Question for the glass-holes on here

[sandfly]

use a nice heavy auto reel. a few rods back in the day came with a auto and were balanced that way. its the nature of the beast thick walls on the blank.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I have an auto reel. I'm not a fan of them, to be honest with you. I'm trying the lead tape for now.

 

[Maurice]

The_Sasquatch wrote:
I picked up a couple of old South Bends on Ebay this week. An 8' South Bend Classic I, which I like. I'm not sure what line weight it was balanced for as either it's not marked or the markings have worn off (no letter codes, nothing). I tried it w/ 5wt line, and I liked how that felt.

The other rod, a 8'6" White Wizard, is listed as a 6wt. It casts 6wt like a champion. My issue is this. This rod is HEAVY. I think it's the metal used at the furrule. Both the male and female parts have metal around them. I'm having some trouble balancing it w/ a reel. The first reel I tried was a Cortland 444 multiplier. Not a light reel, but the rod weight still threw it out of balance. The second reel I put on is an Eagle Claw Granger 780. A little better. It balances about an inch above the cork. The Cortland balanced closer to two inches.

I know that it's not that big of a deal. It's about how it feels when I'm casting. The thing is, it does feel a bit top heavy to me. Any thoughts? I was reading up on adding weight to reels this weekend. Lots of various opinions out there. Anyone here with some real live experience?

Tape a roll of nickels to the reel seat above the reel. Then when you want to sell the rod you may get $3. for it. :-D