Yuddzy

I used to fish these a lot for pike on casual trips to the local lakes. (32 acre lakes, real small) My first Northerns were all caught on these Mepps Syclops Spoons in varying colors. (The 12 gram size was my preference) Of course many who've fished for musky and larger pike have probably tied on one of these at some point. I prefer the singles to the tandems usually.

Before you start buying anything, consider the depths you'll be fishing at. If you fish shallow more often than deep, it makes sense that your quantities of shallower running baits would be bigger. Don't get too carried away on buying different depths of crankbaits, just use your noggin and buy to meet your needs best based on where you fish. As far as colors go, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I usually aim to have some natural colors, something bright, and something dark to meet most situations. You can search the forums here for opinions on colors if you'd like more information about that, it should be applicable to crankbaits. Choosing colors isn't an exact science, variety is key. Also don't go overboard here. Lastly, there's 3 distinct types of crankbaits that I can think of right now. 1: Lipped crankbaits - these are the fellas with some sort of lip that dive to a certain depth when retrieved. 2: Squarebill crankbaits - A subset/special type of lipped crankbaits, these dive shallow and are used to knock into heavy cover. 3: Lipless crankbaits - Crankbaits with no lip, may be fished at any depth by letting it sink/adjusting retrieve. If you want the skinny on how to fish each of these types, search the forums for better information from far more experienced anglers than me. This is merely a quick summary to point you in the right direction. Remember: buy what meets your purpose, for example, you very well may have no use for deep diving crankbaits depending on how and where you fish. Cheers

This is similar, but nowhere near as in depth from what I can see.

I have to agree in terms of what I'll use in the future. Those two knots, the arbor knot, and a line to line knot are all I need. I just find it interesting that there's a small channel out there getting more into the actual details of fishing knots and testing out how they stack up for different line types.

It is quite similar, but different enough to be distinct. Many knots resemble eachother closely. I thought it seemed odd that his knot would win as well, abeit it does make somewhat sense that he'd be able to modify past knots for better strength? The equipment and procedure he's using for all of this is beyond anything used for knot testing that I've seen around so far. The channel seems dedicated to this sort of thing.

Has anyone come across this knot on YouTube? It's similar to some other knots, but appears to outperform almost all of them in an actual rigorous break testing procedure. The strength on monofilament in the typical poundage used for bass is incredibly high. (Relevant Video Linked of Break Testing, you can also find how to tie it on the same channel) Any thoughts? Necessary? Too much effort? Marginal Gain? I don't know fellas, you tell me what you think.

So you oil flushed an entire reel?

An early Shimano Bantam and rod of your choice would be good. I'm not sure if the 1980 model still had these snazzy wooden handles or not? (Not a picture of my own reel, unfortunately)

+1 To what everyone else already said here. If the handle is slipping backwards, it likely has to do with the Anti-Reverse. If it was a drag issue, you'd just have very little force required to activate drag, but the handle would not spin backwards.

Slightly off topic of reels, but how do you guys like KastKing monofilament line? I have a 600yd spool from last summer. It looks very similar to Berkeley Big Game Mono, but the color is a bit different for their green variety.

It didn't go the same with my dad when I was about 12-13. Dad wanted a boat, mom wanted a camper. We wound up with a camper and he got good at fishing off shore.

As a young fella, what I learned from this thread is primarily that bass boats cost a lot and wives will prevent you from living out your fishing dreams? Thanks Gentleman ?

Obligatory Ugly Stik comment. I remember seeing a video of a guy attempting to break one, I think he did the gallon jug thing if I recall correctly. Not that you actually want a GX2 mind you.

A quick Before & After to close this one out. It went back together easy, very pleasant reel to work on. Cleaning was the hard part, the level wind was especially bad. I'll probably install a carbontex drag system later this year. First 3 are before of course, last 4 are after.

There's a lot of pre-2000s ambassadeur reels with all of the modern features on them. Durability, serviceability, functionality all seem to be there. I don't mind the weight too much, an entire rod and reel together weigh pretty little to me. The post 2000s reels still made in Sweden seem to be well liked, but I've never owned one.

Getting parts ready for cleaning now. I'm imagining this was not a factory lube job, given that the anti-reverse bearing was caked in grease. After that, let the parts dry overnight and then back together they go. I think this will be a great reel, especially since there's some large pike and musky on the waters near me. It'll be nice having a portable winch for those fellas. Special thanks to Bulldog1935 for answering all my questions along the way and everyone else for chipping in. I'll update with a picture of the reel reassembled eventually here.

Interesting. I would've thought there would be a clever replacement part for the thumb bar. Some sort of sheet metal that can wrap around the bar on the frame. I have it all apart now, but it needs a bath pretty bad. So much grease and oil inside this thing. I've sorted out parts that can't receive much of any treatment and will need hand cleaning. For example, the side plate that has the thumb screws contains both a rubber o-ring and the anti-reverse bearing. Soaking in degreaser would probably mess up the o-ring, and washing with dawn/water would likely mess up the bearing?

I wouldn't need to for any purpose other than cleaning, but I'm lead to believe the thumb bar free spool button is not removable based on how it's around a seemingly unremovable part of the frame? If that's correct, what would happen if you broke the thumb bar or needed to replace it due to age? (It's plastic, so eventually it'll crack/age poorly I imagine)

@bulldog1935 Thanks for that, I'll probably wind up holding that side in a small plastic grocery bag while I pop it off so I don't lose it. I learned my lesson about removing spring loaded clips when I serviced the drag stack on a Sedona spinning reel. D:<

My 4600C3 has arrived. It is very gummy and cruddy, definitely needs a cleaning and lubrication. There's a stiff point in the handle rotation when the level wind reaches either end of the spool. Currently trying to find a schematic, but there is several on the Abu Site for them. Foot Number is 990809/27 Here's what I believe to be the correct one, just glancing quickly. Am I correct? It looks very manageable.

1/16oz is crazy low. I don't even know what lure I could cast that would weigh 1/16oz. What do stock ambassadeurs do, usually? I've heard 3/8oz for most models on this forum.

Thanks again, that's a bit different than other reels I've seen. Usually the recommendation is to tighten spool tension just enough to remove play and go from there. I suppose the ambassadeur is different because as you said, spool tension is really the only adjustable nature of the reel.

Sorry to dig up this old thread fellas. DVT, you mean to say that with ambassadeur reels in general, you disengage all of the braking pins and simply use thumb+spool tension to avoid backlash?

I wound up finding an Ambassadeur 4600 C3, $60 to the door. The only wear I could find on the entire thing was a slight fade to "Ambassadeur" written on one of the plastic pieces. (All other writing was intact, which usually seems to fade quickly) Should just need a clean up and service, maybe a bit of polishing to go beyond factory finish even. ?

I've found clean Ultracasts on eBay, averaging around $60 shipped. Is that about inline with what they're worth? eBay prices tend to be inflated a bit, so I don't refer to the completed transactions as much.