I’m building a 2 wt. 6’6" fly rod and was given a Battenkill Bar Stock #1 reel as a retirement gift. Planed on using a down lock slide band reel seat. Problem is the BBS 1’s foot will not fit under the slide ring on the Bellinger & REC seats I have. Orvis says all their reel feet are the same dimensions and have no suggestions. Returning reel is not a good option. Can anyone recommend an appropriate seat?
Thanks, John
Problem solved, found a seat that will work. Thank you all for great suggestions.
I’d call or email Mudhole and Jann’s, tell what you have and see what they suggest. They both have a pretty extensive line of reel seats if you have go that route. Jann’s has a live “ask the expert” number for the subjects of all their products.
Is the foot on the reel too long? If so, you could glue a few washers under the cap to extend it a hair. If the foot is too small and the ring just slides down without locking, shim the reel foot by putting a strip or two of tape on the bottom of the foot. Those are my only suggestions short of having someone custom cut one for you. Bellinger and REC seats should fit any reel foot that conforms to AFTMA standards.
Try using a cork insert between that. I use small cork inserts and sand them down on one side to give a larger space for the foot to fit. I have a few made up already to use for future builds.
What do you end up doing? I use BSS 1 and LA1 on most of my small wt rods and don’t have a problem. I thought Orvis used the Bellinger seats on the current superfine trout bum(3wt).
