TackleTour

My buddy got me to balance all my setups, using rubber chair leg caps and lead.
Does anyone here do something similar?

Tungsten putty and lead shot in the butt caps the later can be applied into the blank with epoxy or mixed into epoxy putty and inserted - and the butt cap reapplied.

Otherwise those Fuji weight butt caps work.

Yes I have but sort of dont any longer. It was like at times I could feel the counter balance of the cap during a cast didnt feel as natural with that much weight on the far butt end. The one rod that kept the cap, my LTB ML/XF that rod very tip heavy.


7'6" Cumara

I just take a lead worm weight and pound it flat with a hammer on the garage floor. Trim it to fit in the chair leg cap. you can add or subtract lead depending on the reel you use on the rod. I switch reels often so this works for me. have found it particularly helpful on my flipping/pitching sticks. Some use quarters; but I got more old lead worm weights than quarters !!

I am kind of torn on this. As a rod builder I try to make them as light as I can and then to turn around and add weight goes against the grain. I have never added weight on lighter power rods but when you have a heavy power or a long rod they can feel very tip heavy. So yes I have added weight but it is not something I do "lightly". It is easy to do when you are building and somewhat harder with a already finished rod. For me the jury is still out.

I've used this method to balance some of my bottom contact rods. I like how simple, cheap and effective it is plus you don't alter the rod so resale is a non-issue. I never understood trying to balance a rod by using heavier reels. If you are a "weight weenie," then just get the lightest reels and use the rubber bumpers. A balanced combo feels lighter in your hands.

http://www.matagi.co.jp/alumiparts/index.html

Go on Matagi.co.jp and get a butt balancer. Any good builder can add them. A few of my custom bottom contact rods have them. They are less necessary for tip down presentations. You just add brass discs to your liking. They look and feel a lot better than a big rubber bulge at the end of your rod.

I use them on long tip up rods

Never have.

Most people go through life playing sports with tools that aren't usually a great fit for them. They never really get to feel the highest level of performance. I'm not one of those people. The fishing rod is much like a golf club in that someone that spends a lot of time with it will be able to tell the difference in swing weight very easily. I can't pick up an off-shelf golf club without wanting to adjust the lie and swing weight to fit me.
The production rod companies know that the average customer isn't even going to bother to take the intended reel and bait to the tackle shop to feel the balance. What really causes me to shake my head is that some of the really high-end production rods are very obviously poorly balanced, yet people still buy them. The owners of those rods usually get offended (an obvious reaction to buyers remorse ) when I remind them of it. Buyer's remorse can be fixed with the right balancing tool. Try the cheap fixes to see if you might be an enthusiast. The real enthusiast with naturally want to take it to the next level with a balancing tool that also looks good. The putty tricks mentioned earlier can be good fixes also.

toddmc wrote:Most people go through life playing sports with tools that aren't usually a great fit for them. They never really get to feel the highest level of performance. I'm not one of those people. The fishing rod is much like a golf club in that someone that spends a lot of time with it will be able to tell the difference in swing weight very easily. I can't pick up an off-shelf golf club without wanting to adjust the lie and swing weight to fit me.
The production rod companies know that the average customer isn't even going to bother to take the intended reel and bait to the tackle shop to feel the balance. What really causes me to shake my head is that some of the really high-end production rods are very obviously poorly balanced, yet people still buy them. The owners of those rods usually get offended (an obvious reaction to buyers remorse ) when I remind them of it. Buyer's remorse can be fixed with the right balancing tool. Try the cheap fixes to see if you might be an enthusiast. The real enthusiast with naturally want to take it to the next level with a balancing tool that also looks good. The putty tricks mentioned earlier can be good fixes also.

I think you're right. I balanced my rods to midpoint of the drag star/handle, and they are much easier to fish with all day, especially my punching setups.

mark poulson wrote:

toddmc wrote:Most people go through life playing sports with tools that aren't usually a great fit for them. They never really get to feel the highest level of performance. I'm not one of those people. The fishing rod is much like a golf club in that someone that spends a lot of time with it will be able to tell the difference in swing weight very easily. I can't pick up an off-shelf golf club without wanting to adjust the lie and swing weight to fit me.
The production rod companies know that the average customer isn't even going to bother to take the intended reel and bait to the tackle shop to feel the balance. What really causes me to shake my head is that some of the really high-end production rods are very obviously poorly balanced, yet people still buy them. The owners of those rods usually get offended (an obvious reaction to buyers remorse ) when I remind them of it. Buyer's remorse can be fixed with the right balancing tool. Try the cheap fixes to see if you might be an enthusiast. The real enthusiast with naturally want to take it to the next level with a balancing tool that also looks good. The putty tricks mentioned earlier can be good fixes also.

I think you're right. I balanced my rods to midpoint of the drag star/handle, and they are much easier to fish with all day, especially my punching setups.

I am having a new Point Blank punching rod built this year, and it will be balanced. I think back to the original telescoptic flipping rods with the thick heavy composite blanks and short handles. That was the first rod that I ever put a balancer on because they were so out of balance. Man were they tip heavy! Fishing that rod is like going back to a persimmon wood in golf.

mark poulson wrote:

toddmc wrote:Most people go through life playing sports with tools that aren't usually a great fit for them. They never really get to feel the highest level of performance. I'm not one of those people. The fishing rod is much like a golf club in that someone that spends a lot of time with it will be able to tell the difference in swing weight very easily. I can't pick up an off-shelf golf club without wanting to adjust the lie and swing weight to fit me.
The production rod companies know that the average customer isn't even going to bother to take the intended reel and bait to the tackle shop to feel the balance. What really causes me to shake my head is that some of the really high-end production rods are very obviously poorly balanced, yet people still buy them. The owners of those rods usually get offended (an obvious reaction to buyers remorse ) when I remind them of it. Buyer's remorse can be fixed with the right balancing tool. Try the cheap fixes to see if you might be an enthusiast. The real enthusiast with naturally want to take it to the next level with a balancing tool that also looks good. The putty tricks mentioned earlier can be good fixes also.

I think you're right. I balanced my rods to midpoint of the drag star/handle, and they are much easier to fish with all day, especially my punching setups.

As a percentage of total rod reel weight, how much weight do you have to add to get an outfit to balance at the centre of the reel handle?. Any pics? Thanks

More the fact of tip blank weight and guides over reel weight compensation.

Sore Thumb wrote:

mark poulson wrote:

toddmc wrote:Most people go through life playing sports with tools that aren't usually a great fit for them. They never really get to feel the highest level of performance. I'm not one of those people. The fishing rod is much like a golf club in that someone that spends a lot of time with it will be able to tell the difference in swing weight very easily. I can't pick up an off-shelf golf club without wanting to adjust the lie and swing weight to fit me.
The production rod companies know that the average customer isn't even going to bother to take the intended reel and bait to the tackle shop to feel the balance. What really causes me to shake my head is that some of the really high-end production rods are very obviously poorly balanced, yet people still buy them. The owners of those rods usually get offended (an obvious reaction to buyers remorse ) when I remind them of it. Buyer's remorse can be fixed with the right balancing tool. Try the cheap fixes to see if you might be an enthusiast. The real enthusiast with naturally want to take it to the next level with a balancing tool that also looks good. The putty tricks mentioned earlier can be good fixes also.

I think you're right. I balanced my rods to midpoint of the drag star/handle, and they are much easier to fish with all day, especially my punching setups.

As a percentage of total rod reel weight, how much weight do you have to add to get an outfit to balance at the centre of the reel handle?. Any pics? Thanks

Depending on the rod, anywhere from just the chair leg cap on a 7' med. light, to 2 oz plus cap for a 7'11" punch rod. I use a lot of different brands of rods, so their weights are all over the place.
Once they're balanced, I don't notice the weight.