Eagle Claw Featherlight Spinning Combo

[zippyFX]

I was looking for 6ft ultralight combo to get some more distance in my casts and this one came on deep discount @ Cabelas. Annoyingly most UL rods are kept short. For $30 + $15 shipping it was worth while to order. I notice that is still marked down 50%.

The rod is nice and whippy. I get a lot of distance on UL lures and good control. I spent a lot of time earlier in the season catching sunfish and crappie on this outfit and it worked well. It also managed to handle many large (2-3 lb) out of season bass. It also managed a 3.5 lb American Shad, 3-4 pound cats and a 2 pound walleye nicely.

The reel that comes with this is a bit large for an UL. Some of the shorter models had the smaller reel but this one came with the larger one. But it works. My one complaint is the cork reel seat. I had problems seating the reel in it initially but it has been working fine. This week while catching a shad it worked really well, but I could feel the cork reel holder flexing just a bit to much which made it feel like the reel was going to pop off. I inspected it after I brought in the fish and it seemed to be OK but the lack of a plastic reel seat would likely have stiffened the rodd just a bit at the bottom.

I am still happy with the combo and plan to enjoy it again. I would recommend this rod for most shore fishing applications. Good look and feel and well put together.

[zippyFX]

After a year of use I still like the setup up. My concerns about the cork reel seat were founded though. The cork seems to have contracted making it difficult to secure the reel. Someone recommended I use rope or duct tape to secure the reel and just cut away the caps that are currently there.

the reel is really too large as well but I can live with it.

[OldTimer]

I'm all for "Red Greening" stuff - but is there no way of building up the cork to firm up the connection........... got a picture?

[zippyFX]

I can rebuild some of the area with some sort of tape, I guess I'll try strips of duct tape, I am wondering how it will hold up against weather and water.

[OldTimer]

Possibly cork tape or a wine bottle cork shaving epoxied on?

Or pieces of these epoxied on:

   

Cheers

OldTimer

[zippyFX]

The cork seems to have sorted itself out over the winter. This rod still working well.

It maybe my imagination but I feel that this "noodle" type rod may be loosing some of it's backbone. It still works well though, I just feel that the casting may be a little bit off.