How reliable or tough are the graphite reel seats? Are there differences between brands?

I'm building a 7ft spinning rod that will be fished with at least 80 lb line (around 20lb drag). Should I just give up the idea of a graphite reel seat for weight savings and go with an aluminum?

Thanks for any input.

Terry

Terry,
I do not think that you have to worry about the graphite reel seats on your spinning rod, something else will break before they do. They are not really graphite. They are actually some tough plastic, possibly ABS. I do not know why we call them graphite.

I've not used 80lb line but I use 65 extensively on flipping sticks pulling fish out of heavy cover. I have never even noticed any problem to be worried about .
Even with the 800 lb test if all your applying is 20lb's of drag, that is all the pressure you are putting on seat.
IMO I don’t think it should be a concern

Thanks for the information. This sure does make me feel better since most of my friends are using aluminum seats.

I'm building this rod to fish for yellowfin tuna on topwater. The reel is going to be capable of 30 + lbs of drag but I don't think that I can hold on to a 7ft rod with that kind of pressure for very long. Thus, my post regarding around 20 lbs of drag.

Are there differences in the brands that I should look into?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2006 06:25PM by terry truong.

Pac Bay, Fuji, Batson, and Sevier are all good products. Some hood colors work better than others in the salt.

I've been looking at these brands since the last post. The Fuji seats seem to be very expensive. I've contacted Sevier to get their catalog.

Batson (Forecast) seem pretty nice. In fact, the all aluminum Easy Tight looks really good and may be something that I would try on a spinning rod--the extra length of the hood may just make handling that much more comfortable. I just don't see anybody carry that particular model.

American Tackle also seem to have some very nice things, especially the graphite/aluminum seats. I've used their all aluminum seat and have been particuarly pleased.

Any opinions on any particular brand or model would really be appreciated.

Terry,

Sounds like a neat project. I was thinking of putting together a spin rod for football bluefin similar to what you are doing. What are you using for a blank?

I plan on making several actually to see which I would like the best. The first two will be a Calstar 700H & a Calstar 765ML blank to be used with a Spheros 14000. These outfits will be used with 80lb spectra as the reel puts out a max of 24 lbs. I'm also open to using a Seeker S-glass blank (6463xxh) or one of the black steel ones for the bigger spinners.