Reel Seats

Jeff,

I've just cured a type B Daiwa seat by glueing a 1/2 inch wide (12mm to you) strip of bike inner tube to the cork under where the reel sits. The strip is 4 inches long. Somehow it tightens up the grip, and stops the rings from slipping apart.

I've also double changed a Fuji fitted Normark, first to a cork with inner tube reel fittings handle for ten years, and more recently to metal rings.

I have altered the angle the reel sits to angle it towards the first ring.

My redesign using cork remains highly satisfactory though laborious to achieve.

Woody,I have no problem with the reel seatings as I fish mainly for carp & pike ,so I`m not holding the rods for the lenght of the session ,but the lenght of the rod butt ,your idea of telescopic lockable handles set me thinking about a screw in extension ,not unlike on a pool cue ,would put the price of the rod up a bit ,but could be a optional extra and shold`nt throw the balance of the rod out ?

A couple of my older rods have crap reel fittings, especially when used with my centrepin. I also use bicycle inner tube but it's a little unsightly.

A piece of chamois leather does the job too and doesn't look quite as bad a a bit of inner tube.

Well said, Jeff!

The problem is exacerbated by the daft convention whereby manufacturers attach screw winch-fittings the wrong way round. The start of this dates back to the days of Fuji snap-lock fittings - but that's too involved to go into here.

When I designed rods for Simpson's and, before that, Tri-Cast, I had winch-fittings on all the rods that bore my name attached screw-thread uppermost, thereby enabling the hand to curl round the more comfortable part of the grip (when a fixed-spool reel is used - as Jeff said, different issues arise with multipliers and centre-pins).

"My" method never spread to other manufacturers because to most anglers the wrong way round is the right way round - if you see what I mean! Ask them why, and they won't be able to tell you.

Split grips originated with fast taper blanks (stopped the handle from being too thick) - I started that with the "Clooper" rods made by Going Bros. - I introduced the terminology, too (abbreviated grips/handle).

The best, most comfortable reel-fitting? No doubt about it, dispense with the reel-fitting and use adhesive PVC tape (as well as being comfortable, it's light and totally secure - but it's only really practical for those of us who leave reels on our rods between trips.

Again some absolutely top class logical comment from Jim.

For many years manufacturers have put screw reel fittings on the wrong way round, from fly rods to coarse fishing rods.

Its only quite recently that fly rod handles are now being made correctly with the screw reel fitting pushing UP from the bottom instead of down. Years ago I used to get some excellent fly rods but the handles where always the wrong way round. That meant a time consuming modification.

There is nothing worse than having to grip screw thread in your hand.

It's opposite with coarse and spinning rods. The fitting should screw downwards as Jim says.

When we designed the Fishing Magic Concept rod the specification for the handle was a Fuji DPS fitting screwing downwards.

There is still a lot that could be done with fishing rod handle and reel seat design, especially for rods that are held most of the time such as spinning rods, float fishing rods for trotting and even fly rods.

As Jim says the use of insulation tape is one of the best ways of putting a reel on a rod in terms of comfort. I have done this on several occasions in the past.

The nicest grips are surely those found on trigger grip handles for multipliers.

Here the thread of the seat HAS to be uppermost (as Jim indicates) otherwise the trigger (that your forefinger extends around) wouldn't be closest to the cork or Duplon handle. When you then want to grip the rod in front of the reel, you grab hold of the foregrip even though it's and inch or two in front of the reel seat, it doesn't matter.

I have an Abu rod from the USA where to fit the reel you turn a freely rotating wheel same diameter as the handle so in the normal holding of it you don't know it's there even. What then happens is this cover comes out of the underside of the handle to grip the reel in place. It's a natty fitting, not perfect perhaps, but again shows the thinking that goes on at Abu.

Anyway, I have been having some thoughts and will do a follow-up article soon. Expect to see some of my "artwork" (cough, cough).

I was speaking to Roger from Peregrine a could of days ago and we were discussing reel seats.

I was keen on the modern type of seat (Simlar to SEAT D in the article) where top screw is part of the upper handle.

Roger said that this design means that all the load is on the upper thread and not spread out through the real seat and blank. This makes total sense to me.

I imagine this would be an issue on rods that will take a lot of stick (used with heavy lines) but should be fine for match rods.

It would also be an issue on rods with poor reel seats Matt.

I have used Fuji down locking reel seats on heavy "Flipping Sticks" for Large Mouth Bass fishing.

Nowhere in freshwater angling can I think of a rod that gets more abuse than in this style of fishing.

Never had a problem.

Yes, I can't follow that either Matt.

I would have thought the actual amount of pressure on a real seat is minimal no matter what size fish you're playing. Unless it's marlin or something.

If anything the front part of the seat would dig into the rod and the back part pull away, I would have thought. Engineers, please?

You are quite correct, that is the tendency Jeff.

I could image any play getting worse over time, possibly wearing the threads and causing the reel seat to work loose.

I'm just guessing of course.

"I could image any play getting worse over time"

Ah well, that's something I'm going to cover in part two, if it ever comes about.

To quote Jim:-

"The best, most comfortable reel-fitting? No doubt about it, dispense with the reel-fitting and use adhesive PVC tape (as well as being comfortable, it's light and totally secure - but it's only really practical for those of us who leave reels on our rods between trips."

Try using racket grip tape, designed for badminton and tennis rackets. You can get it from good sports shops in a range of colours (but probably not in Cammo for the tackle tarts out there). It is self adhesive, and shaped so that the overlaps lay flat when wound on. It also has the advantage of remaining 'grippy' when wet.

I use it on a couple of spinning rods which have slim cork handles - having big hands I find the extra thickness of the tape more comfortable fo long sessions of repeated casting.