The myth about the reel balancing the rod?
I thought this debate had been done to death 30 years ago.
OK here goes.
Many years ago, fly rods were made from various woods such as greenheart, lancewood and eventually split cane. Holding such a rod was purgatory make no mistake. Even the split cane Sharpes Scotties I used in the 50s and 60s felt like a length of lead piping compared with modern rods.
So what happened was that various fly fishing scholars decided that to make the rod easier to hold, the reel had to be heavy enough to balance the rod. Some said the rod had to balance at the handle. Some said the rod had to balance at some decreet point above the handle.
This lead to all sorts of mistaken notions. the worst, leading to fly reels that were very heavy indeed. Not only that, but these reels had to be positioned at the very extremity of the handle.
The truth of the matter is that not one of these erudite fly fishers had the faintest concept of physics, or the mechanics involved in casting a fly line with a single handed fly rod.
It's simply this. The rod is in fact an extention of your arm and is a simple cantilever. If you attach extra weight to that extention of your arm you will interfere with the transmission of energy to the fly line. You will also be wasting energy moving that extra weight through the air.
It's worse when you have a lever arm working against you by having the reel at the maximum extremity of the handle.
The truth of the matter is that a fly rod does cast better without a reel attached. It might feel a bit top heavy when you hold it without the reel, but try casting with it. You will see what I mean.
All this has lead to the way modern fly rods and reels are designed and manufactured today. That is: uplocking reel seats that put the CG of the reel as close as possible to your hand; and reels that are as light as possible.
There are even reels that have been made with a forward angled reel foot. I have one of them.
And chaps, don't just believe me. I can refer you to debates that took place in the Trout & Salmon many years ago. I can also refer you to the book: "**** Walker's Fly Fishing" part one.
Read his chapter on fly rod and handle design. It's full of home truths.