Thanks in advance for any help! I'm new at rod building so please excuse me if this question is a little silly. What is the general rule of thumb on reel placement. My main concern at this time is on a rod being used for bait fishing in the surf and one for throwing plugs in the surf. I've seen different places asking for shirt sleeve length and shoe size. This really got me confused! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You want the reel far enough up the rod that you can have enough leverage to cast it, but close enough so that it is comfortable to fish with.

Here's what I would recommend to you - take your current favorite rod and measure the seat distance from the butt. Now ask yourself what you like about, or don't like about it. Would you like it better if it was a tad longer? Shorter? That will tell you what you need to know about placing the seat on your rod.

Do try to compare apples to apples though. The placement on your favorite 7' spinning rod should not be the pattern for where you would put in on a 12' foot surf casting rod.

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Bear in mind, I 'build' strictly for myself and friends.

And since 'day one' I've used the same idea, as follows.

So, for power-casting, I measure the distance across the shoulder-joints of the user (usually me) and that, same, distance is used as the distance from the knob-to-reel centerline.

I feel it gave the best speed and force for the backcast loading and forward release.
For example, if the shoulder distance is 17 1/2 inches then the distance from the knob to the center of the reel seat will be 17 1/2 inches (or slightly more).

Bob M

Kevin, I have built several surf rods for a friend of mine and he takes the butt end of the blank and puts it up against his sternum, he then reaches with his casting arm up the blank, grabs his blank and the reel seat will be placed two fingers back on his grip. The arm is not extended fully but slightly crooked. Mind you, these are casting rods. My friend says this makes for a comfortable casting length on his back swing. He uses the pendalum casting method and gets good distance on his casts. Ellis

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Kevin, this was a good thread on what you were inquiring about.

Most people have a favorite rod that is a perfect fit for them or, they have a favorite rod that they wish were a little longer or a little shorter. This makes the fitting much easier.

If they are starting from scratch, it helps to have some pre-built rods in the shop to let them fondle to get an idea of what they want.

Measuring for a surf rod is easy. Take the customer out in the yard with the blank you plan on using and some masking tape. If it is a 2 piece, tape the female ferrule to keep it from splitting. Hand the blank to the customer and tell him to cast 5 or 6 times like he normally would during fishing. 99% of the time he is going to place his hands in exactly the right position. Stop him without letting him move his hands and place some tape at the front of the rear fist and on either side of the front fist. There you have his natural reach and can tweak the reach from there based on his style of fishing.

Now tell him to hold the rod in the position that he would be holding it if he was fishing. If he is a cast and hold, he may want the reach a little shorter to avoid straining. If he is a cast and put in a spike, he may can stand it a little longer, etc.


Adding a little...........
A good place to start if they haven't done any surf fishing is to fit the butt to the distance between the arm pit and the hand when arm is extended. Place a piece of tape where his thumb lays on the blank and while he is practicing the cast, watch to see if he straining. If he is, adjust it back.