redmeansdistortion

That's next on my list. Prices have been going up on those lately too. A year or two back they could be found in the $100 to $150 range give or take. Now they're going over $200 or even closer to $300 from some sellers mostly dependent on braking system. The Mag does sell for more than the centrifugal model.

They can still be had for good prices. If you buy on eBay, you're looking at dropping coin. Browse other places, like Facebook, Let Go, Nextdoor, antique shops, garage sales, estate sales, or even just plain old Craigslist. I paid $120 for my 2500C and $100 for my 1600C IAR, just gotta play the long game. They were both Facebook finds. The expensive part is actually making them BFS reels. Once you get the spool, cog wheel, worm gear, line guide, and spool bearings, you will be another $300+ in it. Not cheap, but when done up they are great. My favorites easy.

I'm a big fan of centrifugal for BFS. I have a few of the small Ambassadeurs outfitted for BFS and they cast easier and are less fiddly on the brake than my Millionaires and my Conquest BFS. While they won't cast sub 1/16 very easy, they are spot on above that with zero spool tension whether I'm doing short range pitches or trying to get more distance. With my magnetic reels, I find myself needing to adjust the brake depending on lure weight and conditions, the Abus are set and forget.

They can, but many overlook the braking system. Many of your Magforce V and Z reels have exceptionally strong magnets because those reels were designed to fish heavier baits. In the case of Daiwa, magnet swaps can be done to tame the braking profile and make them suitable for throwing lighter stuff. I magnet swapped a Millionaire Ringa SSS which was originally a Magforce V reel and it was a very stark difference with the Roro spool. With the factory magnets, it was very choked off and the range of braking was very slim.

A properly functioning drag is supposed to slip, that's the intent. It's supposed to start up smoothly and not stick. A sticky drag will cost you fish as the spool bucks. That's how people like me and @bulldog1935 land bigger fish on smaller tackle. Heck, most bass fisherman use similar sized reels to what I use fishing river king salmon.

Like this? Lol

Most of my reels stay in excellent shape. For all the stomping around the woods I do and fishing the back country, there isn't but the slightest scratch on any of them. I guess it comes with the territory of stream fishing where setting your rod down could mean dirt getting inside your reel. I made it a habit to tuck my rod handle in my wading belt or in my armpit when unhooking fish so it seldom comes into contact with something that may ding it up. If I fished from a boat, my reels probably wouldn't stay as nice since I wouldn't have a spot to set them down.

Many years ago myself and a friend used to drive his Bronco some miles out on Lake St Clair, punch holes, drop the tailgate, and jig perch all night. We haven't had ice thick enough to do such a thing in over 20 years. Some people have tried since, but they usually wind up in the news. Last time I personally witnessed it was a guy with a new at the time Avalanche still with the paper license plate from the dealer. He drove it out on to Anchor Bay and down she went. I was sitting in my shanty and heard a loud crack. I looked out the peep hole and saw the bed of the truck bobbing around. Luckily the owner made it out unscathed but insurance here doesn't cover your vehicle if it leaves ground. He was on the hook for the truck plus whatever cleanup the EPA fined him.

Lake St Clair is where you want to go. It's also the Lake Okeechobee of smallmouth fishing. Our limit is 25 perch per person, and when you're on top of a school of them you can limit out very, very quickly. Some years back it was 50 but the numbers went down due to the abundance of walleye which prey on them. Speaking of walleye, the limit on those is 5 fish with a minimum size of 15". Lots of bull gills and crappies about as well. There's nothing like peering through a hole in the ice watching the action and seeing a big musky cruise through and disperse the crowd for a few minutes. I can direct you to some good spots, been fishing the lake for 35 years. Unfortunately, we don't have any viable ice at the moment. The cold snap we had around Christmas gave us good ice for about a week, but the warm-up soon after got rid of most of it. I can keep you posted of the ice conditions if it's something you want to do.

You have the older style 2 pin brake. I'm partial to those since there are different size brake shoes you can get for them. White are the heaviest and usually how they come from the factory, black shoes are middle weight, and blue are lightweight. You can also swap to the ultralight fiber blocks as used in the Pro Rocket reels, but you would need a new clutch washer to accommodate that's slightly different from what you have. Conversely, you can always remove one of the brake shoes you have to achieve a similar effect. Lastly, did you check your axle to make sure it was snapped into the axle clip that sits on top of the tension cap shim? The axle is fixed on these unlike the older models that had the spool shaft pressed into the spool.

It's one of my favorites. I use it for skinny water and for wider streams and rivers I use a Smith Troutin'Spin BC Classic 6'5" ML. Those are usually what's in tow when I'm spending time in the woods.

Check how many shims you have in the tension knob. Typically, one or two will be installed.

The big thing to keep in mind when it comes to bearing upgrades, you're at the mercy of two things. Your brake and your thumb. Ideally, you will adjust your braking to get the full potential of your new bearings. Not just brake setting, but getting in there and actually changing things like adding/removing magnets in the case of Lew's or other Doyo reels, using lighter brake shoes with friction brakes, or in the case of Daiwa, using a different inductor spring or adding another shim to the inductor, or even swapping magnet assemblies. This is the nitty gritty of reel tuning, getting in there and making real adjustments that alter the character of the reel itself. The idea is to strike a balance between castability and distance. Here's a case study, a Daiwa Millionaire Ringa SSS that was originally a Magforce Z reel. I wanted to convert this to a BFS Millionaire. Where most would simply swap the spool and bearings, I found the performance very lacking. Here you can see the original magnet assembly on the left, and the new Millionaire CT magnet assembly on the right. Notice how it's thinner, it will be much more conducive to throwing the small stuff I intend to throw and won't be choked off when I go more than 1/4 brake. The factory magnet assembly was far too strong for finesse fishing. The reel itself was intended to cast effectively from 3/8 on up, which it did very well. With a finesse spool and SiC bearings, there was very little range of motion in the braking. It was all or nothing. No bearing would've been able to address that since I was at the mercy of the braking system. Here is what I was dealing with. The top photo below shows the original magnet assembly, and the bottom after the swap. The cool thing about reels is that so many share platforms that it's often entirely possible to roll your own exactly how you want it. This reel can now really stretch its legs. Everything has been addressed for me to bend it to my will; brakes, spool, and bearings. I can bomb anything from 1/16 on up completely controlled, and can even cast less than that providing the wind conditions are cooperative and I'm being realistic with the distance I can attain. It's a fun rig and spends time in the creeks in my area chasing trout and smallmouth.

In Michigan most of the designated trout streams close from the end of September through the end of April, the only ones opens are those that connect directly to the Great Lakes while their headwaters remain closed. This river connects right to Lake St Clair and is an excellent smallmouth river during summer.

No waiting for ice out for trout around these parts. The fishing is still great.

The JDM Daiwa Bass X rods are some of my favorites and sit in that $50 to $75 range depending on exchange rate. I own 3 of them (6'4" L casting, 6'6" ML casting, 6'4" ML spinning) and use them for most of my bass fishing.

I usually order my Daiwa parts from Japan, typically plat.co.jp. I get the parts much faster and best of all, I can order whenever instead of waiting for somebody to be at the office and having to get on the phone. Daiwa USA sends parts on horseback, probably on a horse destined for the glue factory as I usually have to wait 2 to 3 weeks. They ship FedEx Smartpost, so your parts will tour the country before they find their way to your local PO for final delivery. The only Daiwa reels I will order parts for domestically are models that don't share a platform with a JDM counterpart, like the SS Tournament for instance.

They definitely spook here too, but they still hit on bigger baits. It's usually the bigger browns that spook the second they see you. The rainbows and brook trout don't unless you walk right up on them.

Trout patterns usually work best for me. Steelhead spawn in my local creek, during summer rainbow trout patterns produce a lot of big browns for me since they're feeding on rainbow fry and parr from the March/April spawn.

Trout are not shy, they will readily hit d**n near anything. The most common misconception is that trout need tiny lures. Tiny lures usually gets you tiny fish or tank scrubbers. Rapala F5, F7, CD5, and CD7 are my go-to trout lures. Flicker Shads are also highly effective. In general, bigger trout will hit a minnow style lure more readily than a small spinner. Bigger meals mean more energy gained for less energy used. Spoons also work very well like Little Cleo and Mepps Silver Wolf.

It'll work just fine. Millions of them were made over the years. You'll always be able to get parts for them and parts from other Ambassadeurs work across many models both new and old. These are workhorses that respond great to mods and upgrades and can be dragged through the mud and back and still work just fine.

A used Ambassadeur 5500C or C3 will be way better than any of that stuff. I see them on marketplace for less than $50 on a regular basis. A good cleaning, lube, and carbon drag washers will have you off and running.

Wading boots should be snug but not tight, the ankle support is truly needed when wading. A foot injury while in the water is not a good situation to be in and can very easily turn dangerous. Wading a river presents lots of opportunities to roll an ankle; uneven bottom, substrate changing from gravel to soft sand, logs, rocks, etc. Lastly, that god awful black muck which can really do a number on you if you aren't mindful of it, very easy to twist an ankle freeing yourself. Good wading boots, like those made by Simms, Orvis, LL Bean, or Patagonia are typically as comfortable as a pair of hiking boots. They will still remain comfortable even being snug. Wear some thick wool or alpaca socks too, they add comfort and keep your feet from stinking. When wading, comfort should take a back seat to safety.

It is a nice spool, great in that 1/8 to 1/2 range. The 1012 SV is very similar, but a bit more shallow so it'll hold less line which will keep the total weight of the spool down. Beware of it in the SS SV. The SS SV has weak magnets and the 1012 and 1016 SV spools have short inductors which can make for a wild spool in that reel. On the up side, it will be better for distance but will need a little more thumb input.

I've purchased 9 rods from Japan mostly because no USDM equivalent exists, all are exactly what I needed for what I do. It's kind of a bummer not having a warranty, but I have yet to make a warranty claim on a rod in my 35 years of fishing. I try to take good care of my gear.