Phil has a valid point there Lynn and come to think of it, i would also like to know how can you be so certain the horse has actually expired , maybe it's just sleeping.

Well, I got this all bungled up. I may have mislead you as to the rod. the 7'6" rod is rated heavy power, fast action, lure weights 3/4 to 3oz, line weights 15-30lb. My goal is to throw lures in the 3/4 to 1 1/2 oz range for pargos, cuberas etc, from a boat along the rocky shores in Mexico. I am looking for a rod to use for that purpose but not married to the 4500. That lead to my questions about balance and reel weights. I am just trying to learn this stuff. Not a dead horse, just trying to figure out the basics

You just added some very helpful info, the only thing this changes in regard to the rod is that it won't throw the low end nearly as effectively since it's rated up to 3 oz but it will definitely still work especially if your line choice isn't overly heavy. Now here is a basic rule of thumb , even though the rod is shown to have a 3/4 to 3 oz lure range the rod in reality will perform optimally in the 1 1/2 to 3 oz range and have a hard time loading up at it's listed 3/4 ounce starting point but this is completely normal .

Another basic rule of thumb is that and this especially applies to St. Croix rods but is a common practice across all rod lines from all manufacturers, even though the top lure range weight is listed as 3 oz this figure will tend to be quite conservative meaning that it's actual effective range will be more along the lines of 3. 5 ounce or more. To have a really good idea what a specific rod will cast optimally just look at the middle of what the low end & high end of it's rating is and try to match what the middle of those two figures reveal to what weights you will be throwing most.


Now the biggest change is that you will be fishing on a boat and not casting from the sand , this makes casting distance far less important and it also makes reel weight far less important as using a considerably larger reel from a boat is not nearly as big a negative as it would be if you were walking the sand . The correction about the power rating on the rod, the heavier lure ratings and that you will be fishing off a moving platform has made things switch in your favor considerably so you're in great shape.

I just realized you mentioned line weights of 15-30 pounds, i assume thats braid if it's mono or flouro as a main line a change in ring size in a high framed stripper would be advised , i would go with a KL-H 25 if you will be building using the KR concept . I would probably opt for a 25 in your case anyway since the Saltist 4500 DOES does have a larger spool diameter than Shimano's of similar sizes .

I know you're still banging your head about where you should locate the reel and reel seat , the best way to do this imo is mount the reel you plan on using at different locations and i would start about one foot up from the butt of the blank . Tape the reel foot onto the bare blank and your hands should just naturally move to where you feel most comfortable holding and casting by going through the motions . It you like the way it feels a few inches up or down move it and go through the motions again.

Now this is based on your Saltist 4500 that weighs 22 ounces which you said you're not sure you will be sticking with , if you plan on using a specific reel this is a step where it's important to have that reel before going further . If you plan to use different spinners than the reel seat position will change very slightly but not too much . In the overwhelming majority of cases an angler will know very quickly where the reel seat feels best and that will be it, to this day i have not run across anybody that has decided all of a sudden that the reel seat position doesn't feel optimal , it's pretty much a " I LIKE IT RIGHT HERE " end of story .

Herb, Thank you very much for the detailed, (and patient!) responses. Very helpful.

If the horse is tip up he/she is alive. If it's tail up stay away!

I had a reply to this typed 2 days ago and accidentally failed to post it. I thought it was pretty funny too.

lol Lynn ..... knowing you, I have a feeling I would have been busting a gut. lol

Bob, sorry to have misled you, the dead horse thing was in response to Phil's balance questions. Forgot you were pretty new to the forum. The balance thing has been an ongoing issue between some .

I knew exactly what the dead horse comment was about lol