Tennessee Handle Spinning

[Mobasser]

I posted about the Tennessee handle spinning rods in August of 2021. I now have four of them. Mine are a  Charlie Brewer 50th anniversary rod, an old Lews Speed stick, and two made by All Pro. Two are cork, two are graphite.                                    When I made my initial post, some folks had never heard of them, and some( mostly older guys) had used them, and a few still used them.                                               IMO, it's the best, and most comfortable handle available. Once your reel is mounted, you get a smooth feel, and works well in cold weather too. I use Scotch brand #33 electrical tape, which never comes loose or gets sticky, even in the hottest weather.                            At one time, Lews, Shimano, and others offered this handle style. Now, it seems they've lost popularity.                                        Do any members here like or prefer the old Tennessee handle style?                             

[bulldog1935]

guess I get to pony up as one of the old guys.  

Fuji is making some really cozy reel seats with integral grips these days - this Valleyhill rod has one of them.  

My all-time coolest spinning collectible, Phillipson patent reel seat (slides anywhere on the cork) matched with Hardy Exalta (reel neck reverses in a square boss on the frame.  OK, more than collectible - I've caught quite a few bass and a few seatrout on this combo.  

 

Abu Garcia made their version of this in Mitchell 500 with a fork-hook reel foot and a socket on the matching Conolon rod.  

 

Context for everyone else, here's Tennessee handle on Cortland UL rod.  

[casts_by_fly]

I'm not an old guy but I've built a bunch of Tennesee handle rods and still have a few myself.  The original tennessee handle was just a straight cork with no rings.  You taped on the reel seat.

 

A tenn spin grip can be great.  The flexibility on location helps with balance (especially with longer rods).  The extra cork all the way to the butt is also helpful there.  On a full sized rod (not a shorter ultralight) the grip is usually a little larger than a plastic seat if you prefer a thicker grip.  And if you're going the tape route you can use athletic grip tape which is cushioned.  Lots of customization if you want.

 

 

[Tennessee Boy]

I fell in love with the Lews Graphite Tennessee Handle in the 1980s.  I still have a few of them.  Lew Childre was a great innovator in our sport.   

[TnRiver46]

Go big orange 

[bulldog1935]

yeah, now that Texas is SEC, we can't google UT vs. GA,

guess we have to use The University.*  
 

 

 

* my daughter and the rest of the Aggies have always called us TU

[TnRiver46]

We should have never sent Sam Houston, Jon sevier and the boys to save Texas from Mexico……. 😂 

 

now they wanna claim they are the real UT, though the university of TN existed before Texas was even a state 

[Flyfish-mt]

Yes, I have an old Loomis IM-6 S661 (5'6") ultra light w/ a TN handle along w/ an older Croix 6'0" ML spinning rod with a TN handle.  Love how you can balance the rig by location of mount.  Most of my other rods are 2 or 3pc travel rods so taping on a reel just doesn't make sense. 

[WRB]

Most spinning rods prior to 70’s had full cork handles with 2 sliding aluminum rings for a reel seat. 
The Tennessee handle removed the 2 aluminum rings and used tape to mount the reel.

Very few off the shelf rods are made without a reel seat today.

Tom

[Columbia Craw]

Another design from days gone by. I cut the rings off and taped the reel on.

[bulldog1935]

On 8/29/2024 at 11:01 AM, TnRiver46 said:

We should have never sent Sam Houston, Jon sevier and the boys to save Texas from Mexico……. 😂 

Sam Houston came here cuz you guys ran him out of office.  

Same thing happened to David Crockett.  

I don't think that's why Arch Manning came here.  

[TnRiver46]

@bulldog1935, there’s a statue of Sam outside my office 😂