My favorite bass rod...

islandflyfisher · Post by **islandflyfisher** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 12:13 am

I have had my favorite bass rod for 10 years, or something like that. The reel has started to spin some. Is there any way to fix it without cutting the butt off or removing all the guides? Can I just tack it in place or something? It has a split butt section that I really like. I can post pics if necessary.
Thanks in advance for the help.

islandflyfisher · Post by **islandflyfisher** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:35 pm

Reel seat is spnning.

screamendrag · Post by **screamendrag** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 4:44 pm

i take it it has a cork grip....and u say it has a split grip which i think means some of the blank is exposed near the butt of the rod...

if im right then you would have to remove the cork and re-epoxy the seat to some new arbors(or tape)......if it was me i would remove everything from the seat down and replace......not that hard of a job if you take ur time....post some pics though it would definitly help us help u

hope that helps

-Jeff

islandflyfisher · Post by **islandflyfisher** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 10:10 pm

It is in this pic. I am not just trying to show off my bass catch (added bonus

). I just looked for a pic already loaded with the entire grip section.

gruntking · Post by **gruntking** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 2:22 pm

nice fish

islandflyfisher · Post by **islandflyfisher** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 6:43 pm

Is there any way to fix it without cutting off the grip?

CubanExpress · Post by **CubanExpress** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 7:22 pm

on the side where the reel is seated.. drill a series of 1/8 in holes.. make sure you do not penetrate into the blank...

Next get a disposible seringe such as a plastic monoject and cut some of the tip off to make the outlet bigger as the epoxy is thick... pull the plunger off/out of the chamber and pour epoxy into the chamber...

next squirt epoxy into the series of 1/8 inch holes that you drilled into
the reel seat making sure that as you are filling to slightly over flow it out of the holes to give you maximun hold when the epoxy sets

if you ask why do I have to drill a seires of holes and why not one... Its that there are bushings under the reel seat that keep the reelseat centered with the blank... Those bushings can be anywhere depending on the width of bushing material and the spacing layout of the bushings... The mutiple holes will give you a better chance at getting a open pocket for the epoxy to bond with the blank... make sure that the reelseat is centered with the guides and let it set-up for 24 hours depending on the epoxy .......

This is the " HAILMARY " of reelseat repairs ... If you get lucky it will last and last ... If not..... a tear down will be needed Goodluck

islandflyfisher · Post by **islandflyfisher** » Sun Jan 20, 2008 9:54 pm

Thanks for the info!
Is there any way to be sure you don't hit the blank? That sounds risky.

CubanExpress · Post by **CubanExpress** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:48 am

Very carefully... Pretty much what you anticipate for is once you drill through the reel seat that there will be a big pocket of air...
So what ever you do - do not use force... just let the drill and drill bit do the work..

islandflyfisher · Post by **islandflyfisher** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:33 pm

I don't know if I am skilled enough to do that. It sounds like an EXTREMELY delicate task. One slip up, and the rod is done. I will decide though. I need to do something about it; that rod is to good to retire.

Thanks for helping me weigh my options!

NICK123 · Post by **NICK123** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:54 pm

its like brain surgery one wrong move and its all over

CubanExpress · Post by **CubanExpress** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 1:55 am

NICK123 wrote:its like brain surgery one wrong move and its all over

Everyone has to start somewhere.... Im sure many that read this section of the forum is/are intrested in wanting to build up rods... and many of them dont know where to start or think that they are not confident enough to build up a blank...

Building rods is very easy and once learned will help you in the long-run and make the sport of fishing that much more enjoyable.

Out of the handful of anglers that I have shown how to build up a blank all have been "successful" at rod building<<<---Just making it a point that once someone is educated on the subject of rod building it will make it alot easier for them to start and progress

islandflyfisher wrote:I don't know if I am skilled enough to do that. It sounds like an EXTREMELY delicate task. One slip up, and the rod is done. I will decide though. I need to do something about it; that rod is to good to retire.

Thanks for helping me weigh my options!

If you have a "beater" rod that you do not care for... attempt to do a mock-up repair this way you can get a feel for it... Or better yet tear down the "beater" rod completely... If you ever want to start building and wrapping this will be your trail and error blank... Go for it and dont look back

islandflyfisher · Post by **islandflyfisher** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:26 pm

Interesting Idea. I will look around for a "beater rod", and see how it goes.
I did make one fly rod, so I do have some feel for it.

Lomax aka ZEBCO · Post by **Lomax aka ZEBCO** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:34 pm

If you screw up and the drill bit penetrates the blank,
no worries actually. Continue finishing what you were doing.
You can always put an insert inside from the bottom afterwards
to restrengthen the pole.

islandflyfisher · Post by **islandflyfisher** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:34 am

I have decided that I am going to do this when I get the chance, that might be a week away. I can't deal with the real seat any more. How many holes would you drill? I was thinking of drilling 2, one top, one bottom, and drilling them where the reel usually sits. This way, no one will be able to tell that I did anything once the reel is on.

islandflyfisher · Post by **islandflyfisher** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:28 pm

I finally got a chance to make the repair. It was actually pretty easy. The only thing I did differently was I used a smaller drill bit, because it made me feel more comfortable when srilling the hole.
It is not dry yet, but here are some pics...

The rod:

The holes:

With epoxy:

Thanks for all of the help Cuban Express! I would not have got this fixed if it wasn't for your encouragement.

NICK123 · Post by **NICK123** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 11:17 pm

you were rght i finally fixed my penn surf master which is as good as new after 35 years of comercial fishing use it is a sight of wonder ready to hit the deep sea again and slay many a more dolphin

islandflyfisher · Post by **islandflyfisher** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:31 am

rob762 wrote:Good job Peter. Maintaining your own equipment is very satisfying. As C'express says, once you start building your own stuff, it opens up a new dimension.

It didn't hold. I redrilled it out, made the holes a little bit bigger, and added a hole. I'll have to see how it turns out.

I did build one rod a while ago - 7wt fly rod. It looks like a beginner did it, but it's still pretty cool.