wrong fishing pole

[Brankon]

I was on a fishing trip with a buddy last summer and he stepped on the handle of my rod and a bunch of the cork busted off, no Biggy, picked up the pieces with intent to glue it all back together.

Fast forward a few weeks and he comes over for a few beers and hands me a new fishing pole because he felt bad for wrecking my old one. The problem now is that he uses a bait caster and I use a spin caster, he got me a fishing rod for a bait caster/ push button reel.

Is there any methods to cut the finger tab off of the (now top) of the fishing pole and still have it look nice and clean? I have a dewalt oscillator (very handy tool to have) and I was thinking of using it to cut the tab off close to the main shaft of the pole and then using sandpaper to wetsand the rest of the tab off to try to end up with a nice smooth factory finish look

Anyone have any other suggestions of things to try? I put the reel on the rod today and held it and thought I could put up with the tab in the way but after about 15 seconds I decided it wasn't going to be staying there for long :fishing:

[HuyFishin]

every rod has a backbone so its supposed to bend the proper direction. It can bend the wrong direction but i'm not sure if it causes premature wear and tear ect. If my friend did this for me I would just be happy. Since accidents happen and he made the effort to replace it.

Maybe just put a cheap bait caster for this one and purchase the proper rod for the spinning reel rather then cutting a perfectly good rod. maybe u can remove the old cork and slide and glue on a new cork for the old rod.

I'm sorry for the damage on your old rod but atleast you got a good friend with good intentions.

[Etownpaul]

Sounds like an excuse to buy a new bait casting reel.

Failing that, sell the rod on the buy and sell and buy yourself a spinning rod.

[57charlie]

I’d use a small hand grinder to take down the bulk of the knob & then finish the job with hand files. This shouldn’t be to hard of a job but how well it turns out will depend on if you’ve got the skills & patience of a brain surgeon or a yard ape.

[Bushleague]

I've cut the trigger off them with a angle grinder/ zip disk, smoothed them out a bit, and used them with a spinning reel before. I think I still have a couple loaner rods up in the shed rafters that had this treatment.

[WayneChristie]

Why not pick up a reel to fit the new rod then a rod to put your spinning reel on if you can then you have 2 setups and can take someone fishing or take the other along for a spare, I always like to have a spare rod and reel along just in case.

[pikergolf]

1. As has been said the spine is on the wrong side.
2. The eyes are to small for a spinning outfit to work properly.

Either sell it or buy a bait casting reel. :sHa_shakeshout:

[thumper]

Or step on your buddy's rod and give yours back to him!

[Daslogster]

As is stated previously, guides are different (size and height) between spinning and casting. Better to just get the right reel.

[Brankon]

Sounds great fellas!
By the way, I'm not complaining one bit about getting a new rod! I wasn't expecting it at all to be honest.
I never thought about the backbone aspect of a fishing rod, learned something new today and I'm certainly glad I asked here first!
I've thought about trying my hand at a baitcasting reel but watching my buddy untangle a rats nest on his while I continued fishing was enough to make me realize I like my spin caster! Maybe I'll get a nice push button reel for it and just use it for trolling, its a nice long rod (about 1.5' longer than my old one)
I'll glue the old one up still and have the new one as a spare.

Thanks for the advice again!

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

[Coiloil37]

Just because your buddy doesn’t know how to drive one doesn’t mean you can’t learn. Once I went to a bait caster I never went back to a spinning rod, might be worth giving it a try for yourself. At a minimum you could use it to troll and jig without having to worry about casting.

[Freedom55]

Keep an eye on your local pawnbrokers. Many guys have tried baitcaster reels and quickly gave up. I got my first one at Cash Converters. Not sure if they are still around but worth a look.

And if Italo can cast one, surely you can learn.

Free

[HuyFishin]

yea! I wouldnt be too worried about learning how to use a baitcaster. It would be a great set up for casting larger lures Spinning rod for lighter set ups.

[fisher Gord]

once you learn, you will find starting the retrieve much faster. Casting heavy spoons into shallow water. I use left hand retrieve, right hand for casting.