I just picked up a combo at Gander Mtn, consisting of a Fenwick HMX 7' medium and an Abu Garcia 502

ALB, for $100.  The rod alone at Cabelas is $85.00, so I thought this was a pretty good deal.  The Abu is

a 10 bearing, and very smooth.  Fished with it last evening with a Mepps 5 inline spinner and I have to say

I wasn't as thrilled as I had hoped.  I did catch a medium sized bass, however.  The rod seems a little out of balance, especially pulling a fairly heavy spinner.  I had to rest the butt on my leg because the rod tip wanted to dip.  It felt more balanced in the store.  It's listed as a medium but the action is more like a MH with a moderate fast tip.  I have a Fenwick Venture, M, that is more like my Rapala ML.  Go figure.

I have a Quantum reel that I purchased at Dick's a while back, that is a little bigger and heavier than the Abu that came with the combo. I am going to mount that on the new Fenwick and see if it helps the balance issue.  If not, deal or no deal, back she'll go.  Just too much work fishing with it.

if you do return it look at the guide series im8 and pair it with a shimano sahara that will put you at $120 and you will love this combo. I work at gander mountain and that is by far one of the most popular combo's I sell people love it.

by the way which gander were you at.

Niles, OH

That reel is very nice.  It's the Cardinal 502, correct.  I have 2 of them and they are really smooth and powerful.  Can't speak for the rod though.  Mine are mounted on a  6'6" Falcon Original (med/fast) and a 6' Cabela's Tourney Trail IM7 (med/fast).

WHY DON'Tyou just balance the rod?

WHY DON'Tyou just balance the rod?

Do you have a suggestion?

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_16515_100004001_100000000_100004000_100-4-1

That might work!  I mounted the Quantum reel on the rod. It is about 1 1/2 ounces heavier than the Abu

502.  It helped but still was not enough to keep the rod tip up and balanced.  Another 1/2 to 3/4 ounce

should do it.  This balancing kit will extend the end of the rod so I might be able to get by with less.

Thanks for the tip!        

imho there are no perfectly balanced rods unless custom built and balanced.i like my rods balanced right in the center of the reel.i've held a diawa steez baitcaster and as light as it was it was still tip heavy.to balance it would take a lot less weight than a cheaper rod but it was still tip heavy.

if you do return it look at the guide series im8 and pair it with a shimano sahara that will put you at $120 and you will love this combo. I work at gander mountain and that is by far one of the most popular combo's I sell people love it.

by the way which gander were you at.

lol i have that exact setup with a 5'6 pole,,but if felt the same rod in ym store and was pretty well balanced but i saved up the money and just got a st croix premier and the 502 which btw is a great setup,,,,an while talking about balance most will bslance out on the small section of cork int he front of the reel, which is were i like it.and as long as the reel isnt to heavy then balance doesnt really make a huge difference to me,dont just say its unbalanced after your first outin g i almost always do becaus eit takes time to get used tot hat set ups feel as opposed to your last