Just wondering what the plate type reelseats are used for - super heavy duty fishing? Thanks.

No they're typically used for surf rods that have a butt diameter too large for a pipe reel seat to fit. Others like the minimalist look of them also.

Tim, Michael is right: plate reel seats are used mostly on surf rods, when the butt section is so large that you can't get a tube-style reel seat to fit over the blank.

I thought the same thing as you when I first saw a plate reel seat: what the heck are they for? But after reading some posts here (I remember Tom Kirkman recommending one), I used one on my most recent surf rod (a 10-foot, 2-piece, 4-10 ounce conventional bait heaver), and I was thrilled with the results. For smaller spinning / plugging rods, I'm a bit undecided, but I will never use anything but a plate-style reel seat on any future bait-heaving surf rods I build.

The reel seat is wrapped onto the blank just like you wrap a guide, but with bigger thread, usually size D or E, and finished the same as a guide as well. I wish I had a picture of the one I just constructed, but the rod is at my mother's beach house and is not available.

To my way of thinking, plate-style reel seats have a couple of big advantages:

- they are much, much lighter than a tube-style reel seat
- they provide a nice custom look, as you will probably never see a factory rod with one
- unlike tube style reel seats, installation is not permanent. Though they're plenty sturdy in fighting fish, removing the reel seat is as easy as removing a guide. This comes in especially handy if you want to move the reel seat up or down on the blank. Once you install your tube reel seat, you've committed to keeping it there, but a plate-style can be moved in a matter of minutes.

This last factor, to me anyway, is the deal-clincher, and the reason why in the future I will use them as much as I can. Like most of us, I guess, I want my custom rods to last as long as they can -- ideally as long as the guy fishing them lives. And because of that I always have had a bit of a problem with tube-style reel seats, especially those that will be dragged in sand and banged against jetty rocks (like I do to my surf rods). What happens if there's a failure in a tube-style reel seat -- say the hood that locks on the reel seat breaks in two? Tube-style reel seats can be replaced, I guess, but it's a big job and a major hassle because of the strength of the epoxy you need to use to keep them on the blank in the first place. This is not an issue with plate-style reel seats. The surf slinger I just built will need some maintenance over the years -- I will have to replace the top, guides, grips, and perhaps even the reel seat, but doing any of these will be a piece of cake. If I don't close a car door on it or run it over with a truck, it will last forever.

Plus, they look cool. And that counts for something too.

I use them on ice fishing rods. Many ice fishing rods are made with a cork grip that you attach the reel to with electrical tape. Recently, manufacturers have started using regular reel seats on their ice fishing rods, something old timers don't really like. To me the plate reel seat is in the middle and represents a nice compromise.

When asked I have been using plate seats on "normal" diameter blanks for some time. I sometimes add a palm support for extra stability. Some reel seats I give the rod owner loose so he can tape the plate seat where desired. Others I wrap tightly to the blank with D thread. When taped I recommend that the angler uses white medical tape - the type that has a coth core - to keep the plate seat steady. Other tape, ie electrical tape, stretches some.

Some of the anglers I build rods for fish the "point" at cape hatteras and want the lightest blank possible, and they ask for a plate seat.

Anyone want a pic of what one looks like wrapped with a palm support drop me an email....

Lou

I've actually put the plate seat on a wide variety of rod types, not just surf. They close and hold a reel very securely. Use your imagination and you may find other rod types that can make use of these seats.

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