redmeansdistortion

I like to use Super Lube ISO 220 gear oil for my frame bearings and worm gear. On the SAE scale, it's 90W. The Velocite No. 6 I referenced above is a super low viscosity ISO 10 like the sewing machine oil you're using. Here's a handy little chart I like to use when looking at various oils.

Check with Gray Wolf Customs here in Michigan. The guy makes some really high quality rods, mostly from glass but he also does graphite and carbon. He is trout people like you and I, and has recently been getting into the L and UL casting rod game. @bulldog1935 knows the guy well via another forum.

Reel specific oils aren't a requirement. Chances are much of it is just repackaged stuff you can buy elsewhere for either cheaper or a larger quantity for a similar price. Some that I like to use are Mobile Velocite No. 6, Super Lube ISO 10, and TSI 321. These can all be had at very fair prices in a quantity that will probably last the rest of your life. The Super Lube ISO 10 and TSI 321 costs right around $10 for 4 ounces, and Velocite No 6 can be had for $20 per pint.

The US and EU diameters are grossly inaccurate on it, but the goh rating printed for the Asian markets is a much more reliable indicator of its true diameter. The 6lb is #0.8, which is about 0.15mm diameter. 8lb is #1.0, which is about 0.17mm, and the 10lb is #1.5, or 0.205mm, a similar diameter to your average 6lb test mono. Other than the diameter inaccuracies printed on the label, I really like the x5 and x9 a lot. It has been my go-to braid the last couple of years. I prefer it to Power Pro, Sufix 832, and J-Braid.

Sweet, let us know how you like that LTX. I too am interested in it, but would like to read more about it before throwing down the money. Did you order the JDM or USDM Zenon LTX? The JDM variant has a spool similar to the Revo ALC-BF7 and LTX-BF8, which are shallow spool BFS reels. The USDM LTX looks to have a deeper spool like the JDM Zenon MG7.

I believe it's called an offset clutch because one side of the thumb bar is longer than the other. For instance, with @ATA, he casts right and reels left, and his thumb will naturally contact the longer half of the thumb bar.

It's definitely a work of art. I really love mine, but I do like my Millionaire CT better. Aside from the super crisp thumb bar on the Calcutta Conquest BFS, the Millionaire definitely feels more refined even though it has no micro gearing.

That one is for the older style, the BFS is based on the 2014 model. On the newer ones, there's no long pin under the thumb bar, but instead a short one that's machined directly into the frame. By removing the plastic spacer, it should be possible to move the thumb bar over enough to clear the pin and remove it.

I love Berkley X5 and X9, but the diameters on the box are way off unless you are going by the 号 "goh" number. I use the 6lb (0.8号) and 8lb (1.0号) on my finesse casting reels. The 6lb is of a similar diameter to 2lb mono and the 8lb is closer to 3lb diameter even though Berkley prints the US and EU diameters on them as being the equivalent to frog's hair.

You should be able to remove the screw from the clutch cam that holds on the thumb bar, then slide the bar over a bit to remove the plastic spacer, then it should come off.

Looks good! Just a heads up, put a little bit of purple thread lock on the screws so they don't back out. I almost lost a knob to my Millionaire on the river because of this. The purple thread lock is the lighter stuff and easy to break the screw free if you need to remove them in the future.

My newest acquisition as I feed my addiction of the Japanese made Alphas reels, 2016 Alphas Air 7.2. I scored this guy on a Japanese auction site for not much over $100 to my door, not a scratch on it other than the tiny chip in the line guide ring, which was 100% my fault (butter fingers). I cleaned it, lubed it, and installed a drag clicker.

Bait Finesse Empire has them if you're looking to buy domestically.

I use the purple in everything but conventional reels which get tan. The thinner NLGI1 purple stuff will have a faster startup, which is a must for light line fishing. Plus a lot of guys where I am fish in the cold, and the purple stuff is made for just that. The tan is definitely good stuff no doubt, but I feel that for most freshwater fishermen on this side of the world, the purple is a better match. Guys fishing sturgeon and salmon get tan, everybody else gets purple.

That's the way to do it. I see a lot of posts of people swapping to a long handle regardless of gearing. There's a balance that must be struck between the handle length and gear ratio.

The exchange rate with the yen is crazy good right now, an Alphas SV TW would run you less than $200 shipped at this very moment. It's a great reel and works well from 1/8 on up so it'll cover a wide range of baits.

Zebco Cardinal 3 and a 10'6" Dick Swan noodle rod. Spool it up with 4lb and have the time of your life lol

Sounds about right. You may want to check Facebook Marketplace as well, seen lots for great asking prices.

Another redeeming quality of the Ambassadeur, every Ultracast model has interchangeable parts. It doesn't matter if it was made in 1992 or 2022, things like frames, side plates, spools, brakes, clutch assemblies, and most every other part is cross compatible. There have been many variants made in a dizzying array of colors and configurations. Some came with a mag brake, some with a 6 pin brake, some with a 2 pin, some with dual spool tension knobs, some had stainless gears, you name it. When I look at an Ambassadeur, I see a clean slate that I can make exactly how I want.

My last two rods both came from Digitaka and were packed in heavy duty cardboard tubes. I'd expect them to live through nuclear war, that cardboard was thick stuff!

I keep braid on until the spool gets low. A charter captain I do work for has some reels with 5+ year old Power Pro. The color is mostly gone but it's still catching fish.

I saw this a few days back, looking like I may get one. Assuming the exchange rate stays as great as it is now upon release, this guy should be going for less than $200, insta-buy for me. I wonder why Daiwa never did this with the CT SV 70 as SLP Works sells a 700S shallow spool for those reels. It's a fine spool and I have one in both my Alphas and Millionaire CT.

Millionaire CT SV up top and Calcutta Conquest BFS on the bottom.

And here I always thought it was a warning for fishing during thunderstorms lol

Now is the time to buy JDM, the exchange rate is crazy good right now. You get a lot more for your money at this point in time. Here are a couple of my glass trout rigs.