Reel seating on the rod

[Spydeyrch]

So, I got a new rod and a new reel. The reel doesn't seem to want to slip into the front slot of rod seat. The back part of the reel fork (?) will fit just fine in the butt of the rod seat (right next to the tightening ring) but I can't even get a millimeter of the front reel fork into the front seat of the rod. If I tighten it down, the reel still wiggles around quite a bit, at least it seems so to me.

I was thinking that maybe I should grind down the reel seat prong/fork a little so that it has a nice tight fit.

Any ideas? Shouldn't it fit well and not be too difficult to snug into place?

Thanks for the info and help.

-Spydey

 

[benkearney]

That doesn't seem right. If you bought it at a shop I would take it back in and ask them about it.

 

[troutdude]

Yeah, something isn't right. I've owned dozens and dozens of different rods, and I've never run into that issue.

Even if you didn't get it at a shop; I'd say take in and have someone look it over.

 

[benkearney]

This might seem ridiculously obvious, but since you said it is your first fly rod.... The rod seat has one area that has a "notch" cut out of it. Sometimes you have to spin the band to line up the notch with the base of the reel.

Sorry if this is obvious to you, but it is worth noting.

 

[Spydeyrch]

Thanks everyone for the input.

@benkearney

Yeah, I am aware of the fact that both the front and the rear of the rod seat have a little notch in them for the reel prongs to fit into. But thanks for pointing it out. Never hurts to mention the obvious but sometimes easily overlooked.

Yeah, I think that I am going to take it into the shop to see what is gong on. It shouldn't really be like that. The reel prongs seem to be too fat to actually fit in the notches of the rod seat.

-Spydey

 

[everett464]

Ok... so one more obvious thing. I actually went through this same issue with my Solo.

The Echo Solo has two rings: one that actually screws, and another that slides freely over the seat. Make sure that both rings are slid down to the butt, so that the ring with threads doesn't actually touch the reel. On my solo, the top ring sticks a little bit if it gets slid all the way up to the top.

This might not be the case for you, but just a though. Good luck. Either way, the shop should be able to set you right.

 

[Spydeyrch]

Ok... so one more obvious thing. I actually went through this same issue with my Solo.

The Echo Solo has two rings: one that actually screws, and another that slides freely over the seat. Make sure that both rings are slid down to the butt, so that the ring with threads doesn't actually touch the reel. On my solo, the top ring sticks a little bit if it gets slid all the way up to the top.

This might not be the case for you, but just a though. Good luck. Either way, the shop should be able to set you right.

Thanks for the response everett. Yeah, on this rod, there are just two rings, both at the but. The one is a freely moving ring. It can move up and down the rod seat (without a reel present) and can spin in any direction without being affected by the threads. This ring has the notch in it for the back prong of the reel. The second ring is the tightening ring which is used to tighten the first ring when a reel is present. Hope that makes sense.

You know, and I am hoping this isn't the case, but it could just be my total penny pinching mind-set that is causing the issue. In order to save some dough ($$$$) where ever I could, I bought a $35 Okuma 5/6 fly reel from Bi-mart. It seemed like a decent buy. I ran over the system several times, taking it apart multiple times before I purchased it. The drag system is ok, not the best but definitely not the worse. It is a magnetic drag system. It seems very solid, made out of cast aluminum. I would have thought that all reel seat prongs would be set to a universal standard to fit in any rod seat. but I am probably to blame. And now, by me trying to save money, it is actually going to cost me more money!! We will wait and see what the shop has to say this afternoon. Wish me luck!!ray:

-Spydey

 

[everett464]

I can assure you that is not your problem, as I use an Echo Solo and an Okuma SLV together as well.

 

[Spydeyrch]

Well that is good news at least. It seems to me that the black finish on the reel is kind of thick. That might be one of the issues. I am taking it to my local fly store where I bought the rod from yesterday. Great guys there. Very friendly and knowledgeable. Here's me hoping I don't have to get a new reel!!! :ray::

-Spydey

 

[Sinkline]

This might sound kinda "hatchett", but you might be able to fix it by just firmly wiggling the front reel foot into the tight hood with some firm pressure. I have built quite a few rods and sometimes the hoods are just a little tight. Most reel foot hoods are aluminum and while it might seem like a "garage shop" fix, sometimes forcing the reel foot will spread the hood and then it will work fine forever. If the hood/seat is heavy gauge machined you will not be able to "force fit" the reel foot. If the hood/seat is stamped aluminum of average gauge it will flex and bend a few .000" to fit your reel.

Use common sense if you try to "force fit" the hood and if it is taking way to much force then you probably shouldn't persist.

Good luck.


Randy

 

[Spydeyrch]

This might sound kinda "hatchett", but you might be able to fix it by just firmly wiggling the front reel foot into the tight hood with some firm pressure. I have built quite a few rods and sometimes the hoods are just a little tight. Most reel foot hoods are aluminum and while it might seem like a "garage shop" fix, sometimes forcing the reel foot will spread the hood and then it will work fine forever. If the hood/seat is heavy gauge machined you will not be able to "force fit" the reel foot. If the hood/seat is stamped aluminum of average gauge it will flex and bend a few .000" to fit your reel.

Use common sense if you try to "force fit" the hood and if it is taking way to much force then you probably shouldn't persist.

Good luck.


Randy

Thanks Randy. I tried that yesterday and even though I got it to "stick" it sure didn't feel natural. As in it didn't feel right having to force it into something. Almose as iff I was forcing a large triangle into a smaller triangle. they are both triangles but one is just slightly bigger than the other. It fits just fine in the back ring notch, but it is the front notch, or the front hood as you called it, that it doesn't fit into as easily as I thought it would fit. I think it has something to do with the finish layer on it. It looks to be too thick.

If I get it into the front hood, slip on the back ring, secure it down so that it doens't wiggle. It is fine, but then if I un-screw the back ring and slip it off, it is "stuck" in the front hood/notch and I have to wriggle it out. That shouldn't be like that, at least I think so.

I will keep trying and doing different things.

-Spydey

 

[Hawk]

Did you try any other reel to see if they fit properly on this rod?

Sounds like your new reel wasn't made right.

 

[Spydeyrch]

Did you try any other reel to see if they fit properly on this rod?

Sounds like your new reel wasn't made right.

Nope not yet. But I am heading to the fly shop today to have it taken a look at. I just hope I don't have to buy a second reel. They are expensive!!!!

hahahaha

-Spydey

 

[GungasUncle]

I've owned a number of these exact reels - the Sierra 5/6 - never had an issue with them fitting on any of my rods - have used them on Cortlands, WW Grigg, Wright & McGill, Cabela's, and Lamiglas without issue. The reel foot is plastic, so it's possible yougot a poorly cast piece, something just doesn't sound right about your reel, or the reel seat on your rod is off.

 

[Spydeyrch]

I've owned a number of these exact reels - the Sierra 5/6 - never had an issue with them fitting on any of my rods - have used them on Cortlands, WW Grigg, Wright & McGill, Cabela's, and Lamiglas without issue. The reel foot is plastic, so it's possible yougot a poorly cast piece, something just doesn't sound right about your reel, or the reel seat on your rod is off.

The reel seat is plastic? Umm, interesting..... The only plastic things on the reel, on the exterior, is the drag knob (for raising and lowering the drag), and the handle for reeling in the line. The reel feet are metal. If I shave off the plastic/paint/finish coating, it is clearly metal underneath. Ummm...... maybe that is the issue, who knows... but it is getting close to heading to the shop so we will see when I get there. I sure hope it isn't the rod!!!! :shock:

-Spydey

 

[everett464]

Updates?

 

[GungasUncle]

Pretty sure the reel seats on my Sierra's have been plastic feet. The frame and spool are aluminum, but I'm pretty sure the feet are plastic. Now you're going to make me dig out my fly gear...

 

[GungasUncle]

Okay - just dug my reel out of storage - was wrong about the plastic feet - but it's not integral to the rest of the reel. It's screwed on, and the reel foot is cast aluminum. It still could be a poorly cast part - as moulds - metal or plastic - wear out over time. So metal or plastic, could be a bad cast, and could be thicker than it's supposed to be.

 

[Spydeyrch]

Update!!!

Update!!!

Ok,

So I took my rod and reel over to Kauffman Streamborn in Tigard to have them take a look at it. We tried a few different reels which seemed to fit better but didn't go all the way in. We kind of sat there scratching our heads for a little bit until another of the employees came over. Great guy!! Has helped me out in the past. I think his name is Jad (???). Kind of like Chad but with a 'j' instead of the 'ch'.

Anywho, he took one look at it and said he new what the problem was. About three years ago, rod seat and reel seat/feet specs change to a universal standard. Some reel makers haven't caught up yet, Okuma being one of them. They are taking their time because their reels fit their rods, thus it is a marketing point for them. Their reel feet are thicker, not as curved, and don't come to such a tapered edge as the newer reels do.

Echo adopted the new rod seat specs immediately. Some rod manufactures still are lagging behind too.

So that is my issue. I have an old specs reel with a new specs rod. We played around with the reel & rod for about 30 or 40 mins. We were able to get it into the front hood just enough to secure it tightly. It really didn't go in too much further than the newer spec reels did. No reel went in completely flush with the hood. There was always a little bit of space for wear-n-tear.

He did mention that if I wanted a more flush fit with out having to force it in too hard, I can always take a metal file and file down the front foot of the reel. It won't do anything to the reel's quality and won't damage it at all. So I think that is what I am going to do.

Well, it is good to finally know what was going on and that it isn't as serious as I thought. Thanks to everyone who gave me their input and suggestions. They are all very much appreciated.

Hope to see you on the water. Take care.

-Spydey

 

[everett464]

Boo. Well, at least you know what it is.

I did plug my Okuma SLV into my Echo this morning, just to see what my, now discerning, eye would pick up. While I didn't have any issues getting the real to feel like it was seated, no matter how tight I screwed the screw down, I still had about 1/16" of East-West play. So, I plugged my Reddington RISE in there, and it was the same.

I say all of this to mention that I have not experienced any sort or performance issue whatsoever on the river. I actually had not even noticed the play before now. Further, there is no sign of wear on the reel seat, and I have been using it for over a year. Its hard to tell from your description how much more play you have in your set up than in mine, but you may just go fish with it a couple of times, and see how it feels and how it wears.