Josh Smith

Dude, that's all I fish! Modified 5000 and 5500 reels with a definite preference for pistol grips. Gotta remember, I'm 36, and I've been fishing since 1979 or so. Dad would sit me down on a river rock and go wading while I fished with a bobber. My first baitcaster was his old 5000 that he installed fast gears (23 IPT) into. It's still in my lineup. My other baitcasting reels are modified 5000 and 5000c reels, with a 5500 on the way. I have the black reel (5000c, fast gears) mounted to a Daiwa Jupiter medium rod and it balances fairly nicely, but man, the MH rod of the same design just doesn't feel right. It feels heavier than MH. Mostly, though, nothing but a pistol grip and round reel feel right. Josh

I was raised to believe that a Hula Popper was to be twitched. It works well. Josh

Hi All, A check came in from a commercial client of mine today. Most of it went back to my business, but I decided to treat myself: ... and a casting rod... (They had this in pistol grip... yay! I hope I like it!) Josh

No, but I do talk to them. I just caught my smallest bass of the season (10") and told it that it was purty, and then said "Now grow up" as I released it. Josh

Oh... really? I guess I didn't think to look at that when I was in the 5600Mag (a C reel). I am ordering a new 5500c3 and might just have to take advantage of that feature. Thanks! Josh

The fish seem more confused than us this year. On the other hand, I just caught my first of the year less-than-12" the other day. They're shallower than usual, and I wonder if it ever really warmed up more than 10' down from winter. Josh

Hello, I prefer the ratchet setup because I feel it's simpler, tougher, and needs less maintenance. I do fish both. My preferred setup would be a IAR bearing with a ratchet backup. I've not found one yet. When you set the hook, you should crank the reel about 1/4 turn, at least that's how I was taught. It adds just a bit more speed and power to the set. Any back play should be a non-issue with this technique. Josh

Abu Garcia.

Hello, Why? Josh

Two of the three I'm working on: And I just bought these: ... so I guess I get to learn to build rods. Something did occur to me the other day: These new, fast reels have large cranks for the most part. Large crank = slower cranking. In other words, you increase the gear ratio, and then decrease it again with the crank! The red reel is intended to crank hard due to its role as a heavy spinnerbait, crankbait, and worm rod. The black reel I built to crank faster because it's on a medium rod and mostly sees topwater. (I have another red reel that's currently on a 7' MH rod, but I might just put it on the 5'6" MH Lew's fiberglass rod. That red one is pimped out with mother-of-pearl handle knobs.) These two and the ultralight always go fishing with me. The red one gets used the most. Josh

Hello, The idea on which I'm operating is simply this: Currently, my lures attract with usually two senses: Sight and sound. I make several casts to the same likely-looking place as bass tend to sometimes need hit on the head before they strike. Consider a fine wine or excellent craft beer. We, as humans, are usually visual hunters first and auditory second. Smell is a third. If we see the beverage poured and hear it poured, we also expect to catch a whiff of the bouquet, right? Now, a bass that's not all that active might expect the same thing. In any case, adding sound to sight helps, and adding scent to sight and smell should help further, assuming it's the correct scent. This is the theory I'm testing. I've never been one to be swayed by advertising or by what is "new and better". I like to know what's available but in the end, I evaluate my needs and go from there. I have a huge tackle box full of stuff that didn't work before by is now working with new techniques. Maybe this will end up being a gimmick, but maybe not. I just picked up a Booyah Boo Alpine rig because it makes sense that it should work. It's one of the few newer things that I buy into. I really doubt the Booyah Alpine is a gimmick, and I don't think the correct scent would be a gimmick, either. Whether the makers have the correct scent nailed down, however, is another question entirely. Regards, Josh

Here you go: Nice stuff! Josh

I have an extra fast action setting over there in a corner. It's an old Fenwick graphite rod of Dad's. It may have been his first graphite rod, in fact. Someplace along the line the tip got broken off. I replaced the tip, but lost everything up to the second-to-last line guide in the process. I'm pretty sure it's extra-fast now Josh

Hi All, It almost sounds like mixing nightcrawler juice (nod to Sam) or fish oil or whatever with lanolin would be effective. Lanolin tends to stay put in the water, and smearing a bait with it would release a little at a time. Josh

Hello, On that reel, does the crankshaft ride on a shaft or rod coming up from the brake plate or frame? Or is it solid? Josh

Thanks guys! I went to Walmart (yuck) and they did indeed have some Yum F2, Gulp, and Ultra Classic Bass. I almost grabbed the Classic Bass stuff, but figured I'd start with Gulp because it hadn't been mentioned and because the Yum stuff was priced way down there -- so much so that I wondered how well it really worked. Price is not usually an indicator for me; for example, I've caught more bass on Texas Rigs and $2 swim jigs this year than anything else, including the more expensive jigs, but I figured I'd try the Gulp first because I've had really good luck with both them and Yum, but Gulp is the one that had a trigger spray bottle as opposed to the push-button type that I hate. No idea if I'll get to go fishing tomorrow. I want to, but the lake is likely to be crowded and I want to compare to the non-crowded days. Thanks, and keep 'em coming! Regards, Josh

Hello, I'm thinking about revisiting this topic. Last I experimented with it, I was something like 14 years old. Never caught anything with the attractants they had in the early '90s. I gave up after using that small spray bottle. I figure spray attractants have evolved as have lures and line. Is it worth anything? I'm thinking Yum F2 might be something to try. So far I'm thinking crawdad or shrimp would be best as there are no shad in the target lake so far as I can tell, and bluegill, freshwater shrimp, and crawdads are the main forage. I'm well aware that bass tend to hunt by sight, and that they use sound to start searching by sight for a bait. I'm thinking that, in less-than-really-clear water the scent might add a bit to convincing a bass that might otherwise be ambiguous about the sound. I'm really not sure. I'm not convinced. I probably will move forward with this experiment regardless, but I'd really like to hear your experiences with the new wave of spray attractants. Thank you, Josh

I have built computers and rebuilt reels. The two are nothing remotely alike. If you have worked on windup clocks, on locks, or on the lockwork of a gun, then give it a try. Have a schematic and a white work mat at minimum. Match everything on a piece of paper as you take it out. If you decide to go for it, you might as well clean out the factory grease, lube with oil, and upgrade the drag clutches while you're in there. Josh

Hello, I'm playing with three Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 5000 reels. All are upgraded to 5500 speed. All are supertuned. My notes regarding bearings: • The two with spool bearings installed do not outperform the one on which I retained the bronze bushings. They might be just slightly smoother than the bushing one, but that's up for debate. • The bushing reel and the 5000c both have worm gear bearings. They more easily outperform the reel which retains the plastic bushings on the idler, so much so that the remaining reel with the worm gear bushings is being upgraded to worm gear bearings next week when the parts get here. • All three are being upgraded to cog wheel (turns the worm gear) bushings to cog wheel bearings next week as well. I've noticed a lot of friction in the cog wheel that could be reduced. • I have one bushing reel in which I've replaced the plastic drive bushing with a ball bearing. It's much smoother, and the other two are getting the same treatment, again, next week. When all is said and done, two of the 5000 reels will have six bearings, five of which will run while casting, and one will have four bearings, three of which will run on casting. Currently, the bushing reel is on a 5'6" MH spinnerbait rod. After polishing the bushings, oiling with light oil, and installing the worm gear bearings, it casts 1/2oz accurately to 35 yards with about 40 yards being maximum. The 5000c with worm gear bearings and drive shaft bearings has approximately the same range and accuracy as the bushing reel. It is on a 6'6" M rod. The last 5000, the one that hasn't had the worm gear bushings replaced with bearings, is on a 7'0" MH rod. It won't cast 1/2oz as far as the other MH with the worm gear bearings installed. However, up that to 1oz, and it will go 50 yards. I look forward to seeing what it will do once I get the bearings installed in the worm gear assembly. In short, I see three bearings that are likely critical to a reel's casting performance/ease of casting (which is what I'm really after!) Reduce this to no bearings really necessary if bronze bushings are used and the levelwind does not run during the cast, just so long as the reel is lubed correctly. Of course, for smooth operation during reeling, bearings should be used in a couple, few spots. I've been opening up a lot of reels lately, and some of the smoothest surprised me. Mostly, they had the fewest ball bearings. Parts were just worn in well and/or polished nicely. Josh

Grandpa had some steel line-through rods and they disappeared shortly before he died. I would have liked to have had one. I would have mounted my other Grandfather's Bronson on it. Regards, Josh

Never heard of such a thing and it sounds like an excellent idea! I was thinking about paying the reel forward here to a new guy, but I do believe it will be better as parts. An old 1310 will be a better first reel. Josh

I can't really tell what it is. EX200? If so, I had one I worked on and tested before giving it away. It was a pretty acceptable reel with a 5:1 gear ratio. Regards, Josh

Hi Guys, I've been setting hooks since before I can remember, though Dad says I had a bad habit once of running up the bank to try to set the hook while shore fishing. I seem to sorta' remember that and was surprised it was as simple as lifting the rod fast. Anyway... Most bass I've dealt with do one of a couple things: They'll either grab the lure and run, or they'll hit it first to stun it. Now, when they hit it first, it's a quick, hard hit. That hard hit is followed by a BOOM (at least, that's what I hear). So, I have a tap. I wait a split second. The boom is coming, and fast. It's not a tap..... boom. It's more of a tap-BOOM if you get my drift. Very fast. If you feel a tap-BOOM--tap, the fish critter done spit it out. Other times they'll not bother with the stunning tap. It's then sort of a tap-pull and happens very vast. Then rarely, at least for me, I feel the lure action stop. That means set the hook. Try doing this: Feel the tap. DON'T SET THE HOOK. Prepare to, but wait for it. On the BOOM, set it. When you set it, do this: 1. Don't lower the rod tip. I know common knowledge these days is to lower the rod tip in preparation for the set. I disagree. Like in martial arts, chambering a punch or hook set will cost time you need. 2. You shouldn't have a lot of slack. When you set the hook, crank the handle 1/4 to 1/2 turn. In other words, pull up on the rod and push down on the handle. You get about double power and speed. No need to chamber. 3. Practice thinking tap-BOOM-set, tap-BOOM-set, so when you feel that boom, you wait about one heartbeat prior to executing the set. Dang, this sounds a lot more complex than it really is! I promise, it works. Regards, Josh

Well hey, if we're counting the Abu 5000 series, I'll throw in with the one rod and reel I grab when I want to catch fish: Yup, that's a ball bearing! Bearing locations I have two more of these, one which was Dad's, and a 5000c I traded for from this board. This one I left with bronze bushings in place because I love how it rides the oil film when I cast, but I did do some experimenting, as you can see. 1. Started with a super tune. 2. Installed 4.7:1 gears. This made it a 23 IPT reel. 3. Installed carbon drags (smooooth!) 4. Extended the drag adjustment range. 5. Installed bearings at the locations shown in that last picture. I felt they were needed in the levelwind's worm gear because this levelwind runs during the cast. This reel has gone from doing a max of 30 yards with 20 accurate yards to a 40 yard maximum distance (so far) caster with about 30 to 35 of those yards being very accurate. The other two 5000 reels have ball bearings on the spool axles and the same 4.7:1 gears. I have more bearings for the levelwinds on the way, and now that I know I can replace the crank's plastic bushing with a ball bearing, I'll be doing that with the other two as well. I'm going to end up with a couple 5 ball bearing '70s 5000 reels! They fish with anything modern, and I'm still trying to figure out why folks have problems with the dog anti-reverse system. If you have trouble setting the hook, you're not doing something right. On the hook set, you need to reel forward as the rod comes back. it gives a little extra power when setting the hook. This should be done with modern reels with IAR bearings, too! Regards, Josh

Thank you. What you just said to me is "parts reel"! The spool is plastic, so I wondered. I find that even junk reels usually have a few good things in them. Regards, Josh