Old thread, but I just got a Drennan MatchPro Float that's quite tip heavy - balancing about 2" in front of the cork. Might be okay in a rod rest, but this isn't comfortable when trotting with a fixed spool reel (and probably not with a centrepin either) when you have to control the line with a pinky.
Surely there's a market for a lightweight, properly balanced match-style rod, for actually holding (ie. light trotting) rather than sitting in a rod rest. Drennan? Please.
Anyway, with no butt cap, I like the idea of drilling out the cork at the butt, filing with weights and then plugging with cork. I'm guessing I'll use two-part epoxy to keep whatever I use for weights in place, as it softens when heated, so the modification is not irreversible and can be further modified if required.
From what I've read, the additional weight, because it balances the rod, actually makes the rod feel lighter. I can well imagine this.
I don't understand those above who feel that drilling out the cork is mutilating a perfectly good rod. In fact, for the purpose I bought it for it's not quite a perfectly good rod. I've done modifications to fly rods that are much more 'invasive', whereas this sounds like a simple DIY solution, with a neat finish pretty much guaranteed. As long as you're half-competent, how can this risk fouling up a nice rod - and why wouldn't you want to make your rod absolutely perfect for your own uses? And finally, the rod cost just over a ton, so it's not like you're testing out your DIY skills on a precious £500+ fly rod.
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