so I want to scale down to a lighter rod, but I found a reel that I really liked. now I know you should match the same wt rod and reel if you can due to balance and making your casts an extension of you and singing. so to make it balance, it comes down to weight right?
If I want to use a 5wt rod for lighter fun, but because I fish saltwater, I'm concerned about having enough backing if I hook something big like a bat ray, I would probably want a 7/8 wt LA reel with 150+ yards capacity. if an average 5wt reel is about 4.x oz, and I found a very light 7/8 reel in around the same 4.x oz weight, I really shouldn't have any problems with balance right? in effect, if would function and feel relatively the same as the smaller 5 wt matching reel right?
now how about if I stuck with the smaller 5wt reel with only 100 yard 20# dacron capacity. I can use braid/gel spun for the increased capacity due to smaller diameter. but what # braid/gs would I need to use to have 150+ yard backing?
Thanks.