Josh Smith

Hi Folks, I'm really not digging this Black Max. I like it well enough, but its magnetic braking system is something I just can't get used to. I find this strange because I have a 5600 MagTrax that I like just fine. Is there another reel, same style and operation as the Black Max, that has centrifugal instead of magnetic braking? Thank you, Josh

Hi All, I was fishing the Mississinewa Spillway a few years ago after they'd opened the gates about halfway. Trying for bass, I probing structure around a bridge a little ways down. Something kept hitting the ancient inline spinnerbait Grandpa had left me. It would just tap the lure. I thought it was debris or current; Dad (who was with me) thought the same thing. I was on a 4.7:1 Ambassadeur 5000 with "speed handle" and a MH/F rod, so I figured screw it and next time I felt the bump, I set the hook. That was the only time I've ever seen that that draw work. Whatever was on was stripping the spool! I managed to turn the fish, and started into a fight that I've not experienced before or since. Initially, I was almost dragged into the water. (That spillway has steep sides and very little footing room.) I grabbed the pole's handle with both hands and brought line in whenever I felt that fish turn. The water was warm, and that fish was fighting. The spillway was lined with fishermen, and all stopped to watch after five minutes had passed. I looked over at Dad once; he was sitting there on the rocks laughing it up. I only said two things to him. Initially, when I thought I was going to go into the river (fast undertow!) I yelled at him that I might need his help, then I regained my footing and concentrated on the fight. When the fight was nearing the 10 minute mark, I could feel whatever was on the end of the line tiring out. I told Dad I was going to land it and I was going to need to come over to where he was. I had been casting from a cement shelf, but he had chosen the part that ran right down into the water. As I started walking over that way, a HUGE fish came to the surface and rolled. I thought it was a huge carp, but it was colored like a freshwater sturgeon. I landed it, and it was easily three feet long and looked to me like a carp. I could not lift it myself, and it fought so hard that I decided it had earned a quick release to recoup, whatever it was. It had bent a very stout hook on a very stout spinnerbait. An old fisherman who meandered over identified it as a quillback. I've since looked up quillbacks on the Internet and either it was far-and-away a national record, or it wasn't a quillback. According to everything I've read, the record for one of these in MO, anyway, is 6lbs 10oz. I can easily lift 6lbs 10oz with that rod. So, I don't know what it was for sure. I know it was three or four feet long, bent a very strong hook, and took about 20 minutes total to land. Josh

Bank fishing, I take 1. Ultralight spinning, 4'6" (I think) with the smallest reel I could find, which happened to be a Pflueger. 2. Daiwa MH "Bill Dance Spinnerbait Rod" 5'6" with modified Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 5000 3. Lightning Rod, 7', with 5400 (I think) MagTrax or whatever they call it. Sometimes coming with me are 1. Medium-action 6'6" Jupiter Rod with Abu Garcia Black Max. Still unsure about the Black Max. The magnetic brake on the 5400 works well but the Black Max just doesn't seem balanced right for it. A centrifugal brake would work much better, I think. Anyone know if there's a version of the Black Max with centrifugal braking? 2. Fiberglass tournament rod from the 1970s, made in Japan, with a Quantum 1310. I ordered some really deep divers and will be exploring bottoms with them until I get the boat and sonar going. 3. Occasionally, a fly rod. Never caught anything on a fly rod and just finished fixing up Grandpa's old one. I have seen exactly ZERO other fly fishermen around here on the lakes, and I am always looking for something the fish haven't seen yet. I've tied some flies, got decent, and think that maybe they might catch something. I've also taken rods with Grandpa's old reels out, like the pre-freespool baitcaster, for example. I've not fished with his ancient Zebco 33 in a while, but I gave it to Mom as it was her Dad's. It depends on your goal, really. Anymore, catching fish is secondary to me getting away for a while. Josh

You're right; it's 4.7:1. Dad may have misremembered or I may have misheard. The other one I bought from eBay looks like it may have been upgraded too, so that's a good thing. I'm off to try to find faster gears, though! Regards, Josh

Two words: Eye bleach.

I was using Google Picture Search. I typed in "Bass Masters" but my finger didn't hit the "B" hard enough. My eyes... they burn.

Man, I'm the opposite. I went from a Lyman turret to a single-stage Rockchucker. It appeals to my OCD. Josh

Thanks folks. I grew up with Dad having a lot of Japanese business friends/associates. One, Mosaki, was pretty cool, spoke pretting decent English, and didn't mind sparring with an American country boy who did martial arts as a hobby. (He also didn't mind winning, dammit!) Musashi and Marie were a bit older, but Musashi loved guns and couldn't have them in Japan. They also had us over for traditional meals. This is when I realized I love raw sea bass. Seeing the precision at which these folks did everything, I didn't figure the Japanese would release anything without perfecting it. It's a matter of honor. My next question is, are these ultralight only? I have UL, M, and MH rigs. Nothing light. These things are spendy for me, so I'm doing my research! Thanks again, Josh

Hi Folks, That's the question. Are spybaits worth buying? Even more importantly, do they do what they say? Josh

It may have been 5.3, but man, I know how fast it retrieves. Could be the spool diameter that makes up for it. I'll count the teeth next time I'm in it. Thank you, Josh

That's one thing I'm looking at. Some of the rivets are covered by swelled wood. I've been hoping that we'd get hot and dry conditions for about a week, but man, this is Indiana. I guess I'm also looking for a general idea of how to go about this. Like, does anyplace make replacement flooring? Things like that. Figuring out the way to do it isn't a problem. I just figure someone has been through this before and I can save some time. Thank you, Josh

Hi Folks, During my early teenage years my dad bought a boat called the Big Fisherman. It's a nice deep v hull with a livewell and a few other goodies. Nothing real fancy, just a good solid fishing boat that's stable in the water. Lots of good times there. Fast forward. I moved out, Dad fought cancer and won, but mostly lost interest in fishing because he's older and has bad knees. The boat was neglected. Old leaves and such accumulated, turned to soil, and nurished plants. A half-hearted attempt was made to resurrect it a few years ago, and we took it out. I noticed the carpet and wooden flooring was mushy, and it sat some more. I finally have some time to do something about it. The wood is pretty much shot. I need to tear it out. The hull is sound, as is the trolling motor. The 15hp kicker (it's only rated to 35hp, and Dad didn't want even that much) is leaking from the lower, so that will be going to my old highschool music teacher, who now has a outboard repair shop for his retirement tinkering. I need to know how to get this wood out of there. It's riveted in place. I can pull up a lot of it, but other parts present a challenge. I do not know if I'll be putting new wooden flooring down or if I'll keep it bare. I sort of think I might find a way to put plastic flooring down; something that won't rot. The boat looks like this: Stock picture from Smokercraft What's the best way to remove the wood? Just keep pulling it from the rivets as I've been doing? I've restored cars but never a boat. Tips would be helpful. Thank you, Josh

Yes, I think I'll use your guys. 0119, I'll call him, I'm a gunsmith and these reels appeal to me in the mechanical aspects. The problem is I need to talk to other folks with regard to parts, and parts names. I catalog in my mind what each thing is and does, but I don't necessarily know the names of each. Probably will by the time I'm done. I don't know about googling this Catfish1 or Castawaylakes. I myself am very busy, and have a backorder running. I've had my share of bad threads just because folks don't think I'm fast enough. I don't know if this is the case with this feller, but I will reserve judgement simply because there may be circumstances I wouldn't know about. Most folks don't know what's involved in my business and what goes on behind the scenes. There may be something going on with Ol' Catfish. Now, that said, I'm going to try your guy first because you're recommending him. A good recommendation will most likely get me to try a place. A bad thread may or may not keep me away from the target of the thread. So, your guy first because he sounds like he really knows what he's doing, then Don Lovino. Do you have Jerry's number? Thank you, Josh

Not deep. I keep prices down to pre-panic prices, and so my income is not what it could be. I just don't think it's fair to gouge folks, though. There are some I'll no longer do business with even after gunstuff prices returns to normal. Josh

The gears that Dad put in this '75 back before I was born are 6.2:1 or 6.3:1. It was an aftermarket kit that came from Japan if I recall. I'll have to ask again. I know for a fact it's as fast as the Black Max I have and bloody well outperforms that Black Max in about every area. The other 5000 I have is ineed 3.8:1. This is the one I need to upgrade. That first one, though, I was out tearing up the water with spinnerbaits this evening trying to get a reaction bite. Overfished lake, about 1" of rainfall the a couple nights ago, murky water, and post-spawn got bass fry hitting the spinners, but I couldn't find the big bass. It was mostly a spinnerbait test, though. I pretty much want to build the other 5000 into what the first one was modified to be, and I'd like to play with the envelope. We shall see. Josh

Thank you 0119! Found this: http://www.castawaytackleshop.com/Abu-Garcia-Brass-Gear-Parts-s/1853.htm and this http://www.castawaytackleshop.com/Reel-Upgrades-s/1893.htm I was looking under bass fishing and not catfish fishing, so that may have been part of the problem with the searches before It appears they have bent drag stars, too. Methinks I'll call and talk to them on Monday. Regards, Josh

Hi Folks, I love the Ambassadeur series, and the 5000 is my favorite all-time reel. I do have some questions, though, for those of you who may be a bit older than I. (I'm 36). First, I have two standard Ambassadeur 5000 reels. One has high-speed gears Dad got in the '70s. They were in his, which from what I can tell, was built in '75. I want to upgrade the other. Is ther any place to get them? I found a source that advertises that they're for "Ultracast" Ambassadeur reels, but I have no idea what an Ultracast is. Second, I've alwasy believed in ball bearings over bushings, and the standard 5000 has bronze bushings. Can bearings from a 5000C fit a standard 5000? I don't hotrod cars or anything else these days, but I'm not against a bit of modernizing. Bearings, in my experience, don't wear as fast as static bushings, for example. Thanks for any help you can provide. Josh

I was in auto tech school once-upon-a-time. It was during the transition from electronic carburetors to TBI, so I had to learn both. I got singled out for most of the diagnostics by the instructor, and then I passed the stuff down the line to be fixed by other kids who had other specialties. So one day I brought my Jeep Cherokee in. It had stopped heating, and I didn't know much about the climate controls. Lambert (instructor) opened the passenger door and said, "Yep. Smith, you see that water running down from the heater core?" "I do," said I, "but I was running defroster and the A/C pump kicked on. Are you sure it's not water?" "Taste it!" "Taste it, Lamberto? But it's poison!" "Eh, a little won't hurt you. Taste it!" And he stuck his finger in it and tasted it himself. I followed suite. It tasted sweet, like Kool-Aide. "That's antifreeze, Smith! And you have a leaking heater core!" And thus I learned automotive climate control diagnostics and the pure joy of changing modern heater cores. I still taste antifreeze when I need to be sure. Hasn't hurt me yet... I don't think. Josh

Hi Folks, Some of you remember when Belle was born. My wife was in a car wreck and went into labor early the next morning. Belle was about four weeks premature. She really didn't show it then, and definitely doesn't show it now. She was helping Big Brother and Daddy sort fishing lures, and decided she wanted to help. She loves this plastic worm (Zoom, I think). She is of course supervised and not allowed to chew on it! Josh

Sulfuric acid... That spray that was mentioned is just baking soda in water and pressurized. I would get some of the pressurized stuff, poke a needle hole in the seat, and run the spray's straw down through it. Let 'er rip! Josh P.S. Wear goggles.

Bass are not active most of the time. Josh

Hi Folks, The Boy and I went out last night for about an hour, hour and a half before his bedtime to toss some lures into the local small lake. There had been a cold front with rain the nigh before, but the water was still relatively clear. I was trying for a reaction strike with a 4" Reaction Strike Bass Harasser. Well, I got a reaction strike, but only half-hearted. I watched the bass strike, but it only struck lightly at the tail. It did not hold on at all. After that I tried some small swimbaits, a Texas rig, and few other things on the ultralight, then switched to some spinners I repaired recently, just to try them out. It's a heavily-fished lake, and fishing is challenging in the best of times. I probably would have stayed longer and tried more baits and techniques had The Boy not been there, but he had a busy day. Josh

I have the smallest President, the 6920 (I think that's the number). It takes 100yds of 4lb mono. I really like it, with two caveats: 1. It's made in China. In my experience, made in China stuff just isn't quite as good and this reel does feel made in China. (I looked it up after feeling it so it wasn't a prejudice on my part.) 2. The bail is just slightly harder to trip on this one than on others. It's loosened up some but will never be as easy to trip. A lot of the time I flick it closed manually. This is good for finesse fishing, so it's not a huge deal. Josh

Try this: http://avidangler8.tripod.com/id10.html I used to prefer the Albright, but it was complicated to tie. I now prefer the Seaguar knot -- it's very simple and fast to do. Josh

I go from 4' to 8' on the leaders, depending on what I'm doing. I used to be a snap-swivel junkie, but now I just tie fast. Braided line doesn't have the memory of mono, and twisting with spinnerbaits has ceased to be much of a concern. Josh