Ross Fly Reel ?

[kyle1248]

I have a Ross Flycast reel and am having some serious probles with it. When I have the drag loose it works fine but after i start to tighten it the drag disengages and it goes into free spool. I tore the thing apart and can't figure it out. It works fine with the drag 1/4 of the way engaged and less. Anymore than that and it goes into freespool. I also looked into shipping it back and they claim to have a lifetime warranty, but why are they asking for my credit card and 20 bucks to fill out a service request form. Seems kinda odd they need 20 bucks then for me to ship it to them it is a 1/3 of the cost of a new reel. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lonewolve]

Kyle,
Sorry to hear of the trouble with this reel from Ross.I have three reels by Ross and they perform flawlessly,They are the San Miguel #2,and #3 and a Ross Canyon #2 with a extra spool.These are the gold standard for Ross especially the San Miguels.
A few years ago Ross decided to have some of their reel product line made out of country,I believe the Flycast and Flystart are the reels they did this with.With that decision and the recent acquisition by 3M ,I fear for the future of this fine reel company.
Kyle if you can see if Ross will exchange this reel for CLA or better yet a Vexis.It might cost you a few more beans but id be willing to bet that peace of mind will subside.
As for Ross , i will no longer look to them aside from picking up a Canyon#3 with a spare spool or another San Miguel.
From here on in its gonna be a click and pawl for all my trout fishing.I have two Cortland reels one is a Crown 2 it kicks but and i love to hear it sing when line is picked off the reel.
I was once silly to believe and fall in the Drag Vacuum, but i have come full circle. Anyhow see if Ross will give you a break.I would.
Tight Wraps & Tight Lines
Rick Wallace

P.S. let us know what they say,you might be surprised.

 

[kyle1248]

I am definitly going to contact them on Monday, I just can't believe they want a credit card when they say all over the package lifetime warranty and right on their website. The reel was given to me as a gift. I have only used it a few times this year as well. It is pretty disappointing.

 

[smallie]

Where did you get the reel?

 

[kyle1248]

It was purchased from Cabelas, it was given to me as a gift and put on a cabelas visa card more than likely. I don't have any of the packaging though.

 

[littlelehigh]

take it back to cabela's for store credit before dealing with Ross. Just my opinion. Ignorance is bliss!

 

[kyle1248]

I sent Ross an email this mornig, I'll see if I get a response back. The Reel works fine when it is dry, but when it was wet thats when the problems started happening.

 

[kyle1248]

Well I got no response from Ross via email within 2 days, so I gave them a call today on my way home from work. I was told that I need to ship the Reel back and pay 20 dollars to cover their shipping and handling charges and they will look at the Reel and determine what happened with it and then make a decision to either fix or replace the Reel. I asked politely if I was able to trade up the Reel and pay the difference of a higher end model and was told that they wouldn't do that. I pretty much determined that this was a big crock so I am going to try and return it to Cabelas in the next couple of weeks. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on some poor customer service/warranty.

 

[tennjed]

Wow. Thats strange. I never had a problem with their service. It was always very good. Having several of their reels, I hope the corporate buyout hasn't gone and screwed things up. If I remember right, the last time I sent one in for a "tune up" , it was twenty bucks and I had it back within a week. They always said they would have a reel out the door on its way back to you in 48 hours.

The last reel I sent in was a pre 98' Gunnison and still had it back within a week. Very interesting

 

[kyle1248]

I don't mind paying 20 dollars for a tuneup but the drag is not functional at all. I have used it less than 5 times and it is going to cost me 1/3 of the cost of the Reel to get it fixed, with their shipping and handling charges and then my shipping costs to get it to them.

 

[Lonewolve]

Kyle send or take it back to Cabela's , I warned about Ross's direction with production of their lower end model reels and the acquisition by 3M. Kyle hopefully you don't give up on Ross, they build really great reels but its the old saying,I remember you mentioning this was a gift well just take or send it back take your refund and add a lil more money and get a better reel. It does go without saying " you get what you pay for" The worldwide reels are not up to par compared to their other reels.If it were me i just take refund and look into a Allen reel and save a few bucks if money is a concern , or get a click and pawl reel better yet.
Too many guys get caught up in "Dragitis" ,for one thing the old school caught a tremendous amount of fish of many species with out any drag whatsoever.Try a Redington Drift they are pretty cool for a new reel or look for a cortland crown 2 or pflueger medalist,when it comes to pflueger im at a loss for model numbers but quite a few guys love theirs and they seem reasonable pricewise too.
Maybe Gfen can chime in or somebody else here on the forum.
Tight Wraps & Tight Lines
Rick Wallace

 

[one_more_cast]

Yeah... I had the same thing happen to me with my Ross Evolution. The drag worked fine, then one day it decides to free spool on me. It eventually started working again but would occasionally freespool. I've cleaned it up and it's been working better, but I don't think I'm buying another Ross anytime soon.

 

[tennjed]

Send it back to Ross. They will take care of it.

Just like a rod warranty, you gotta pay a bit for shipping, handling, turn around, etc.

 

[nimrod]

Something must have changed. I have a lot of Ross reels and like them all. I bought a couple of spare spools for my Evolutions a couple of years ago and they didn't turn smoothly. I sent them back per their warranty (no $) and got quick E-mail responses and the spools back working fine within a week, again at no cost. It's possible that 3M has different policies which would be a shame.

 

[kyle1248]

Well Cabelas wouldn't return the reel since it was after their 90 day return policy. I sent the reel back to Ross and had a brand new one back within 4 days. Even though I got no response via email I got a brand new reel and so far I have had no problems with it. (knock on wood)