Delaware Valley Tackle

The key is having the correct spinning gear. You can fish anywhere, for anything. Musky and giant pike are caught on fly rods regularly.

Happy to help if you need it

A 3/4 spinnerbait is a 3/4 head. Add wire, blades, skirt and trailer the MH might feel mushy or overloaded. MH is a subjective term. Look for a 3/8-1 weight range which could be marked MH or Hvy.

You can do anything with the right spinning tackle that you can do with casting tackle. It may not be the absolute most efficient or preference, but it will work.

Bottom line is maximum. Drag is way over emphasized. The rule of thumb is 1/3 of line test so even 25 pound line only requires 8 pounds of Drag. If all you want is lockdown, there are lots of ways to achieve that I would never recommend it. I’ve never experienced a noticeable loss in Drag pressure by using Carbontex and yes, the main advantage is a smooth, consistent Drag, which is the most important thing

Sounds like the pinion is not clearing the spool pin. Most likely got the yoke upside down. Make sure beveled sides face down. If not that, you may have installed the wrong pinion gear.

In two decades I’ve never replaced “weak” yoke springs. Lost, bent, broken etc sure. If shim adjustments don’t work I’d look for another spool option. There are so many better bsf platforms I’d be hesitant to spend too much time on it. YMMV

Good general advice so far. I like the idea of adding a blocking wrap. If you don’t want to get involved in self leveling epoxy Sally Hansen Hard as Nails clear works for quick repairs. Don’t glue them in so strongly that they can’t be removed if necessary down the road.

The thing with the ambassadeur is the synchronous levelwind that has to move with the spool. There are kits to put bearings on the worm gear to help alleviate but I’ve had luck without buying parts. Polish all friction points and use a dry lube like they use on fire arms.

An arbor knot is so easy to tie I don’t personally see the benefit of skipping it. Ymmv

The crank case side snaps over a little nub. It takes gentle prying and wiggling. I don’t see it coming off without removing both side plates.

Not that exact model but other XPS hooks have worked fine.

Nothing about the specs in your post make me think finesse. Is the point justifying expense on a rod purchase? If so, I’d come at it from the other direction: how much do you want to spend, and what’s the biggest bang for the buck at that price?

I set my Shimano sv brakes 3 pins on 3 off no slack in spool tension and never adjust anything except maybe slight spool tension. Set it and forget it

Best orientation is ( ) it’s not as critical as sometimes made out. I prefer marine grease for lubrication and water repelling. Cals and Superlube are other good choices.