When selecting the right reel for your rod, contrary to popular belief, lighter is not always better. Today’s rods and reels are lighter than ever, and many anglers fall into the trap of matching up the lightest rods and reels they can find in hopes that the rod will feel as light in the hand as possible.
However, a well balanced ‘heavier’ setup will often feel lighter in the hand than an unbalanced setup that is substantially lighter in weight. How can that be? We’ll explain.
Take a reel that is too light for example. While holding the rod in a relaxed position, the weight of the rod is pulled towards the surface of the water. Therefore when its time to cast, you must first use your forearm muscles to lift the tip of the rod up to a point parallel to the surface of the water before beginning your cast. On the other hand, a reel that is well balanced is able to hold the rod level with virtually no effort. This may not seem like a big deal with your 7 foot 3 weight, but with larger salmon or saltwater rods, a well balanced setup can make quite the difference over the course of a day.
So why would you ever choose a reel that is not well balanced to your rod? Well, many anglers don’t consider a few variables when matching up there setup. Consider these the next time you’re looking for a new reel.
Grip Matters
The goal when choosing a well balanced reel for your rod is for the rod to be able to rest in a level position when balanced on the part of the grip where the most pressure is placed during the cast.
However, this varies depending on your preferred grip. For example, if you prefer to cast with your thumb directly on top of the grip, most of the pressure is applied towards the front of the grip around your index and middle finger. Therefore, your setup should be able to balance at this point.
However, if you prefer to cast with your index finger on top of the grip, the desired balance point of the rod may be further down the grip, as that is where the most pressure is applied to the grip throughout the cast.
Line Matters
Reels with line weigh more than reels without line. So, don’t expect a reel to balance the same way on a rod out of the box as it does once loaded up with 200 yards of wet backing and 100 feet of fly line. In other words, a reel that might feel ‘just a little light’ in the shop, might be spot on once loaded up with line. Also, remember that the weight of the reel with all the line wound up is irrelevant. Casts are made with the fly line outside of the rod tip and it’s the weight of the reel with 30 feet or so of fly line out the guides that matters.
More About Choosing Gear
- Reels for Bonefishing – 5 Things to Look For
- Which Tippet Size Should I Use?
- Selecting Steelhead Flies – Video
The balance question is pretty well reasoned here. However, why not have an overweight reel matched to the rod? The weight of the rod becomes significantly lighter if the reel is “too” heavy. The “swing weight” of a rod is determined by the weight of the line off the tip of the rod and the distance from the fulcrum, ie your hand. I find an overloaded rod bends the rod deeper, decreasing this distance, and an oversized reel makes the swing weight and balance of the ROD lighter. I have noticed the rod weight and swing weight feel heavier if the reel is very light. This is especially true on rods 10′ and longer. Food for thought. What say you?
I’m agreed with the previous poster!
The trend for years now has been who has the lightest reels, and while I love tech and innovation, most modern reels fail miserably at balancing longer rods! Tip heavy forward weighted rods are fatiguing, and at least for this angler not particularly pleasant to fish!
Would it matter if a reel was a 2-4, but the fly line was a 5-6?
I have a 3wt fly rod and I put on on a 7/8 fly reel on it will it make a difference I’m going for species like bass, panfish
A 7/8 reel will be pretty heavy on a 3wt rod. You can certainly make it work but wouldn’t be ideal. If you don’t want to get a lighter reel, I would at least make sure you use a 3 wt line on that reel and not a 7 or 8 wt line. That would just be too heavy of a line for a light 3 wt to load. Hope that info helps and thanks for reading!
I’m looking at a TFO 10’6” 3 wt rod and a white a river 5/6 reel . Not sure if the balance any thoughts?
Hi, Bill. It looks like you’re in the market for a Euro Nymph setup. That combination sounds good to me. The best thing to do is test the balance. Just make sure to test it with the fly line. Let us know what you end up with. Thank you for reading our blog!
While I’ve read opinions on rod / reel balance on forums, in web articles and discussed the subject in conversations, I conclude after fly fishing for decades that Deneki’s perspective is more than opinion, it is right!
I’ve up-weighted my reels over the past couple of years (now 73 years old) to fully “align” my outfits (4,5&6wt rods) focused on rod, swing weight, grip position, reel, line, leader and fly…when fishing, with the line head out of the rod tip. Most notably, I found (with the right line pairing) that my grip was more relaxed, the loading moment was enhanced and I could more easily cast farther with standard weight lines. Another benefit to adding reel weight to the outfit was to achieve a feeling of being lighter in hand. Gone are the days when fly shop personnel and other anglers suggested I was “over-thinking it”. I now know I was right and thank you for your thoughtful article on balance.
regards, Ernie.