I just bought a Greys “Missionary” 10ft, 15 - 45g model via mail order...

During a recent fishing excursion on the Welsh coast, I used plugs and lures for over six hours and I was pleased with the rods overall casting performance, weight and ability to deal with the fish that were caught... but I have one criticism of the design which may be of interest to anyone considering a new rod...

I have four spinning rods, and all but the “Missionary” mounts the "Fuji" reel seat with the thread to the rear of the reel (i.e. pointing toward the butt of the rod) whereas the Missionary has the thread pointing toward the tip.

I hadn't considered the importance of this until, toward the end of the recent outing, I began to feel the discomfort of continuous casting with my forefinger in contact with the thread of the reel seat. I suddenly realised my other (less expensive) rods perform much better in this respect than the Missionary.

So, if you're in the market for a rod... check out the reel seat... particularly if your buying via "the net"...

i had exactly the same problem with a spinning rod i bought, can't remember what i was now, i got rid of it pretty quickly!

I can see mine going the same way! Anyone want to buy a rod?:-)

give ya 50p for it bass

Plus postage, right? 8-)

I was considering buying one of these rods untill i read your post .As you say it`s a design fault.I wonder if they are all the same?Maybe if you contact greys they will swap it for you?
Tigger.

if it's a design fault, then they'll all be the same

Maybe some plonker`s put it together the wrong way round.
I`m gonna have a look at some picc`s and see.
Tigger.

Thanks for the suggestion Tigger... I was writing a letter to Greys when I thought "I should post this too"... Glad it's helped you in your choice...

Trigger... check out the Greys website http://www.greysofalnwick.co.uk/

There's a real mixture... some (most) of their rods show the thread to the rear... but the Missionary and one or two other spinning rods have it forward facing...

It'll be interesting to hear what they have to say...