redmeansdistortion

If you don't mind waiting a bit, I see nice deals on 1600 and 3600 Morrums out of Japan on eBay frequently, often around $150 or less. You can also look for a Black Max 1600/3600 or Pro Max 1600/3600. I see a lot of Black Maxes pop up on eBay for $60 or less in nice shape. These are not the same reels as the new production Black Max/Pro Max, completely different animals and far better.

I'm pretty new here, but having spent a lot of time in my short time here I've noticed a few reel tuners and tweakers posting up some great stuff that stands out from the rest. I'd like to have a thread dedicated to custom or modified reels. Some of us do it for the sake of tinkering and some of us do it to provide performance that the factory didn't. Some of us also like to customize to fit a particular fishing style. I would also like to discus the various lubricants, tools, and cleaning materials used to get the job done. If you fit any of the above, this thread is for you. It doesn't matter if you did the work yourself or you had somebody else do it. Post up those reels

Yep they were 3.8s. Up until the Ultracast models, Abus came in 3 ratios. 1:1, 3.8:1, and the high speed offering was 4.7:1 if I remember right.

On the Ultracast models, Abu used the 3.8:1 winch gears in the 4600 C4 Winch and 5600 C4 Winch. The reels were on the market about a decade back and you used to be able to buy the gears right from Pure Fishing. They tend to go for decent money when they crop up on forums or eBay, but for the asking prices you may as well buy stainless gears from the other side of the pond.

I wish you could still get the winch gears. They've been out of production for some time now. That said, there are some places that make stainless gears, Akios and PMR. I have a set in 6.3:1 in my pike/musky 5600, great for burning bucktails.

Custom 5600 I finished about a month ago, this is a brand new reel. Brand new being that I bought every part new and used no donor reel. It took awhile to find the sunset orange side plates at a price I was comfortable with. It features a bearing supported drive shaft, double ceramic hybrid cog, ceramic hybrid spool bearings, stainless and Carbontex drag washers courtesy of SmoothDrag, ceramic pawl, titanium line guide, Avail CR2 magnetic braking system (Japan only part), 2-pin centrifugal brake with light weight blue brake blocks, 100mm power handle with EVA knobs, and 6.3:1 gearing. I also polished the tension knob shim, polished brake drum, and polished the inside of the pinion gear. It free spools like crazy and will be perfect for float fishing steelhead. I threw my wallet at this one but I wanted the experience of a brand new reel you can't just go out and buy.

I've never tried differential fluid on the worm gear. How is it compared to a lighter oil like TSI or ReelX. Does it stick a little better?

It's good if you want to dye your bearings red

I really dig it, that color is out of this world. Does he get his side plates direct from Abu or does he anodize them himself?

Looks to be a Fishy Business handle. They're very nice and run about $30 to $40 depending on length and finish.

I fish steelhead 8 months out of the year and that involves a lot of crawling through the undergrowth carrying a 9' to 11' rod depending if I'm floating or drifting. It can be a pain sometimes, but you get used to it. I usually carry my rod from the middle so it's easier to navigate through the brush. If carrying from the reel seat, you tend to get hung up much more often.

I do understand, but for the way I fish, I never take more than two rods with me. One rod is always a backup and stays in the trunk, not technique specific. If I had a boat or kayak, I probably would use a different rod for each type of bait, but I usually bank fish or wade and carrying more than one rod would be cumbersome. I like to pack as lightly as possible in order to have mobility. That means wearing a vest instead of carrying a tackle box and one rod only. There's nothing worse than having to lug a tackle box, or worse yet constantly having to retrieve it when you want to change spots.

Tell me about this one, it's gorgeous!

My 'sleeper' pike and musky reel. Started out as a 5600AB and it's now a bushing reel with a backup AR dog to compliment the IAR bearing. Carbontex and stainless drag washers courtesy of SmoothDrag and stainless steel 6.3:1 gears from PMR and a 2-pin brake with blue brake blocks. It throws pretty dang far even though it has no bearings. I modeled it after the 5600 Svartzonker that's only sold in Europe.

Great shop, I've purchased quite a few parts from them the last few years. They seem to have just about everything.

TSI-321 is my usual oil for level winds and IAR bearings and for stainless bearings I run Rocket Fuel Yellow. I run my ceramic hybrids dry. For grease I use Yamaha blue marine grease. I find it better than most greases marketed as reel grease.

It's thinner and more limp with very low memory. I do love Big Game, but once you get larger than 12lb it's quite stiff. An 1100yd spool of 12lb T-Line is like $13, give it a shot.

During the later spring while wading the shallows of Lake St Clair in pursuit of smallmouth, I often find myself using my 9' Guide Series medium/light steelhead rod to throw tube jigs and smaller cranks. The rod itself is nothing special, ML 1/4oz - 1/2oz spinning rod I use for drift fishing steelhead in my local river. I find the fight with smallmouth spectacular with such a long and limber rod. Not to mention it can cast like nobody's business and put the lures seemingly out of sight. With a longer rod, I can use lighter line since the rod is doing most of the work. No thing pulling in big smallies on 4lb or 6lb mono and even the occasional toothy critter that decides to take my bait. It's not an ideal rod for a boat, but for wading and bank fishing I find it awesome.

I do a lot of back country hiking and fishing. I use a Plano 4ft rod tube strapped to my backpack and it holds a couple 2-piece 7ft rods easily. I could fit 3 in there no problem or even 4 if I pack carefully. They run about $20. I keep 2 reels in my backpack as well. It's a lot of fun hiking miles through the UP of Michigan and catching and eating brook trout along the way. There's usually nobody out there but myself and my wife and whomever we bring with us. It's a priceless experience that not many people do.

If you have a Field and Stream nearby, they sell the Okuma Celilo trout rods which come in a similar power/action. Look for the 7' L 3/16-5/8. They stock them here at the SE Michigan store, so I'd think they may have them near you as well.

You may have a hard time finding the specific rod I mentioned in a brick and mortar out East. It's a kokanee rod, and kokanee are land locked sockeye salmon found out West. Most brick and mortar places will sell gear according to the fish found in their area. I got mine from FishUSA. Have a look https://www.fishusa.com/product/Okuma-SST-Kokanee-Spinning-Rods

Look into a steelhead/trout/kokanee rod, they come in the power and action you are looking for. Most start ~7ft and go up from there. The Okuma SST Kokanee is a nice one under $100. It's 7ft moderate action and made to throw baits from 1/8oz to 3/4oz. I have the 7'6" variant and have caught lots of smallmouth with it, but it's primary duty is for brook trout. Tons of backbone in that rod.

Muscamoot Bay is on fire during May and early June. I have the most success on crawfish and chartreuse colored tube baits. Once the water heats up and the party folk get out there, it dies down considerably. It's such a good spot you may be catching one after another, seriously. I don't have a boat so I throw on my waders and go out there.