First Time I've Ever Had This Mishap!

[BooyahMan]

Had a fantastic top-water evening tonight. Had twelve explosive blow-ups and connected with half of them. Lost one to an underwater tree and another one shook the hook when it came to the surface, but got four to the bank. Nothing record breaking, with the smallest being a 10 inch dink and the largest being a fairly thick 16 incher, but great fun nonetheless.

 

^nice tummy on this one.

 

Now here's the funny thing. When I went to set the hook on the first fish of the evening, I must have not had my reel set into the reel seat properly as the reel went flying off of my rod. Tried to put the reel back on quickly with the fish on but things got tangled fast, so I just dropped my rod and hand-lined the bass in. Thought I had broken the reel seat but it was fine, so the reel had slipped out somehow. I put it back together after releasing the fish and went to make another cast, but something felt very wrong. Took a closer look at the reel and lo and behold, the front "bar" (I have no idea what it's called) had completely come off. The gears were exposed (refer to photo below) and the edge on the left hand side was a little bit on the sharp side. I was contemplating just going home then but the reel could still cast just fine, so I continued to fish and I'm glad I did as it ended up being the best day of the year so far.

 

Here's what the reel looks like with its new battle scar:

 

Now I'm not sure what to do with it. Is it possible to get a replacement for the piece that's missing or would I have to "fix" it another way? The gears are exposed and the left edge is sharp. If I can't replace the piece, could I just cover the gears somehow and then sand down the left side a bit so it won't cut me when I go for the next hero swing?

 

I am so glad I didn't have a camera recording at the time. Would have made the blooper reel for sure!

[boostr]

Nice fatty.

[Master Bait'r]

I'd contact the manufacturer. Tell them how it happened. They love it when a story starts "well I was just fishing normal when all of a sudden..."

That should never happen though, least of all when you haven't dropped or otherwise damaged the reel. They should and probably will send you a new one. If not just bash them on the internet haha

[deep]

Nice fish. The other part sucks. Hope you can get the reel fixed or replaced.

[Shanes7614]

I'd contact the manufacturer. Tell them how it happened. They love it when a story starts "well I was just fishing normal when all of a sudden..."

That should never happen though, least of all when you haven't dropped or otherwise damaged the reel. They should and probably will send you a new one. If not just bash them on the internet haha

X2. If not replace with new reel they should return to original specs.

[BooyahMan]

I got the reel through Amazon Warehouse Deals, which deals in open-box, refurbished and second-hand items. Apparently the manufacturer warranty is no longer valid so I contacted Amazon asking if I could return the reel for a refund. They said yes, so I sent it their way this morning. Kind of a drag as I really liked the reel a lot, or at least for the few hours that I got to use it. 

[bankguy315]

I got the reel through Amazon Warehouse Deals, which deals in open-box, refurbished and second-hand items. Apparently the manufacturer warranty is no longer valid so I contacted Amazon asking if I could return the reel for a refund. They said yes, so I sent it their way this morning. Kind of a drag as I really liked the reel a lot, or at least for the few hours that I got to use it. 

its for the best, buy new when possible. Just to know that no one has had their mitts on your reel before.

[*Hank]

Nice fish