I'm starting into my first surf rod build and have some questions. At what distance do you place the reel seat from the base of the rod and why? I plan to build with a normal reduction train based on the Angler's Resource guidance and use size 5 or 6 running guides. Does that sound logical?

The number of running guides will depend upon how much rod length needs to be accounted for beyond the choke guide location.

Reel seat placement is generally a compromise between casting requirements and fish fighting use. A seat that is too far forward can difficult to use for fighting a fish. A seat that is not far enough forward can limit casting ability. I would suggest handling a few surf rods that you presently own and determining how the seat placement on those suit you. Work from there.

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Thanks

My "magic number" has been 24 inches on center! I don't know if this will work for you, but that's my magic number. Its always 24 inches from the butt of the rod to the CENTER of the reel seat.

If you have your reel, and you have your seat, make a "tape arbor" on the rod, just like you would if you were going to epoxy the seat onto the rod.

Slide the seat onto the arbor, then put your reel on the seat. If its a 2 piece rod, put the 2 pieces together, if its a one piece rod, you're good to go.

After I have the seat on the rod, I tape the eyes onto the rod with masking tape and run the line through the eyes and tie on a 3 ounce Sputnik sinker, the kind you use at the beach and because I live on the water, i am able to make a few casts but I am sure you could do the same thing in your front yard. I also have a "hookless" top water lure that I use sometimes in place of the Sputnik sinker that catches my cats attention EVERY time! Use whatever works for you.

I will put one finger, under the rod, right above the end of the spool of the reel and I will have "balance" as the weight of the reel and back 24 inches of rod balance out the forward part of the rod. Since everything is tape, if need be, you can slide the arbor up or down the blank to find your balance point. You can add more tape as an arbor to find out if this spot "feels good" in your hands. I'm usually working with Penn 6000 to 8000 series reels. The lighter the reel, the farther away from the butt the reel seat will be to get your balance. By the way, I find the balance point with no weight attached to the line.

Tony Boschi
Banana River Rods
Merritt Island, Florida
321~525~1063

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2019 08:16AM by Tony Boschi.