Happy New Year builders! I often read statements regarding building to match the reel choice. I have searched and find no topics specifically addressing this method. I can see how the reel seat would be a consideration for a specific reel. I can also see how size, length, and action of the rod would be considered, but I would think this has to do more with methods, species, etc. What are some other considerations when "building to/for the reel"? Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Fishing is not a sport, it is an art.

Mainly guide sizing, particularly the butt guide size and height.

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Well I will give you my thoughts,take them with a grain of salt as I have about 10 rod builds under my belt. I am currently building a rod ,it's a Lamiglas Certified Pro XSH 102 2 MT . I am building it specifically matched to a Daiwa BG 3000. So the Guide sizing is matched to that reel. But also,the color scheme of the rod I wanted to match the reel ,so I am putting on it Alps Y guides in titanium chrome with gold rings,and black thread wraps with gold trim embellishments. So that's my take on it. I sized the guides for the reel . There is lots of information here if you use the search engine. Good luck!

Robert

Weight of the reel and how it is distributed can effect balance of the rod.

A couple great articles in the Library page above can go a long way to teaching you the fundamentals of guide trains.

For spinning rods: New Guide Concept - Spinning rods will teach you the fundamentals of modern spinning guide trains. Angler's Resource, the US importer of Fuji components has a couple links regarding their New Guide Concept and the KR concept that will help you to select Fuji components. KR is a system designed for small diameter limp lines, particularly braid, but many are having good success with the lighter monos that are used in freshwater and inshore saltwater applications with it as well. These sources will help with sizing guides for spinning reels.

For all rods: Static Guide Placement will help you understand how to use your guides to more effectively distribute the load on the rod. For spinning applications I use the static placement to place the guides between the choker guide and the tip top. For casting applications, the static test is used to place all of the guides.

When it comes to casting rods, sizing is fairly straightforward. You need to ask yourself a series of questions. Do I need to keep the line off of a fore grip when the rod is under heavy load? If so, do I need to keep it off of my hand as well? These will help you determine sizing of the butt guide. For modern bass casting reels, anything from a single foot fly type 4mm guide up to a 10mm or 12mm double foot guide can be used. The line is leaving the reel under control of the level wind guide. I generally go with double foot 6mm single foot 5mm and 4mm to the tip for most of my bass rods. If I want to use 5mm or 6mm guides as the smallest, I'll start with an 8mm double foot and go straight to 5mm or 6mm guides afterwards. For wide and large round reels, start at 12mm and go up from there based on the height of the reel and fore grip requirements.

When in doubt, tell the guys here what you have in mind including the fishing application, blank, reel model and size, as well as line type and size, and the knowledgeable here will point you in the right direction.

Danny, I frankly don't care what specific reel a rod has as long as I stay in the same size group, most of the rods I've built no longer use the same reel they originally built for. Frankly in today's world, a well designed rod will cast pretty much the same with anyone's reel on it in the same size group, any differences will be attributed to reels, or lines more than rods.

My reel is a device that stores, dispenses and retrieves fishing line on request. I selected the reel for size, comfort and ease of operation.
My rod manages all of the exciting action.

I think there may be more fish caught on this planet by people who do not use a rod or reel, just a line and hook..that,s how i got started..thank goodness for eels and catfish..lol.

Thanks for the information, which has cleared this up in my mind considerably. As a fisherman, it seemed logical to buy a rod and reel that matched my needs and went well together. I guess I was looking to buy with this very feature in mind. I guess that is one of the reasons I am building. Sorry if I ask questions that are covered in other areas such as the library. I have read a great deal of the information on this site, and search posts before asking. But sometime I forget to search through the library. Thanks again.

Sometimes you don't know what info you are looking for until someone points it out.

Personally, I would rather rehash old topics than let the discussion lay dormant. You never know what new perspective or insight might come from a discussion with a different group of individuals involved.

Building for a specific line might be more productive?

When I build my spiral wrapped rods I have to align guides based on the reel's level wind line guide height off the blank. Changing reels can throw off line flow under load slightly.