Delaware Valley Tackle

Those reels are all tanks. The quest for light weight gives way to the alternative materials. Longevity wise I think they'll be fine but the sheer mass of the heavy reels renders their smoothness.

It depends on the reel and how it's cared for. A well built reel services annually and cared for in the interim can last a lifetime and be handed down. On the other end you can get throw away reels and replace them every couple seasons. The PQ is a good reel at nearly throw away price when on sale. For about 1/3 the cost of a replacement I can replace the levelwind and go through the whole reel. The level wind itself done right requires opening the side plate to do right.

Those are not normal fishing motions. It doesn't mean much. It's very common for these new light weight reels to emit some sound especially after being cleaned and more free. It has nothing to do with worn gears or grease not adhering. All grease is, is solids used as a medium to stick oil in place. Anything more than a film gets squeezed out, flung off and lays in the bottom of the case.

It depends on the rod. The sweet spot typically lies near the mid range but that's a wide range of heavy weights. Are you looking for a rod or asking if you need one?

Email me with your phone number and I'll call you on a break tomorrow.

In some cases the only difference between sizes is profile and line capacity. If a bait is heavy enough or has high resistance like deep cranks, a lower ratio reel can be more pleasurable to fish but doesn't have anything to do with longevity.

In your example the st Croix is .66 oz heavier but a more powerful blank. There is no "true" power rating as it's all subjective.

Whether the investment is worth it or not onlybyou can answer. At the price point you're looking at seriously consider going custom. You can get Exactly what you want without compromise.

They're usually just dirty or the bail wire is bent and binding it up. What do you think is worn down?

If Lews is the best constructed reel so is the revo, pflueger, PQ and others. It's easy to keep parts available when they fit 4+ brands and the basic platform is unchanged. The Shimano parts issue is for real.

You've got two things at play here. First an1/8 ounce is likely too light to properly load a casting rod so you're forcing it. Once the rod, line and weight are in sync casting is like throwing a ball in that it's all about the release point

The non disengaging level wind adds a lot of moving parts on the cast. I'd start by looking for something misaligned or not seated properly in the spool or brake drum area then just retrace through the whole system until I found the culprit

Most recently I've settled on a film of gear oil on worm gears for staying power without the gumming you can get with grease in an exposed application. I'm experimenting with dry lube with good results so far. Probably not cost effective or necessary for DIY of a few reels.

When I recommend deep cleaning I'm talking about a complete frame off tear down.

As with a spinner bait, if you're getting short strikes change retrieve, profile or color. If they're coming unhooked check hook sharpness or hook set technique.

A brief submersion in relatively clean water shouldn't cause any harm. If they lay on the bottom or grit or symptoms are evident I suggest a deep cleaning which is even further than You went.

Invent it and call it Unicorn.

Graphite will not take a set like that. It's completely normal.

For the most part yes. The mushy dartanium stuff Shimano uses and felt need grease. The composit drag in some quantums is a dry system. I'm probably missing something.

If the old bps has the nylon washers they should be dry. The old Shimano may have the cloth drag which should be greased but you can get away with running it dry for bass fishing in the meantime. Carbon drags can be run either way but I prefer dry.

the free spool on the old reels is so limited the brakes just don't do much of anything. Keep them if you want but I think your issue lies else where.

What reel is it? Many drags can be safely run dry.

The first thing we do when Tuning those old ambassaduers is Chuck the brake blocks. The non disengaging level wind slows them down plenty. Ck the spool tension spacers. Replace as needed or flip them over as a temporary fix if dimpled.

I believe your assumption is correct. The reel need to be taken down from the crank side, drag degreased them properly lubricated if necessary. In the future the spool and shaft do require oil, just kept clean. Gears are greased. I'm getting caught up on spring rush if want to send it in.

I don't see a st Croix ltb being much if any downgrade from anything else.