The other day I dropped a reel. It landed on the floor just right (or would that be just wrong) and one reel foot broke off. It is a fairly inexpensive Cabela’s Prestige reel. Cast aluminum reel body so not an expensive reel by any means.
Is here a way to fix this or would it be more trouble than it’s worth? Maybe an excuse to buy a new reel, huh?
Generally there is no way to salvage such a thing without far more work than the reel is worth… I have tried relatively low-temp brazing and warped frames… I have tried machinging the foot away (assuming you are talking about a foot integral to the whole casting) and making a foot to replace it and found the metal did not want to hold threads properly… And I could go on and on.
For a while I made a number of reels of ivory, brass, stainless steel and wood… Mostly for show but they were functional… Wasted a lot of time, came away with some very pretty pieces, but decided there is just too much effort wrapped into one…
Thanks for the input Hap. I assume you are correct. Probably not worth the effort.
Royce
If you have the space and inclination, save it. If you get another of the same sort and need a replacement part, other than the reel foot, you should be ok. If you have, or get, another of the same type and size, at least save the spool as a spare that you can load with a different line.
Ed
Thanks EdD. I hadn’t really thought about that.
Try JB Weld. It’s not going to look the best but it will hold and it is cheap to boot. For the money the prestige reel is a good one.
Contact your nearest Cabala Store, they surly have a repair department that can replace the reel feet on your Cabela’s Prestige Reel.
Years ago I inherited a bait-cast reel with a foot that had been cut up to fit on another fishing rod. Even though this bait-cast reel was over 50 years old, I was able to find a supplier on the Internet, through a bait-cast rod board, that had the original reel feet with for that bait-cast reel!
I am pretty sure the reel foot on the Cabelas Prestige is cast as an integral part of the reel frame. Further, machining off the rest of the broken foot and attaching a new foot is not going to be worth the time and effort, and certainly not the money if you are paying someone to do it for you.
Thanks for the ideas, everyone. I will explore some of them. WHile the Prestige is not an expensive reel it is a fine functioning reel. I’d like to save it if I can.
Thanks again.
Royce I am certain that Cabela’s would like to know that the foot broke so easily on you. Email them or call them and ask them if they can help you get the reel repaired or what you can do since the reel is out of warranty. Tell them how much you liked the reel. My bet is they will either repair or replace the reel or give you a coupon for a few bucks off of a new one. Of course they are not obligated to so they could just as likely refuse to help but it never hurts to ask. My bet is, as a former retail general manager, they will do something to help because they want loyal customers.
Cabela’s contact:
from this page you can email them, call them and or live chat with them. I highly recommend the live chat:
https://cabelas.custhelp.com/app/ask/session/L3RpbWUvMTM1MTgxNjU2MS9zaWQvS0xqdG1kYWw%3D
Let us know ho it goes.
I broke the foot on an Orvis bar stock reel; a little epoxy and black paint and you couldn’t even tell. I ultimately got a replacement foot for it but the broken one held fine till then.