I’m new at all of this…

A mention of rod weights on a recent thread got me thinking.

I use a factory rod (an older FTU Green Rod) that weighs right at 4 oz.

I fish for redfish and trout with topwaters and soft plastics.

A friend came fishing with me who had a couple of rods that felt a lot lighter. That was rigged, so the reel could have made a difference.

How light can you reasonably get- for everyday use- building one yourself?

Just curious-

Many thanks

Lighter than most any commercially made rod. But keep in mind that how a rod feels in the hand also has to do with how it balances. Sometimes a rod that is a bit heavier can actually feel lighter, at least in the fishing position. I'm not big on rod balance, preferring instead to simply build as light as possible, but it does make a difference in how a rod may feel.

Take your friend's rods, pull the reels off and weigh them. Weigh yours. Determine if the difference was the reels or the balance. Go from there.

Any time you want to compare weights on the spot, by feel, hold the rods straight up and down, not horizontal.

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Thanks, Tom

I didn’t cast them, so have no idea on balance.

Btw you’re doing a great job- this is a great resource-

My experience with spin rods of the type you are mentioning (7 feet) is that they usually come in from 3.6-4 ounces with a size 17 DPSSD Fuji seat. Rods that come in lighter often have skeleton seats and shorter blanks. I figure, with the way I design them, that they will come in at about blank weight + 2 ounces.

i have built several light spin rods by running the line straight to the choke guide, just using a small size 8 or 10 yag guide and no reducing guides, making for a much lighter guide train over all...but this only works with the lighter braidd lines..

I'm always searching out the latest info on rods and materials and rod manufacturers are always looking to come up with the lightest weight rod blanks and rods possible . ODM which is a manufacturer that I have a lot of skepticism about took a page out of the Winston playbook by offering a blank that has Boron in it claiming it as the ultimate of course with a price tag to match . Most know Century claims Graphene is the greatest thing ever which a lot of anglers buy into but if you read the scientific data on Graphene it appears to offer nothing except making a blank more conductive which is not what surf fisherman are looking for . At least not what intelligent surf fisherman are looking for , thunderstorms are a constant threat .

Lots of marketing tactics being applied out there and it amazes me how many anglers eat it up.

Imo there really hasn't been any ground breaking technology's in recent years the last being the much superior nano resin's for bonding laminates which every reputable rod and blank manufacturer has been using since they became available although each manufacturer wants potential buyers to think only they use it . Each has their own proprietary name for them of course.

I am very familiar with the FTU green rods. These are typically baitcaster rods in medium / medium light power and fast in action. The blank is light but the grips are composite cork so this is where the weight is coming from. I take it that this is not a custom build but bought directly from FTU. Also, the reel seat maybe adding weight. If I use a NFC P703-1 blank cut down to 6’9”, use natural cork split grips and Fuji SKTS-2 16 (2 piece reel seat) with Fuji Ti framed SIC / Torzite RV6, KB5, KB4, KB4, KB4, KB4, KT4, KT4, KT4 and a 4.5 TFST Tip Top (Spiral Wrap), 3 swooped aluminum winding checks, with minimal trim bands only, I can get it down to 2.6 oz in total rod weight and 3.1 oz with a Tiger wrap between the split grips. You could probably get pretty close with the FTU green rod built the same way. I use Titanium frames for corrosion resistance but you could use Stainless frames and Alconite rings and it would not change the weight of the guides in those sizes, although you can’t get a RV6 without a Ti frame. With a light reel like a Shimano Aldebaran MGL 50 (4.8 oz), you could have a rod and reel that weight under ½ pound. I make and sell rods like this all the time in the Houston area for Trout, Redfish and Flounder.