Rod Balancer System

[mr max]

Has any member tried the Bass Pro Shop's Rod Balancer System?It appears to be a butt cap that you insert weights into?They claim it makes your rod 300% more sensitive & improves your casting distance.

[Piscivorous Pike]

Yes and no. I have a nine foot noodle rod of BP brand with the screw in balancer and it works. Years before BP came out with any balancers I made my own and yes by balancing you feel everything better and it is easier on the wrists over time. The rubber slip on one may not have enough weights to achieve true balance point but any amount towards it helps. I have a couple of dozen rods set up with counter weights.

First off you want the rod to be just a slight bit tip heavy. By holding it or on a string at the mid point of the real seat it should hang like a balance scale only slightly tip heavy.

I put my rods in this configuration and hung a film can on the butt and added shot until I found the correct weight.

Once I knew this I found copper tubing the diameter of the butt. I use 1.5 inches just to secure it to the butt for 7-9 foot rods less for shorter lighter rods. I found out how much the tubing weighs per inch. Then I found out how much one inch of tubing weighs full of lead. I cast lead into 1" of tube. I also used the correct size of end cap and found its weight. The constants are the weight of the copper tube per inch therefore the 1.5 inch connection and end cap, the variable is the lead filled tube. Once calculated out I cut a piece of pipe the right length and put it onto the cap and cast the correct amount of lead. I put the piece on a scale and add molten lead until I reach the correct weight. Use flux with it and it solders the end cap on. If it is slightly heavy after finishing I use a drill and remove some lead. The caps are secured with a little silicone sealer.

The photo shows holding one rod at balance point. The other Fenwick HMG rod used so littl lead that only the end cap was necessary.

I am for ergonomics in rods. I am right handed so I use left handed casting reels. Why do you cast with the right hand, waste motion and switch to reel it in with the right hand? Because the nature of the first hand made reels by watch makers were cast that way and then flipped upside down to reel in with the left hand. With the advent of level wind and anti reverse and production reels the design was basically the same but the person had to switch hands and keep the reel up right. It makes no sense so I fish it like a spinning rod so I use left handed reels and can at the end of the day therefore get in more casts because less time is wasted. The balanced rods have saved me from acute carple tunnel syndrome too.

Edited August 23, 2008 by Piscivorous Pike

[Kajan]

Very nice ingenuity PP you must be fun to fish with, I wonder if graphite humms the same when Thunderstorms are close with a pc of copper on the butt end I cast either hand with bait caster but in open water I cast right handed for more distance

[diemai]

@ Piscivourous Pike

Thanks for your explanations about why in America anglers cast with their right arm(right handed people) , but then take the rod into the left hand and reel again with the right .

I was always wondering , now I know , that it is just kinda tradition , never found it to be practically , anyway .

I was only concerned about this fact because since jerkbait fishing came up around here in Europe a couple of years ago , we wanted to obtain the right gear for it , but casting reels where only available in right hand versions these times , even only a few models for saltwater fishing though , since in Europe spinning reels have ever been popular and still are , these can be switched easily left /right .

Thanks , diemai

[BobP]

Most BassPro rods come with a butt cap that screws off to add their balancing system. It works fine. a balanced rod is a good idea for "touchy-feely" presentations like flipping jigs, worms and C-rigs where you balance the rod in your hand with a semi-slack line to feel the slightest bite. It doesn't increase the sensitivity of the rod because that is determined by the blank, the guides, and especially the line you're using. But using a balanced rod does greatly decrease fatigue in your hand muscles, and THAT increases YOUR sensitivity. The end effect is the same. IMO, balance systems for moving bait presentations like crankbaits and spinnerbaits is a waste of time and money. Your rod will ALWAYS be tip heavy due to the resistance of the lure so there's no advantage to it. I build most of the rods I use and usually balance my worm/jig/C-rig rods with lead epoxied into the butt before I glue on the butt cap. Most times, it's not even an issue. But it becomes more of a question if you're talking expensive very high end blanks and half the cost you paid was to get the LIGHTEST components