redmeansdistortion

Welcome! Some of us here still love Abus! They make up the majority of my reels. These ones are my favorites.

Two-piece is more a JDM thing. The Japanese typically drive smaller vehicles used in combination with public transit so a 1 piece can prove unwieldy in many circumstances. Not all JDM rods are multi-piece, but they do make up the majority. What the Japanese do to retain sensitivity is to use a spigot joint instead of a slip joint like is commonly used here. A spigot joint flexes while a slip joint will have a flat spot where the ferrules attach when under load. Very few USDM two-piece rods use a spigot joint, while in Japan very few use a slip joint. In Japanese rods, you usually aren't seeing slip joints unless you're looking at super budget friendly offerings.

Be careful, the rabbit hole has no bottom with the small Ambassadeurs. Every part, save for the side plates, can be had in the aftermarket. Avail now makes a pinion yoke for them, which is great because Abu stopped making them a few years back and as the supply dried up the prices skyrocketed. What used to be a $3 part was going for as much as $50 at the very high end, but usually around $20 or so. Depending on what you want to do, you will be looking at spending anywhere from $300 to $1000.

To add to what @bulldog1935 said; the rods made for finesse often have an upper limit comparable to standard bass rods. Some can have an upper limit as high as an ounce due to the way the blank is constructed while at the same time having a lower limit as low as 1/16 or even less. Rods most would consider BFS have a progressive taper which features a limber tip for throwing the lighter stuff coupled with a stout backbone to fight bigger fish and throw more standard sized baits. Many feel that BFS in general is in the 1/4 ounce and under range, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I feel this is because here in the West our first exposure to it was watching the Japanese fish stream trout on short UL and L power rods so our brains automatically attribute it to ultralight fishing. In Japan, trout really isn't even considered the realm of BFS as BFS is most attributed to bass and inshore fishing. Over here we like to lump them all together.

Welcome fellow Michigander. I'm in Wyandotte. Who let these Ohio folks in here?

X9 is really good line, but take their diameters with a grain of salt. I run the 6lb and 8lb on my BFS and spinning reels. They are #0.8 and #1.0 lines on the Goh scale which makes X9 a little thicker compared to the mm/in measurements also on the label. Speaking of which, the Goh rating printed on the label seems to be more accurate than the mm/in measurements. When compared side by side with my YGK Upgrade X8, they both look to be of a very similar diameter. Other than the stated diameter, I have no issue with the line itself.

The reel should be fine for pike, but the rod should be a tad heavier, in the MH to H 1/2-1 1/2oz range since you'll probably be throwing bigger spoons, spinnerbaits, and jerkbaits. Most pike in our state don't get much above 30" since they directly compete with musky. In waters where musky aren't present, pike will get much larger. If you're wanting to fish musky, I'd go with a 300 size reel loaded with 80lb Power Pro on an 8' 2-6oz rod. You can fish musky with lighter tackle, but they are fragile and landing them quickly ensures their survival. Which waters are you fishing?

I've been using Super Lube the last few years. It's a PTFE grease like Cal's, but unlike Cal's it's fully synthetic and doesn't contain hydrocarbons. I use the NLGI1 grade for any non-conventional reel, similar to Cal's Purple. The startup is markedly better with the softer grease than it is with the thicker NLGI2 (Cal's Tan). For my winter reels, I will use NLGI0 just to keep those drags moving when the mercury is down there, though I never use it on customer reels.

Reel X is good but not light enough for BFS (ISO 32) and a low viscosity index so the viscosity doesn't remain as stable across temperature variations but it is a good general purpose oil. For your average non BFS or spinning reel, it's perfectly fine.

You can make your own TSI 301, kind of. 301 uses a solvent for a carrier that's not plastic friendly, so caution must be used when applying. 321 is the "oil" form. I have oil in quotes because 321 isn't really an oil but a thin film lubricant. It was developed for NASA to lubricate hard drive platters on space bound vehicles and instruments. Many people apply it like an oil but it doesn't spread with the consistency of oil and doesn't dry evenly after setting in. With 321, mix 6 parts 99% medical grade alcohol with 1 part TSI. Shake it up, dip your bearings, and spin dry. This ensures a thin application that lasts and protects moving parts. The alcohol won't damage plastics and evaporates quickly, leaving the TSI behind.

To further elaborate, while one can most definitely catch larger fish on rods with a lesser top end rating, those rods will overly stress those fish because they don't have the backbone to effectively end the fight as quick as possible. Stressed fish often die from exhaustion and being able to prevent that ensures their survival. While this isn't or shouldn't be a concern for those fishing for table fare, it plays to the benefit of the catch and release crowd. This is doubly true when water temperatures are very high as some species do not take to heat as well as others. As most of us here know, fishing is all about finding the right tool for the job, and having that backbone helps when the target species warrants it. Some of these larger species also have a penchant for consuming smaller prey which would equate to a smaller lure for the fisherman, having a rod capable of both a light lure rating and the backbone required to land them is the correct way to do it. The average trout rod with a top end rating of 5g to 7g denotes that it lacks the backbone of say something with a top end in the 10g to 20g range. Watching the Japanese mountain stream fishermen on YouTube, they are quickly able to land those smaller trout with ease because the rods they are using are well within the requirements to quickly and safely land the target species. Conversely, those same fishermen that are chasing silvers, cherry salmon, and steelhead will throw those very same baits; minnow lures and spoons, on rods with a higher top end rating for the exact reasons stated above.

Super Lube ISO 10. It's the thinnest oil you can get without buying a drum of it. Direct from Super Lube it runs about $12 for 4oz. I don't buy oils without a specification sheet or MSDS. FWIW, Duethlon Cast Lube is ISO 22 and often marketed to the BFS crowd. https://www.super-lube.com/multi-use-synthetic-lightweight-oil-50104 https://www.super-lube.com/Content/Images/uploaded/documents/TDS/Technical_Data_Sheet_Multi_Use_Synthetic_Lightweight_Oil.pdf

With braid, I go four wraps around the arbor and terminate with a uni knot and cinch it down good. The line will not slip. I do this with all of my shallow spools.

I too am a one-handed caster. In the BFS world, most of the trout and salmon rods under 7' have a much shorter rear grip compared to the bass rods, making them much better for a one-hander. My Palms Rera Kamuy 6'9" ML has a grip not much longer than my 5' and under creek rods. I really appreciate the range of motion given with the shorter rear grip.

Experiment with the magnets. Two of them are removable with the Shimano FTB so you can tailor it to your style. I fish my Calcutta Conquest BFS without those extra magnets and it throws very well. You're going to love the Curado.

Most US market lines tend to be underrated as far as diameter and strength. When buying US market braid, I like to use 6lb Berkley X9 or 5lb Power Pro which seem to be in the realm of #0.8 or #1.0 Japanese lines as far as diameter and are much stronger than what's printed on the label. If you were to buy something like say YGK Upgrade in the #0.8 size, you'll see the true meaning of thread line. That stuff is super thin, even when compared side by side with a 2lb US market monofilament. US market lines have rather arbitrary measurements while the Japanese stuff adheres to industry standards put forth by the JAFMTA, which is a self regulating body of line manufacturers that have agreed upon standards for line strength for a given diameter. No such regulatory body exists here so essentially what you see on the label has no industry testing standards behind it. This is why many lines are stronger than what's printed, mostly because the manufacturers can get away with making the line slightly thicker so it appears stronger versus competitors.

As always, good stuff @bulldog1935. Where I am in the Great Lakes, BFS can be used with great success for most species outside of musky, king salmon, and sturgeon. With some of them, I can get away with running a shorter UL or L power rod, but when it comes to Great Lakes smallies, Atlantics, steelhead, coho, and lake run browns, something with more backbone works best so I will go with a 6'+ ML to keep those fish under control. Here's one I got last fall; ABU 2500C spooled with #1.0 with a 6lb Maxima leader, Smith Troutin'Spin 6'5" ML 3-12g, and a Daiwa Silver Creek Minnow 50S.

I blow them out with CRC electronics cleaner, it's doesn't damage the plastic and leaves no residue behind. I shoot it till the cleaner is coming out clear then let it dry and oil her up with some ISO 100.

Browsing the Pure Fishing sites of Japan and Europe, there are no Chinese Ambassadeurs offered in those markets. Similarly, the Daiwa Millionaire sold here versus Japan and Europe is a completely different animal as well. The closest we had to the JDM Millionaire was the TD Luna, but it was taken off the market due to slow sales along with the Ryoga. Other than those, we had the CV-Z and CV-X back 20 years ago. Back to Ambassadeurs, there are shops in Europe and Japan that deal exclusively in those whether it's sales or service. Some of those guys charge handsomely for their tuning expertise as well. Casket and Goober Reel Works come to mind on that end. The aftermarket in general is so full of Ambassadeur parts that these reels will be in service for many more years to come. Whether one likes it or not, it's the reel that ushered in everything we have now. Most of the patents ABU held in the middle 20th century relegated competitors to producing knuckle busters. Once those expired, it opened the floodgates for competitors to adopt the same basic design which is still used in every baitcast reel to this day. The only other reel with that sort of influence is the Lew's BB-1 with its disengaging level wind which today we find in most every smaller round and low profile reel presently made.

This guy weighs a whole 6.2 oz. I'm sure I could get to that 6 oz mark using an Avail handle and knobs, but I much prefer the classic looks of the Haneda Craft handle. This is my main creek fishing reel, running one 3mm magnet and a pair of 2mm. It matches up well with the Graywolf 4'11" it's sitting on. The whole combo comes in at 8.8 oz.

Many reels can have a drag clicker added in; have a look at Ali and they're available for most models. I've put one in every reel I own that didn't come with one.

Most stream and river rods work fine with BFS reels though. The difference lies in the application. When you step up to a H or XH, those are for fishing bait in fast current with weights often exceeding 2 ounces. MH and under will typically fall into the BFS category. The H and XH rods aren't thread line rated, but often rated for 2.0 to 3.0 PE which would be more like your usual 30lb+ braid.

Browse Japanese sites, Google translate will come in handy. I own a Major Craft Finetail 7'2" MH rated for 0.6-1.0 PE and 5-21g. It's a finesse rod for mainstream trout and salmon. The line ratings are right in line with the smaller offerings meant for mountain stream trout.

BFS isn't about ultralight fishing. On this side of the world it's the norm to equate it with parabolic ultralight and light spinning rods because that's all we have to go by. It doesn't help that most American YouTubers are clouding the waters trying to cast chicken feathers. BFS rods are designed around progressive taper fly blanks; a limber tip with a stout backbone meant for light line and big fish. They are not the same as your usual light spinning rods. It originated in the 1980s to fish trout in both mountain streams as well as steelhead and salmon in the bigger rivers around Japan. The idea was to use light line for big fish with a shallow spool capable of throwing lighter baits for wary fish. The progressive taper of the rod better protects the lighter lines used. In Japan, BFS typically occupies the ultralight to medium light and sometimes even medium or medium heavy power range with baits going up into the 20g+ range. Most of the trout fishermen are fishing minnow baits in the 4g to 7g+ range on thread line braid with a light leader. The salmon and steelhead guys are fishing baits flirting with an ounce to cope with faster water. The commonality they all have is fishing light line on a shallow spool with a progressive taper rod. That is BFS. Only here does it get equated with ultralight spinning tackle.