Rod Balance More Important Than Weight?

Fishing all day can begin to put a strain on your wrist, elbow or shoulder. With each type of presentation, there are different repetitive motions and these can begin to cause fatique by the end of the day.

Perhaps you are continually trying to upgrade your rod and reel to the lightest on the market, hoping to reduce the strain.

When fishing finesse techniques such as worms, jigs and drop shotting, you may want to consider an even more important factor.

That factor is having a properly balanced rod and reel. If your rod is weighted too heavily in the length or tip, your wrist will feel the fatigue much more quickly than if you had a properly balanced set up.

To determine if your rod and reel are properly balanced, see where the balance point is. When using a baitcaster, place your finger under the rod just in front of the reel and see which way the rod tips or if it is balanced at that point. With a spinning reel, place your finger just in front of the reel mount and determine if the tip drops to the ground quickly.

Longer rods will have a tendency to be tip heavy.  This brief video will show you how to check if your rod is balanced. (ignore the part on how to flip the bail on the spinning reel, lol)

httpv://youtu.be/8A6mrbF4BmQ

If you are prone to fatigue, you may not need a lighter rod, you may need to add weight to the butt end of the rod handle. Some people balk at the thought of adding extra weight to their gear but when fishing finesse, you may find less fatigue and greater sensitivity by balancing your rod and reel.

Bass Pro offers caps to put on the butt of your rods if you are interested in balancing a rod and reel combo that you currently have. If you suffer from wrist or elbow fatigue while fishing, give them a try.