Reel seats and gravity

[Bendix]

Hi All

I just watched a product video on YouTube, featuring Scott MacKenzie, explaining his range of fly rods. And he mentioned something about the importance of having a down locking reel seat on Double Hand rods, rather than a up lucking reel seat. He said, that when using up locking reel seats, then gravity can cause the rings on the reel seat to come loose, causing the reel to come loose, because of the nature of casting a Double Handed rod… But when using down locking reel seats, this isn’t an issue…???

I have many single handed rods with up locking reel seats, some have two locking rings, some only one locking ring. And in my 29 years of casting single handed fly rods, I have never had a reel come loose because of gravity… But of course, Scott mentions this as a problem with DH rods, and not SH rods, and I have never had a DH rod with an up locking reel seat, so I can’t say from personal experience that Scott’s statement is incorrect…

So my question is: Is there any truth to what Scott MacKenzie says about gravity and up locking reel seats, or is it just bollocks?

Personally I think it’s bollocks, but you are welcome to prove me wrong.

Cheers
Bendix

[Paul Arden]

Actually I have uplocking reel seats on all my rods. Sometimes I notice that the ring has fully unwound, but the reel is still locked in place! It might depend on how snug the connection between the reel foot and the fittings. I don’t see it as a problem however. Double locking rings should solve this.

In the old days we had wind down reel seats on single handed rods and the problem then was the end cap falling off

Cheers, Paul

[Rickard]

I thought it has to do with the material the reel seat is made of. Because I have never seen it on the classic Fuji reel seat.

I have been thinking of having it on a rod. I think it looks nice in a functional sense.

[Graeme H]

Nah, he's off the mark there. Next he'll be advocating left threaded bolts on the right hand wheels of the car because braking hard undoes the nuts on that side due to angular inertia ...

Cheers,
Graeme

[Paul Arden]

Like on bicycle pedals

[Viking Lars]

I just fished a while week with a DH rod with down lock reel seat. The rings needed tightening 2-3 times every day .

[Paul Arden]

..

[Graeme H]

I just fished a while week with a DH rod with down lock reel seat. The rings needed tightening 2-3 times every day .

There are a lot of circular rotations of the rod when making spey casts. They tend to loosen the ferrules of my rods quickly on the same rods that otherwise stay well connected when overhead casting.

Do you think the actions of casting the rod might have contributed to the reel seat loosening? And are you right or left handed?

Cheers,
Graeme

[Bendix]

@Greame and Lars:

That was also noted in my original post: Is it the different casting motions when Spey casting, compared to overhead casting, that causes the reel seat (and rod joints, as Graeme mentions) to come loose? Scott MacKenzie also mentions this in the video that inspired to ask this question here on the board.

But like I said, I’ve never had this happen myself, but then again, I usually only fish with my DH rods for a few hours at a time, and not all day, every day, for an entire week.

Cheers, Bendix

[Paul Arden]

I don’t fish the DHD yet, although I have one to be built. My question is are there other considerations as in where to put the weight of the reel for best performance?