I brought this up before - - but still bothering me.

I have a customer who wants me to install a slotted gimbal on the fighting butt of a 7'6", #16 CTS Revo for tuna.

For the life of me I still cannot see the purpose.
I can see the purpose on a big-game saltwater conventional rod when the angler is in a chair fighting a fish MUCH larger than he will. But not with a stand-up rod because the angler is more mobile and can turn his body to face the fish - and the same with a fly rod..

Can someone explain to me the use on a stand-up conventional rod Maybe then I will understand why - if the situation is the same - he might need it on a fly rod.
Thanks,
Herb



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2015 03:53PM by Herb Ladenheim.

If the guides are on the bottom of the rod, such as on a fly rod, the rod will be stable under load and won't require the use of a gimbal. Most likely, your customer has just seen this somewhere and decided it must be something he needs. Explain the physics behind it and if he still wants it, give it to him.

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

Not an aswer that will do you much good.

On a conventional reel there is a tendancy for the rod/reel combo to want to turn upside down. Hence the desire for a gimbal and/or the appeal of an acid wrap. None of these things are present on a fly or spinning rod.

Now if it is a spinning rod I might put in a rod holder, and I do troll with baitrunner spinning reels, then I often put a gimbal on them. Really any time I think I will use a fighting belt I like a gimbal. That can be as light as 12# class in our waters. I just find it makes it an easier fight on hard fighting/long running fish.

I have been liking the perfection ball gimbals lately. They don't dig a hole in ya when you can't get the fighting belt on.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Tom, Russell
Thanks.
Russell,
Any of the gimbals I have seen are much too large in scale to look appropriate on a fly rod.
I like Tom's answer better :-))

BTW - he will be using a harness - I am still trying to understand why he needs a slotted gimbal. Or how it will help him in the least. I just want to give him the right info.

Herb

Sounds to me like the customer would like a gimbal on it so he can put the butt in a fighting belt. I made one for a man who had a disability and could not fight a fish without it.

Make sure you don't exceed six inches from middle of reel seat to butt if pursuing IGFA records.

Also...here is a good article on the subject.

[www.btbff.com]

A fly rod for big tuna is like teaching a bear to tap dance. Cute, but not very pretty. Big tuna require LOTS of heavy lifting - several times. Fly rods are notoriously poor lifting tools, so to lift big tuna from the depths fly rods are built as short as possible and as stout as possible. This would quickly exhaust the hardiest angler unless the butt of the rod can be anchored to provide the leverage necessary to lift the tuna. A rod butt braced against the angler's groin would quickly cause serious physical injury to the angler, so a fighting belt around the angler's waist with a horizontal steel pin provides a safe fulcrum for the gimbal on the butt of the "fly rod."

A fly rod for big tuna is like teaching a bear to tap dance. Cute, but not very pretty. Big tuna require LOTS of heavy lifting - several times. Fly rods are notoriously poor lifting tools, so to lift big tuna from the depths fly rods are built as short as possible and as stout as possible. This would quickly exhaust the hardiest angler unless the butt of the rod can be anchored to provide the leverage necessary to lift the tuna. A rod butt braced against the angler's groin would quickly cause serious physical injury to the angler, so a fighting belt around the angler's waist with a horizontal steel pin provides a safe fulcrum for the gimbal on the butt of the "fly rod."

Phil,
He travels to Panama and wants to use a fly rod.
He is going to wear a belt with socket. I assume one can find a socket without pins. Assuming this is so - why does he need a slotted gimbal?

Russell,
That gimbal has an I.D. dimension of 1 1/8". Much too large for a fly rod.
Herb



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2015 06:28PM by Herb Ladenheim.

Yes, they make belts without the gimbal nock inside, but he may already have something or picked out something that has one. There are some nylon composite gimbals that feature a slip over butt cap so you can cap off the sharp edges of the gimbal if you want to use the rod against your gut, devoid of any belt or gimbal nock.

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

Tom,
I saw them. But they are also much too large in diameter.

I believe his belt has pins - but money is no object - he can get a belt without pins. He is traveling to Panama after all. What's another 50 bucks.
Herb



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2015 06:31PM by Herb Ladenheim.

After fighting a 125 pound blue marlin for 3 and half hours my stomach was sore after pressing the eva fighting but against my stomach muscle and pumping with the 14 weight rod Wish I had a gimbal and a " fighting belt. It s really though.

Terje,
Please tell me why it would not have also been better for you with a belt and socket (no pins) with your rod w/o a slotted gimbal.
Herb

If he wants one on the bottom I would just put it on there. It isn't going to hurt to have it there even if he never uses it. AFTCO makes some with a 7/8 ID. If this is still large just build an arbor of delrin thats what I usually do.

as long as the man payes the bill make it for him it is his money , but it is odd but like Terje stated it hurt after 3 1/2 hrs of fighting a 130 FISH

William Sidney
AK

Herb
To modify myself a little bit : A combination of a belt and and the glued on fighting but on my 14 weight rod would have been an ideal combination I think only a gimbal would be a little awkward with everything you do before fighting the the fish, may be even then. I know some rods had a gimbal and a delerin knob you stick on the gimbal so you get both options. I do not know if this is available on the market. One more important thing if you put on a gimbal: It must be able to rotate 180 degrees, because you will fight the the fish both sideways and also sometimes do some heavy vertical lifting. After all: A belt and a fighting but is the safest way to go.

Terje,
Thanks for the follow-up. That is in line with my thinking.
Herb

Coming to this a bit late, but I've got to second (or third) what Terje and Phil have stated. I have two fly rods with gimbal butts, and for the few times I've needed the gimbal and belt, I wouldn't have traded that setup for anything. You feel beat-up enough after a fight with these kinds of fish; having a bruised, abraded mid-section is one ache you can avoid by using that combo. Doesn't matter how padded or large you make a foam or cork fighting butt, it's going to hurt a lot the next day or two. My rods have a rubber cover that is installed when the gimbal is not needed, and removes easily to expose the gimbal when you need it.

Bryan,
Issue was not the use of a belt. It was the use of a SLOTTED gimbal vs a smooth conventional FB.

Tom/Terje,
I have cut and pasted your comments (Terje - your last post) to the customer and he now agrees NOT to have slots in the FB (gimbal).
Just a simple - but beefy - fighting butt that I can turn on my lathe.
Thanks to all,
Herb

For lifting deep-diving fish like tuna I would want a slotted gimbal on any type of rod/reel setup, even a "fly rod." Fish fighting is the same no matter what rod or reel you use. The guys who pursue #50+ tuna commonly use a slotted gimbal. A protective rubber or plastic butt-cap will fit over a slotted gimbal as well as any other.