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A refinement of the graphite era from the '80's onward. Reels got lighter, frames got lighter(so the vibration of an imbalanced spool would be more noticeable) , spools gained palming rims (which in effect increase the diameter in terms of vibration during rotation), rods got lighter and so on. Also, fly tackle began to be used for more and more species, with potential for of larger, longer, faster running fish than flippety-flop trout. So a counterweight adds a bit of smoothness when a fish takes line fast. Plus for minimal manufacturing expense, even when it was a solution in search of a problem, it made a good marketing touch in the yuppie era when there were lots of MMBs (more money than brains) getting into fly fishing. You are right on, though. I never miss a counterweight on any of my older reels. The other day I caught a brute of a brown trout in heavy current, so the runs spun line off the reel fast. I was using an old Martin 70--love the disc drag and never missed the counterweight. I never miss 'em on reels that don't have them either.

Thanks for showing the Heaton, tracing back the origins of the concept. "Shallow drum" (large arbor) goes back like that also. You know, a Pflueger will shake pretty good when stripped furiously or a fish rips line. Then came the palming rim versions fitted with counterweights, again the widespread use about corresponding with the time that palming rims became the norm. It's easy enough to put a counterweight on a Pflueger or any reel, but I've never bothered and like the classic simplicity of the spool face as it is on the conventional spool reels. Here's a counterweight on a early '60s knock-off of a Lawerence Sunbeam, quite possibly the worst fly reel ever made, but by golly, it had a counterweight ( the reel would shake apart just rattling around in a tackle box, so I don't think the counterweight preserved it's structural integrity too well )