oldschoolbasser

It only takes one bullet or bomb.You've already been lucky to have survived why take any more chances with your life?I'm sure your wife wouldn't want to be a rich widow.Is a new boat worth a limb?Just sayin.

I hated when Rapala went to a foil finish on the old Shad FatRaps!Good thing I have a bunch of them left.They are still my favorite crank bait.

Japan Tackle has the carbon fiber handles with the cork knobs that fit Abus.A cheaper way to go would be the Okuma carbon fiber handle with 2 bearings in each knob.You have to do a little grinding to open up the hole to fit it to the drive shaft,but it only cost about $28 for the handle locking plate and screw.Knobs are not cork,but are very soft,and comfortable.

I have the ML casting rod.Great travel rod,nice balance,pretty sensitive too.Excellent finesse rod.

Robo Fat 4 1/2",and 6" worms.

I fished there about a month ago.Caught fish on shaky heads,and drop-shots.Most fish came in 10-25ft of water off points,fish averaged 3lbs.M.M.III,SXE Shad & Prizm Shad were the best colors.Lake was down 120 ft,it's a long walk to the bottom of the ramp.If you rent a boat,try going on Wed as it's 1/2 rental rate.Bass boat is $78.

Old Painted Shad Fat Raps,and the Original Poe Plugs!

I use Carbontex on all my Ambassadeurs.I usually order them from Smooth Drag.I also order individual washers as they don't have kits for all Ambassadeur reels.

Nice to see another Socal fisherman aboard.I see you fish Legg Lake.I live about 5 minutes away from there.I usually go there to test out my reels,but I have caught some nice fish out of there.Have you tried the rock quarries on Peck Road in El Monte?Give me a buzz next time you go there,and I'll fish with you.

I fished there a few weeks back,and the drop-shot bite was great!I also picked up a few fish on shaky heads.I fished mostly vertical walls with rock slides,and fallen trees near by.We launched out of Windy Point,and fished the backside of the island straight across the lake.6" Robo Worms in Prizm Shad,SXE Shad,and Prizm Craw worked best.Fish mostly came at 15-25ft dephts.1/4oz drop-shot weight was the most effective weight.Average fish was 2-3lbs.

You can find some Phenix boron rods on Ebay right now for about $75.There's a 65M that would be good for drop-shotting & shaky heads.

It's amazing what a few up-graded parts can do for a reel.If you noticed the drive gear,this reel is a direct-drive,and not a standard 4500C.I wanted to build the most outrageous one of a kind reel,and I hope I came close.I plan on taking it out Sat to see how well it works.

Here's all the up-graded parts I used to put this reel together.With the exception of the ABEC5 ceramic bearings not pictured,here's the breakdown.Carbontex drag washer(pt#3902)dual bearing worm gear(24759,24758,&20680)bearing supported cog wheel(1117079 &1117080)drive shaft bearing & washers(20647 & 20650 2),Titanium Nitride line guide, Zirconia pawl,and a carbon fiber handle from Okuma.The only modification that I had to do was remove the extra plastic lip on top of the cog wheel,and open the hole on top a little wider,and open the hole on the handle to make it fit the drive shaft because the Okuma reels have a smaller shaft.I just used an old handle as a guide to make the hole bigger.I also had to adjust the length of the hole so I could use the locking plate & screw to hold the nut in place.Other than those modifications,everything else was just a drop-in replacement of parts.For those of you who have the 5000 Series reels,the worm gear #'s are 24756 &24752,and for the 6000 Series reels the part #'s are 25195 & 25196.

I'll take pics up closer next time.

New Ceramic ABEC7 bearings,and Carbontex Drag Washers would be my first upgrades.I would also re-lube and oil the reel with one of the newer synthetic oils like Hot Sauce.I actually bought one on Ebay for $25,and it seems to work pretty well out of the box.If the chip in the drag drum doesn't affect the reel,I wouldn't worry about it.

I still use my Phenix Boron rods that were made in the late 70's,and early 80's,and they still perform as great as the day I got them.The difference between Boron rods,and graphite rods is the boron rods were lighter,and smaller in diameter plus they were more sensitive.Phenix added some fiberglass to the blanks to give them different actions.I have heavy action rods that are smaller in diameter than most of the newer rods on the market with similar actions.The reason you don't see any more boron rods on the market is because of the cost.Boron costs quite a bit more than graphite,so most rod makers choose graphite because of the lower cost.I have never had a rod explode on me,and the only rod I had broken was because of someone stepping on it! My brother worked for Phenix Rod Co. for 17 years.I don't think the Bass Pro Shop or Browning rods had a high Boron content,and the Fenwick rods were larger in diameter than the Phenix rods were.The Phenix rods also were one of the first to have lure specific actions(Doodlin',Split-shot,Jig,&Pig ect)more so than any other manufacturers.

Thanks for all the favorable comments about the reels.I'll take some pics of the insides of the reels,and post them next week.I'll also list the part #s,and the modifications that I had to do to make the parts work properly.

I fish a Texas Rig,and use the Doodling technique.I usually fish it vertically over humps,and points in depths from 20-100 ft depending on the time of year.Deepest fish I've ever caught was in 110 ft of water at Casitas in November.It's a killer technique,give it a try

These reels are so easy to work on compared to some of the newer reels out on the market now.The basic functions of these reels hasn't changed much in the last 60 years,and I think that speaks to the advanced design of these reels when they originally came out.I don't know of any other 60 year old reel that you can swap out parts with a new reel,and make it work better.The only thing that has changed is the quality of the newer parts available today.

Here's 2 new reels that I just built.I took 2 different approaches to their builds.I wanted one to be somewhat stock,and the other one as outrageous as I could make it.The "Stock" looking one has ABEC5 ceramic bearings,Carbontex drag washers,bearing supported worm gear,and cog wheel,plus a "custom"handle with White knobs.The other reel is actually a "Direct Drive" 4500D(a model that was only produced as a prototype)This reel also has the bearing supported worm gear &cog wheel,and Carbontex drag washers,titanium nitride line guide,but I went farther adding a drive shaft bearing,and a carbon fiber handle with 2 bearings in each knob.The handles are from Okuma,and had to be modified to fit the Ambassadeur drive shaft.All together it has a total of 10 bearings including every bearing upgrade available from AbuGarcia.Both reels are as smooth as silk,and perform great as well.As someone who prefers these reels over the newer style reels,I get a kick out of using something I've personally built.

Ambassadeur(60),and Phenix(20) guy!

5000's have a 3.8:1 gear ratio,and the 5500's have a 4.7:1 gear ratio.5000C's also have a 3.8:1 gear ratio,but also have ball bearings.I have about 60 Ambassadeurs,most of them are "Customized,but I also have a few "Originals"in near mint condition.I have a tricked out 4500D(direct drive)in the works with a total of 10 bearings, carbon fiber handle,Carbontex drag washers,and Orange side plates.Most of my reels are the "70's" style,but I also have some newer "80's"style reels with all the bearing upgrades.Upgrading older Ambassadeurs are easy to fix up as all the newer ball bearing supported parts fit with no modifications,with the exception of the bearing supported cog wheel.This reel has all the bearing upgrades and is as smooth as silk!

Robo Worms 41/2"& 6" Fat Worms.

Since this is a bushing reel,and does not have bearings,it would work better with heavier baits.I've found that using Hot Sauce reel oil,my bushing reels cast better.Also keep the bushings oiled,as dry bushings will affect casting distance.

I have over 50! From 1500C's all the way up to 6500C's,I love the way these reels work.They're easy to work on,and easy to upgrade.