Hi,

I'm building a 4 wt fly rod and I'm just about to order a reel seat. I'm concerned about the balance of the rod.

Given that the actual reel placement on an uplocking versus downlocking reel seat is a good 1 inch (I would say) does this have a major impact on balance? Is this why they actually do make up versus down locking seats?

If anything I think my rod will be top heavy...therefore should I order a downlocking seat to get the reel as far back as possible?

Given that I only want to order 1 seat what's my best way of determining which style of seat...or are they made simply for personal preference and don't have much impact on balance.

Thanks in advance,
Preston

On a really light rod, moving a reel an inch makes a big difference in feel. There is a nice new seat by Venneri called the up-down, has a hood under the cork and one at the butt with a single slide band so the reel can be mounted either way. Or, build a seat with double slide bands and you can position the reel anywhere on the seat to get the best balance for the rod.

I like downlocking reel seats on 4 wts because I like to use a light reel and have the rod balance nicely when I am holding it. I also like to have my hand down near the reel like it is on an uplocking for casting. I use a downlocking and shape the handle in a 1/2 wells so that I can slide my hand down partly on the reel seat.

But what I really like is the sliding band uplocking reel seat from Venneri. It saves the space for all the screw threads so you get the reel up next to the cork but save about 1" in overall length of the seat. Holds tight too.

Do you balance a fly rod with the line rigged or not, hmmm...?

Rod balance has been tossed around, debunked and rebunked in every tackle shop in the world; it was going on before I ever picked up a rod and that's over 5 decades.

I think the original question here was about keeping a rod/reel combination from feeling excessivlly either tip or butt heavy. With short, very light rods, it can be a problem. having a reel seat that will move the reel can add much to how the rod feels in the hand, line out or not. Usually it's a problem of the reel being heavy, as super light reels are hard to find in a size to match say a rod weighing in around an ounce or ounce and a half.

To John Kuebler:

For me balance in a flyrod is important, but not down to a few grams. As long as the rod balances approximately with a reel full of line, then it will be close enough with 20 or 30 feet of line out. The total weight of 30 feet of 4 wt is about 1/4 oz, so not a huge shift. But it has to be initially close enough to be able to balance with your hand somewhere on the handle.
Balance is important to me when holding the rod, carrying it, and fishing with it. Static balance is not important in casting, and in fact, rods cast better with the reel as close to the hand as possible regardless of the fact that it is "tip heavy".