Rod Balance

So I have a question about rod balance. With some presentations I have been told people want the balance with the tip up or down. Why? A perfectly balance rod has 0 strain on our wrist in either direction and will feel lighter than a rod that is lighter with an off balance. Let’s say you want a rod with a heavy tip down balance. That will cause more strain on your wrist always pulling down and feel heavier than you just moving it. There are a couple exceptions to where I would like the balance to be just 1/2”-1” away from the center of my middle finger. Most people still call that perfectly balance.

Blades rod for musky is a prime example. Lots of resistance from the bait and the rod tip pointed at the bait or slightly below right at the water level… balance is basically negligible in that scenario. Spinner bait rod for bass might be similar. Personally I still prefer any rod to balance right at the reel seat.

Because I don’t always hold the rod perfectly horizontal depending on presentation. If I’m vertical jigging or drop shotting then I like my rod with a good neutral balance. If I’m doing a presentation where the tip is typically down like when I’m casting a walking or popping topwater or stickbait. Or if I’m fishing something like a bass jig or Texas rig I like my tip up. I like the rod to naturally go where I want it without much effort.

tswoboda wrote:

Blades rod for musky is a prime example. Lots of resistance from the bait and the rod tip pointed at the bait or slightly below right at the water level… balance is basically negligible in that scenario. Spinner bait rod for bass might be similar. Personally I still prefer any rod to balance right at the reel seat.

I forgot about musky fishing when I posted this last night. I am not even sure where my musky rods are balance at. I am not sure how you can make a 9’+ stick with a 8+ oz lure feel like a feather.

Correct. Any presentation that you have constant contact/drag with the lure would negate any balance the rod has.

It’s the presentations that either loses contact with the lure or the majority of it’s weight for periods of time and presentations that hop/walk/slow drag the lure that I find the proper/preferred balance important.

Remember years ago they had a slip on cap for the butt end of your rod. You inserted quarters to get the balance you wanted.

Dutchboy wrote:

Remember years ago they had a slip on cap for the butt end of your rod. You inserted quarters to get the balance you wanted.

Yup.

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Rodwork wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tswoboda wrote:</div>
Blades rod for musky is a prime example. Lots of resistance from the bait and the rod tip pointed at the bait or slightly below right at the water level… balance is basically negligible in that scenario. Spinner bait rod for <em class=”ido-tag-em”>bass might be similar. Personally I still prefer any rod to balance right at the reel seat.

I forgot about musky fishing when I posted this last night. I am not even sure where my musky rods are balance at. I am not sure how you can make a 9’+ stick with a 8+ oz lure feel like a feather.

I balance all my musky rods to the reel seat just like anything else. Makes a big difference in fatigue with action baits like jerk/twitch baits, gliders, and even rubber. Hard pulling blades are just the example I used where an unbalanced won’t really matter. Nothing worse than a clunky tip heavy rod, even musky rods. I build my musky rods like oversized bass rods – most off the shelf rods are way overbuilt and a lot heavier than necessary.

I personally never understood the constant emphasis requirement for a neutral balance rod. The majority of the rods I’ve used are all tip heavy. The only requirement I would need for a neutral balance would be like a neutral lindy rig and similar neutral presentations. I’m not using my rod tip to work any lure, except for finessing a lure. In such instance I give it some line slack and would like for a neutral balance.

Then again, I’m quite accustomed to using Ugly Stiks, and that may have a lot of influence on me. If I had to think about using a tool, there’s a technique where I want to tool to do the work. The method is often to let the weight of the tool guide the technique. For example a knife that has some weight to the blade, it allows the blade to do the cutting/slicing without one having to muscle it. In this concept, I may use my rod in a similar method. So for example moving a lure like a popper or jerkbait, I may prefer a more tip heavy to utilize gravity to assist the moving of lure.

When I use my rod, there is a fulcrum on which I impart to the lure. In doing so, I’m more than likely holding my wrists in a locked position or with very little motion. I use more of my forearms to impart action onto the rod. This ties into letting the tool do the work.

Made myself a mold to cast lead slugs. Hang lead on a wire on butt until I get the balance I am looking to get. I add the slug to the rear of the blank after guides are and before butt cap. Different size holes for different blanks.

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I think some equate balance with a carpenters level or a tight rope walker, where in my eyeballs it’s an even distribution of weight relative to whatever position I need it.

Pitching jigs that rods 10oclock. I want that rod balanced to 10oclock. Light rod, light reel, balance makes those 3-4 hour sessions of nothing but casting and retrieving sooooo much easier, whether from shore, on a boat, or most importantly in waders.

Crank bait rod I like tip heavy with a big reel. Big reel has a bigger arbor for easier unspooking of line, but also creates this nice catapult action when chucking cranks. Reeling in typically that tip is close to water.

Livebait rigging I like it balanced with the horizon, maybe even a tad tip heavy. When it’s windy that long rod stays right by the water.

Vertical jig perfectly horizontal.

List goes on, these are my main rods. Not only does “balance” help with fatigue, but imo it makes your presentation that much more sensitive. That balance is crucial once you find it, I can never go back to owning a rod that isn’t balanced for a specific application.

Thanks guys for the great input.