I have a STH fly reel with the plastic cassettes. I love it due to its versatility. I can change from weight forward to sink tips to changing line weights with it in matter of minutes. To make a long story short, I had it in Saltwater on the OBX. Rinsed it carefully after each use, etc. Arriving home I went to wipe it down with oil before putting it up and it was locked up frozen tight. Looking at about 10 plastic cassettes with various lines, I really got sick and heartbroken. These reels and their parts are impossible to find. After fiddling with it, it remained frozen up. I sent it to Cortland’s Rod and Reel Repair center hoping they could loosen the spool or something so I could use it even without the cassettes. I added a note to contact me about any additional costs. I had planned on paying a considerable amount additional for hopefully a “functional” reel- my fault for damage. Not hearing back from them, I assumed the worse. I received the reel back in excellent shape this afternoon with a replaced frame for only the $10.00 fee. Of that $5.20 was shipping. This is the second time I’ve dealt with them and have very pleasantly pleased each time! THANKS
Similar experience years ago. Cortland bought out Rodon rod building parts. I needed an end cap for a fighting butt. called Cortland and got connected to the repair dept. guy took my name and address and said he would look into it. I kind of forget about it. About a month later a package arrives with an entire reel seat, fighting but and a spare end cap with a hand written note that said Sorry it took so long but I found these in a back corner, hope they work. i call back asking what i owed and they said it was just part of the service.