Thread: How to modify fishing reel

I've been away for a few days and not able to respond till today, but I would like to say thanks to all those who have taken the time to contribute to this post. As I very much appreciate the responses I will respond to all of them. I'll put it all together in this post to save space, and then sum up in the next post :


Depending on how much room you have you might be able to get away with a pair of bevel gears to give your drive.

You might be able to run them direct from your power source or you might need an extension from the power source to handle rod.

Yep. I will need to investigate that further. Are these available already in a drive train ?


But you'll need it to freewheel, having to disconnect it when you get a strike would be painful and there would be a lot of hand changing. Something with a ratchet maybe?

Spinning reels handle this by design. They are anti-reverse by default. A combination of drag and rod flex handles the strike.
Also, I have thought about the hand changing but actually I don't catch enough fish for the hand-changing to be an issue.



*Make up a adapter to replace the thumb screw. It will need some sort of teeth to engage with the reel, a hole for a screw through the middle to hold it to the reel and the handle on and I guess a bore with grub screw to fit the stepper shaft.*

Sounds a possibilty. I will need to find out more about stepper motors as I know nothing about them.



Issue with using the thread on the other side of the handle will be that it will unscrew when it is winding in.
You need to wind from the handle side whichever that is.

I hadnt even thought of that. To wind from the lhs it has to be anticlockwise. The handle still has to stay on the right. It still we be doing the work when a fish is on etc.



Is the shaft on the handle square?

If so that could be extended and utilised for the drive.

Its actually a hex. But yep, it could be the drive.




A flexible shaft drive from the motor to the reel would make it interchangeable.

Yep. That would be nice. The main problem is I have no idea how to go about this so any input would be gratefull accepted.




I don't reckon you would want to be lugging around a battery.

You are dead right. The maximum gear I take is a box of lures which fit in the back pocket. Imagine fishing a beach with big surf. As the wave goes out, you run down the beach following it to cast. Cast. Then as the next wave comes in you run like hell to keep in front of it. Only way to get required distance. Obviously I dont want any extra gear when doing this.



A cordless screwdriver, the little ones the size of an electric toothbrush.
I've got an Aldi one that lets me turn it across the centre at 45, makes it from straight to more a cordless drill shape.
Put a shaft in it to a disc (2 inches diameter)
Put 2 bolts thru the outside of the disc that stick out about 1 inch.
Might be worth putting something in centre of disc so you can position nicely on the centre of the handle.

you can hang it around your neck on lanyard.
When you want to use push it over handle where the bolts go past the handle on both arms.
Your picture showed a handle with 2 arms (handle side and balance arm)
once against handle bars the bolts turn the handle, press the button to turn the handle.
Quick and easy to use, easily removed and its winding on the right side of the reel.

Yep, I have thought of that - especially for fly fishing (which is a different story which I didnt touch on). The main problem is that it requires me to hold the cordless screwdriver in position, up against the handle. Once the hands start getting sore that is way too much to ask for. Thats why I wanted the body of the cordless screwdriver (or whatever) to be mounted on the shaft of the fishing rod - so the only thing I need to contend with is pressing a button down (which after a while becomes an insurmountable hurdle in itself).

I still might pursue this idea for fly fishing though. Fly fishing reels are much simpler.



http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Daiwa-Sup...item58ca3da97c

thats a big game reel - not a lure-casting reel. Actually, its mainly usually used for bait-fishing in very deep water for things like bluenose and gemfish. There are probably lots of these around cheap now that electric reels are illegal in NSW.



http://www.coolthings.com/power-fishn-hybrid-reel/

Yes, I've seen that ad many times. My main issue is the brand. I've promised myself never to buy another Shakespeare product - as I dont like buying fishing gear that is good for only 3 trips. Its a design with potential, just a shame they attached it to a Kmart reel - and would still cost $300-400 once landed in Australia.




What's wrong with lugging around a battery, you've still got a tackle box, bait bucket, a seat, liquid refreshments, an esky to put the catch in, to lug around.
What's wrong with another couple of Kgs.

Actually, I dont carry any of those things. I think you are thinking of stationary bait fishing.


Why not buy a cordless angle drill, compact enough, no modifications to fit it, just tighten the chuck on the drive where the handle goes.

I've been looking at that option for a couple of years without success. The main problems are ergonomic.

Yep, game reel, was for inspiration.

Maybe one of these http://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-t...rdless/2667-20 with a fitting manufactured/machined from a replacement handle for your reel with a hex fitting. They are two speed and bulk torque.

After the many helpful responses here, I'm starting to become clearer on what I need.

First, for the power plant, a straight-bodied cordless screwdriver or right-angle drill sounds good - light, cost effective and versatile. It would need to be mounted along the long axis of the rod, fixed hard to the rod. Its very important that its mounted in such a way that it doesn't impart twisting forces to the rod when its being held (source of hand-stress) so I guess that means it needs to be mounted directly under the rod.

It needs to be have one of those new lightweight, very powerful lithium batteries. Dragging a lure through water for hours on end takes a lot of energy. I guess I'd need several.

There needs to be an off-on switch on the body of the rod (not on the tool), again to minimize hand stress.

Then there needs to be a drive train up to the reel. This should probably interface to the keeper nut on the lhs of the reel. This only needs to screw into the hex shaft on the handle - to keep the handle in place and provide the rotation.

Drive train could be gears, or flexible shaft or belt.

At the moment I'm thinking about a belt drive solution - as its low tech and suits my low skill level.

I've attached an image of what I have in mind - any suggestions welcome.

Many thanks for the input so far.
cheers
Arron

reel_belt.jpg

Originally Posted by Thylacene

Yep, game reel, was for inspiration.

Maybe one of these http://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-t...rdless/2667-20 with a fitting manufactured/machined from a replacement handle for your reel with a hex fitting. They are two speed and bulk torque.

While you were typing this I was typing my response. Comes to pretty much the same thing really. I"m just working on the belt drive because it allows me to keep the body of the drill fixed to the shaft of the rod, plus it has some tolerance in terms of alignment, plus it allows me to gear up or down with the pulleys.

and if it doesn't work I get a nice drill which will be useful anyway.

cheers and thanks
Arron

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-4-Hex-Flex...item2594421d55

cheap, flexible, tolerant of alignment issues, and will work with a basic straight bodied drill/driver (such as the one I own already).

cheers
Arron

I think your idea would work. But you'll probably cop a fair bit of flack from other fishos.

when I was struggling with back pain, I modified a trolly to carry my esky and a cutting board and rod holders, to minimise lifting and bending, but it drew attention. When I go fishing I want to get away from people, not attract.

I use a right angle makita at home and I can see how the switch on the tool would be ideal for your application. You can get the speed right with harder pressure on the switch, and quickly stop when a fish is on, and its got a toggle knob on the switch that allows you to select a max speed.

ie. what I'm trying to say is -> a cordless makita right angle drill would be perfect such that you don't need to worry about that extra switch up higher.

just an opinion. Love to see the end result. good luck

How about a small steppermotor directly driving the unused side of the crank and fixed to the reel itself.
light and strong
battery and electronics in seperate compartment on the back of the rod,

maybe , have the step motor and put a heafty battery in a backpack, to save it bulking up the rod. Somebody's going to meddle and have a field day with you though. You will have to have a tough skin. They may email/ iPod (whatever) their mates telling the world that some d******* is trying to catch a fish with a motor attached to his rod.

Is it your fingers that make it hard to reel in ? I guess you can still cast.

I found fishing was good for my back. It was the only time I didn't feel pain for a few months. Fishing stopped me from pushing myself to lift, despite the pain which made things progresively worse. Walking and casting on the beach was perfect. Didn't feel a thing walking off my face on medication. Only problem was I couldn't sit without pain, so I had endure that in the car to get there.

Even if your hand injury is b******* mockery, I'd like to see it work. I know of some people who struggle with hand arthritis etc . Who can berely move their fingers. They may actually find some use for the idea. Maybe even in an application not related to fishing. ???