Balancing Rod & Reel

Over the past year or so I've had a series of questions from novices on the theme of either "what's the best reel to go with X rod?" or "will my Y reel go with X rod?".  Given the number of replies I've given in emails or posts on the Salmon Fishing Forum, I thought it might be useful (and easier for me) to put up a simple blog post explaining the whys and wherefores of getting the right match between reel and rod.

Some popular misconceptions

Two 13' rods
Same maker, one uplocking, one downlocking
= different reel seat position
= different centre of gravity

Any  #8 reel automatically matches a #8 salmon rod  
Wrong: this is because rods differ in length, weight and importantly, in the position of the reel seat. This is shown in the example here.  The position of the reel seat on the lower rod allows the use of a reel that is 10% lighter, despite the fact that the upper rod is significantly lighter than the lower.

Lamson Guru 4 #8 - Loop Evotec G4 #8

All #8 reels are the same
Wrong: these reels are both #8 rated with the same diameter and line capacity, and look similar.  However, owing to differences in design and construction, the Loop is 80 grams or more than 20% heavier.  That makes a big difference to the balance of rod and reel.

At the same rating, lighter reels are better

Wrong, because a lighter reel may not balance your rod and make the outfit uncomfortable for fishing.

Little rods only need little reels

Vision Tool 11' 6" #8
Danielsson L5W 8/12
in perfect harmony on the Gaula

Wrong: salmon rods of whatever length are designed to deal with salmon, which means an appropriate line capacity for lots of backing.

Here is an 11' 6" rod, nicely balanced by an #8/12 reel, loaded with 250 yards of 30 lbs backing and 100' of 30 lbs running line.

Remember, a large salmon doesn't check what rod and reel you're using before taking your fly.  You are just as likely to hook a big fish on a small rod as a large one, and you would feel a complete idiot if you lost the fish of a lifetime for want of line capacity.

Having sorted out the misconceptions, let's move onto the key questions and explanations.

"What is rod/reel balance? And why is it desirable?"

There are two main reasons why you want a good balance between your rod and reel.

Reel too light
Upper hand at the limit of the cork &
Reel tucked under elbow to stop rod tip sinking

First, the best place to have your upper hand when fishing is where it will be when you cast.  Then you don't have to fiddle about when changing from fishing to casting.  And if the rod and reel balance nicely around the position of your upper hand, when you're fishing you don't want to be making the effort to either hold the rod tip up or force it down.  Here's an example of the effects of a reel that's too light for the 14' LPXe the angler's using.  By the end of the day this gets tiring and boring.  If you can have a nice light grip with the upper hand at the point of balance and the rod remains horizontal, life's much easier all round.

Second, when you're casting, in the forward stroke the key is the rotation around your upper hand (and not the forward movement of the upper hand).  The rearwards movement of your lower hand moves the rod tip through a considerable arc and so delivers more energy and speed than anything you do with the upper hand, which is purely supplementary.  If the centre of gravity of your rod and reel is close to your upper hand, then the rod will be in broad dynamic balance throughout the cast, saving effort and energy.  In contrast, if the reel's too light, you have to overcome more of the rod's inertia at the start of the forward cast, which requires additional effort and may also cause you to bring excessive right hand work to bear on the problem.  if it's too heavy you encounter issues during the back cast.  The simple conclusion is that a neatly balanced outfit makes life easier and helps your casting efficiency.

So how do I get the balance?

It's very simple and takes no more than 5 minutes.

Assemble your rod without the reel and place it on a pivot where your upper hand will be when casting and fishing.

A chair and a bottle or a smooth rock will do just as well.

This rod is a 2010 Charles Burns 13' #8/9 built on a Harrison Lorhic blank, with an ALPS downlocking reel seat.

Then hang a carrier bag from the centre of the reel seat.

Add weight into the carrier bag until the rod balances nicely as shown here.

For this exercise I used golf balls because I had some in the garage.  Five of them did the trick.

Remove the bag and weigh, noting the result, in this case, 240 grams to the nearest whole number.

(And yes, I had tared out the weight of the bowl)

When you're casting and fishing the line head is outside the top ring, so its weight doesn't enter the balance equation.  However, the running line and backing do count, but they're very light: 100' of 25 lbs runner weighs around 15 grams, and spun gets backing is very light indeed.  Altogether allow 30 grams, and subtract that from the weighed figure = 210 grams. This tells you that a reel in the weight range 200-230 grams will give a nice balance with this rod.

Ideal balance
13' Burns & Lamson Guru 4

And here's the proof of the trick.  The reel is an old model Lamson Guru 4, which weighs 206 grams bare, but in this case it's fitted with 30 lbs BS runner rather than 25 lbs, which makes it slightly heavier.  The head is laid out on the lawn.  The balance is perfect.

If, however, you put an Evotec G4 on this rod, you would need to move your upper hand by almost 4 inches down the cork to maintain balance.

It's simple to do.  Just 5 minutes work can give you the information you need to get exactly the right weight of reel for your rod to ensure comfortable and efficient fishing.  It can also save you buckets of regret at buying the wrong reel.

I hope you find this post useful.

I wanted to go fishing today but work, domestic chores and the grass in the orchard intruded.  Around 6-8 springers were caught on the Ure over the opening weekend (Yorkshire starts on 6th April for some bizarre reason) and I can't wait to get into the action.