KeithS
Active member
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2010
- Messages
- 1,227
I picked up the Three Forks/ Prestige Plus 763-3 combo yesterday. I thought I'd try to provide some detailed info on the set-up. A few knowledgeable guys here have chimed in that it's an OK rod. I haven't fished it yet, maybe later today.
First off the combo is light, just what I was looking for. I have a shoulder that hurts after a few hours of 8'6" 5 wt. I wanted something lighter, that I could afford. 7'6" is longer than I thought, but it lays the 3 wf line that comes with it really nicely on the grass and I'm not an accomplished caster. The rod tip casts fairly easily and it flexes into the mid section with more line out. I can definitely feel it load whether I have 8 feet out or 30 feet out. The 3WF line shoots fairly well also, even with my questionable abilities.
The blank is brown, and not too glossy. It is marked " Made In China", but again, for the money....The wraps are brown on a brown blank. They almost disappear. I like that. They don't seem to show any gaps in the wraps and the thread coatings look nice and even without a high gloss. I can't see any bubbles.
The components look good, other than the plastic reel seat, but for $80.00 including reel, line and backing what more do you want? The reel seat can be changed later, if it ever becomes an issue. I doubt it will. There are 7 snake guides, a stripper and the tip top. I can't quite tell if the stripper is ceramic or plastic. I assume it's the cheapest ceramic available.
The cork is what it is. It's a reverse half wells with a few pits, but better than I expected for the money. It's a comfortable size for my small hands. The components look good, other than the plastic reel seat, but for $80,00 including reel, line and backing what more do you want? The reel seat can be changed later, if it ever becomes an issue. I doubt it will.
The Prestige Plus I reel is surprisingly quiet. I'm not a fan of loud reels. To me, FF'ing is about peace and quiet and a loud reel ruins that. Pulling off line emits a quiet click, while the retrieve is silent. As you can see from the pics, the reel measures 3" in dia. The reel itself is 1" wide, the large drag knob protrudes another 1". The drag feels smooth at the start of pulling line throughout it's adjustment range. I doubt I'll get to test it on a fish, if my history proves right. The spool pops on and off easily. The rod seems to balance well with this reel.
It's a 3 weight, all the reel needs to do is hold line, as long as the line doesn't get caught in the gap between the spool and frame. The reel spool has a groove inside the rim approximately 1/8" deep where it meets the frame.There are 2 frame members, one at the reel foot and one 180* from there that sit inside the groove when the spool is installed, so I can't see the line getting caught.
The line is whatever Cabela's provides on their combos. The salesman ( GREAT guy) told me their house brand is SA lines. It seems supple enough. We'll see how it holds up and how badly it coils.
I wanted to get a spare spool, but they go for $25.00. A trip to the Bargain Cave was in order. Of course, there wasn't a spare spool for the cheap reel, but I did score a Cabela's Prestige I reel
for 3-4 weight loaded with 4WF line and backing for $7.99. Neither the salesman nor I could find anything wrong with it. For $7.99, it was worth the gamble. The 4 weight line that's on it is worth at least $15.00. This reel feels slightly heavier. It measures 1/4" wider and 1/8 " dia. larger. I can't see any reason why it won't work as well as the one with the combo.
I'll try to attach the pics I took. Any questions, I'll try to answer any questions you may have .
First off the combo is light, just what I was looking for. I have a shoulder that hurts after a few hours of 8'6" 5 wt. I wanted something lighter, that I could afford. 7'6" is longer than I thought, but it lays the 3 wf line that comes with it really nicely on the grass and I'm not an accomplished caster. The rod tip casts fairly easily and it flexes into the mid section with more line out. I can definitely feel it load whether I have 8 feet out or 30 feet out. The 3WF line shoots fairly well also, even with my questionable abilities.
The blank is brown, and not too glossy. It is marked " Made In China", but again, for the money....The wraps are brown on a brown blank. They almost disappear. I like that. They don't seem to show any gaps in the wraps and the thread coatings look nice and even without a high gloss. I can't see any bubbles.
The components look good, other than the plastic reel seat, but for $80.00 including reel, line and backing what more do you want? The reel seat can be changed later, if it ever becomes an issue. I doubt it will. There are 7 snake guides, a stripper and the tip top. I can't quite tell if the stripper is ceramic or plastic. I assume it's the cheapest ceramic available.
The cork is what it is. It's a reverse half wells with a few pits, but better than I expected for the money. It's a comfortable size for my small hands. The components look good, other than the plastic reel seat, but for $80,00 including reel, line and backing what more do you want? The reel seat can be changed later, if it ever becomes an issue. I doubt it will.
The Prestige Plus I reel is surprisingly quiet. I'm not a fan of loud reels. To me, FF'ing is about peace and quiet and a loud reel ruins that. Pulling off line emits a quiet click, while the retrieve is silent. As you can see from the pics, the reel measures 3" in dia. The reel itself is 1" wide, the large drag knob protrudes another 1". The drag feels smooth at the start of pulling line throughout it's adjustment range. I doubt I'll get to test it on a fish, if my history proves right. The spool pops on and off easily. The rod seems to balance well with this reel.
It's a 3 weight, all the reel needs to do is hold line, as long as the line doesn't get caught in the gap between the spool and frame. The reel spool has a groove inside the rim approximately 1/8" deep where it meets the frame.There are 2 frame members, one at the reel foot and one 180* from there that sit inside the groove when the spool is installed, so I can't see the line getting caught.
The line is whatever Cabela's provides on their combos. The salesman ( GREAT guy) told me their house brand is SA lines. It seems supple enough. We'll see how it holds up and how badly it coils.
I wanted to get a spare spool, but they go for $25.00. A trip to the Bargain Cave was in order. Of course, there wasn't a spare spool for the cheap reel, but I did score a Cabela's Prestige I reel
for 3-4 weight loaded with 4WF line and backing for $7.99. Neither the salesman nor I could find anything wrong with it. For $7.99, it was worth the gamble. The 4 weight line that's on it is worth at least $15.00. This reel feels slightly heavier. It measures 1/4" wider and 1/8 " dia. larger. I can't see any reason why it won't work as well as the one with the combo.
I'll try to attach the pics I took. Any questions, I'll try to answer any questions you may have .
