picked up my first surf rod blank... considering cork tape, and possibly a fuji plate type reel seat.

Any thoughts or experiences on the use of these with spinning reels. won't be taping in place but wrapping with thread and epoxying. (after testing position with reel seat taped in place.) they look pretty cool but haven't seen one in person. leaning toward the Fuji NS7 Plate-Type Reel Seat - Frosted Finish which features a plastic cover to hide the thread wrap.

10' butt diameter is 1.03" what are my other options? rod is rated in the 10-20lb class setting it up as my small blue, whiting rod, but I've caught sharks and reds to 36" from same locals so it could get a work-out.

Considering foam handles (would prefer blue with black grain but cant find Inner Diameter I need. I can only find black) with a aluminum channel lock spinning seat in blue.

any advice appreciated.

Great reel seats! Make sure to get the model with the built in nylon hood liners. You will have to wrap it onto something solid. Cord or cork or the blank itself. But you will like it. Very sturdy and holds the reel extremely well.

thanks barry.

so wrapping it right over the cork tape should work, right?

I have wrapped all mine right on the Cork Tape. For my conv. reels I wrapped it down locking, less metal under hand

Plate style reel seats are like the girl with the curl: when they're good they're terrific; but when they bad, they're awful. I think that's why guys have such divergent opinions on them: those who had good results the first time or two they used them tend to rave over them, while those who had bad results tend to hate them, and will never use them under any circumstances.

The most important thing to do with a plate seat is make sure that the reel you'll be using it will be seated securely in it. I've found that most spinning reels work well in plate seats, but that some conventional reels do not - especially those with thin metal feet, like my venerable Penn Squidders. If, during testing, you can't get the reel snugly seated in a plate seat, then do not try to force it: use a tube seat and forget about it.

When things line up right, plate seats are hard to beat. My go-to surf plugging rod, a 9-foot surf spinner, has a plate seat wrapped directly on the blank, and I absolutely love the fact that while I'm holding it and retrieving a plug, my left palm sits directly on the naked blank. This configuration, coupled with braided fishing line, results in a tremendously sensitive setup -- I can feel everything, as there's no grip absorbing the vibrations coming from the plug. But I've also seen situations where a plate seat is not a good idea: I built a beach sharking rig a couple of years ago, and used a Fuji plate seat, only to realize that the reel I would be pairing with it (an Alvey 700C5) has feet that are too small to work right.

So do some testing before you commit to it. But do consider one -- plate seats are a tremendous option when your reel and blank fits well with one.