In the past I have had trouble with some reel feet which did not fit reel seats. Is this still a problem, or has some sort of agreement been reached among reel manufacturers about the size and shape of reel seats? It would have to be an international agreement. In a Cabela's fishing catalog I just counted 12 different brands of reels offering 146 different models, most offered in several sizes. Only two reel models (offered by one brand) were made in America.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/2010 09:20PM by Phil Ewanicki.

The only feet that differ widely in size are those found on fly reels. Most all other reels have feet that are very close in size, from small freshwater spin casting reels to the largest offshore trolling reels.

AFFTA arrived at a standard for fly reel feet a few years ago, but not all fly reel makers have conformed.

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It's for that reason exactly that I always require that the customer give me the reel he's going to use. I size the seat accordingly. As Tom mentioned, most casting/spinning seats are similar, so sometimes I can size a seat based on a reel I have at my house. But, it's always best to have the reel in hand.

Fly reels are an entirely different issue. My experience is that the cast fly reels (what I generally buy for myself) have larger-than-AFFTA feet, perhaps because they've been built overseas...? The machined reels almost always have the standard sized AFFTA reel foot. You definitely NEED to have the customer's fly reel in hand when building a fly seat, especially if you're going to be trimming the seat to exact size.

And, there's always the issue of a spinning seat fitting snugly into a given brand of seat. I've never been happy with the with how loosely most spinning reel feet fit into the average Fuji seat. It doesn't seem to matter how tightly I screw the thing down; it still will shift a little from side-to-side. The only way I've ever been able to completely fix the problem is to use the SKM skeleton seats, and turn my own inserts. By turning the insert just the tiniest fraction oversized, I can keep the reel foot in place inside the hoods.

Andrew

I have at times sanded the under side of the feet and glued stiff rubber in place. It takes up slack and the reel fits better.

Bill - willierods.com

Phil,
I think that it is a mistake to make a rod that can only use a single reel.
I have seen some builders attempt to save weight and shorten up the reel seat, or make the reel seat smaller than what really makes sense.

Then, the customer comes in and the reel foot has to be modified to fit the rod. Then, when the reel breaks or when the wishes of the customer changes and he wants a different reel on the rod, he / she find that the new reel won't fit on the rod.

Remember, many rods last for years and years. But, over time, reels can change quite a bit. Many times, clients want to put a new generation reel on a favorite rod. I think that it generally is not in the customers best interest - unless he specifically asks for a very very specific reel seat tailored to a very specific reel - is a good idea.

But that is why they call this Custom Rod building. The customer can ask for anything, and it is up to us to supply exactly what the customer wants.

Take care
Roger.

p.s.
The reason that I made this post was that when I first started rod building, I did make some very close fitting reel seats which worked great for the reel and rod in question. But then in later years, I actually ended up cutting off the reel seat and putting on a different handle and reel seat so that I could use a different reel that came out on the market. I made sure that the replacement reel and handle would not limit my reel choices.