I just invested in a long European style nymphing rod – 10’ 4wt. Taking it out for a quick lawn cast session, I immediately noticed that it is quite tip heavy with either of my usual 4wt reels. I’m concerned that that may lead to fatigue while high stick nymphing and possibly casting issues.
It seems like the solution is to add some weight at or behind the reel to counterbalance the weight of the longer rod. Getting a larger, heavier reel is the obvious solution. However, I’m wondering if there are other solutions. Anyone dealt with this or have ideas?
remove the butt cap and drill a hole and put lead in it until you get the right balance and then put the butt cap back on. You can usually remove the butt cap with slight heat.
I have seen a number of thngs done. For a little added weight, take some lead weight, flatten it into a sheet and cut it to fit under your reel foot. I have also seen people add some lead core line on the reel in front of the backing to get a better balance. This works well if you only use the reel on one rod.
I once had a Master Rod Builder (CEO Monteque Rod Company) explain to me that with the less expensive bamboo rods of the day the reels (Showed me with a Pflueger Medalist) had a way to add split shot into the center of the reel to balance the outfit.
I had asked him why one of the rods I had built was so top heavy, after his explanation I rebuilt the rod with lighter and fewer guides. It cast beautifully after being rebuilt correctly.
On the longer rods that I build, if I feel there is going to be a concern over it being tip heavy, I usually will ask the client what reel he plans on using and then I will match the weight of the intended reel with one that I have of similiar weight(size of the reel doesn’t matter, just the weight) I then mock up the build with all guides and hardware for it. If it is definitely tip heavy I will then start adding bullet weights inside the rear of the blank until I feel that it has acheived a more balanced state. After I am satisfied, I then remove the weights, add epoxy to them and re-install. I have also added a plug in the blank at the appropriate length, put the weights in and put a drop of superglue on the last one to necessitate removal in the event of a future reel change varying in weight.
The subject of rod balalnce is interesting. Fatigue and possibly wrist and shoulder injuries are major concerns. With the advent of graphite rods and heavier stock aluminum reels, the reverse problem can occur where the butt end is now heavier. Thanks for bringing the subject up for discussion
I have to go with Ray on this one (reply #2). When I think of the problem with weight balancing, I have to fall back on what I do for a living. As a motorcycle technician, this means wheel balancing. I’ve seen wheels with weight on one part of the wheel, placed there to counter weight placed on another part of the wheel. I’ve taken a couple of ounces off of an improperly balanced wheel. But one of the things that occurs most often is not mounting the tire correctly to begin with. There’s a heavy side that must be placed opposite the tire valve.
With that being said: “Choking up” on the handle to “balance” the rod in your hand might be a better alternative to adding weight. As they make the rods lighter and lighter, we notice the weight differences easier. We start compensating for things we just didn’t notice until the rod’s weight is back up to the older heavier rods.
As a member of a casting club that invites and coaches new flyfishers, I see this problem often. I don’t agree with adding weight inside the butt of the rod - only for the reason that it matches the rod to only one reel (or one of equal weight) and the weights are hard to remove. Our club suggests adding weight to the reel, which allows for changes in the future (changing the reel or eventually using that reel on a different rod).
I like the lead core line approach, although we use strips of lead the width of the arbor of the reel wrapped in the center of the reel. You can also use heavy split shot attached to the backing near the center of the arbor (spaced evenly around it).
With most of these weights, it is possible to hang or tape them to the rod butt to experiment. I suggest you do this with about 30’ of line outside the rod tip to properly weight the system as it would be for the majority of your fishing.
But the concept is to balance the rod (and line on the reel) as it would be used in fishing. It is an interesting observation to note the change in balance when the tip is heavier (holding line) and the reel is lighter (line off the reel), so the added weight should be included with this in mind. Your mileage may vary - as they say.
Greg, I agree. Balance the rod to how is is used in fishing. However in the case the way a 10’ nymph rod is fished is with no more then 10’ of line out. The rod is not cast in the traditional manor.
I have found that with the rods getting lighter and lighter, one should always try to purchase the lightest reel you can and all will be fine. Clarification: I am talking about the standard trout fly rods in the 7 to 9 foot range. Today, these rods weigh less than 3 ounces!!!
40 years of fly fishing and I am so glad I never had the scurge of counter balancing rear it’s ugly head. It probably has. Trouble is, I am too dimwitted to care.
Well you guys have given me lots of ideas to think about.
Being a cautious guy, I think I’m going to try the simple “choking up” solution first as that doesn’t entail any equipment modification. I’ll need to choke up above the cork and will probably shift my grip after the cast. We’ll see if I can make that adjustment.
Adding weight to the reel arbor sound pretty straightforward. However, I don’t think I want to do that as I would like to use the same reel on another much shorter, lighter rod of the same weight.
If I like the rod and can’t adjust to choking up, I’ll either buy a heavier reel or see about adding weight to the rod in the reel seat / butt.
John,
Be careful if you do decide to modify the rod itself as it may void the warranty if there is one. One way I have see to add a bit of weight to ballance the rod I have used is to get some of the nonstick grip wrap that tournament bass fisherman use. This is a strechy material that will grip to itself. right at the base of the cork make a wrap and 1/2 then lay some flat lead around this then over wrap that with more of the rod wrap works fine as long as you cast holding the hump of the cork. As stated above most of the time you will only have 10-15 feet of actual fly line out.
I had this issue also with a 3wt 10’ czech rod. None of my 4wt reels would balance it. Made my forearm ach after a few minutes nymphing. I ended up sanding down the cork butt so that I could slip on a 3/4" piece of PVC tubing with an end cap. I filled the pvc tube with tungsten powder till the balance point was about an inch from the cork handles grip ‘hump’. I then sealed the tungsten with a balsa plug. Slipped the assembly onto the end and epoxied it the cork. Even with the added weight my arm and wrist feels much much better. If you think about it, when it was out of balance, my forearm had to counter it constantly. Now the pivot point is nearer to my wrist, and the weight is actually supported by my entire arm now.
I’ve fished the rod a few times now – without any modifications to the rod, just trying to choke up. However, I must say that it feels a bit awkward. Surprisingly (at least to me), it bothers more casting than during the drift. The rod seems to have a heavy “recoil” at the end of the cast and my elbow / forearm is feeling it a bit after fishing the rod for a few hours yesterday.
I’ve always been of the notion that lighter fly equipment is better, so the idea of adding weight is hard to swallow. But I’ve going to give it a try. I did pick up some lead tape from a golf shop and may try adding to the rear end of the grip (as suggested by scuba steve). If that helps, I may look at adding a fighting butt with weight (as suggested by Silverexpress).