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I am putting a grip on a 6' 4wt Pezon Midget. I am trying to decide what grip length to use. I am sort of swaying between 5.5 to 6.5 inches. My personal preference would be shorter but I really have no idea what sort of grip Pezon would have put on a 6' rod. If someone knows would you share the info with me, please?  (Timothy Troester)

I don't know how big Charley Ritz was, but I think that every Pezon I've ever seen had a Wells grip style.  (Wally Murray)

Yeah, every Pezon grip I have seen, as I recall, has a long grip on it but I have never seen a picture of a short Pezon rod. Thanks! (Timothy Troester)

I had to go measure. T&T puts a 5” (five inch) grip on their 7 ft. Midge and the proportions and feel of that rod have always struck me as well balanced (to the eye and hand, mine anyway).  (Wally Murray)

All things come to he who "Googles." There is a pic of a 7' P & M on Jeff Wagner's site, it has a very mild full wells with what appears to be 11 rings in it, that would make it 5.5 inches long.  (John Channer)

I've just finished the final planing on rod number 2, a 4' 4" Banty on a Jim Payne taper and I've been thinking about my grip and real seat.  I think the grip  on the original rod was just 4 inches long, is this right, it seems very small and has anyone else built this rod? and what size grip and real seat did you use?

Having largish hands, I"d like a bigger grip, but I'm concerned that I'd affect the action of the rod too much if I went above 4 inches?  (Nick Brett)

My hands are the same size and find the same size grip comfortable no matter what the size of the rod.  There may be exceptions to this, like any other rule, but that is my guideline for grips.  (Ed Berg)

There is a picture of an original on The Classic Fly Rod Forum. I think it is owned by list member Dennis Higham. The grip is 8- 1/2" cork rings so 4" would be correct. The reel seat of Spanish cedar looks to be about 3 1/2" long. Though that seems small, it is in proportion with the size of the rod.  (Will Price)

Thanks Will, I think I'll stick with 4 inches.  I have a very small Hardy Bougle reel that will fit the rod well, and a 3 1/2" seat is ideal for the foot of the reel.  (Nick Brett)

Here is a link to the picture of 2 original Payne bantys. The one with the all cork grip and reel seat appears to be a little longer but not by much. It also lists the taper for the 4 wt version and the 5 wt version. Hope this helps. (Will Price)

I built a Chris Bogart 4'9" Blue Ridge Banty this winter.  The grip I made for it is 5 1/8", and the reel seat, uplocking and tucked into the back of the grip, is only 3".  I used a modified cigar shape, that is just a hair over  1" at it's fattest point.  My concern, like yours, was that too long a grip/reel seat combo would impare the action of the rod.

I'm fairly pleased with the action of the rod, but I find it hard to balance in the hand.  When casting with it, I find my hand creeping back toward the middle of the grip, which puts the heel of my hand over the reel seat.  Since you generally hold the rod in your fingertips, this isn't a big deal, but if I had made the grip 1" shorter, it might have worked better.  Also, you need to find a really light reel for these short, light rods.  You  might even consider going with graphite.  (Paul Gruver)

Good point on the reel Paul. J Austin Forbes has several 2" and 2 1/2" reels that work well. I lucked into an antique 60 yd Montague with nickel silver frame and black hard rubber side plates, 2 3/8" in diameter that works great and looks good doing it that I use on mine.  (Will Price)

Does any one know what length the grip was on the Payne banty, 4'4", rod? Was it a 6" or was it a little grip like 3 or 4 inches? Has anyone seen a banty? (Timothy Troester)

I googled and found two pictures of what look like originals. One has 8 cork rings, the other 16. Look to be same length, so one is probably 1/2" and the other 1/4" rings. (Chris Moore)

The "standard" grip on the Banty was 4" (actually 4 1/8" according to Hal Bacon) but was also made with a 6" grip (special request?). I'll post pics of both grips tomorrow. (Dennis Higham)

Here are a few pics of a Payne Banty Hang Tag, 4" grip and the full size grip. (Dennis Higham)