I've built split reel seated rods for several customers with no complaints until last year when one customer went thirty minutes with a yellowfin tuna and complained of added hand fatigue due to the smaller grip area of the bare blank. He loves it for bass fishing but no more for saltwater fun. Has anyone else had similar experiences or is this guy just trying to sound like he's something special?

If he's putting his hand on the bare blank then you need a grip there. Why is he grabbing the bare blank? The reason you would use a split grip is that there's no use putting a grip on those areas that a fishermen doesn't actully use while casting or fishing.

Normally the only place you'd hold the rod would be at the butt, just behind the seat or just in front of the seat. If he holds it somewhere else for whatever reason, then you need to put a grip there for him.

The way I read your description, you are using not a split grip, in the terms of cutting out a portion of the rear grip, but using a skeleton seat setup. Hoods with nothing but blank in between.

The only application that I can think of where a guy would be holding that area is a spinning setup. Even on light rods, I can't imagine how that could possibly be comfortable. I have small hands but I still like something to hold onto. On a SW rod, I would have to imagine that it would be much worse. (out of curiousity, as I am not a SW fisherman, does anybody use spinning reels for tuna and such?)

Just my opinion, but the bottom line is that you have a guy who isn't comfortable with the rig in this setup but likes it in others. Accomodate him. He's a customer and he isn't happy because he he got some cramps. If he asked for this setup for a tuna rod, I would rebuild the rod for component and perhaps a good labor discount. If you built it for him because you thought it was a good idea, I would rebuild it at component cost only.

I assumed the people reading this would know that it was a bass rod that he happened to have taken down for tuna fishing. For both Mick and Mike, a split grip is a regular ECS Fuji reel seat with the middle cut out so yes, it's jsut the hoods Mick, but with the trigger as well. And like I said, he loves the rod for what it was built for, but apparently not for fishing what it wasn't built for and what he did not originally intend to use that particular rod for. And yes, Mick, people do use spinning rods for tuna in some situations. Oh, and Mike, the reason for the split grip was because the customer requested the design for better sensitivity as he would then be in direct contact with the blank. It's a design he actually saw from Rick Forhan's rods. I think you can find pictures of those on his website. I personally don't use the design on my own personal use rods, except during times of experimentation before building a design for a customer. I don't mean to sound too callous or anything, but I feel as if the two replies did not know the situation and that's probably my fault. I apologize completely.

If anyone else would have something directly related to the above post, it would be very helpful. thank you.

Chia,
My feeling is that grabbing a rod, particularly a lighter weight rod like the one you are talking about, above the fore grip is usually a bad practice. What you are essentially doing is focusing the stress on the rod into a shorter portion of the rod. The higher up you grab the rod the shorter the distance over which all of the stress is focused and it is being focused on to the portion of the rod that is not as strong. I think that this is just a good way to break a rod. I am not just making an acedemic point, I have seen a number of Salmon rods broken with this practice.

OK....this is going way too far. I never said anything about people grabbing the rod above the reel seat! Please read the post carefully before responding! A split reel seat is essentially just the reel hoods, as Mick pointed out, with bare blank in between! Said customer complained that using the bass rod set up like this and fighting tuna on it caused hand fatigue not found when using regular reel seat! I hope this clear up any confusion over what i'm asking!!!! I don't mean to get ornery or anything but I would really like to have a reply from someone with some actual experience with this! Thank you!

Jumping on people that are trying to help might not be the best way to get any help!

Mike

Chia,
I did read it carefully AGAIN and it is still not very clear what you meant.

Chia,
Sorry that I was a bit unclear in the point I was trying to make.

Just to make sure I'm clear about what you are asking. I understand exactly the setup you are talking about. This guy likes his rod a lot when he uses it for what it was built for. When he went to a heavier application, he thought it was uncomfortable. You are asking if he's full of it or not.

If 100 other fisherman use this same rod for tuna and find it comfortable, it doesn't matter. This guy didn't. If he says he got fatigued faster using it, I would be inclined to believe him. I personally don't like split seats, especially on casting rods. Even on small rods I don't feel like I can grip them comfortably and that's a lot of pressure on the index finger, which means I grip harder, which all means more wear on the wrist and forearm.

A lot of guys love them though and wouldn't use anything else. It's all about the individual. I would also put more stock into what your guy says simply because he loves the rod for what it was built for. Maybe he learned that you can't neccessarily use one rod for all purposes and you'll have another cash project.

Mr. Chia-Chien Goh - May I chime in from a slightly different perspective and take a somewhat different tack with this Reply.

You made this rod for a very specific purpose: for an American angler who wants to fish for American large-mouth bass fish. This open or skeleton reel seat and exposed rod blank is supposed to enhance the feel and sensitivity of the rod because the angler can have his hand / fingers in direct contact with the blank. It does that very nicely, no doubt. But such a rod is not suitable for all types of fishing, as your customer has discovered.

First of all, it seems to me, that after 20 minutes of fighting ANY fish, with ANY rod & reel, that this customer's hands would become fatigued, regardless of the type of reel seat. I doubt there are many (if any) largemouth bass that he has had to fight for more than 2-3 minutes. And he is probably using a much lighter drag setting, fighting a considerably smaller fish, and has less than 15 meters of line out. Also, few largemouth bass have the stamina and running power / speed of even the smallest tuna.

Add to this the fact of a grip / seat that has a smaller diameter, and there is likely to be an increased rate of personal fatigue and muscular exhaustion. This type of reel seat was designed with the idea of enhancing sensitivity, not fish-fighting endurance. The trade-off is that the ergonomic aspects are sacrificed, and greater fatigue is likely. These split / skeleton reel seats are not designed for improving the grip and stamina needed in long fights with fish.

I think you have the classic case of a customer who misunderstood the limits of his fishing tackle, and discovered the hard way that this reel seat design is not well suited to bigger fish and longer fights. It also sounds like you built the rod exactly to his ORIGINAL specifications as a BASS ROD, and that he was very satisfied with its use in that original application. Now the customer thought it would be fun to use the rod against a more "challenging" fish, the TUNA. And he has discovered that Tuna is no weakling. And that a smaller diameter hand-hold or grip produces fatigue more quickly.

I think if you politely, and with good humour, educate your customer in these facts, that he will eventually realize that he was being unrealistic to expect that rod to perform effectively as a tuna rod. Hopefully, he has learned his lesson.

Chia, you can not blame yourself nor take responsibility for this rod's poor performance in a fishing situation for which it was never intended to be used. That is no disgrace or loss of face to you. It is only a sign of the customer's understanding of his tackle, and proof that he misused his equipment. He used the wrong tool for the job; and that is HIS fault, not yours.

Best Wishes, to you, Chia-Chien Goh. -Cliff Hall, Gainesville, FL-U.S.A.

Since I don't know how to Edit a Reply, I would rather that the last two paragraphs read as:

"I think if you politely, and with good humour, educate your customer in these facts, that he will eventually realize that he was being unrealistic to expect that rod to perform effectively as a tuna rod. Hopefully, he has learned his lesson. And can admit that to you.

Chia, you can not blame yourself nor take responsibility for this rod's poor performance in a fishing situation for which it was never intended to be used. That is no disgrace or loss of face to you. It is only a sign of the customer's misunderstanding of his tackle, and proof that he misused his equipment. He used the wrong tool for the job; and that is HIS fault, not yours.

Best Wishes, to you, Chia-Chien Goh. -Cliff Hall, Gainesville, FL-U.S.A."