Reel Seat vs. Cork Tape
 

What's your preference?

I just bought a GFGR 700L & 800M. Never had a cork tape rod....doe's it really matter, or make a differance fishing from a kayak?

Cork is nice.

You'll be able to mount your reel exactly where you want to find the fulcrum and maximize your casting ability.

Cork gives the best grip when wet, and is comfortable to fish.
However it can wear out after a few years depending on how hard you use the rod.

- it all depends, it can last a long time as well. I have some very old rods where the cork is still serviceable, but has become brittle. Sometimes I will peel it off and replace it completely, or place a new layer on top making the grip slightly larger.
Its versatile.

This is not expensive to replace and can be done by yourself for about $10

More than half my rods are cork.

There are advantages and disadvantages to everything; or some things are better suited to specific purposes.

Most jig sticks (8' or longer), don't have reel seats; Why, as was pointed out, so you can place the reel at the fulcrum point best suited to you; the longer the rod, the more important this becomes. Reel seats generally add weight, and if you ever use a heavy jig stick all day, you"ll know why cutting weight can be so important. Cutting weight simply cuts fatigue. But this is true for any type rod. If you like the X-wrap, you can always put some over the cork as it's a bit more serviceable.

as long as you can use a rod clamp, you don't really need a reel seat until you start to get into the bigger fish (as long as your rod is properly splined; as the reel can twist on the rod with enough pressure applied to it. But, for us yak fishermen, this usually isn't an issue.

You might want to also look at it this way, if your out to catch big fish, you might also want to use a gimbal and a belt, for that the rod will have a real seat, and the odds are that the rod will be 6" or under. Granted spectra has changed fishing and this a standard any longer since the advent of rail rods. But since this is a yak site, I'll leave fishing the big fish at what I said.

But lets face it, if you have a reel or reels that fit your reel seat, it's simply more convenient to have a reel seat when changing out reels. However, all or my jig sticks do not have reel seats.

With that said, and looking at your question again. I prefer reel seats on rods under 8' long, and cork or X-wrap over cork on rods 8" and longer. Not to say that I wouldn't make/buy/own a short rod without a reel seat.

get a cork puppy.
http://www.charkbait.com/cs/csr_Reel-Clamps.htm

When I'm not using my Fly Rods, the one thing I learned from deckhands and rod builders when i was young, cork is fine if you don't do alot of fishing. Cork (as mentioned earlier in this post) will dry out and crack and peel after some time in the sun. I have two sets of rods I use, (yes I am fortunate) one for my long range fishing which all rods have seats and then my "day use" set of rods for half-day to overnight trips and my Kayak fishing. On my "day use" rods I use 60# tarred marine cord. To say durable would be an understatement, I have a Clastar 196-8, 270-8, Seeker SJ-90, Calstar 530-9' & a Truline D8 all wrapped in the mid-late '80's and the cord is still just fine not frayed maybe just al little faded from where I mount my reels. It's also a (IMO) more non-slip surface even after releasing fish. On my D8 I did mount an 8" contoured foregrip (because it's my basic Y/T, 40# tuna Jig stick) and after about 30 min. on multiple 50# + class YFT a cord grip can get a little coarse on the hands.
Basicly I use cord on any of my rods that are in the 40# class test or less and reel seats on everything over 40#.
That's just my preference.
FFY.
(DISCLAIMER) btw: seel seat exceptions now include the 3 Shimano W/C Teramamar inshore rods & my 2 Waxwing rods, so that I can use smaller baitcaster reels like my Diawa Lunas' & shimano curado 200's and 300EJ's with Power Pro. I haven"t figured out what I'm going to do with my Talica's yet cause their reel seats are smaller in Diameter than most rods for the particular class line for the particular reel.

Its been an awful long time sense I've wrapped a rod, but I much preferred butt cord to cork on my rods also. Not as common these days but durable as hell.

Tuna Cord

and yes it plays a huge role. Anything with a "sticky" grip such as eva or hypalon and yes even cork tape, when wet, will be much more difficult to pull out from the rod holder. Against a smooth surface the texture that is porous will grip to the surface and makes it difficult to pull out especially when you are pulling a rod out at angles.

Tuna cord doesn't stick.

I presume my calstars' have the hypalon grips? For the 8ft rod, the real seat is about 6 inches to low. Could I clamp my reel above the real seat (not looking very asthetic) but feels better?

Not sure what direction to go with.....tuna cord/marine cord (any pictures in their respective application). And could I use that on top of the hypalon or would I have to remove it?

Very insightful gentlemen!!

Another option:

Get some shrink tube, Marshals sells the good 3M stuff in all diameters. Cut a length just longer than your cork puppy (I actually do most of my grip for durability).
Shrink that stuff onto your rod grip using your girl's hair dryer, get a cork puppy and you're good to go.
Long lasting, not too slippery, and preserves your rod and grip medium.

My .02

Willy

The padded hypolon is nice but on the kayak where your hands are mostly wet I find hyp get spippery, especially with a little fish slime on it. Cork tape works well and been durable for me over the years. My favorite by far though is the tuna cord wrap. It's cheap, fast, durable, and provides grip even in the middle of a 'cuda blitzkrieg. The first rod I wrapped had tuna cord and I sealed it with spray laquer, I think. On my next rod I just left the cord unsealed and it lasted just as well. I've even done tuna cord over old, worn smooth cork tape and that worked fine too. You can also do turks heads and other decorative cord work if you're so inclined. Mike