Three forks reel seat came loose

[JakesLeakyWaders]

After fishing for bass the other day for a while the reel seat on my Cabela's Three Forks 8' 6" 5 weight started coming loose.

Had to file off some of the old glue and rough up the finish a little. That is, what little glue was there. And I'm not quite sure why a rod maker would put smooth finish on an area that is not visible and where glue is to be applied. I think the lack of glue / smooth surfaces caused the failure. I took great care in preparing the area to be glued hoping it will be a permanant fix.

I've been using Gorilla glue for a while now on everything from shoes to glueing the little magnets back into my foam fly boxes. You know the ones that keep them closed.

The stuff works really well. It expands a little, so just little bit does the trick tighening things up real nice and filling the spaces. Use just the right amount or you'll be cleaning up a little.

Rod looks great, repair went well, nice and tight ready for action again.

Just wonder if anyone else has had this issue. I've never had a loose reel seat on any other rod.

 

[streamerguy]

Hmm, well at least you got it fixed. I have the Three Forks in an 8wt and am very pleased with it so far for it being a $50 rod. Caught a bunch of steelhead and carp with it this spring/summer and had no issues, except the cork isn't the best quality but hey it's like the cheapest fly rod out there so I didn't expect much. I believe the reel seat is different on the 7 and 8wts though.

This issue happened to me with a spinning rod a while back, but I didn't bother fixing it and just retired the rod.

 

[springer1]

After fishing for bass the other day for a while the reel seat on my Cabela's Three Forks 8' 6" 5 weight started coming loose.

How do you like the action of this rod, is it really a moderate action ?

 

[jabink84]

I did a review of this rod a year ago ish on the blog. Had the same problem. It was an easy fix. It seems to be something that alot of guys have had issues with as well.

The rod is a moderate action IMO. It makes a decent dry fly rod for fairly close distances.

 

[KeithS]

I had the end cap disappear on mine. Easy exchange at the store. I like my 7'6" 3 wt.

 

[surveyor06]

I lost the cap on mine as well. A little gorilla glue, good as new

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

Yep, Gorilla glue worked caught a bunch of small bass bluegill and sunnies on the river Friday.

I'd say moderate. Great for bass.

 

[greenghost]

JakesLeakyWaders wrote:

Just wonder if anyone else has had this issue. I've never had a loose reel seat on any other rod.

Yep.... A friend gave me a IM6 Cabelas Guide Series rod as a gift. I had the exact same thing happen... here's my original stream report about it.

I used epoxy to fix. No problems since.



Fished the Yough yesterday. Had a series of unfortunate events happen.

1) Forgot my landing net... "No biggy" I thought.

2)On my very first fish I had a hard time getting into position in the fast water to land the fish by hand. Almost in reach, the fish made a powerful lunge at a weird angle and "Snap!" went my rod tip. No problem, I always carry a spare.

3) Went back up to the car. Took out my spare. As I was putting on the reel, the seat pulled off the butt. The epoxy simply let loose after many years of use. Easily fixable... if you have epoxy on hand. I didn't.

4) Luckily, I always carry a brookie rod with me (7' Cortland) So that's what I used.

5) Continued fishing. Hooked a monster rainbow on a #18 caddis. It was kicking my butt with that little rod. Took me a long time to get him in and release. As I was pulling the hook out, the fish flopped and the hook went from the fishes mouth into my thumb... deep into my thumb. Luckily, it was only a size 18 and barbless. But the damned thing wouldn't stop bleeding. I have a first aid kit in the car, so I went back up wrapped my finger. And prayed to the fishing Gods to make this bad JuJu go away. In the meantime, my thumb wouldn't stop bleeding. (I blame it on the BP meds I'm on.) The interior of my car looked like a murder scene. It eventually did stop and the rest of the day was "normal."

On the bright side, I caught a few nice Yough bows all on a tiny rod better suited for small fish. (It was actually kind of fun although not great for bringing in a big fish quickly.) And the broken rod is a Sage, so they should have it repaired relatively quickly... A memorable day, in many ways.

 

[FrequentTyer]

JakesLeakyWaders wrote:
And I'm not quite sure why a rod maker would put smooth finish on an area that is not visible and where glue is to be applied. I think the lack of glue / smooth surfaces caused the failure.

That's the problem. Most builders would rough up the finish on the blank to give the glue something to grab. Attention to that sort of detail is what sets custom builders and high end factories apart from the low cost high volume operations. Good job with the fix.
Mike.