(2) Lews Tournament MG....Middle of the road reels but very pleased with the overall performance & dailing them in was very easy!

I think BPS makes a reel you can't backlash. Or they did at one time I think. It has a bar or something that snaps down if it starts to backlash preventing it from getting any worse.

Learned on a Bronson.  I can still cast it well but it's starting to wear out.

 

The up-geared Ambassadeur 5000 Dad gave to me when he went to one of the first low(er) profile reels (Quantum 1310) was an eye opener.  I got good with it.

 

Now I do not backlash... well, hardly ever.  Wind is not a problem.  As the lure is going out, your thumb senses fluff and eases the spool slower.  I listen for whacks on branches and immediately thumb brake if I hear one.

 

I can't get used to the low-profile reels.  I'm very thumb dependent, and if the feel changes much my thumb just doesn't work right!  I love my Ambassadeur 5000/5500s with 4.7:1 (21-23ipt) ratios.  I also love my 5500c3's and am using them much more than when I first got them.

 

All have been modified to varying degrees and all are supertuned.  The more tuned out a reel, generally the more effective the braking and the fewer the backlashes.

 

With the 5500c3 (modified) reels, I require this test to pass them:

 

1.  Install white brake blocks (old style) or turn on three brakes (new style)

 

2.  Install on a 5'6" to 6' MH/F rod. 

 

3.  Tie on a 3/4oz steel sinker

 

4.  Back tension off so that the spool fluffs one coil only when dropping the weight from four feet high.

 

Using these settings, I must get 40 to 50 yards of casting distance (depending on rod and overall "feel") and the reel must not backlash without thumb when the weight lands.

 

Now, the no-backlash without thumb thing might raise some eyebrows.  Here's the thing:  The trajectory of a 50 yard cast is such that the spool slows around the same speed as the weight.  When the weight is ready to come down, the spool is barely turning.

 

The weight test I use is anecdotal, though.  Wind changes things on the water.  So does type of lure.  The furthest I've cast when fishing is while using a Bomber 3/4oz on my Cherrywood 6' rod.  Jigs and other "fluffy" lures are generally 25 to 30 yards.

 

I might get another five yards if I'm feeling frisky and back off the tension a bit more (the line will fluff on a four-foot drop, but not overrun at all), but I generally backlash at least once doing this and I don't use it unless I absolutely need five yards or so more.  It's rare that I do.

 

I tried all this above with a Black Max II (Walmart stuff) and couldn't get any appreciable range from it.  My casting style requires a round reel and centrifugal brakes to give me just enough time to get my thumb on the spool.

 

Regards,

 

Josh

Quantum PT... can't remember the exact model.  It was the first $100+ piece of gear I ever bought.  Up until that point the only baitcasters I had ever used were my dads $30 specials.  This reel changed my opinion (wrong as it was) about baitcasters.

 

Then..... it and the KVD rod it was paired with were stolen.  Still ticks me off to this day.

I like a lot of reels, but this one DOES IT for me. Love me some T3s. The orange on the flat black is so sweet!

Daiwa Procaster Magforce 100. It still had the pushbutton spool release. I wanted it because Bill Dance used it on TV. Ahhhh, it was 1983. I remember it just like yesterday. I got her for XMas. I laid out of school "sick" to learn to cast it. I've had many after. But until recently, I never had a better one. I got a used Johnny Morris cheap and had it worked on by BPS. The Daiwa finally fell apart. It had been fixed 3X with free parts from Daiwa.