INDIANANGLER

What could be the best possible combination of Rod and Reel, keeping in view of Rod Length/weight vs. Reel (Size/weight)

I don't think there can ever be a 'best combination'. Each fishing technique requires a different set up. You need a spinning rod and reel for spinning, a float set up for float fishing, Surf fishing calls for totally different gear and so does trolling.

The simplest thing to do when buying a new rod and reel is to put them together. Then hold the rod the way you would while casting and see if it is balanced. Too much weight at the back or front affects your cast.

Still without any specs like length of rod, size of reel, line, lure weight, etc you can't tell.

I cannot really add anything to MKs advice kinda perfect.

Yesterdays trick Question

Never Catch Mken or Bobster on a Friday evening with something like that

As per my limited experience a Light/ Medium Rod of 5' 6" to 6" ft is ideal for a balanced & controlled cast in fresh water fishing, as far as reel selection is concerned a gear ratio of 5:1 with a good anti reseverse with a smooth shift of the bail & a deeper spool to hold good lenght of line is what you should look at...

Hi Guys,

Just a thought. For spinning outfits, the reel has almost no impact on the 'balance' of your outfit, since you are holding the rod at the reel seat anyway.

What affects balance is the rod itself. Try this (for spinning rods of say 6 to 9 ft.; forget the coarse & surf ones!): assemble the rod (only) and balance it on your outstretched forefinger. Check how far that balance point is from the reel seat. If it is significant (say >8in.), you'll feel the rod 'top heavy'. If that point is close to the reel seat, the rod feels light and 'balanced'.

Even then, all this is only critical if you are casting lures all day, and do the odd single-handed sidecasts on spinning outfit. For bait fishing, I dont think it's a real issue.

As to size of reel, I think the more critical issue is the size of the butt guide ring of the rod in relation to the reel spool size. Imagine line from a Shimano 10,000 reel entering a guide ring of say 2-cm diameter. You wouldn't be able to cast too far with it.

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Thanks Junglebum for the valuable info on Rod Balance. Can you elaborate little more? Is the distance from the Reel Seat measured from the center of Reel Seat or from the From the front end of Reel seat? As the Reel Seat itself is about 5 to 6 inches long.

Secondly, if the Rod is top Heavy, without a Reel fixed on Rod, how scan one make it balanced? Why do you suggest that balancing should be tested without a Reel?

Regards,


Arun

Hi Arun.

Sorry for the confusion. When I say reel seat, I mean the point where the reel stem meets the rod.

Actually, this is not rocket science. After a while, when you have hefted enough rods at the tackleshop, you can instinctly tell if a rod is "top-heavy", but just to show off to the others in the shop, you do the forefinger balancing test!

But let me remind you, this is only for lure-casting spinning rods, okay. I dont think they can ever get those long coarse or surf rods to be balanced like this.

OK, if your rod is top heavy, one option is to add some weight to the butt end. In the States, they sell these 'balancing discs' for this effect. They look like coins. In fact, that's what you can use! I know one rod builder here who used a coin to balance one of my custom rods.

So, get coins of various sizes/weights, use masking tape to attach them to the rod butt, and keep doing the balance test. When you are satisfied, find a way of securing the coin/s for good. If you have a detachable rod butt cover/bung, the job will be much easier. 5-minute epoxy?

A faster option is to break off a few inches of the rod tip, but make sure there's a 30-lb musullah mahseer at the end of the line.

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I think you should only balance a rod with the reel on. A rod cannot be balanced without the reel. The reel is the actual weight so put on the reel, hold it as you would when you cast and then see is the rod tips forward or to the rear. It's as simple as that.

Thanks Junglebum and MKen for your suggestions.

After giving a thought to both options (Balancing a Spinning Rod without a Reel attached and with the Reel attached), I feel MKen's suggestion is more logical. This is because we are looking for a Balanced Rod in our hand at the time of casting and retrieving the lure.

Suppose I balance the Rod as suggested by Junglebum, without a reel and by fixing coins at But end, then at the time of actual fishing the Rod would become But End Heavy as the weight of Reel is added in addition of coins. Ofcourse, at any time the weight of a Reel would contribute much more effect on Rod Balance compared to weight of coins.

javascript:emoticon(':?') I am open to corrections regarding my theory.

Regards,


Arun

Sorry guys for a late reply, My question was totally based on Spinning with spinning rod/reel setup.


I have Cabelas FishEagle II spinning rod(3 pc, 9 feet, Heavy, lure cap. 1/2-2, line cap. 10-20) /Cabelas salt striker reel SS50.
This setup is quite heavy, I want to replace SS50 with lighter reel with in a range of $100, but drag should be between 15-20lbs
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Just for anyone who need light tackle with in $150
Got another spinning tackle with Daiwa Heartland Walleye Spinning Rods (2 pc, 7 feet, Medium, lure cap. 1/4 to 5/8, line cap. 6-12) /Daiwa Exceler Spinning Reels EXC3000), This is perfectly balanced setup and I landed few snakeheads ranging from 2lbs to 13lb on it. Its a very light but durable setup in just $150.
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I also need a heavy rod /reel/line setup for snakehead in weedy areas. Any suggestion? Price range should be within $200.

Mobeen, great input there from the guys and thats a nifty outfit you have there.
I found, at the end of the day, its waht feels comfy in your hands.
I started with a Shakespeare 8b & a Pflueger 8lb reel, though it was the cats whiskers-actually, it is, my fav Murral combo.
moved onto so many-12 ft fox 6 pc with an aero 8000shim, a shim 6pc 3m travel rod with a 6000 baitrunner,a browning 3m surf tele, and now, i exclusively use a 2pc 6 ft TFO by lefty kreh with a plain jane shim 6000 and 15lb line, and latest is another vanilla plain 7ft jarvis walker with a 4500series line loaded with 14lb mono
I have a bad shoulder, tear in a tendon, and past one year, has been very hard to use a rod comfortably.This probably gave me a better insight, now that I am recovered, its what you are comfy with.The TFO 2 pc is rated for 20lb I think , and I've used it for every thing-from using no 8 sabiki hooks for whiting or tie on a 5/0 and troll as a boat rod-if a marlin decides to take my bait, he better watch out
So, if you reconsider, i dont think you should need a HEAVY outfit for murral, of all the things...That daiwa walleye with 10-12lb braid should be quite sufficent.you can rip through the weeds.
You can probably use upto 15lb mono without giving it a coronary.When i was 'master' newbie, i loaded my poor lil 8 lb reel with 15lb line! fortunately, that 'trip' did'nt last long

Before you decide on a set up & balancing a rod / reel.....you have to first decide if you want to be a fisherman or an angler.

if you want to be a fisher man, you can use a heavy set up for small fish & wont really care about balancing.

If you are an angler, you will think about the balance Cos it will be important while fishing all day. You will have to decide on target fish (for that set up) & you will have to decide on how much bank balance you want to have.

My favourite set up is a fenwick 4lb rod & a Diawa tierra 4000 spinning reel, loaded with 10lb braid. I have managed to land fish upto 8kg with this set up.

Moreover, while spinning (casting the lure), the main action is from your wrist & not your shoulder or elbow. In this case balance becomes very important as you could tire out easily. With sufficient practise you should be able to get the required distance with just a flick of the wrist. unless you are using 100 to 400gm poppers for GT's (but then the set up will be different)

The balance of the rod depends on the reel & if you ask me, you cant balance a rod without a reel, unless you try placing it upright on the tip of your nose or on your head.

If you are baitcasting with a spinning set up, the balance does not matter much.

my 2 phils.

Thanks for Inputs guyz, I love spinning but gota backach problem, thats why love light weight setup.
Got one as I said earlier, the Diawa one. I dont think so that it will work in weeds.

I need a light but strong 6-7 feet spinning rod and light wt reel (not more than 12oz) with 15-20lbs drag, with in $200

The cabela FishEagle II/SS50 setup is heavy for me, may be a lighter reel will work but how small the reel should be with 9 feet heavy rod?