Hello everyone. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. I'm building a nearshore spinning rig -- king mackerel, cobia and big black drum. I have a Saragosa 8000 SW (the new model) and a Phoenix PSW700M. How would you go about determining how long to build the rear grip/reel seat placement? Based on some comparable rods I have seen, a 12" rear grip seems to be pretty standard. That seems about right from a function and comfort standpoint. Is there anything I should be looking at to decide if small adjustments should be made? The real is so heavy in relation to the rod that it doesn't seem like moving it up or down a few inches is going to make a big difference in balance.

I’d go with 12” myself. I like the reel seat in uplocking configuration.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

If you are going to be jigging, you might want a rear grip slightly longer. This way you can you the rod more of a fulcrum when brining the jig up the water column. I have a couple that are 16" that I use for jigging stripers. You might have some issues with casting distance, but deeper water jigging is slightly better.

If you go much past 12 inches, at least for me, you start snagging your foul weather gear with the end of the grip. I set it to where the grip in barely inside the elbow when bent and holding the rod and reel as I would fishing, reel and reel seat can change things a bit depending on size and orientation.