From the Pacific Bay catalog, reprinted with their permission.
NAFTA FLY REEL FOOT STANDARD
As many of you know, last September (1995) at the International Fly Tackle Dealer Show in Denver, all fly rod, fly reel, and fly reel seat manufacturers were welcomed to attend the unveiling of a proposed standard for future fly reel foot dimensions. The meeting was sponsored by the North American FlyTackle Trade Association (NAFTA) to put an end to the occasional problem of fly rods and reels whose mating parts cannot be properly locked together. Until now, this incompatibility of rod and reel could occur even between otherwise ideally matched tackle.
This long overdue solution was initiated by respected NAFTA members and then fine tuned at the September'95 meeting. Once in place, component manufacturers will be able to target their reel seat specifications to securely lock any reel foot that falls within the standard.
PACIFIC BAY supports the NAFTA standard, and in the coming months plans to adjust fly seat specifications where necessary. Rod manufacturers should be aware of possible reel seat length adjustments which could alter finished rod layouts. As well, recessed cork grip pockets may require adjusting as stamped fixed hood specifications are brought into line. These adjustments should be very slight, and PACIFIC BAY will inform manufacturers of any change that alters specifications contained in this catalog. Since we will be working with the standard rather than with individual reels on the market, you may wish to direct questions to specific reel manufacturers to determine their intentions regarding the standard. As always, PACIFIC BAY will do its best to answer any questions you have for us.
As of this writing, the September '96 International Fly Tackle Dealer Show is close at hand, and NAFTA hopes to announce the above mentioned efforts are finally in place. NAFTA does not expect any more changes to occur to this standard; however, the possibility does exist that some changes may develop at the '96 show, and PACIFIC BAY will make the adjustments accordingly. As time progresses you will begin to see identifying labeling on rods, reels, and reel seats displaying the NAFTA logo and announcing their compliance with the standard. Although PACIFIC BAY plans to do its part, reel manufacturers must come on board for everyone's efforts to pay dividends. It is our sincere hope that this will indeed be the case.
PACIFIC BAY
Addendum
As newfly rod models slowly but surely become specific to the NAFTA standard, rod builders and anglers should be aware of older reels with prestandard feet that may require alteration. This will often be as simple as unscrew ing the old foot and replacing it with a new one.* Keep in mind that this will not always be necessary since some older reels may lock adequately, even though they fall outside of the standard. For example, a reel whose foot is narrower than the standard's minimum will actually lock better with the standardized seat; this is because many reel seat dimensions are currently oversized in an attempt to acommodate as many reels as possible. However, these fits can be sloppy, leading to shifting and misalignment. Standardizing these reel seats means adjusting their specifications to just above the standard's maximums, insuring that reels conforming to the standard, install and lock down perfectly. An alteration will be necessary when a reel's feet are too wide or long, or have a slope toofar outside of the standard (see specification "C" )
* It is our understanding that several reel manufacturers are considering making replacement feet available to their customers.