Rod repair

[Huskie]

My older berkley series one needs to be repaired. On the handle the part that the top of the reel sits in when you tighten the bottom ring to attach the reel to the rod cracked. Is there a fix to that? I'm an hr from Spirit Lake where Berkeley is located, I wonder if they could repair it? The handle isn't cork but a black foam material, but it's my fav walleye rod, hate to have to throw it out.

[CAMAN]

Berkley won't fix it, if it is still under warranty they will replace it. Otherwise to fix a reel seat you pretty much have to disassemble the entire rod and rebuild it with a new reel seat. If you do it yourself it is pretty cheap with the exception of the tools and components you may need to buy. If you bring it to a rod builder they will charge you pretty much the cost of a new rod, it's pretty time consuming disassembling a rod to remove components. And with that there is no guaranty a tool won't slip or get too aggressive and damage the blank, and then it usually isn't noticeable until that first fish or snag when it breaks.

[A.W.Wolfram]

Otherwise to fix a reel seat you pretty much have to disassemble the entire rod and rebuild it with a new reel seat. If you bring it to a rod builder they will charge you pretty much the cost of a new rod, it's pretty time consuming disassembling a rod to remove components. And with that there is no guaranty a tool won't slip or get too aggressive and damage the blank, and then it usually isn't noticeable until that first fish or snag when it breaks.

Unfortunately I have to disagree with you. This topic comes up every now and then and if you look back in the threads you will find it in the not so distant past.

You do not need to strip the blank to replace most reel seats. It can be done from the rear saving all the guides and fore grip. This can be done by a competent rod builder and depending on the type of reel seat and rear grip can be done $40 or so.

If there is some personal meaning in a particular fishing rod for someone getting it up and running again is worth the money.