Reducers and their purpose

[scottish_and_mental]

THe two rods i treasure most are 12 foot long and after giving up trying to fing them in 13ft i have wondered wether i can buy either the red1 or red2 reducer direct from Daiwa and use them , with the reels in the low position and therefore theoretically gain that extra leverage
now the daft questions..
assuming they fit my rods and having never used a reducer ,i guess i have to remove the rubber end cap from the rod to attatch the reducer but when im casting or the rods are in the tripod should i re attatch it
do i really need 2 or do i even need one at all ??
i've toyed with the reel dowm position before but habitually still fish reel up even when i had my 13ft rods
Its not about gaining distance , simply comfortable fishing and being able to compress the rod to its full potential

[dovorian]

Hi S&M the reducer is only needed to hold the rod when reeling in. A reducer also keeps your reels out of the sand when on a sandy beach. I had a 12' Sandstorm and supposedly the red reducer fits but I couldn't find a supplier.

I have now got 2 13' salt mx rods which I use the reel in the low position but about a foot from the end so I don't need the reducer. I have found that exactly the length of my forearm is just right!

The rods I have now came with reducers but I find them a pain in the @rse. They slide into the rod so the rubber cap has to be removed.

Hope that is of some use to you.

Take it easy.

Jason

[MRG2000]

Did the rods originally have reducers Steve ?????? If not ,they probably wont work effectivly with a reducer.

Most modern rods are designed for reel down casting and as such have a thro butt action ,and clamping a reel 3/4 of the way up the butt section actually reduces the effective casting ability of the rod .Rods designed for no reducer actually work better reel up as the action of the blank is totally differant .

The reducers are mainly for retrieval to extend the rod butt and make it easier to reel in as the reel is slightly higher up towards your arm.Playing big fish with the reducer in can be dodgy as the strain on the butt section can actually cause it to split at the end .

Personally i have my reels set about 12" from the butt with no reducers , allows you to use a longer drop for the cast ,giving you a slower and much more managable cast as the long drop slows the action,and gives you time to get into the cast and time it better,and is also a bit more forgiving .Even of the ground casting with reel down has amazing results comrared to reel up ,as the rod works to its full potential ,with the reel at the bottom.

Hope that all makes sense .

[cuckoo]

Pmsl ive fished next to someone before , who was telling me all about there new rod that come with a free priest , i shit you not !

[MRG2000]

Originally Posted by cuckoo

Pmsl ive fished next to someone before , who was telling me all about there new rod that come with a free priest , i shit you not !

[scottish_and_mental]

Originally Posted by cuckoo

Pmsl ive fished next to someone before , who was telling me all about there new rod that come with a free priest , i shit you not !

was it a catholic priest ??

cheers for the replies guys - all makes perfect sense . the rods didnt come with a reducer first off but i think a little more time with the reel down might persuade me to rethink things.
I knew what their purpose was , i just wondered if it was worth all the palarva
I think the rods twinned with my new 7ht mags will be sweet