Josh Smith

I've had no problems with either Spiderwire or Berkley FC. Weird. Josh

Hello, Thank you. I found them -- I'm replacing the bearings in a couple 5500c3 reels with bushings. They're better for some applications. Regards, Josh

Hello, At one time, I had a Ambassadeur come through my hands. It was the new-style with the tension knob by the handle, but it had bronze spool bushings instead of bearings -- it was a cheaper model. I *think* it was called an Ambassadeur 500 USA. Anyway, I'm working on an Ambassadeur reel, and I want to retrofit this reel with spool bushings instead of bearings for its intended purpose. I need to find one of these spools with bushings. Thoughts? Regards, Josh

Hello, I'm sorry this reply is so late. I got busy at work. In looking at the thing, it looks like it was assembled with pop rivets, which is why I was asking. I could, of course, be wrong about that. Regards, Josh

Thanks, guys. In researching, I'm seeing a lot of folks riveting these with closed-end pop rivets and rivet burrs. Why can I not use these? Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against a new tool purchase I just have experience with pop rivets, and already have a pop rivet tool. Regards, Josh

Holy necrothread, Batman!

Hello, I'm currently rebuilding the boat Dad and I used during my childhood. It's a Smokercraft Big Fisherman aluminum boat. When my friend and I tore out the wood floor, we had to remove the live well, storage area, and rear seat to do it. This involved drilling rivets out. Now, I've been trained as an auto tech. However, in auto technology, we just always replaced rivets with screws. I've never been a fan of rivets as they're too hard to take apart for routine maintenance. However, this thing's not coming back apart. What do I need to use to put it back together? I've never in my life used the types of rivets they used. I have used pop rivets and have some of 'em, but I really doubt that would work as some of them will be submerged and need to be water tight. What's the best way to go about doing this? Regards, Josh

This is just like Abu Garcia's system. The brakes will activate when they're out. #5 is active. #4 is not. Snap them all back in. Now, take activate half of them, numbers 1, 3, and 5. Practice casting and go from there. If you go down to two brakes, then turn on only #2 and # 5. Four brakes, #1, #6, #3, and #4. Centrifugal brakes work more at the beginning of the cast, and magnetic, more toward the end of the cast. I hardly ever use magnetic brakes, and only have one reel with them on it -- it's my crankbait reel, an Ambassadeur 4600, that has both centrifugal and magnetic brakes. I'll turn the magnets on if I'm casting into the wind. Otherwise, it's all centrifugal (like the one you're showing) and thumb. I suspect that magnetic brakes are cheaper to make, and therefore are used the most. I don't like 'em all that much. Centrifugal are, in my experience, superior. Regards, Josh

Thanks! I have those in with the spoons. I dunno why, but I think they go with spoons more than with lipped crankbaits. Weird, right? There's a FF Shad in there, as well as an Excalibur, yessir. The white one is a FF Shad.

This lake isn't fished a heckuva lot. It's privately owned, and one must drive through big mud holes to get to the good spots. Interestingly, it has what looks like a dilapidated boat ramp. I had to find the actual concrete through some digging, as it's buried. There are tires and other things out there; I'm gonna try to take a trailer out there and clear that out. The guy to owns it is an 80+ year-old doctor and probably not capable. He's nice enough to allow folks to fish here, so I'll be nice enough to clean it up some. Josh I reposted this here. Initially, I somehow got it in the Hunting forum, where it obviously doesn't belong. I asked a mod to move it, but they're busy fishing or something. I've therefore reposted here and am deleting the other.

Prior to this year, I've used mostly soft plastics. This year, I found a small lake in which crankbaits and spinnerbaits seem to work best, so I dug some out of the "big tackle box." Should I add anything to this? I'll be fishing mainly from shore, until/unless I find it's OK to launch a boat, then I might buy a canoe. No way I could launch a full-sized boat there. Regards, Josh

I cinch it down a little, but leave it loose so everything slides easily. You could theoretically compromise strength if you have to pull harder than usual on the line, and from friction from pulling the loop through an already-tight knot. Regards

Hello, My daughter, now five, has expressed interest in joining tournaments. I've thought that maybe something locally, within the next few years, might be cool. I'm currently redoing the boat's deck, and it should be good go go. That said, the boat is a deep V with a 15hp motor. We used it to fish coves in local reservoirs and smaller lakes when I was growing up. Is there any reason this couldn't be used on the local level? How do these tournaments even work? Regards, Josh

Dad. He's 68 and active in other ways. They (Mom and Dad) camp a lot, and work out every morning. He says he just doesn't enjoy it like he used to, but got his lifetime fishing license. He's not been in years and keeps talking about going. He says "no" whenever I invite him, though. It's friggin irritating. Regards, Josh

No reason one can't supertune. That's a lot of what you're paying for. Regards.

Price does not necessarily indicate quality. Often, it indicates complexity, which leads to failure. Witness the Abu Garcia Eon, and the Ambassadeur AB models, for example. I argue today that excellent reels could be made less expensive, but of same quality. For example, if Abu Garcia were to take their Revo, delete the thumb bar in favor of an older style button, and delete the bearings (except for the IAR bearing) in favor of bronze bushings like in the old Ambassadeurs, they could build an excellent reel that could complete in price with, say, the Made in China Lew's, etc, and at better quality. In act, I'd love to have an all-bushing Ambassadeur for fishing heavy cover. I've never liked thumb paddles for casting. As-is, I don't catch more fish on my lighter graphite rods than I did/do on my fiberglass rods. There have always been techniques to get around sensitivity, or lack thereof. The biggest benefit I've noticed with graphite rods (combined with proper line) are increased ability to feel the bottom, and more fishing time with less fatigue. Regards, Josh

I use them to make me slow down

Trying a new-to-me camera:

Hello, I'm wondering what line y'all use for spinnerbaits. Until recently, I've used braided line with a leader. However, I'm finding myself gravitating back toward monofilament for all moving baits, not just those with treble hooks. Braid remains for jig, worm, and frog fishing. Thoughts? Regards, Josh

Dude, "weightless" means no added weight. You still have weight to the lures; the stick worm I prefer, for example, weighs 1/4oz. If you're casting into the wind, use more brakes or thumb. Regards.

Ambassadeurs.

In the above study, the Pure Fishing folks refused to market a pincer-less crawdad, even if it worked better. They felt it wouldn't sell. Most lures are designed to catch the fisherman. Regards.

My reels are usually worth $100 to $150, with the rods being valued about the same (but usually bought on clearance, or something.) The reels are Ambassadeurs and get super tuned. I demand mechanical precision. Regards, Josh

Hi Folks, Any luck in northern Indiana yet? I've got nothing to report. Regards, Josh

I regularly "longfish" out to 35 yards or so. That's my current accurate distance. This technique helps with really spooky fish. Regards, Josh