| American Tackle (Amtak) 3UL up-locking aluminum reel seats, available in anodized black or titanium finish. Wood inserts are mortised on the bottom and available in a wide range of beautiful woods. Left to right, they are: Top row: Jadewood, Mother of Pearl (over Maple), Dragonwood, Burl Rosewood, Camelwood & Rosewood. Bottom row: Cocobolo (matte), Cocobolo (glossy), Rustwood, Zebrawood & Bubinga. |
| Dave Crowther 31 Diamond Basin Road Cody, WY 82414 Home: 307-587-3950 Cell: 307-250-3118 Email: dave-crowther@hotmail.com |
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| Amtak Window up-locking aluminum reel seats, available in anodized black or titanium finish. This reel seat has double locking nuts with Delrin inserts for secure reel mounting. Left to right, they are: Standard Window (AW12) w/ black woven graphite insert Standard Window (AW12) w/ Burl Rosewood insert Braided Window (ABW12) w/ black woven graphite insert Braided Window (ABW12) w/green woven graphite insert Other available inserts are: Coralwood and black aluminum These seats are also available, sized for heavier saltwater applications. |
| Batson RA7 up-locking reel seats, available in anodized black or titanium finish and with single or double locking nuts. The round inserts are either black or green woven graphite. |
| Struble U15HG up-locking 7wt to 10wt saltwater aluminum reel seats, available in anodized black, gray, blue and green finish. They have double locking nuts with Delrin inserts for secure reel mounting. For heavier applications, over 10wt, I can use the U18HG, which looks the same only larger in diameter and sized for a wider reel foot. |
| Reel seats are a very personal choice, due to the wide variety of styles and colors. Other than securely mounting a reel, they don't do much, so looks tend to be the most important criteria. If you occasionally place the rod in your belly while fighting a large fish, consider a fighting butt or think about the size and shape of the butt cap. Some are definitely more comfortable than others. The following are seats that I have used and liked. |
| Guides are a different subject. They have a lot to do with the performance of a fly rod. I prefer single foot guides because they allow a more natural flex of the rod blank and reduce tip weight due to fewer wraps and less finish. Single foot guides, however, will not take the twisting abuse that double foot snake guides will. I take extra time to grind and hand file the guide feet to a sharp edge with no burrs. The prepared edge allows a smooth transition from the blank to the guide foot, for the thread, without any chance of damage to the blank. The Recoil stripping guide shows the difference between a foot ready for wrapping (right foot) and a foot as it comes from the factory (left foot). My favorite guide is the Amtak Titan Ring-Lock. I have used these on almost all of my personal rods. The frame is made from pure titanium and has a ceramic insert in every guide. They are light, quiet, shoot line better than metal guides and are corrosion proof. I also feel that fly lines last longer, due to the ceramic inserts. The new Ring-Lock design will not allow the ceramic insert to be forced out of the guide frame. Titan guides are pictured in the right photo. For lighter line weight rods and/or softer actions, a good choice is the REC Recoil guide set. They are a Nickle-Titanium alloy, are the lightest guide on the market today and are also completely corrosion proof. Some people find the Recoil stripping guide odd looking and opt for a substitution. Recoil guides are pictured in the left photo. I often use a Titan stripping guide with Recoil single foot running guides. |
| All of the photos shown below can be supersized by clicking on the photo. |