broke my baitcaster :(

[ohihunter2014]

SOO......I watched a few Bassresource.com videos on using a bait caster and headed to the lake today throwing a lipless crank bait. Everything worked great except I started playing with the dial on the left side and it was throwing weird so not paying attention I let it rip after about 20 casts with no issues and got a bad birds nest. Back at the truck I took the spool off and began digging it out and walking the line back and somehow as I'm 50yards away from the truck the rod falls off the bed cover. I watch my brand new rod hit the ground and then see the reel laying about 2ft away. I got some epoxy and put the reel seat back together as only the top part snapped. I really hope this works with the epoxy as this reel is a nice reel and was a gift.

[KDW96]

Any pics of the reel seat? Where the break at?

[ohihunter2014]

10 minutes ago, KDW96 said:

Any pics of the reel seat? Where the break at?

Not sure how to do pics. The part that broke is the flaps that sit in the groove on the rod they look like fins on the back of the reel. Top one snapped off

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

That's the reel foot. The reel seat is on the rod. Epoxy won't hold that for long I'm afraid. Best bet would have been JB Weld even then its iffy. 

[KDW96]

Usually a broke reel foot does not end well. Hopefully the epoxy will hold. Youll know right away when you put it back on the rod. You might try zipties,wrapped through the bottom of the frame,and around the rod handle. Like the do on some combos to keep the rod an reel together. Good luck to you sir.

The zipties will have to go across each other. You can see what im talking about at walmart on the cheaper combos.

[new2BC4bass]

Sorry to hear that.  Would upset me a lot, too.  Look at the bright side.  Bet you learned a lesson.  One you won't repeat.  Nope.  That statement wouldn't help me either.  I'd still be crying.  

[ohihunter2014]

yeah I don't think it will hold either. I will try jb weld next. I ended up finding a very vague thing online about putting a piece of metal on the back and jb weld it to the foot to support it and basicly weld the whole thing together. What bombs me out more is that was an old tournament grade reel that was given to me by a friend to learn on and hopefully get some use out of so I didn't have to spend money on a new one.

 

I really have no clue how the thing was dragged off the bed cover and hit the ground. My guess would be maybe the line got caught on the rod or something. I'm going to try and rig it up with the metal and zip ties mentioned above and see what happens. If it doesn't hold Ill pickup a blackmax or something.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

^^ a splice like this is how I'd do it. 

[KDW96]

Just test the fit first, to make sure the foot will fit under the rods hood. Zipties will be you safety nett?

[Deleted account]

Yeah, just gluing it won't work. That can be fixed, but it doesn't make sense from the effort and expense involved. You do want to brace it internally with rods or externally with plates, on the latter, you will need to dremell some channels. Marine 5200 makes permanent bonds. Oh and I want to start a petition to rename reel foot to flaps that sit in the groove on the rod.

[ohihunter2014]

I used Gorilla glue epoxy last night and put it on the break and also over each crack pretty thick and checked it today with some forceful wiggling and it didn't move. I'm just learning on this thing to see if its something i want to get into so if i get a couple weeks out of it great. I plan on getting some plates and grinding them down and putting on there and jb weld them to it and see what happens.

[fishnkamp]

Look at it this way, you did not have that happen to some $400 reel. Lets move onto what your budget is to replace it.

There are a few decent reels costing less than $100. Not many. You could get a really good real for $100, including shipping, and that would be A Daiwa Tatula. There are a couple of lews reels that run about that. I recommend the Daiwa myself.  Now when you mess with thee rid and reel in the future you know you will need to be more careful.

[ohihunter2014]

11 minutes ago, fishnkamp said:

Look at it this way, you did not have that happen to some $400 reel. Lets move onto what your budget is to replace it.

There are a few decent reels costing less than $100. Not many. You could get a really good real for $100, including shipping, and that would be A Daiwa Tatula. There are a couple of lews reels that run about that. I recommend the Daiwa myself.  Now when you mess with thee rid and reel in the future you know you will need to be more careful.

I spent so much money on getting back into fishing this year i have to keep it around the $60 range. After thinking about it last night the line was still attached to the lure and when i took the spool out and picked out the backlash and walked it back i was slowly pulling the rod off the bed cover. I have a few rolls of big game line so ill just cut it off from now on.

[fishnkamp]

Look at an ABu Garcia Silver Max reel from Bass Pro for $60. They are well liked and well built for the money.

[ohihunter2014]

Just now, fishnkamp said:

Look at an ABu Garcia Silver Max reel from Bass Pro for $60. They are well liked and well built for the money.

Thanks! I've been doing some looking online today and torn between the silver max and just seen pflueger makes a president bait caster now 7bb in my price range. Im a little worried about the president being new and kinks might not be worked out yet.

[fishnkamp]

I love my Pflueger president spinning reels but have never touched one of the baitcasters.  I would stick to what is known to work and that would be a Silver Max. I have cast my friends and it worked good. 

[JustJames]

14 hours ago, ohihunter2014 said:

I used Gorilla glue epoxy last night and put it on the break and also over each crack pretty thick and checked it today with some forceful wiggling and it didn't move. I'm just learning on this thing to see if its something i want to get into so if i get a couple weeks out of it great. I plan on getting some plates and grinding them down and putting on there and jb weld them to it and see what happens.

 

Even it stay right now, all you can do is cast and hope not to get any fish to bite your lure otherwise you are screwed big time. I don't think epoxy or even JB weld would hold up against the force when you fight with fish.

[nameiztaken]

since you have a $60 budget to replace it (if needed) I would go for a H20 Mettle from Academy or a Daiwa Fuego CT on fleaBay, the fuego is stretching it at $80, but its a reel that will last you a long time. Good luck!

[ohihunter2014]

On ‎4‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 11:15 PM, JustJames said:

 

Even it stay right now, all you can do is cast and hope not to get any fish to bite your lure otherwise you are screwed big time. I don't think epoxy or even JB weld would hold up against the force when you fight with fish.

small update. I dragged a couple large limbs off the bottom with my medium heavy rod and this reel over the weekend and not a hiccup. the trick was put a lot of epoxy over the break not just gluing it back together. I think id have to catch a shark to break this thing again.

[Fishes in trees]

When you tell yourself that you need to stick within xxx number of dollars for a piece of gear, be mindful that you get what you pay for.   The few sub $100 bait casting reels that I own I was dissatisfied with within one or two trips post purchase..  I have several reels that when purchased were in the $150 range that are now 8 or 10 years old and in nearly perfect condition, other than boat rash scratches.

 

If at all possible, refrain from going entry level on bait casters, look more at the mid-range offerings from the various manufacturers and you'll be better off in the long run.

[BassBigon]

I took my brand new baitcaster to a pond today. It’s an Abu Garcia MLF casting combo. This is my first one so I’m pretty used to spinning reels. I tried one overhead cast, and the rod tip broke. Like the rod itself broke in half with the over-head throw. I did get to trade that in for another one at bass pro. I have no idea why that happened. Any idea?

[MN Fisher]

There's been a few complaints about that rod breaking on casting as well as burrs in one of the guides that frays line. You can do much better for about the same price by buying the rod and reel separately.

 

Example: I have a President (about $60) on an Aird-X (about $55)...just finished my third year fishing with that rig and so far haven't had one problem other than the occasional backlash - but that's user error, not rod/reel issue.

[BrianMDTX]

2 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

on an Aird-X (about $55)

I have two Aird-X’s. A MHF and a MF. Both are darned good rods for the money. 

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, BrianMDTX said:

I have two Aird-X’s. A MHF and a MF. Both are darned good rods for the money. 

Ya, I have 4 - 3 casting (H, MH, M) and a spinning (M). I'd take an Aird-X over a Dobyns Colt...I've handled the latter and I don't think it's as good despite the $25 higher cost.

[BrianMDTX]

22 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Ya, I have 4 - 3 casting (H, MH, M) and a spinning (M). I'd take an Aird-X over a Dobyns Colt...I've handled the latter and I don't think it's as good despite the $25 higher cost.

I was really impressed with the sensitivity of the Daiwa Procyon MXF spinning rod I purchased in August. And the cork grips are quality.