Ultralight Maniac

Don't remember who made them but they were called Western Weenie Worms. I would take them and run hairs from a horses tail through them about 1 1/2" back of the head and call them Woolie Weenie Worms. They were deadly on bedding bass when rigged up like that.

I have had mine apart and found no obvious reason for it to do what it does. After reading the reviews from others who had bought the same reel and experienced the same problems. I'm saying at this point it is some kind of design flaw. Whether it was improperly lubricated at the factory or some material the pawl or gear are made of causing it to not work smoothly when moisture gets in the gear I don't know. The problem is intermittent and from my experience with it, on the water, appears to be triggered by moisture on the worm gear as the problem will go away, at least it has for me, if you switch reels and the worm gear has time to dry out. What I do know is that giving it a squirt of water repellent fixed, or masked, the problem and I was able to enjoy my time on the water. Even if it is just a temporary fix it will get me through the fall months until I take my reels in to be cleaned over the winter months or I send it back to Pfleuger before my warranty expires. I do however appreciate your help.

Did a quick Google for "Pfleuger Purist Review" and found several people experiencing the same problem with this reel and most of them also commented that it started after the reel had some moisture on it.

So you're saying that my reel, that wasn't working correctly, didn't work correctly all day yesterday? We both had the same problem with the same reel and used similar methods, not magic potions, to get the reel to work correctly again. I'm guessing that our guessing was the correct guess. Water getting in the worm gear is somehow causing it to bind up. The first time mine started doing it I could fish with it for awhile and then it would start binding. I could set it down for 30 minutes and then pick it up and it would work for 10 to 15 minutes before it started binding again. This leads me to believe, or guess, that it is an issue with moisture getting in the worm gear and spraying our magic potions (water repellents) on the worm gear is a viable solution.

I took mine out today and before I left I sprayed the worm gear with some Reel Magic. Didn't have a lick of trouble with it today and I used it quite a bit. If the problem is being caused by the worm gear getting wet then the Reel Magic may help to repel the water.

I can too... I still use an RH Shimano Calcutta that I got as a Christmas gift back around 90-91 as a crankbait reel.... Still casts as good as the day I got it and it has the long and short reel handle so I can change my retrieve rates.

Yep, I've gotten some really good deals on closeout LH reels.

Been using a LH for close to 25 years now for pretty much the same reasons everyone before has mentioned. Of course when I was in my teens my friends all accused me of doing it so they wouldn't ask to borrow my gear. I got a good laugh watching them try to reel by moving the rod with their right hand and the handle remaining stationary. ;D

I own the left handed version of this same reel. Purchased it new in January and it started doing this exact same thing to me on about my 3rd trip out with it. I also noticed that it appears to be intermittent. It works fine for a few minutes and then gets so bound up you almost can't retrieve. I plan on sending it back to Pfleuger during the winter but my temporary fix for the problem was replacing it with a Revo and making the Purist my pitching and flipping reel.

Had a 5 HP Johnson on my 10' Buster and it worked fine. I think everyone in the Mini-Boat group I was in at the time had an outboard on their boat. Only time we ever took on water was when some idiot in a ski boat wasn't paying attention and swamped us.