Is your rod n reel a balanced set? How can you tell? I picked up a Mitchel 308 spinning reel on clearance for $20 at Academy and paired it with a 6' 2 piece ugly Stix GX2. The combo seems to have a good balance point in front of the reel seat. I'd say this is balanced.

isn't the spool resting against the bottle?

Yes, but you gotta trust me on this one. I think the empty beer bottle would fall over if it weren't a balanced load. I also thought a pic of the combo balancing on a beer bottle was a bit more interesting than balancing it on my finger tip.

If it's comfortable to you that's what matters,..

give me a full bottle or maybe 6 and i will give it a complete test.

What do you think is the best possible/ideal(!) balance?
To me, it is when balance point is located in the very middle of your palm, right?

That isn't possible... It's not a $600 combo.....

Hmmmmm... how about this one?

store name: Academy;
date: today;
brand: Pflueger;
combo name: Trion;
price(not sale): $59.99;

I love the "beer balance" photo! It gives the topic some pizzaz, or fizz!

Back on balance, it depends on how you hold the rod. The technically correct form with spinning tackle is split fingers around the stem, either one or two forward in the best position to grab the line . . . and that hand NEVER changes position. You work the bail with your off hand, work the reel handle with it, too. So, the best balance would be right around the reel stem. But, only if you are balancing a rod and reel. You aren't; you are fishing.

So, to add another point. If you plan to toss a lure out, and it is a presentation where you maintain a taut line, then the rod tip will have pressure on it. And, it is far away from your rod holding hand so think lever length here. Since this is the position you'll be in most of the time (line out and in the water), you'd want the balance "back" a bit in the direction of the rod butt to offset the taut line.

Even, for reeling in repetitive casts, the reeling in of the lure "pulls" down on the rod tip, unbalances the "perfectly balanced" rod and reel.

It leaves us with a decision: When and where do the want the balance to occur?

Brad

Right turn of discussion.

You don't care of balance....... unless you do.

Couple years ago I suddenly bumped into health problem in my right shoulder called "frozen shoulder". Was very limited in a move range, and almost any move of right hand was real painful. The choice was to stop casting (i.e., fishing), or find at least some way to keep fishing.
With frozen shoulder, it was absolutely clear what balance for: moving rod using only palm (with no shoulder involved) did not produce pain. I switched to ultralight AND to micro jigs(or even float on a 2lb line), trying to go after anything that I could catch using this technique.
Now, my frozen shoulder healed up, but love to ultralight remains

The point is: yes! You don't care of balance. Unless you do.





_______________________________
BTW, i'd like to remind this older top-of-the-line XML rods from Cabelas with added weights in a handle intended to attain this mythical "balance". Unfortunately, rods where discontinued couple years ago, and current model XML have very little in common with older model.

6 bottles would definitely throw off my balance