Has anyone ever used split grips on a Flippen rod, if so what are some good measurements?

Glenn McMurrian

Been using em since about 2003. Is really a matter of personal preference, I like mine to be short enough so as the rear of the butt will not catch in clothing. For me that length cannot be longer than 10.5”.. if you are working with a blank longer than 7’6” you may not be pleased with the balance of the rod ( meaning it may be too heavy. If your lucky enough to have longer arms you might find 11 - 11.25 inches will work great.

I have never made one on a Flippen rod, but all my bass rods have them, and they kick butt over a handle type of setup. I have even put them on fly rods, and people just love them. The guy is about 5.8 tall and not a big boy, so I very much doubt that he would be a tummy tucker who wants a short handle. Any more suggestions? the rod is 7.6, so balancing would be kind of hard as I never balance any rod that is over 7 feet; it just does not work well, so balancing would not be a big problem, any more help would be great.

Thanks

Glenn McMurrian

I stand when I flip (technically pitchin), so I can get away with a little longer handle...which is about 12.5 inches.
The longer handle comes in handy as leverage against the body.
The rod is 7' 2"...(I'm about 5' 11")...that length of a rod allows me pitch a jig without the tip hitting the water.

My flippin rod is about 7' 6".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/12/2024 07:22AM by Chris Catignani.

I'm a touch under 5' 8', medium build, the grips on my pitching / flipping rods are 9 3/4", butt of the rear grip, to the back of the reel seat. Like Thomas said, you have to consider any possible clothing you may need to wear when determining rear grip length. If not, you may end up with a rod that could be very difficult to use accurately. And you need accuracy when flipping and pitching.

One other thing to consider, is the path the rear grip takes when performing the technique. I pitch and flip with the same rod during a days fishing. When I flip, the rear grip of the rod travels to the outside of my forearm, away from my body. When I pitch, the rear grip travels to the inside of my forearm, towards my body. That plays a major role in how long of a rear I use.

Personally, I've moved away from split rear grips on my pitching and flipping rods. I want the added rear grip weight because it helps with balancing the rod and reel combination. And if it's a pitching and flipping rod, I will go to any length it takes, other than making the rear grip longer, to make sure the rod and reel combination have the degree of balance I prefer. Titanium guides with size 5 or smaller runners, and if need be, I'll add weight inside the butt of the rod.

Rod and reel balance is IMO, key when it comes to pitching and flipping rods.

It sounds like he is of an average to smaller build. Set it up at 10.25 from the rear of the reelseat.

Comfort is pretty individual specific, but I have always liked the butt of the split to be at/around my elbow joint when holding the reel seat for pitching/flipping/TX rigs/jigs/etc. How people hold the seat dictates that distance.

The retail bass rod world gives you grip length as the length from the end of the butt to the top end of the seat or foregrip, whichever comes first (on foregrip-less rods, the top end of the seat is the measurement point), so you can reference retail rods specs based on that as well.

For me personally, on my favorite pitching/flipping setups the grips are all between 15.5-16.5in depending on the butt grip design, no foregrip (all ECSM seats, so subtract 4.35in for the distance from the butt to the rear of the reel seat). When building a split grip I will mark up the reel seat position to the desired grip length after fitting (not epoxying) the fighting butt so I can get the exact distance that is my preference. You can put a reel (best if you use the reel you plan to use with it) on the seat and see how it feels in reference to the final position of your liking too (or with whoever you are building it for).

I don't recommend copying retail specs because you're building a custom rod, I would build it for the comfort of the person using it.