School is in Session

Like a Shotgun, the balance on a fishing rod I have always found to be a "moving dynamic". Static balance gets you close but once you master the feel of different rods with weight in motion combined with the particular "Action" of a rod you really don't know how it will fish.

Case in point. Heavy guides on a slow action rod increases the loading of the rod blank slowing the return of the blank on the back cast where light guides say Minima 4's on a real Fast action rod makes the blank feel like a broom stick as it takes heavier casting weight in the bait to load the rod. Proper casting is done by loading the blank more than arm speed. This is critical to master casting Fly Rods. A 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock forearm position with proper timing to load the Fly Rod fully produces those long suspended loops to shoot your line out to the end and roll the fly gently on the water.

Thank you for your explanation. Only thing is all I can do is a static weight. combining swing of different action rods with this weight rod or that weight rod requires more equipment than this poor man can afford. I won't get the feel of this particular rod for a few more days as monsoon rains have set in around my neighbor hood...
I didn't really have any choice on rods on this build. It was the rod all the class members got, probably selected by a bass fisherman. 7'0" Med. Heavy, Fast action. Not really my cup of tea, but building it in the class was for lesson purposes...

School is school. you are learning about rods. Takes time. I have been in this game for a very long time. My explanation is a much more advanced science of building rods. The weight of what you tie on the blank changes the actions. So if you have a MH Fast Worm rod and want it to soften up some heavier guides can do that but it also adds to the overall weight of the rod. That's the down side.

Agreed...Would not the same apply to a ultra light rod?? Keeping it as light as possible so it recovers faster...

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Originally Posted by Jamesdean

Agreed...Would not the same apply to a ultra light rod?? Keeping it as light as possible so it recovers faster...

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Sorry, I only saw the word agreed on my phone yesterday evening and didn't see your question. You are correct. When I first got interested in building rods it was for offshore fishing so it didn't really matter. Big Straddle Foot Roller guides are not for casting. LOL. When I made the first few spinning rods is where I came to realize I needed to do a much deeper dive into the engineering of the rod including all the components. Fortunately I had someone in the New Orleans area that was good at building rods and free with his knowledge. Funny 45 years later I can't remember his name. Really nice blanks at that point I received first, felt it in the raw dummy casting, then decided what components I wanted to use. Mud Hole sells Minima 3's & 4's. I love the 4's - air weight, strong, lots of color combinations but the 3's are great too, a little less cost all in on a rod made with the Minima 3's. My rods when imported just going to Minima 3's almost doubled the cost. My importer used a Chinese guide that was close to keep the initial cost down.

If I could add something, another mistake I made starting out was skimping on the number of guides. I regretted that on some of the rods I made.

I'm going to get the reel seat and grip done, then use some pieces of silicone tubing to attach the guides, run the line thru them and attach a weight. Put pressure on it and make sure the line follows the rod as close as possible. With extra pieces of tubing on the rod gives the ability to add guides if needed and/or move the ones you already have on it. Once happy, mark where they are and get to wrapping....