desmobob

Big, bulky and noisy lures, retrieved fast, seem to work best for me... big spinner baits, buzz baits/buzz frogs, giant in-line dressed spinners, etc. I absolutely love to see that wake appear when a pike accelerates like a top fueler to nail a surface lure. If it happens in close, it almost makes you want to throw the rod down and run to the other end of the boat... ? ?

Some of my reels have a long spool shaft that I guess goes all the way through the pinion to keep it in line as it moves outwards when the cast button is pushed or in to engage the spool pin when retrieving is started. The GH100's spool shaft has just a short nub on the pinion side extending past the spool's cross pin. I took that reel apart today to look for potential issues that might be causing the pinion to hang up and not move back in fully to engage the spool pin. The only thing I found was a very tiny and very sharp "step" cut into the very end of the spool shaft (pinion end). I'm guessing it isn't supposed to be there and I can imagine how it could possibly stop the pinion from easily/completely sliding back over the shaft. I took some 1200 grit paper and smoothed it, without completely removing it. While I had the reel apart, I swapped in some ABEC-7 stainless/ceramic hybrid spool bearings. ? Back yard testing seemed to show that I didn't hurt anything. And I also didn't experience any hanging up of the pinion. But that has only happened out on the water during more extensive use and hasn't shown itself in the back yard (where I do cast with that reel occasionally to compare BFS rods, experiment with throwing very light baits, etc.). Hopefully, I'll get out soon for some on-the-water, fish-catching tests to see if I may have corrected the problem.

All right! It's making you happy already! Good for you! Having your thumb right there on top of the spool, ready to apply some pressure, gives you the kind of smooth control feel you just don't get with a spinning reel. It feels so much more natural to feather a cast with a baitcaster so it drops right where you want it. And baitcasting seems more fun for some reason... One thing I forgot to bring up earlier is your preference for which hand you want to use for reeling. I'm right-handed and prefer left-hand retrieve baitcasting reels. Other right-handed folks prefer right-handed retrieve reels. It gets debated endlessly and it boils down to personal preference. Something to think about when you undoubtedly buy your second baitcaster in the future... Fish your new outfit in good health.

Try this one from the Lew's site If it doesn't work, let me know. I'm pretty sure I have the paperwork that came with my Tournament MB. Mine's about five or more years old, if that matters. I know they've made some changes to that reel recently.

OK, I'll bite... what color? ?

Agreed. It may be the most user-friendly braking system out there for ease of set-up and effectiveness. And it does really well with light baits.

Mine are still rust free, too. The OneTen Magnums came with strong hooks, BTW.

It sounds like they were very similar to the original Tournament MB. Maybe the predecessor?

I went out on a salmon charter out of Westport, WA many years ago with my brother-in-law. He suggested I take some Dramamine the night before. "Are you kidding? That stuff is for p***ies! I spend all my free time on the water!" I told him. Yeah... fresh water. I did a lot of chumming but never stopped fishing. And we laughed a lot about it. I think that helped me get through the very long day. I had a friend who, despite being very careful, got Montezuma's Revenge while we were on a saltwater fly fishing trip on the southern Baja. He was down for a day but got some help from a guy on the same trip who was, believe it or not, an older veterinarian who had just started med school (human type) and had brought the best drugs for it, just in case. I got a norovirus at the completion of a six-day bicycle trip across Kansas. It was a big organized ride and lots of folks got sick. I was lucky in that I finished the ride before I got it. I had scheduled two extra days in Kansas City, MO at the end of the ride to sample some barbecue joints and go out on the town before I went home. I ended up spending both days on the bathroom floor of my motel room and was just barely well enough to get on the plane to get home and back to work on time.

OMG... after shooting my mouth (keyboard?) off all through this thread, I was wrong about it being a Tournament MB. ? After reading Boogey Man's post, I went down to the basement and looked at my Tournament MB. It has the letters "MB" after the word "Tournament" on the reel. But the real and most obvious key is that the model number, TS1SH, is clearly printed on the OP's reel! I'm such a knucklehead. I apologize to everyone! Thanks for pointing out the facts and setting us straight, Boogey Man! It still does have Lew's best braking system from that time period, though. ?

Read the first post. It's more or less the classic "It's expensive and, because I can't or don't want to spend that much, it can't really be worth it" kind of thing. For the hundredth time.

I forgot to add that for the OP... I keep my Tournament Pros and Tournament MB set with two of the centrifugal brakes on, the magnetic brake adjusted for wind conditions, and the spool control set so it just starts to slow down the drop of whatever bait is tied on. They are nice-casting reels and I rarely, if ever, re-adjust the centrifugal brakes.

The OP was asking about the Lew's reel in the photo that his buddy gave him... it's an older reel: the Tournament MB. At the time, it was considered a great value because it offered the same top-of-the-Lew's-lineup brakes as the more expensive Tournament Pro model. The OP's question was answered and he was given some background on his reel. You are clouding the water by bringing up other, later versions!

You are merely proving the point. I hope the mods close this thread soon...

No... the older Tournament Pro and Tournament MB each had the combination of four selectable centrifugal brakes on the spool and an externally adjustable magnetic brake on the side plate. I have at least a half-dozen Tournament Pros and one Tournament MB. 2011 Tackletour Lew's Tournament Pro review

True. And everyone enjoys the fishing experience in their own way. It's interesting that once the cost or money part of it enters the discussion, the tone of the conversation seems to start changing...

The Tournament MB was maybe the best value in Lew's line-up several years ago. It's a nice reel and I'll bet you'll enjoy it. Other than the metal vs. carbon handle, I can't really feel any difference between my older Tournament MB and Tournament Pros (and I don't think the spec sheets show any notable difference).

Sagan throws a OneTen; Tyson, a Pointer.

The JDM versions also warp time. You don't age at all while you're throwing them.

Then why are you asking?

I picked a Tracker Pro170 as my first. It is literally ready to drive away from the dealer and go fish; just load your tackle, fill up the fuel tank and throw on a PFD. When I picked it up, the boat and trailer were registered, stickers were on... everything was done and it really was ready to hit the water. It may be entry-level, but it gets you started with a low price and no fussing around buying and mounting a sonar, trolling motor, etc. I upgraded the sonar fairly soon, but I just now replaced the trolling motor after six seasons of use. I really have no complaints with this boat.

Tater tots! A big plate of them with three hen bullets over easy on top of them, all covered with a very heavy dose of Frank's Hot Sauce. I buy eggs by the twin 18-packs and Frank's by the quart refill size... eggs are better when they're floating in Frank's Hot Sauce.

It looks like someone forgot to put the top back on the cookie jar when they were done...

Pretty selfish of you, depriving the northern pike of a high-class meal like that... ? I sometimes throw a buzz frog a few times before I tie on a pricey Megabass bait in an attempt to de-pike the area...

Not exactly an equipment failure... I was wade fishing for striped bass with a fly rod and I somehow got one of those tangles around the rod tip that you just can't shake out. I had just made a cast. It was a nine-foot, two-piece rod with a heavy reel on it so I took it apart so I could reach the tip without dunking the reel or risking breaking the tip section. As soon as I took the rod apart, a striper took the fly. I had to play him on the rod's tip section and hand-line him in. Thank goodness it wasn't a big one. In hindsight, I'm thinking I might have been able to put the rod back together with the fish on, but I didn't think to try. If there's ever a next time...