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Butt length below reel

Anthony Pearson

Anthony Pearson

Senior Member
Following Stephen's question on another thread it had me wondering what or who has determined the length of rod handles and more specifically the length of butt below the reel? Some may say it's personal preference, but for the vast majority of anglers, surely this 'preference' has been determined by the rods they first used when starting to fish? I have several Nash The Specialist Barbel Elite Rods and their butts feel noticeably shorter than the others I use. On the plus side, however, this does give me more rod to play a fish with. Any rod builders out there with any answers?
 
Hi Anthony, im not a rod builder, more a destroyer, and i have not read the other thread that you mention. I do know that a simple way of measuring a carp rod butt was to put the end of the blank in your sweaty armpit and with the same straight arm, hold the rod, essentially marking where the reel foot would go. This practise though is rubbish for a small, maybe medium sized river. Too much butt poking around to get in the way when wading, casting and turning big barbel away from danger. My best barbel rod i cut down to 14 inches.
 
I cut my barbel rods down so that there's no handle/butt behind my elbow when my fingers are around the reel stem. That bit of the handle is only of use (IMHO) when casting long distances, which I've never had to do when barbel fishing...but it IS the bit of the handle that can get in the way.
ATBA
Terry
 
Always gave the customer the option of what I call the RSD (Reel Stalk Distance) as a matter of course when making a rod for them. Distances have varied from 14" to 24" (360 to 600mm approx.), although its more typically 18 to 21" in 90% of the time. for a 12' barbel rod. So it seems that individual preferences do count.

Short explanation in the following link:

Reel Stalk Distance

Try to play with a rod with a rod with traditional sliding collars and feel the difference it may make to you.

Cheers
Bob
 
Its not just as simple as it seems though is it ? The way a rod balances and feels with a reel on surely is an important factor ? i've had 12 ft rods with short handles that have simply felt dreadful to use ! So maybe tip to reel stem is a relevant issue too, and that will be different from one blank to another. Always makes me smile when people tell me that 11ft rods are too short to keep fish out of bankside snags etc and then produce a 12 ft rod that is effectively about 3 inches longer than an 11 footer with a short-ish handle :)
 
I would agree ,handle length and where the reel is positioned has a lot to do with the feel / balance of a rod , particularly if you are holding it in your hand for extended periods .From my experience it always pays when buying an off the shelf rod to have a waggle with a reel in position to see gow the set up feels before committing to a purchase
 
Anthony I have a Nash Barbel Elite and I like the lenth of handle it has. I've recently got a pair of Free Spirit barbel rods that have much longer handles which I feel are more in line with what would be termed a " specialist rod " and although the rods do feel balanced the extra lenth can get in the way a bit which is why I asked the question in the other thread. I'm thinking of getting a Free Spirit Barbel Seeker but not if the handle is as long as the Free Spirits I already have. The handle on the Seeker does seem to be shorter.
 
Thanks for the replies and the link Bob. I may revisit this thread after the season begins and I've latched on to a barbel because I'm sure I also rest the butt on my pelvis, particularly when netting a fish, as this helps with leverage. With a shorter butt, I can't do this as easily because my right arm (with which I hold the rod) isn't extended enough.
 
Correct - not that simple. Feeling 'balanced' will depend on other factors such as the length of rod, position of its natural fulcrum point (which on longer rods is far above where you may normally position a reel). You can fine tune a rod to feel more balanced. If you place a weight at the fulcrum point of a lever, then the amount of weight placed at that point will have minimal effect - apart from the overall total weight - unless I'm going daft.
If you want a 'perfectly' balanced rod then this is possible, but usually at the cost of overall weight gain, especially for long' uns.
Different rods types eg. fly rods and reels, beach casters fished with movable reel seats, reel at low position, rod extensions may require different thoughts.
Again my advice, choose (if you can) what feels best for you and enjoy going fishing, whether your chosen tool is super carbon, bamboo, tank aerial or a bent pin and stick.

Cheers
Bob
 
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