Linewinder

When you do the JB Weld fix (I just recently did this on an old DAM Quick 700 handle) make sure the pin seats properly into the handle. I didn't, so now even though it is solid, it is extended further on the knob side allowing more play than original. Perhaps the JB Weld expanded while it cured? IDK. Some sort of shim system would probably help keep the pin set into the handle -- a shim in the recessed knob hole and a shim with an access hole on the flat side, then clamped straight. Push epoxy in to surround the pin, but not too much to get onto the knob on the other side. Hmm, maybe a new handle -- but I'm having trouble finding flat handles that aren't too long, for older reels.

I know monofilament takes on a set from the reel spool especially in high heat situations like a vehicle sitting in the sun for hours day after day. How does this heat affect other lines, especially the braids? What sort of line do you use for a trunk rod combo?

Same manufacturer. Awesome condition. So what weight line does best with this combo? (Not sure if I see line on there ?). Length of rod about 5 1/2 ~ 6 ft.?

For a 4 wt rod, an old Pflueger 1774 reel does well. Made in USA. Common on ebay. It just needs quite a bit of line backing, IIRC, and can be a bit heavy. Don't use monofilament for backing. Older reels aren't always $100, are sturdy and you can get extra spools, one reel. Martin "tuna cans". Plueger Medalist. And so on. That link for Cats Whisker that Bulldog put up above (thanks @bulldog1935) will take you to where you can learn an eternity of fly fishing knowledge. And it's not all expensive. It's a different type of enjoyment. I think 4 wt for stream bass is great fun.

? You have a free-to-you fly rod, a case, presumably a reel too, and you're worried about spending $49? To go have fun while fishing? WF-4F will get you by. Sinking for deeper or fast water. I use monofilament to tie fairly useful knotted tapered leaders, and 4 lbs mono for tippet, to the fly or popper or streamer -- I suggest beadhead nymphs. Also, you will probably need some backing on the reel before the line -- dacron.

I had an experience with Zebco last year that showed some of the quality issues but also the support behind the products. I have an Omega Pro Z03 now many years old -- you know, heavy all metal pre-Bullet. Short story is, after several years of owning the reel, I found a problem, and after several email messages both directions, I was sent a package with the wrong part, more messaging and the correct parts sent out quickly (about 3 days IIRC), all without cost to me. Zebco wanted the old parts back probably to see exactly what I was explaining and I'm sure the prepaid postage cost more to Zebco than the parts. Seeing the new parts I can tell that the design was already changed for the better.

Not that I don’t believe you @bulldog1935 , because you have shown to be extremely knowledgeable like a historian of these things, but I’d like to see that, in a video or something, just so I can be amazed. This would have to be pre-spinning reel times I suppose. And thumbing must be super sensitive for that lighter weight.

With a practical sense I would have no favorite brands but would have unfavorites. From a sentimental sense it would be Ryobi baitcast, and fortunately some of those are practical even today but perhaps not as much when compared to today’s technology. My dad bought an AD5000V for me in early 1980’s that I still use some.

I’m liking the way you fish! Let’s go. But they need to bring their own gear.

Spinning, yes, that I can do. Baitcast, I've never understood how to do that -- I grip the rod at the reel.

IDK. An angler who doesn’t tie a knot???

Like a bail-less reel? Just the line guide roller....

Can't read the part numbers on it, but at least it shows a diagram ? https://www.reelschematic.com/wp-content/uploads/schematics/Abu%20Garcia/Misc/Abu%20Garcia%20Spinning%209800.pdf

There's a broad wide line between babying and abusing. What do you have to lose? Short of breaking the blank, they're fixable anyway, and sometimes the blank is too. Go ahead and use them as they were designed -- they can take it. Just don't expect them to take outright abuse -- no pole pushing your boat, OK?

He also thinks antireverse limits distance? The reel disengages from the powertrain in freespool just like any other reel. Antireverse, whether a bearing or a cog, does not have anything to do with the spool. Just more misinformation to sell stuff. Blah.

Bulldog is right. Smooth acceleration is the key to reliable casting. Be that spincasting, spinning, baitcasting or flycasting. There's no whipping in any of those, all the same. Flycasting taught me to envision the rod tip traveling out in a straight line, not an arc. Same for the other casting.

I was out fishing with a buddy (was then) around a marina with larger boats. I was concentrated on not hitting boats and catching fish. You know, looking at the water. He started telling me some story of how some woman was killed there. Her decapitated body was found but never her head. He positioned our boat so that I was next to a docked boats’s cabin window where someone placed one of those heads to hold a wig with the face looking outward. Not much room to jump in the little boat but somehow I didn’t fall out when I saw that thing. He got me. Years later he was out fishing and did find a dead body in the water.

This, right? The Cosmic Clock and Bass Behavior by Tom Young

I don't think shoes come in clamshells either. They come in boxes. I think it's just where they are intended to be sold. Shelf or hangers in the store. Traditionally, the box shoes were to be sold with human help. Clamshell packages seem to be self-serve. When I'm looking at used stuff I tend to avoid those with boxes, as I don't want to pay extra for something I can't fish with. I see for sale empty boxes for like $10.

Does anyone know of other older tiny size reels? Weight, line capacity, physical size. Were these the only ones (beside the equivalent Lew Childres model)?

Been doing mine past few months but it seems it got me looking at acquiring older reels. I guess to see how they were built and worked. Latest is DAM Quick Champion 700B. Needs anti-reverse lever clip and handle (and line), but is working great.

A tangential question is how many of your friends's rods you have broken. I'll start with one ?

I did the same thing with a fly reel recently. I tried to model the new shape after a reel that did fit. And it turned out well fitting and nicely done if I say so myself also. Beware, I found metal can get dang hot under a Dremel-type tool. It's strange how reels don't always follow the "standard" size and shape to fit seemingly same rods. I recently found that those old 60's - 70's Mitchell reels had different size feet also -- 300 vs. 300A.

Cost effective? No. Replace it. Even on the budget rods. Pinched for time, like on a packing trip, yeah I’d like to see if swirling JB Weld around the guide would work to get the rod fishing the next day.

It just occurred to me to write down when a reel has been cleaned and lubed. Not so much to know when or if to do it on a schedule, but to notice if one wasn't done. I'm fairly sure I did my Black Max this past year, but not so confident now -- if I had a notebook or put a sticky on the reel feet....