Check out this new reel shown at ICAST.

[www.tackletour.com]

The main body is connected to the foot with a clamp plate and 2 small screws. This would be great for making a Tennessee handle and wrapping the foot onto the rod with thread and finish. It would make wrapping much easier since the main part of the reel wouldn’t be in your way, and you could remove the reel for maintenance and cleaning while leaving the foot attached to the rod.

Making Tennessee handles with foam core-carbon skin system works fantastic. You can shape the handle any way that feels comfortable and since the handle is rigid and durable you don’t have any problems with the reel getting loose over time. When you start building super light spinning rods the weight of the reel seat becomes a problem, and id a considerable percentage of the total build weight. A foam core-carbon skinned Tennessee grip using 5-6 inches to mount the reel and a small rear grip for 2 handed casting is a huge weight savings compared to any other system that I have seen.

Just another idea (without having held the reel) - could you remove the foot and somehow put it inside the tennessee handle - removing the need for wrapping it on altogether?
Hmmm...

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Wow, for the price I see that one being my next spinning reel....very neat look. And Alex, I like where your heads at...that would be cool...you could install the foot below the CF layer and laminate it in.

Scott Sheets
www.smsrods.com

I'm trying to be open-minded here, honestly I am....

But I cannot think of one advantage of this reel other than the carbon fiber material that every other reel maker has done for the past 10 years. I can only see being stuck with one brand of reel once the reel foot is wrapped onto the rod. Also, why would you want to wrap a reel foot onto the rod? Is it that hard to remove the reel? Also, what weight is being saved; the weight of a tennesee handle?

C'mon; help me out here you guys. So far I think it's a riduclous idea that some new-rookie engineer had a nightmare about one night. LOL

I'll sit back and listen.

Paul

The advantage is being able to remove the reel from the foot to make wrapping the foot with thread easier and maintenance easier as well.

Might want to take a look back at the hot handle article or some of the vibronics articles regarding spinning rods.

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Mike;
Thanks for bringing that to our attention. If it turns out to be a quality reel you’ve just made my life a little easier.

Alex;
I’m with Scott and like were you thinking is at. I was thinking the same as both of you when I was reading the right-up.

Paul;
There is not enough space here to go into all the benefits of the type of set up being referred to here. May I suggest you get a copy of Rod Maker Mag Vol#10 Issue 4 and start reading there.

Here are a few links to help along the way
[www.rodbuilding.org]

[rodbuilding.org]

[rodbuilding.org]

Actually I’m an engineer with 20+ years experience in fields where you spend months looking for the most minute performance advantages.

Once you start weighing everything you find out that conventional reel seats are very heavy, an 18mm spinning seat weighs more than the entire added weight of all parts on a build using a foam core Tennessee handle.

Laminating the foot under the CF is an interesting idea. You can get unidirectional carbon tape, a couple wraps of that under the woven sleeve would make a very secure assembly.

Paul, wrapping the reel to the handle is just a way to reduce weight further... Steve's Hot Handle is a very nice grip. I pull my reels all the time so I mortise my TN style grips and install a plate seat..... With this Okuma reel I could still pull the reel for whatever reason and leave the foot attached to the rod....Laminating the foot under the grip would cut the weight even more.

Mike, I think the biggest challenge in laminating the foot under the grip is going to be getting the CF material to cut cleanly and not unravel where you cut it for the foot to come through....I already have a few idea's in mind though.....I might just cut up and old reel so I can start playing with the idea before I try to get one of these OKUMA's.

Aesthetically that Okuma reel will look SWEEEEEEET paired with a CF grip and an RX8 Blank..... :-)

Scott Sheets
www.smsrods.com

Steve this is probably an idea they got from you ha ha. I sure you will have something put together with this reel pretty soon. Let me know what you come up with. Im sure this made your ears perk up.

Mike Thompson
Thompson's Custom Rods

It is impossible to make anything foolproof, because fools are so ingenious!

Steve: I love the looks of that rod in the first link; thank you. But I really must be missing something about all of the advantages here, because IMHO it comes down to two things: weight and ergonomics; and this set-up is not ergo friendly.

Scott: That makes perfect sense to me at to why this reel would be great for ya! Thanks much.

Alex: Makes sense to me. I had no idea that people were wrapping the reels to the rod...

So you guys "wrap" the reel foot to the handle of the rod? Wow. Then I do see how this reel would have an advantage. I have to ask, how do you keep it from sliding on the handle during rough handling periods? I'm no pro-bass circuit guy, but just normal everday fishing here in Alaska, and can see where the wrapped handle would get mis-aligned when knocked around the boat in 6-10 foot seas.

Also, are you really saving any "substantial" weight by doing this? When we were kids we just used Scotch Super 88 electtical tape to attach the reels to the handles on our fish killin' noodle rods. It did look a litle gehto I must admit.

I'm just trying to learn something here and boy have I!!!!!! Thanks much you guys!

Paul

Paul,
The thread wrapped reel holds great. Once you wrap and finish it, it is not going anywhere. That being said between Alex, Steve and myself I probably fish the water with the biggest "seas" as you put it, Lake Michigan, I wouldnt be caught dead out there in my bass boat...so I have NO idea if it will hold in 6-10' ers, I've run the lake in 3-5'ers and never had a probem.

Steve might have the actual weights recorded for the weight difference, but you are basically cutting out the weight of a reelseat....sure you have some weight from the grip materials where the seat should be, but it is overall at least a little lighter.

Scott Sheets
www.smsrods.com

Scott...

Thanks for the sharing first hand experience...I understand now. Lighter is the goal when I build rods as well; escpecially 15 foot float rods! I remember Lake Michagan as a kid being pretty rough too! My dad and I fished Southeast part of Wi.

Take care, and thanks to all of you for the insight and explanations.

Paul

Paul;
“IMHO it comes down to two things: weight and ergonomics; and this set-up is not ergo friendly.”
I totally agree with the first part of your statement.
Have you handled one?
I do mine a little different then Jay did his rod in the picture, but his is close enough to what I do to get a good picture.
On a standard reel seat you have screw threads, seams, ridges, reel ft hoods, seat bodies with all kinds of little edges and recesses working on your hand, and in your colder weather, metal parts robbing the warmth of your hands.
With the rod pictured there is one smooth transition from thread to handle. Much more ergonomically friendly then you realize



“So you guys "wrap" the reel foot to the handle of the rod? Wow. Then I do see how this reel would have an advantage. I have to ask, how do you keep it from sliding on the handle during rough handling periods? I'm no pro-bass circuit guy, but just normal everday fishing here in Alaska, and can see where the wrapped handle would get mis-aligned when knocked around the boat in 6-10 foot seas.”

I have been doing this since the early 1980’s and have never had a reel shift on the rod. After you wrap the reel ft on, you epoxy the threads just like you would a guide. Stepped on one this year because of an unseen boat wake knocking me off balance during a tournament. Replaced the reel just like I you do a guide. Break a guide, rods out of commission for the rest of the trip. Break a reel and it’s out of commission till the end of the day. You can always remove the reel and tape another one on to get you through the rest of the trip.


“Also, are you really saving any "substantial" weight by doing this?”
Absolutely!!

“I'm just trying to learn something here and boy have I!!!!!!”

If you want to learn more? Again I suggest you read or order the back issues of Rod Maker Mag. Vol.10 Issue 4 and the follow up how to article was in Vol. 11 Issue 1

Scott - Depending on the size of the stem, you might not need to split the carbon sleeve. You may be able to open the weave apart and just slide the stem through the hole in the weave.

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Does a plate seat qualify as a Tennessee Handle when it is not ORANGE??

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[www.rodbuilding.org]

Bill Stevens Wrote:
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> Does a plate seat qualify as a Tennessee Handle
> when it is not ORANGE??
>
> }>>>
>
> [www.rodbuilding.org]
> /photo/6981/cat/500/page/4

Yup, that's how I did mine...Man I want one of those Caxin seats they use...can't find them anywhere.

Scott Sheets
www.smsrods.com

Mike,
Nice looking reel.
Although I don't agree with the idea of making a reel a permanent addition to a rod in the form of wrapping the reel foot to the grip, I do agree with your statement that a Tennessee grip is a very light grip.
If I use a Tennessee grip as I do all of the time with ice rods as a few summer rods, I take care of the reel mounting problem with a couple wraps of electrical tape on the front and back of the reel foot.
Certainly, the ability to unscrew the reel foot from the rest of the reel, makes this job easier.

I don't like to make any specific reel part of a specific rod because as I have different uses for the rods, I will use different reels on the rod.
In some cases I want the rod for vertical jigging where there is no need for casting distance but I want super light weight. So, I will put a very small light reel on the rod to meet these needs.
Then, for the times that I need to use the same rod for some distance casting, I will use a heavier reel with a much larger spool to achieve better casting distance and fishing results.

The other thing that I have found is that I have many rods that have worn out two or three different reels through heavy use and or multiple rod rebuilds. If the blank is a good one, it can easily outlast a few reels.

Take care
Roger

I realize that this is thinking out of the box -- but if a stronger hold is wanted and the reel is to be placed in the same spot, why not just use a split seat for a secure hold. Longer rods can benefit from the extra - little weight at the butt for balance. Plus if the reel breaks and you have to use another type ???

Then again --have fun

Bill - willierods.com

I am not experienced and don't have a TN handle that has been sleeved and coated. But thinking that internally it is cork....and has give....I think you could simply mount the reel with one nylon tyrap. You would hold the tyrqp behind the rod as you look directly at it with the reel sitting on it. Face the feed side of the tyrap head toward you sticking up behind the rod.....like ET looking at you........come down from back of the rod under it and towards you....up an cross over on the front...or side facing you to the other side of the reel and go down behind the rod, and back under towards you again...and then cross back in front and feed it through the tyrap head. Pull down tight....then use pliers to grip the tyrap at the head as close as possible and turn the pliers to cinch it up tight. Cut off the tag end. Then can always cut loose the tyrap with dykes when you want to change it out. An infinity symbol or figure it sorta thing.

Just an idea.

Jim

Bill
When I wrap a reel to the handle, it’s not “a stronger hold” I am looking for.
It’s a more comfortable hold.

I think if you play around with a split seat (unless used on a large diameter blank), you will find they do not offer a stronger hold.
Because of the tightness of the hands clinch do to the smaller diameter. I have found it is actually ergonomically less comfortable.

Jim
If you take a trip to Wal-Mart’s or Bass Pro Shops were they have done what you are suggesting, to keep people from removing the reels off of preset rod reel combo’s.
You will find that it is in fact most uncomfortable, especially when the clipped end of the zip strap is sticking into you hand.