going on with SEARBS etc.
The longer the area below the reel seat is the further you should be able to cast due to the lever effect. Having said that a rods main function is to catch fish in an effecient manner that is corfortable for the user. Casting distance may be important but not necessarily the most important. A custom rod is set up to suit an individual user so set it up for what suits you best for landing fish. If your casting distance is adequate and you don't need to cast further then do it the same as what you have done, provided you can't improve on what you've done. I know your going to start turning your own cork so you can now make them to whatever size and length suits you best. Split grips are fairly easy to go with and save a bit of weight but check the balance before you make up your mind. The 7ft 6 rod will cast a bit further than the 7 footer with the same length rear grip.
Give me a call if you want to buy some good cork rings at a "reasonable" cost.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

G'Day Ray couldn't agree more with Col .I always set mine up for comfort a nice balance being neither butt or tip heavy I've found for me that a rod that just sits in my hand without having to hold it either up or down @ the end of the day my arm & wrist is not aching

Regards Baz

Bundeena
NSW Australia

I wouldn't agree with Col as it all depends on the reel and casting style. Look at the distance casters who put an overhead reel down low and control its line flow with the weak hand.

I'd say casting distance is a function of the spread between the hands and the length of the rod between the top hand and tip. I would place the reel seat where you need it with regards to blank and fish strength. It sounds like it is a light "one handed" rod so maybe your 8" is right on. For me, anything more than 8# line needs a little longer butt. Yes, for a normal spinning rod build I'd say a little longer butt would cast a little bit further but that all depends on blank/lure and if you can develope enough tip speed with the shorter rear grip. On a light rod it could cost you distance.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Thanks for the replies so far.With the rear grips i have been using i have had to cut about 2 inches off and then reshape the
end to fit the butt cap and then reshape the butt cap.Cant wait to get the lathe into action and turn my own up.I have found the 8
inches i have been using so far is extremely comfortable there only light rods with 3lb braid and 3gm lures so i am basically
casting one handed.Can use the rods all day.Will go with the 10inches on the next rod and see how it goes shouldnt be any
dramatic difference.

cheers

Ray Balmforth
Figtree
NSW
Australia

I find usually if I get the rod to balance in a neutral way that the butt length is so long that it gets caught on my elbow clothing when doing just about anything but tip-up jigging/dragging. I actually cut about 1 1/2 inches off a very expensive blank once in order to make the rod "fishable" with my normal techniques. So before worhipping neutral balance, make sure the butt isn't getting too long. Note that I fish the north most of the time, and having a rain jacket on is not unusual.

x2 with Mr. Danek,
I also wound up cutting about 4 inches of the butt off of a rod because I built the grip too long. First time I took out the un-cut rod it kept getting caught on my shirt and ribs. The extra casting distance you may get with a longer grip is, in my opinon, not worth it if the rod becomes uncomfortable to fish with. Balance is another issue. I prefer my rods to balance just forward of the reel seat on spinning rods. To make that happen I have epoxied solid lead wire into the butt section of long rods with short, 7 inch, grips. That will make the overall rod heavier, but it so much more comfortable to fish with all day as it feels lighter in hand.

Ray,
I have gone around the point on this subject.
I currently use the butt length of the rod, to insure that the rod is in reasonable balance.
If you have a very long rod, you generally need to have a longer butt section on the rod for reasonable balance.

I have gone the route of using a shorter back grip and adding lead to the butt of the rod, Yes, the rod is balanced, but it really ends up being too heavy.

I have found that the extra rod weight is really more of an issue than the slight issue that a longer butt section may make to the fisherman.

For rods that are 6 feet or under, I tend to use about a 6 inch back grip.
For 6 1/2 foot rods, I tend to use a 7 inch back grip.
For a 7 foot rod, I use an 8 inch back grip.
For a 7 1/2 foot rod, I will use a 9-10 inch back grip.

These numbers work for me, but again, it is all up to the buyer of the rod and his / her preferences.

Roger

Roger,
I agree that a rod that is weighted in the butt is heavier. But, if it balances where the hand holds it during fishing the rod feels lighter than a tip heavy rod

Roger the lengths you are using are the same as what i have been using.I just went off the rods that i had already and they were comfortable
to use.The problem i have is i like the fuji vss reel seats and the rear grips were about 10 inches long so i had to modify them and then the butt
cap as well so it was a bit of extra work.After this next rod i will truly have some fun trying to make my own reel seats to fit the vss reel seats.Be
a bit of fancy cutting and drilling going on but will worry about that when it happens.But i reckon your on the money with your butt lengths.

cheers

Ray Balmforth
Figtree
NSW
Australia

Ray,
Speaking of drilling and cutting, here is a sander that I made for myself to do the one simple job of cleaning up the butt cap of a rod that I have glued a replacement piece of cork.

[www.rodbuilding.org]

I will take a handle that is too long and use my abrasive chop saw to trim the handle to length. Then, I will take a piece of rubberized cork and glue it to the end of the handle to form the butt cap. Then, I drill a hole into the rubberized cork and match the hole size of the rest of the handle with a reamer.

Then, I will go ahead and glue on the handle - leaving about 3/8th of an inch at the end for the butt cap plug. Finally, I will glue in a tapered plug into the butt cap, after the handle has been glued to the blank.
Finally, I will place the handle on the rod in the cross vise sander, and use the cross vise sander to get a perfectly smooth flat end on the end of the butt cap.

Be safe
Roger