redmeansdistortion

One of the best reels for walleye jigging. That flipping switch makes it super easy to adjust for the correct depth. With spinners, especially newer ones with no anti reverse override, you have to flip the bail, let line out, and reel it back to the depth you're fishing. With a flipping switch, blip the thumb bar and you're good.

Mine was an Ambassadeur Black Max 1600. Released in 1992, spool only weighs 10g which was a feather 33 years ago. I picked up this new old stock Black Max 1600C a few months ago and did my thing to it. It casts 1/8 easily on my Major Craft Days 65ML. NMB spool bearings and lighter brake blocks with a little lateral play in the spool. https://youtu.be/mrsfyHwbFXQ?si=HAAWFlkqSJpcU683

Avail pinion on the left, Simon's on the right. She's beefy and rated to 11lb of drag. OEM is rated to 6lb and Avail to 2lb.

When I teach people to fish for trout, stealth is the main thing I emphasize. You'd be surprised the amount of seasoned trout fishermen that will walk in the water and wonder why they aren't catching anything. I'm not standing in the water unless absolutely necessary, and it's usually to retrieve a snagged lure or to get to a clear spot to cast. Another big one I like to discuss is where to cast. A lot of guys will pick the closest target out of habit. On the river, you start from afar and work your way in. If you're casting to the closest target first, those fish will spook, flee upstream, and those further out will also run because the others are signifying danger to the others.

A lot of the places I fish are heavily trafficked and noisy in general, so the fish don't spook as easily. When I'm out in the sticks on the trout streams, that's a whole different ballgame and even casting a shadow upon the water will spook the fish.

I understand that, however, most of the reels I have are hard to find or irreplaceable to some degree. You can't just go out and buy a new Abu 2500C, hell even finding new old stock parts is a big challenge now. My Daiwas posted above, you can find them, but only in Japan on occasion. They were made 20 years ago. Most parts for them don't exist any longer. If they get a ding or scratch, so what, just part of the game. Being mindful of what I'm doing with it goes a long way.

Brother, I spend a few weeks a year in the wilderness sleeping in hammocks, wading streams, hanging my pack from trees out of the reach of bears, foraging for wild mushrooms, ramps, and asparagus, and catching trout and smallmouth and eating them on the river banks. I take my stuff places most people don't, and it's all still in beautiful shape because I take care of my stuff. I'm not spending $1000 to build a reel and kick it around like it's a PoS. I'm not that guy. I want it to last. If you want to treat your gear poorly, that's completely up to you. Those of us that appreciate our own as well as the craftsmanship of the companies that built these, see things differently.

Probably my most favorite reel in my stash, scratch built 2500CIAR. I built this for 3g and up for chasing after resident trout, bigger migratory browns and rainbows, and coho salmon. NOS side plates, Avail 2bb idler, Avail frame, brake plate, bearing plate, and star wheel, 2520R spool, 1520 mag brake with 2x 4x3mm and 1x 4x2.5mm magnets, Avail 2bb level wind, Avail line guide, Simon Shimomura's Gokigen clutch and 6.3:1 gears, and finished with a Haneda Craft 60mm. By and large, the people that do build these also maintain their own reels. The only modified reels that grace my bench are my own or those I've built for others.

Millionaire Ringa SSS. 7.2:1 Alphas SV105SH gears, Alphas pinion shaft, Millionaire CT SV magnet assembly, Roro spool and bearings. The original magnet assembly was too powerful for the Roro spool, giving the braking an all or nothing feel. The CT SV magnet assembly is thinner and weaker, letting it work better with a lighter spool and giving the full range of braking back. It can throw 2g quite a distance.

Custom Millionaire SW103. Alphas Air handle, spool cap, and handle nut retainer, PX68 star wheel, Duralumin Alphas Ito gear set, drag clicker, Alphas pinion shaft, 1012 SV G1 spool. It absolutely bombs from 3g on up.

Me and my friend Mark went to the local spot Friday morning and did pretty good. We had rain the day before which brought the water level up and added some color, perfect conditions for the following day. Best fish of the day was my 16" brown, I went a total of 11 for 13. All of my fish came on a UV green firetiger Rapala CD1, they just couldn't stay off of it. The Major Craft Finetail Glass 63L+/Daiwa SS 700 combo did an outstanding job. A young of the year brown and rainbow. Both wild fish. Mark with a nice 12" brown. ABU Cardinal 3 is outfitted with Avail parts. This was on one of two cold-water streams in the Detroit area. We don't have much around here due to the urban runoff which makes most of the streams like bath water this time of year. The one we were fishing is a tributary of a larger river that flows out to Lake St Clair. That particular river has a dam that once powered a cider mill, but heavy rains caused the river to divert around it, so now steelhead can get into the cold creek we were fishing in order to spawn. Many people in the area don't think this particular creek holds many fish, but being highly pressured the water must be learned. I've spent a lot of time on this one over the years and seldom get skunked.

This is the same even in Ambassadeurs. I've assisted some people who changed out gears on some models, namely the 6.3 gear set for the 2500C and the stainless gear sets for the 4000-6000 reels. Both sets of gears are hobbed at a tighter tolerance than OEM, so base washer thickness needs to be accounted for. Many of those people were complaining about noise and cranking inertia, and through my own trial and error I discovered that the OEM leather 3902 washer that a lot of people were running is 0.7mm thick, while the OEM Abu replacement carbon 3902 is 1mm. The 3902 that Smooth Drag sells is the same thickness as the old leather 3902, so the correct thickness would either need to be made or purchased from an Abu parts supplier for those considering those gear swaps in the future. If the gears were hobbed at factory tolerances, the washer swap may not have been necessary. After swapping to the OEM 3902 carbon washer, noise decreased significantly and the reels became smoother as the teeth were meshing correctly.

Keep in mind that the clutches in modern reels are under high tension torsion springs, especially some Daiwa models that use two of them. The top spring for the clutch cam is usually quite beefy, while the lower spring is much finer and used to actuate the kick lever. Usually it's the thumb bar and pinion yoke returning to position that are making the noise. If you crank very slowly, the thumb bar can sometimes return first and the pinion yoke second. Sometimes they don't go in unison either because there is too much grease on the pinion yoke studs or the grease used is tacky. A lot of the time, it will work itself out as grease is distributed during operation. I wouldn't worry too much about spooking fish as modern reels are markedly quieter than the stuff we used way back. For instance, the M1 Garand of fishing reels, the ABU Cardinal 3/4/6/7, makes a very distinctive clang when the bail turns over, especially with new bail springs. Once they wear in, the reel can quiet a fair amount. Pre-1991 Ambassadeurs also have a distinctive ping when the spool is re-engaged.

Later in October, go fish the Au Sable downstream of Foote Dam. Not much traffic and cohos and Atlantics should be starting to show up. Steelhead usually come in beginning in November. You can catch those all right from the pier in Oscoda as well. Go the day after a good rain and they'll be staged up right at the mouth of the river.

Oh yeah the west side gets shoulder to shoulder. Right now the kings are running, and I'm staying home lol. The last time I fished salmon on that side of the state, there were a lot of drunks and I saw a fist fight break out. That's when I called it quits. I've been fishing the Huron tributaries instead, and while the fish aren't as numerous, it's much less crowded to the point I can often find solitude.

There are also some YouTubers that never really clean anything. I won't name names but some probably have an idea who these guys are. They open up the reel, flood the bearings with oil, grease the gears, and call it done. To me, that isn't reel service. Nothing was cleaned, nothing was checked for wear, just added more lubrication on top of the dirty old stuff. If anything, it will perform marginally better, much less than its true capability. The guys doing that need to be mindful because not all greases mix peacefully, some negatively react with each other and can cause them to thicken. The cleaning process and lubes chosen are how the reel technician brands his work. We all have lubes we like to use, and we give the feel and performance that we would achieve in our personal stuff.

Gonna be salmon in there in another month or two.

Photos are a lifesaver, especially when it comes to the small stuff like springs, shims, and the orientation of other parts. The most difficult reel to do is the first one, it gets easier and after you begin to notice similarities between models. This type of thing also helps you understand the quality of a reel in general. You get to some of the no-name budget stuff, you find pot metal, self tapping screws, questionable design philosophy, and poorly implemented features copied from the bigger players. With the higher end stuff, you understand the effort put into engineering such a fine product. Doing this has made me a huge fan of simply constructed, yet high performing reels. In the grand scheme of things, reels truly are simple instruments. With some growing ever more complex for the sake of planned obsolescence, I'm highly appreciative of reels like Isuzu who focus on performance, simplicity, and thoughtful engineering in favor of bearing count, max drag capacity, and lightness. It's a shame that very few artisan reel makers exist anymore. Most of them do fly and center pin reels, and Isuzu is the only game in town for baitcast and spinning reels.

New rod came today for my Daiwa SS 700, a Major Craft Finetail Glass 63L+ 2-8lb 2-14g. The action is very lovely with a nice beefy backbone. I'll be taking it out Friday morning.

Amazon has nice deals on them from time to time. Also check garage sales, a lot of retired electricians out there.

The death screw is a small JIS screw used to fasten the driveshaft retainer to the frame on many Daiwa models. Daiwa uses red thread lock to ensure it doesn't back out, which forms a semi permanent bond. It's called the death screw because it's a JIS head which can be damaged using a Phillips if you aren't careful. Worst case, the head gets enough damage that a screw extractor needs to be used for removal and a brand new screw installed. A JIS driver fits the head perfectly and won't cam out when loosening. A high quality Phillips does work, but you have to put more downward pressure on the head so the driver doesn't cam out, potentially damaging the screw head. I have a pair of Japanese made Vessel Megadora JIS drivers, a +0 and +1, which covers most of those types of screws you'd encounter in a JDM, or even a Japanese branded USDM reel. The Vessel drivers are high quality and run between $8-$10 each depending on where you get them. My best advice, don't cheap out on tools. You don't need the most expensive, but also don't buy store brand stuff since they don't fit screw heads as good. Any brand that uses German or Japanese tool steel will be your best bet. American tool steel is of a similar quality but can come at a substantially higher price. Wiha precision drivers, Wiha dowel punches, and Knipex pliers are what I use. Avoid Harbor Freight, Cobalt, Husky, etc. Look at Wiha, Wera, Felo, or Witte. All higher quality German made tools that won't break the bank.

A lot of JDM reels use JIS screws, so it's good to have a +0 and +1 JIS on hand if you're working on said reels. The Daiwa "death screw" isn't much of a death screw if you have the right tools. Most people that strip them out are using Phillips drivers.

Yes you can, but the fix is easy. Sometimes I get reels in the shop with the drag so tight that the driveshaft is warped a tiny bit. The area right above the ant-reverse sleeve can develop a slight lip. This can make it difficult to remove the anti-reverse sleeve, drive gear, and drag stack. With a fine file, you can remove the malformed material and have it back straight again.

Here is my thought. The spool attaches right to the main shaft, and the main shaft to the oscillator. Pulling out of snags is the most likely culprit from what I can see. Repeated jerking would cause shock to the oscillator, causing it to break. Here's a photo of one from a Tatula LT 2500. You can see how the stud broke free and took some teeth with it. With level wind oscillation, the carrier for the pawl screws to the main shaft, then the pawl, washer, and cover are installed. There is no plastic present so it will have better durability.

Run it in an ultrasonic cleaner for about 30 minutes. Spend that time doing something else, like disassembling the next job or prepping elsewhere.