Delaware Valley Tackle

$150 is good budget for a quality reel. Choose a brand name with features you find attractive and you’ll be fine. Being new to bait casters I suggest something with centrifugal or dual braking.

Lews and Abu reels are built in the same factories on the same platform. Check the features and price for apples to apples comparison and the best deal.

If that model has centrifugal brakes oil the drum lightly.

I just did a Citica E with red tabs. Some models came with both.

If I remember correctly that bushing is an odd size. If you get the dimensions I’ll see what I have or can get. Worst case we can polish the spool shaft, pinion and bushings and free it up a lot.

Yup, battle scars rock. Paint jobs catch more fishermen than fish anyway. I’m tempted to buy some blanks and fish them bare just to see what happens.

You have to take each offer on its own merits. Lots of good sellers there but some not so much. Just like anywhere else.

Not putting you on the spot, just checking in to make sure nothing happened to it. ?

Still use the MHX?

Black, grey, green are the heavier ones for more braking. Red and clear are light. No advantage in removing any. Most likely accidentally pulled off and lost.

That and the lighter weight makes every little tick more noticeable. I say this all the time about the baitcasters too.

Hit me up and I’ll give you the fix for that.

No need to replace the sleeve unless you see visually apparent damage. If the bearing pushes out easily it’s cake. If you’d like a bearing I need to confirm the dimensions.

What happened to the sleeve? The bearing we can get from BOCA. The challenge is pressing it out without damaging the side plate.

All else being equal, for raw casting distance stick with spinning tackle. Casting tackle handles heavier baits and moving baits better in some circumstances. They handle heavier mono and fluorocarbon better as well. There are work arounds like braid that will expand spinning versatility. I use all kinds of tackle partly because to me, it enhances the overall experience of angling.

If I could I’d put the Shimano AR unit In the Certate It’d be perfect.

It’s perfectly normal. The result of light weight rigid materials. They transmit feel just like a high end rod. Rest assured there’s nothing wrong with your reel.

You can wrap the best material in the world on a crappy mandrel in a sloppy way and not have a good product. Conversely you can make a high performance blank with non Toray material with state of the art processes. There’s a lot that goes into blank manufacturing. I’m into the finished product and its qualities. The path that led to it is interesting but I don’t get hung up on it.

Nice to see someone get good advice and actually follow it. No one should blindly follow anyone else but this forum is a wealth of knowledge and more importantly class.

I’ve shipped to Mexico before, Canada is probably doable under normal circumstances but all bets are off right now.

Flush the bearings and give them a spin. They likely feel fine unless they’ve rusted or corroded. Just clean it out and lubricate it and you’ll be surprised.

Look something labeled MH (medium heavy) F (fast action) lure weight 1/4-3/4 oz or 3/8-1. Pick what feels good to you and in your budget. This makes a good utility rod, but universal is a stretch no matter what you buy.

No need to open bearings to clean them ultra sonic or not. Not all bearings have removable shields either.

Generally speaking deep cleaning and lubrication makes a world of difference.

Keep your thumb on the spool whenever it’s disengaged with any baitcaster.