bulldog1935

@MAN I have a few different ones - every one of my spinning reels has one. (All my fishing buddies have or want them, as well - they work) Tsubaki President - this is the most cost-effective and excellent for the price, because of the rotating hook keeper. Hedgehog sells it, Plat, Asian Portal, fishingshop.kiwi (also a great place to buy lures, rods, and high-grade reel tuning parts). 2nd best for price, Dress Origin - there was a shop in Alabama that has sold these in the past, but they don't google right now - Hedgehog, ebay, fishingshop.kiwi, AP has just red and rainbow. Sorry I don't have a better photo, but the hook keeper part is stainless steel sleeves over the end-piece screws. The problem with Livre, the hook-keeper part is a separate part that only comes from SquidMania. The good thing about SquidMania, you can order any Livre handle and knob combination. The bad thing, you need to use a broker and I strongly recommend Masmamichi at noppin.com because of his strong English (we go back 20 years when you could only buy from Japan using a broker). Even my big surf reel has a Tsubaki that's stacked up on an IdeR base to push it out farther. At the other extreme, here's my sexy little Tica Cetus (Micron size) with the simple Hedgehog version, which works, though the hook keepers above are better.

you'd be hard pressed to find better casting reliability with a wide range of weights than Daiwa SV adding a ps - set the mag adjustment to prevent wind backlash with the lightest thing you're going to throw, and you're done.

@DinkDreams actually, it's the best hook keeper you could ever imagine. especially with a complex rig. the stacked o-rings will squeeze your line and hold it. The Livre version has adjustable balance weights inside to offset the torsion of a big handle - you can't see it in this photo, but the reel has a counterbalanced handle that keeps the bail from turning under gravity - all to increase finesse touch.

those are going to be constant for what you're throwing, whether it's a rock, a boat tail hollow point, or a fishing lure. What we're talking about is the result of release velocity increase gained by a longer rod. Where are those hippers... I've been side-by-side with guides (more than one) on their deck when they explained how my spiral cast didn't load the rod properly. We were throwing the same unweighted shrimp with a hook, and my baitcaster could double their spinning cast distance by making a good spiral cast (that works out to a 20% increase in release velocity). They didn't like that, but I made them look good at the dock. To jerk that same 20% increase on a spinning rod, the live shrimp goes even farther, but it leaves the hook behind.

@Choporoz - no, it's in sophomore physics. ________________________________________________________ Just like the trebouchet, rod flex is a spring - it doesn't subtract from release velocity, as long as your cast weight is in the normal working range of the rod. Should have put on my hippers to return to this thread. The fact is, people don't cast a longer rod with the same angular velocity as they do with a shorter rod, but the physics is sound - take it up with Galileo and Newton. Try choking down on the rod handle with your next 2-hand cast, and watch how far it freaking goes. Even more, get brave, on release let go of the rod with your thumb hand, and continue to stretch with your choke hand.

Rotational speed (angular velocity) being equal, every 20% increase in rod length doubles cast distance. Simple ballistics. btw, a trebouchet makes a pretty good spiral cast

the most reliable distance and wide weight range is my Zillion with Ray's Studio SV spool and PE#1.2 braid. This set-up doesn't know what a backlash is. Will have to add, as much as I like my Steez SV TW and ZPI Alcance, and both cost more, this is still my favorite. My braid-raced Ambassadeurs are equally backlash proof (also cost more to customize), but won't cast the distance. @ATA 3/8 to 2 oz? Try 1/16 to 2 oz without making an adjustment.

My IM6 MM is Crowder, also hand-made Florida blank.

Where you want moderate action, IM6 will be choice. Where you want extra fast action, IM8 will be better.

bike-fish Lou and I have telescoping rods that fit in bike bags. This is my '92 Viner CX built as an upright with a half-frame bag to fit the rod(s). Also have a front rando bag to pack my wading shoes and fishing bag. Nothing stops this bike. multipiece fly rod that fits also.

Good is a little bit subjective, and a lot niche, if you have a small-water niche where it fits. The traditional American UL is a short parabolic rod with a narrow lure weight range, and most of the flex in the rod butt - the taper goes back to the 50s and the origins of fiberglass. What the Japanese are making are fast progressive tapers with wide lure range and more powerful butt. They're applying it from UL to MH. 1/16 to 5/8 oz 1/8 to 7/8 oz

I'll have to put in a plus vote for Abu JDM rods - I don't own one, but they're quality rods, and cover the full price and quality range. If you want to find stock on Abu JDM rods, try fishingshop.kiwi - they have 8 pages in stock, probably any niche you want to fill. There are many high-grade rods made in Korea, such as NS Black Hole. Black Hole offshore rods are big here, but it's noteworthy that a Korean rodmaker can aim primarily at the Japan market - they have to try harder and offer better quality for the price. I do own a Black Hole mid-grade salt finesse rod - friends have bought this rod on my recommendation, also like it, and it's a workhorse. mine has caught about 200 of these - every one here larger than the first one I showed above If you've ever visited Korea, you won't forget the pervasive smell of dried fish, which is the national snack, and every water body is lined with fishermen - they are as much a fishing culture as any.

Had an OK bike-fish with Lou last week. Picked River Rd. on the upper Pedernales for the great bike ride - the bike ride was great, the fishing so-so for low flow in our current minor drought (next time, I'll pick the middle Guadalupe in Kendall Co., where you're also not allowed to park cars at county road crossings). At least got the Nyu-kon on my 1500C and Smith UL stream casting rod - it now knows what it is. Sorry about the water on the lens - Texas Brook Trout

Maybe I should have showed this one, instead, but the bearing swap in my MM 1/4 to 3/8+ oz niche was beyond noteworthy.

Non-Level Wind that's a 1914 Talbot on a 1914 FE Thomas cane rod. The rod has two blades, tube, original taffeta sock and hang-tag filled out by Fred. The reels that stand out from this period are Meek, Shakespeare, and Talbot. Your reel choice seems pretty straightforward - a Browning-marked Lew's BB1. Searching Lews Browning on ebay turns up a full page, ranging from the small LM with mag, and ranging from near-mint to boat rash. I bought this reel in 1984 and fished it until 2015. Along the way, replaced the handle, bearings, and 2 A/R dogs.

I couldn't get parts for my Millionaire 6H in 1984, which was bought new at Oshman's close-out in 1978. Certainly Mitchell and Conolon is a '70s combo. '80s is graphite rods. I fished through my first Mitchell 300 by 1975. Even my collectible Mitchel 440A Ottomatic and Conolon is mid-70s. Which, btw, is the only Mitchell with manual-bail capability. I looked it up - 1986 saw the end of all Mitchell 300 series reels. https://mitchellreelmuseum.com/list-of-all-mitchell-reels-1939-1989/ If the OP's request and date doesn't matter, real retro is the NLW reels of the ninteen-teens. No reel could out-cast them until Lew's Speed Spool BB-1N

The baitcaster spool bearings that improve performance are unshielded bearings. You oil them about every month of fishing (one drop). My favorite are MTCW and, especially, KTF from Japan. Part of it for me, also, these bearings are salt-proof. Our Ukraine friend, SDS Custom, has a hiatus right now. RoroLure.com is a good vendor from Hong Kong - also a great pin-remover tool. Make sure you match the bearing rating with the weight you're planning to cast.

In the '80s, Lew's BB-1xx was the top baitcast reel, and Penn 4xxZ was the top spinning reel. I hope this thing is on. Falcon rods were new and king. I practically lived in Academy then - it was Only in Austin.

I've never tried the G-Soul, but I've read it's blended with fluorocarbon fibers, so I'm guessing it can't be as tightly wound and same test / diameter as the other X-braids. However, what makes X-braid is 90% of the strength is in a single center strand, and the outer strands are for toughness, abrasion resistance, and for G-Soul, to make it sink. Regards. Two I prefer on baitcasters are Duo X-Wire and cost-effective Yamatoyo Resin Sheller. I just got back from fishing PE#0.8 X-wire in granite creeks this morning, and was very happy with the line. The fishing was tough for yesterday's rain, but I did catch endemic bass on my 1500C/UL. If my photos came out, I'll figure out where to post it later... ... I didn't get many good photos, and the bike ride was better than the fishing, so I'll just post it here

now that he's begun, he'll have plenty more examples to show and tell

Sufix 832 has always been the best behaved until I discovered the newer generation of Japanese X-braids, which are twice the breaking strength for the same diameter. Florida Fishing Products Distance Braid has been on one of my reels longest, used hardest, and was the first Japanese X-braid I randomly tried - pretty sure it's made by Varivas; I have other Varivas High Grade on a couple of spools, finesse to inshore. YKG X-braid upgrade; YGK Oltolos in extreme light sizes; YGK BornRush is the single-best spinning braid I've tried.

Nothing to it. Take the screw out from the spindle. Everything slides off. Remove the bearing from the old knob with the hook tool. Putting everything back on, you should have one shim washer at the inside, then either bushing or bearing at the inside, shim washer, new knob, bearing on the outside, and screw. Check for free spinning and end-play. Add or remove shim washers at the inside position to correct either. When you first tighten the screw, may have to back up and run it in a couple of times to get the outside bearing properly aligned on the spindle. Last, post a photo of your reel with new knobs.

@Yuddzy While you have it down, take your time to polish all the LW bushings - both the insides of the bushing holes, and the shafts that fit inside them. This includes the idler gear in the palm side plate. One noteworthy upgrade part here is Mike's Reel Repair zirconia pawl. Remember light oil when you put the bushings back together. I found a really good low viscosity grease for the worm gear and pawl (MTCW you don't want, but Hot Sauce defamed on this forum is another good choice here) - and of course don't grease anything heavily - I use a sable art brush to apply thin grease. It's really hard to describe how little grease you need on the pawl for it to easily make the turn against the worm gear ends. Mike's zirconia pawl I mentioned has an oil reservoir for inside the pawl cap. You want a higher viscosity grease on the drive gears. General rule is oil for spindles, and grease for contact stress. Good thing you don't ride a bike - it would be lawn furniture. My '74 Raleigh from college on its 4th rebuild. I'll admit to taking perverse satisfaction out-pedaling younger USAF officers on carbon bikes in Sunday-morning Alamodome sprints.

You can take the o-rings out with a plastic toothpick. If you're buying parts from E-replacement parts, include axle clip (maybe a spare) and spool shims. Replacing the o-rings is a great idea - when they get old and flat, the spool caps are too easy to turn. I would count on new spool bearings - common size and an easy upgrade, 1034, 3 x10 x 4 mm. The best degreaser is vinegar bath, 1:3 white vinegar in warm water for up to 3 hours. Chase it with a toothbrush, and follow by a soap bath and rinse. https://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1385