Have you ever tried full ceramic bearings run dry?

 

Hybrids still require oil, not for lubrication, but for corrosion control since they still have steel races.

 

Going full ceramic gives you same ceramic balls in the bearings, but now also has full ceramic races. No need for oil ever. The ceramic is its own lubricant really because its so hard the surface contact offers next to nothing in friction resistance.

 

I really enjoy the whine the dry bearings make because I use their noise to help me judge my cast by ear as well as sight. So they are by no means silent, but one can add oil to quieten them down, but that kind of defeats the purpose of using them to add oil which can act like a sticky glue that does nothing but slow them down. All you gotta do is keep them clean in denatured alcohol.

 

The nice thing about going full ceramic is that they are half the weight of steel bearings and so you can use lighter lures to get spool spinning easier and sooner, and they cast a little further too. Less maintenance.

 

All benefits and no drawbacks unless one does not like their whine! But hey we get plenty of that around here as well and oil won't fix that one! Wish it would!

 

I source my bearings from the manufacturers in China. I pay on average $8 to $15 depending on when and how many I purchase. It is cheaper to buy like 10 at a time.

 

But there is a U.S. source for the exact same bearings but I am not going to even mention their name. Everyone knows them and if anyone buys from them are insane or stupidly rich!

 

This same ceramic bearing I can buy on average for $10 each is priced on the U.S. company's website for closer to $250 each! Insane markup. All they do is buy low and sell high and have a good PR game even though they do not make any bearing themselves. Nothing more than a company on paper with huge warehouse. They make a fortune remarketing bearings made by others at astronomical markups and it surely ticks me off how high they go. I will never purchase a bearing from them.

 

But give full ceramics a try sometime! I have used them without fail for years. Love them. Would not use anything else unless they make a better ceramic material.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/173405530952

 

Was cleaning an og ryoga 1016 a few days ago, and these are truly the best built reels made to date. Wish every heavy duty reel was built exactly like it.

One of these?

 

 

 

I just finished another flipper reel. A reel bought low and resell higher. Just flipping reels for pocket change to cover costs on my new tackle.

 

I bought this one in a bundle deal at a pawn shop last week. This reel came on a "made in USA" All Star rod made by Gary Loomis and his LCI rod company. I wanted the rod only. My days of using these Abu type of round reels is so over. But these are quick and easy to overhaul. But this one gave me some trouble because it appears to have been buried in the mud on the bottom of a river.

 

It is an old Abu Ambassador 5000. 

 

The frame showed signs of very fine silt type of mud in every nook and cranny. And I mean everywhere. Even the line guide was choked up with it and entire frame inside the reel. So most of my time and effort was put into just cleaning every single part.

 

 

 

Fine silt mud clogging line guide.

 

 

The drag washers in these reels suck big time. They are weak and brittle and you gotta be real careful removing them because whatever they are made out of is not very good material at all. Its like bees wax or something. I have to use razor blade sideways very carefully cutting and gently prying the old drag washers off the gear and key plate.

 

And just look at what it leaves behind. Some kind of hardened up goo. This is NOT a good drag material at all. This part was not only covered in stuck on goo like wax from the drag washer, but it had also slightly pitted the key plate washer on top of the drag washer.

 

Maybe a lot of this has to do with being pulled from the silt on a river bottom? Not sure, but it was nasty. So onto the sanding...

 

 

 

I'd really have to do some grinding to get rid of all that pitting. And keep in mind the pitting is only on this part where the drag washer touched. So that tends to indicate to me that the material the drag washer is made from has a corrosive element to it when contacting with water. You don't see pitting where the drag washer did NOT touch! So that points directly straight to a materials issue with the drag washer itself.

 

Some of the fine sandpaper scratch marks are still visible. I am not going to spend a lot of time on a $50 reel making it perfect. I had to really scrub hard to get this far. I could have touched it up with a finer sandpaper, but it really is not necessary. The very slight scratch marks are no where near as bad as what pitting can do for a drag mech. Someone who really wants to do some work on this part can have at it. I gotta move on. Can't spend too much time and effort on this. It will work fine for years to come now. I brought it back more than 95% from where I found it.

 

This is a quick fix reel. Its not a display reel for sure. Just a useable workhorse reel.

 

This reel did not have bearings, but did have the rounded edge bushings on each side of the spool. Notice the not sure what to call it, but the markings or machined change to this bushing? There is only one reason they do this is to prevent these bushings from spinning around in the side plates. Abu wants these bushings to stay in place and only the spool spin around inside the bushing. Not the spool getting locked up to the bushing and it start spinning inside the reel's side plates. These are added one in each direction polarized to prevent the bushing itself from spinning in side plates. These are designed to grab in both directions.

 

Again, the rounded edges to these bushings is a bandaid quick fix to a known design flaw in these reels. Soft aluminum side plates that bend way too easily, and if flat edged bearings or bushings were used in these reels as they get beat up and bent up, the spools would bind up bringing the reel's useful life to an end.

 

So rather than fix the design materials flaw to this series of reels, Abu engineers simply swapped out flat edged bearings and bushings for rounded edged bearings and bushings that can now self adjust with those rounded edges to the slow bending out of shape of the side plates over the years extending the useful life of these reels- even when bent.

 

I inserted a flat edged steel bearing in between bushings to show the difference in edges from flat to rounded. A lot of people who own these reels that want to replace factory bearings and bushings usually, well ok almost 99.99% never- do not notice the rounded edge and invariably they install flat edged new bearings that will work fine until slight bending of side plates bind up the spool. These reels have rounded edge bushings and bearings for a reason!

 

 

And don't forget to add a couple drops of oil to each of these end caps with felt oil retainers in each one. In this image one has new oil, two drops, and the other is untouched yet.

 

 

Another sucky issue to these Abu reels is their inadequate brake shoes. Almost nothing there. So over the years, well decades ago now that I used to actually use reels like these I often tinkered with the brake shoes and made my own custom brake shoes from various materials.

 

The teeny tiny almost nothing factory brake shoes are on the left. Also shown here are some of the alternative materials that can be used to customize & change the level of braking force for these reels.

 

It is done with different materials, different sizes in widths or diameters, and lengths, that also change the weight of the brake shoes increasing the braking amount or decreasing it (well can't go any lower than factory unless you use reel without any brake shoes). You can even stack brake shoes to increase weight and braking force as needed. I played around with these a lot back in the day.

 

Custom cut your own brake shoes.

 

 

 

 

And she's back! Fully operational now and smooth again. This reel should last another 20 or 30 years providing it is not dropped to bottom of river again and old drag washer can hang in there.

 

Since this one was so beat up, I kind of faked it out for this photo using a red permanent marker to cover over the worn off red anodizing to make it prettier. Still shows its beat up though.

 

 

The legendary lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd back in the 1970's used the Abu Ambassador 5000 series until the day he died in a tragic plane crash 10-20-77. In following video filmed next to his house along St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida area, he was filmed about 30 days before he died using this same series of reels. A gold 5000 is in his hands here on film. Legend has it he was buried with one of these! And his favorite rod, maybe the one shown here in this old film.

 

Rest in peace Ronnie! The FreeBirds still flying high!

 

 

***The materials I bought over the years to customize the brakes on this series of reels I no longer need so one day soon I plan on putting together a package of reels and parts to sell here on the forum, and if any of you tinkerers out there want to play around with the brakes on your reels these customizing materials will be available soon. My days of playing around with these are over.

This morning I think qualifies as the fastest reel repair ever.

 

I rebuilt an old Bass Pro reel last week I bought for $8 or less as I recall off ebay. I took a chance on it because it was so cheap and had an all aluminum frame and I wanted to give my 12 year old son some beater reels he can use and abuse in saltwater. Reels no one is going to cry over if dropped overboard.

 

So when I rebuilt it I admit I did not thoroughly examine the line guide pawl and just slammed it back in there and set it aside until this morning when I wanted to put some line on it I noticed the line guide would do fine until it reached all the way to left side and then it had trouble catching the worm gear and turning to go back in other direction. So it was hanging up on the left side and could not be used that way.

 

I knew the worm gear was good. No wear on it. And this reel is designed so the pawl can be replaced without any disassembly of the reel. I quickly removed the pawl to examine it more closely and found some wear on its side, but the issue of hanging up was caused by one of the pawl tips worn off or broken off. Just gone. How I missed it I don't know, but chalk it up to being hasty I suppose with a pile of reels to get to.

 

 

And since this reel has not been in production for 20 to 25 years, parts for it are not something easy to be found. But fortunately over the decades I spent working on reels, used pawls are one item I keep a box of them just for times like this.

 

So I grabbed some likely candidates and laid them out side by side and quickly separated out those too short or too long and zeroed in on some that were same size, and picked one that was closest by eye.

 

 

The broken worn pawl is on the left side. Move through them one by one by eye. No need to measure anything.

 

Kick out the ones that won't work, and settle on those that come closest or exact or slightly shorter and can be shimmed up if needed, but not needed this time. Pick a used pawl, clean it thoroughly, use a little lubrication and in it goes. I prefer to use grease rather than oil here because I believe grease lasts longer and requires less maintenance. Oil just does not last as long here in my opinion. Both will work.

 

Don't pick a pawl that is longer. It may bind up the reel. Slightly shorter by a shim washer or two, or same length.

 

The thing to pay attention to is when the pawl is inserted into the line guide, once it is seated in the gears, the bottom of the pawl should be flush with the line guide. It can also be shorter and have a little space to line guide which can be shimmed with standard pawl shim washers.

 

Flush is best, but never sticking out because as one tightens down the cover, it will push pawl hard into the worm gear causing binding issues. There should never be any pressure on the pawl. It should sit freely in its assigned space for free movement and rotating during use.

 

Instant fix in 90 seconds. Its a good idea to keep a stockpile of these! It paid for itself today! Another free fix.

 

 

I have zero interest in working on my reels.  However, I've sent a few out for upgrades.  Like FloridaFishinFool, I don't mind the whine of bearings.  I also use the sound to judge my casts.  Works better than my eyes.  Picked up a set at a very reasonable price that DVT installed in a Curado 51E for me (along with other upgrades) because the seller didn't like the whine.  Lucky me.  

On 9/7/2025 at 11:24 AM, FloridaFishinFool said:

Guess what I found! And there is only one. You just missed one sold on ebay 4 days ago, but there is still one up there for sale!

 

Pinnacle Bait Casting Reel YCZ 10

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187393332634

 

$19.95 plus tax plus $7 in shipping. Cheap!

 

I bought that one.  Cosmeticly it's OK but it's full of sand or something I'll have to sort out before I use it.  This was a nostalgia buy for me.  These were only available as combos at Walmart IIRC.  They came on a 6' M Pinnacle rod that suited their tiny fast spools well.  In the late to mid 90s the Walmart sporting goods section was as good as got for me when it came to buying rods and reels with my own money.  

 

The spool is as tiny as I remember.  It's actually the same size as a Tatula 80 spool.  It's a narrow 32 mm spool which is very modern for today's reels.  It's a big plastic reel for the spool size but super cool for what it is nonetheless.  I booted a JDM Daiwa TD-S with TD-Z treatments off this vintage BPS Cranking Stick for the photo.  Once cleaned this rod might be it's forever home.  The lower end JDM TD-S is just as old and just as big but is a masterpiece compared to this combo plastic Pinnacle.  I'll have to find a higher end vintage rod for the TD-S.  

Elaborating on the weird TD-S.  Its was the JDM model not sold in the US and is based on the similar year Procaster.  Pics showing the TD-S on the BPS rod along side a TD-ITO on a Destroyer Otomat and again (older pic) next to a TD Zillion (same size as the TD ITO).  Its hard to see in the 1st pic but the 2nd shows off the height difference between the two.  The YCZ10 is just as big as the TD-S but has 32mm Tatula 80 sized spool lol.  Goes to show how big these old reels were.  Yes, the TD-Z/TD-ITO is just as old but it was a futuristic flagship at the time.  

On 9/5/2025 at 8:35 PM, FloridaFishinFool said:

No takers on this old reel huh? The reason I like this old reel for flipping and pitching is because this is a one-handed reel. I can pitch it with one hand and I can reset this reel instantly without having to bring my other hand around to reset it for instant hooksets. Denny Brauer could have changed history if he had a reel like this one in 1985/86. I think this is a 1990's reel.

 

 

It is built kind of like an old Shimano Curado in size and shape. It even uses the same AR the curado does. I think whoever made this reel borrowed some ideas from other reels.

 

 

It also has a ball bearing supported pinion gear. This reel was ahead of the game back then. Curado had to change their reel just do the same thing in the CU200BSF reels which were the first Shimanos I saw with ball bearing supported pinion gear. I am sure others did the same in that era as well, but who did it first I wonder?

 

 

Another thing about this reel I don't think I have ever seen done this way in any other reel is how the drag mech was done. This reel sports a double sided cut out main drive gear and nearly identical drag washers on top and bottom of the gear.

 

With the way this reel's gear is double cut gives a reel tech an ability to really step up the drag in a few different ways. Some fish stopping brake power done this way. More than a Curado. This one is going to get different drag washers. I may even try a triple stack on one and see how it goes.

 

This is the top side of the gear:

 

And the bottom side of main drive gear:

 

Even the Shimano Curado does not have a brake system like this reel does. This one comes with centrifugal brakes and magnetic brakes, but does it resemble anything you may have seen before?

 

 

The centrifugal brakes are hidden in back

 

This is a neat old reel. Built every bit as well as any curado of the same time period. And comes with a few extra gizmos the Curado did not have. Shimano had to step up their game back then to create the BSF model. This one was ahead of them or running neck and neck.

 

Shimano created their own version of a reel like this one called the Castaic. But in my opinion, this one is easier to use and works better.

 

The Shimano Castaic was reviewed years ago and the author had this to say about the Castaic's instant reset ability:

 

"If you’re familiar with a standard casting reel, then you should easily identify the difference on this Castaic.  Instead of a single directional clutch bar, Shimano designed in a bi-directional one.  So rather than stopping the spool with your thumb after completing a cast, you can stop the spool from spinning simply by flipping the clutch bar back to the ‘lock’ position.  More accurately, there is a thumb switch that is located above the clutch bar in which you move your thumb forward to engage the spool to the drive gear.  Shimano calls this “INSTAGAGE”.  With the “instagage” switch, actually stopping the spool instantly is much easier than on a standard casting reel.  For me, I thought this feature would be sort of like training-wheels, getting me ready for a “real” casting reel.

The details: The first nice and surprising feature of this reel is the ‘flip-open’ thumb rest.  I actually didn’t find out about this feature until I had my first major backlash mishap.  The thumb rest easily opens up to fully expose the line guide, making it less of a task untangling nasty backlash and looping the line through the guide.  This feature is really a necessity though since the “instagage” bar takes up about three eights of an inch over the spool."

 

The reel I have keeps the reset button off to the side and does not obstruct the spool in any way. It could not have been better positioned really.

 

Did any of this help anyone to identify this reel?

I've seen that braking system using centrifugal brakes behind a Daiwa style fixed inductor on only one other reel.  The BPS Extreme from around 2010-2015 range.  I used to have one.  It's what came right after the 2nd reel pictured (Doyo Extreme).  Ryobi also sold that same reel on Aliexpress years after. 

 

If I had to guess, your reel is some sort of Ryobi.  Never heard of that model but it fits with the early 2000s or late 90s stying and Ryobi was prevalent back then.  I think I may have seen a pic online before.  It struck me as very early 2000s looking and unlike the angular black Ryobis I was used to seeing.

 

I want to say it's a Korean reel but not a Doyo because i've never seen it on their site and I remember lurking it at the time.  Maybe it was a Dawon or something even if branded as a Ryobi.  Like I had thought about Silstar, I dont know if Ryobi actually made reels or if  they were just a brand name ordering Korean reels. 

 

The reel you have definitely has a Daiwa USDM TD-X styling to it.  At that time the Korean OEMs were making reels that visually borrowed heavily from the TD-X and curado B and D so that lends some credence to me that it is a late 90s or early 2000s Korean OEM reel.  What is it branded as? 

Daiwa TD-X and Pinnacle Matrix II for reference.  Those Pinnancles always seemed crazy to me with a Daiwa like body with a Shimano side plate access revealing a VBS clone centrifugal brake.  Just silly.

Ryobi related topic.  Bass Pro used to sell a Ryobi Extreme.

 

An amazing comment BigBox99! I really appreciate comments like yours! And you are the first, one and only to ask about that one of a kind reel. If it was sold under other brands I have never seen it. These are truly rare reels and very good quality too.

 

Since you asked, I will share what it is with you. It is a Bass Pro Rick Clunn signature reel. From the very early days of his contract with Bass Pro.

 

It is the only reel of its kind. Most other reels with so called flipping switches merely create a function that is nothing more than an auto resetting thumb bar. But with that type of reel a human cannot hold down the cast thumb bar to pitch while at the same time also trying to feather the spool during the pitch.

 

With this Rick Clunn signature reel, it is the only reel I have ever found with a flipping switch that resets the reel manually. So with this reel I can pitch as needed, and hit that switch with my thumb and reset the reel all with one hand instantly. So a person could set the hook on a fish with one hand if needed. The second hand is not needed to move over to reset the reel with the handle for those who do not like the auto-resetting reels.

 

These reels are extremely rare and hard to find. I now own 3 lefties. I love these reels for flipping and pitching. Some may say they are heavy because of all the solid metal, but to me it is just about the perfect reel. And I do believe it is a Doyo made reel. I could be wrong, but that is usually who made most Bass Pro reels in Korea.

 

Not sure who to thank for this reel, but at the top of the list are Rick Clunn and Johnny Morris. I wish reel companies today would take notice and bring this feature back. I am sure some users of the old Curado E series reels would greatly appreciate this reel's flipping switch feature. I bet even old Denny Brauer would approve.

 

Any idea when these were made? Anyone know the years of the Rick Clunn line? I read it ended in 2009, but not sure when it began. I think you are on target with late 90's or early 2000's

 

Great comment BigBox! And if you can find and identify the same reels marketed under other brands please share here! Thanks!

 

 

On 9/6/2025 at 6:14 AM, FloridaFishinFool said:

Just finishing up the still as yet unidentified mystery reel... tossing in a few extra things getting it ready for some Florida styled heavy cover flipping and pitching. I wanted a minimum of 3 of these reels because I have three 40 year old Denny Brauer designed Flipping sticks. One for me, and one for each of my sons. All 3 of us will have the same rods & reels to start out with.

 

Denny Brauer may have set the standard on flipping sticks that is still the standard to this day 40 years later, but his personally designed TEAM DAIWA flipping reel was a complete failure. I bet he would have liked this one though.

 

So I changed out the stainless steel spool bearings and installed full ceramic bearings run dry. And I custom cut some Shimano Dartanium 2 drag washers for it. Now it has incredible braking power as compared to the old commercial pipe gasket cheapo drag washers it came with that were stuck to either the gear or key plates.

 

The Dartaniums will be run dry as well. Shimano patented this material their engineers specifically designed as a braking material, and that's what I wanted in a reel like this one. Fish stopping power. The Dartanium 2 material is a carbon based composite that increases in friction as it is used and surface warms up. Dartanium actually increases stopping power while those cross weave carbon fiber and epoxy fake drag washers actually decrease in friction stopping power as they are used. Those actually tear up and fall apart under loads heavier than largemouth bass.

 

Smooth and smoother means SLIPPING, not increased friction stopping power. Completely backwards for those fake drag washers! That material was NEVER made or designed for brake materials. Its NOT a brake material especially if it slips so much. And since when is smooth more important than fish stopping friction? Try that with your cars! Makes no sense to me! But hey, if it sells and makes millions, who cares right? A no harm situation. Slap some drag grease on those cross weave carbon fiber fake drag washers and make them even smoother, er, slip more.

 

I guess we fishermen should consider ourselves lucky most of the bass are small enough to allow the industry to get away with this sort of thing.

 

In my opinion, this Dartanium 2 material is a superior upgrade- as does Shimano engineers. So to me its kind of funny to read online guys saying they "upgraded" their reels to cross weave carbon fiber fake drag washers by REMOVING the superior Dartanium 2 material. Really? I'll take them!

 

And, for those who install those cheap cross weave carbon drag washers.... how many of you have greased them up and looked at your fingers at all the small black particles falling off of them? Hundreds of small pieces and chunks breaking off as they fall apart in your fingers when just greasing them up. Good stuff huh? When reality hits the wall.

 

They don't even know what they actually did was a downgrade! Misinformation rules the online world!

 

Dartanium 2 is without a doubt one of the best composite materials ever created as a brake material for fishing reels. Cross weave carbon fiber are a fake drag washer and are a downgrade in my world. That's been my opinion on them ever since they started making them. Even Shimano tried to resist using that stuff in their reels for years. Now they just roll with the flow in their cheaper reels which are their highest sellers. I wonder why? Aiming for the average Joe's clearly.

 

What exactly do you think Shimano is telling everyone here by doing it this way? The people who buy those lower end Shimano's should be ticked off if they knew what Shimano was really telling them! Ha!

 

Clearly Shimano and other brands have caved in to popular demand, but ONLY in their cheapest of reels. What does this say about the "buying" market out there? Those buying those low end reels? Shimano is actually calling those misinformed people a name- possibly a perjorative- and I'll leave it at that. Shimano engineers NEVER wanted to cave in. The corporation did for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

 

Shimano still uses Dartanium 2 in a number of their high end reels. So it is still in use in their top of the line reels costing $400 and $500 and $800. Then its good enough for my new $20 reel!

 

Here is a brand new Shimano TranX reel priced at $745! And take a look at what is inside:

 

https://fish.shimano.com/en-AU/product/reels/overhead/a071000000oyxyiaar.html

 

"The Tranx's low-slung shape and light weight, thanks to the use of a forged and machined aluminium spool, aluminium frame and side plate, mean it's a pleasure to use. It holds 420 metres of 50lb Power Pro braid, and the Dartanium II drag system can produce 11 kilos of fish-stopping power."

 

Gee. No kidding? 11 kilos of fish stopping power! Reel drag washer patented material everyone hates is still inside Shimano's BEST reels. Imagine that! Then its good enough for my $20 used reel too!

 

But, but, but some GUY online said...... uh huh. Who you gonna listen to? Some guy online who never made a reel in his life? Or, Shimano's top engineers who spent years developing some of the finest reels ever made AND the specialized drag washer material made to go in them? Who you gonna listen to?

 

I asked Shimano engineers to their faces one day about this very situation. And they all laughed in my face and told me instantly "U.S. forums are HOPELESS!" Their exact words. HOPELESS! Hopelessly polluted with misinformation they do not even try to combat. So why should I? Oh well....

 

Wanna tick off shimano? Just try "upgrading" the above $745 reel with cheap fake drag washers and they might send it right back!

 

Can you tell I don't much care for smooth fake brakes? I love Dartanium 2. And when used correctly it is awesome! I do not listen to any of the whiners and complainers found online. If they don't like it that's fine. I will take every single Dartanium 2 drag washer I can find and use them in all my reels, baitcasters, spinning. Does not matter.

 

Just wanted to hammer home this braking point this morning with some high test coffee kicking in... I know, truth hurts.

 

I get a kick out of seeing all the reels with downgraded fake drag washers! Show them off! And then think about what Shimano is really telling you! 😉  😁

 

It don't take an engineering degree to figure this one out! Heck, sometimes even THOSE can't help! I think I will stick with Shimano engineers as I have been for more than 30 plus years. What they SAY goes as far as I am concerned. They have never led me astray yet!

 

 

And today I am playing around with fitting into this one a low friction line guide pawl so the no longer available worm gear does not get worn any. I can replace pawls as needed but the worm gear may not be so easily replaced. Maybe the right handed version would fit into this reel? I might buy a right handed version just to see how many parts are universal in these reels.

 

 

One of the coolest old flipping and pitching reels ever made and I may be the only person using them and definitely may be the only person in the entire country using them with Dartanium 2! And that's AOK with me. Glad to be out of the pack.

 

I may change this handle out again for a longer one... will try as is now and see where it goes. Not too bad for a $20 reel! Heck the spool bearings cost that. I may also play around with different spools down the road since this reel shares similar tooling with other brands. The brakes could be an issue.

 

Who says a decent reel has to cost hundreds? I am still trying to imagine how much different the Denny Brauer 1986 flipping and pitching video would have been if only Denny had had this reel instead of the "unfortunate" DAIWA made reel he had to suffer back then. Other than the reel, that video Denny did was one of the most influential I have ever seen.

 

Its kind of funny to listen to Denny tell us his "technical" requirements for reels while at the same time telling all of us the reel he had back then he did not like how it was designed and he refused to use it as designed and said so live ON CAMERA!

 

A great way to sell a DAIWA reel there Denny! I bet DAIWA chewed him out for that one!

 

Denny Brauer 1986 Flipping & Pitching video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJhbnvjIHSU

 

His flipping switch simply made the thumbar not lock into cast mode. He could push it down and it reset itself automatically, and Denny made it very clear he did NOT like a reel designed like the one he was using back then because his thumb was dedicated to holding down the thumbar to pitch and he could not do that and also feather the spool at the same time. One or the other. This reel here would have given Denny the ability to pitch and feather the spool at the same time and with a slight movement of the thumb (not the entire other arm and hand) Denny could reset the reel instantly.

 

Why would Denny have a reel designed he said on camera he did not like and did not use it BECAUSE of how it was designed? Makes no sense to me. And most reels with a flipping switch are designed like that. I won't use them for the very same reason.

 

But with this reel Denny could have set the hook on the biggest bass in this video all with one hand instantly. No need for 2 hands! He set the hook pretty fast in the video, but this reel would have made it even faster and less work.

 

I wonder why they do not make them like this today? I wonder if I could modify fit something like this into a modern reel? It would be kind of cool if I could use the same lever as this reel to do it too.

 

I think I will take that lever and put it into the auto-cad program and change its shape a little bit and send the new design to a machine shop to make me 3 of these out of solid metal.

 

And I might take a look inside some of my modern reels to see if this lever can be custom installed into any of them? Or, something similar based on each reel's design.

 

 

You have a Ryobi Caspro.  Looks like an early model with the heavy TD-X influence.  Later updates to the reel have sort of a TD-Zillion like appearance.  Did this thing solder on into the late 2000s or 2010s? 

19 minutes ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

An amazing comment BigBox99! I really appreciate comments like yours! And you are the first, one and only to ask about that one of a kind reel. If it was sold under other brands I have never seen it. These are truly rare reels and very good quality too.

 

Since you asked, I will share what it is with you. It is a Bass Pro Rick Clunn signature reel. From the very early days of his contract with Bass Pro.

 

It is the only reel of its kind. Most other reels with so called flipping switches merely create a function that is nothing more than an auto resetting thumb bar. But with that type of reel a human cannot hold down the cast thumb bar to pitch while at the same time also trying to feather the spool during the pitch.

 

With this Rick Clunn signature reel, it is the only reel I have ever found with a flipping switch that resets the reel manually. So with this reel I can pitch as needed, and hit that switch with my thumb and reset the reel all with one hand instantly. So a person could set the hook on a fish with one hand if needed. The second hand is not needed to move over to reset the reel with the handle for those who do not like the auto-resetting reels.

 

These reels are extremely rare and hard to find. I now own 3 lefties. I love these reels for flipping and pitching. Some may say they are heavy because of all the solid metal, but to me it is just about the perfect reel. And I do believe it is a Doyo made reel. I could be wrong, but that is usually who made most Bass Pro reels in Korea.

 

Not sure who to thank for this reel, but at the top of the list are Rick Clunn and Johnny Morris. I wish reel companies today would take notice and bring this feature back. I am sure some users of the old Curado E series reels would greatly appreciate this reel's flipping switch feature. I bet even old Denny Brauer would approve.

 

Any idea when these were made? Anyone know the years of the Rick Clunn line? I read it ended in 2009, but not sure when it began. I think you are on target with late 90's or early 2000's

 

Great comment BigBox! And if you can find and identify the same reels marketed under other brands please share here! Thanks!

 

 

I only learned recently that BPS had used Ryobis for their house brand reels at one point.  A user here had a memory of an Extreme and tracked one down.  There is a thread linked about it a few posts above 

1 hour ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

These reels are extremely rare and hard to find

There are 5 of the later updated models on Ebay right now.  They aren't BPS branded.  The good news is that the majority are lefties.  They seemed to have been popular for flipping reels at the time.  

 

Two reels to keep an eye on if you want a lefty reel designed to be pitched/flipped while palming the reel are the Daiwa TD-S 105 HL, TD-X 103 HiL and TD-X 105 HL.  

 

If you want a really cheap hidden gem option then look out for a Procaster Z 105HL.  Its the same reel as the TD-S 105HL.  You can use modern Daiwa drag stars, handles and newer spool tension knobs to make them look nicer.  They have a Magforce V spool but will also accept modern Daiwa 34 mm spools like a Zillion Steez ect.   I own the TD-S version in both left flipping frame and righty casting.

BigBox it looks like you just may have found other reels with this same feature.

 

I really appreciate you posting those reel. Not one, but possibly two of them I will be taking a closer look when I get back into town.

 

I'm looking forward to researching those reels. Looks like I may to buy one or more of them.

 

It would be great to have at least one of each of all 3 of them so I can compare the internals. The Rick Clunn version has a hefty double drag washer setup perfect for F&P. I have never seen another reel with a double cut away main gear featuring a drag washer up top and on the bottom side. It is unique for sure.

 

And the Rick Clunn reel I posted has one of the first or an early ball bearing mounted pinion gear. And comes with that double braking that includes the Daiwa like magnetic brakes.

 

So I am real curious what is to be found inside the two reels you have revealed here. They do appear to share some of the same parts externally like handles look similar. But you are right these can be dressed up some which is what I do to my reels. I simply buy other cheap Bass Pro reels with the parts I am looking for. Swap the parts out and give the Bass Pro reels to my kid. He don't care. He's only 12 and just glad to have stuff that works.

 

This is what a thread like this one was created for! Discovery of new reels and what's inside of them and how it can benefit all of us. I am looking forward to digging into the reels you mentioned so thanks!

48 minutes ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

BigBox it looks like you just may have found other reels with this same feature.

 

I really appreciate you posting those reel. Not one, but possibly two of them I will be taking a closer look when I get back into town.

 

I'm looking forward to researching those reels. Looks like I may to buy one or more of them.

 

It would be great to have at least one of each of all 3 of them so I can compare the internals. The Rick Clunn version has a hefty double drag washer setup perfect for F&P. I have never seen another reel with a double cut away main gear featuring a drag washer up top and on the bottom side. It is unique for sure.

 

And the Rick Clunn reel I posted has one of the first or an early ball bearing mounted pinion gear. And comes with that double braking that includes the Daiwa like magnetic brakes.

 

So I am real curious what is to be found inside the two reels you have revealed here. They do appear to share some of the same parts externally like handles look similar. But you are right these can be dressed up some which is what I do to my reels. I simply buy other cheap Bass Pro reels with the parts I am looking for. Swap the parts out and give the Bass Pro reels to my kid. He don't care. He's only 12 and just glad to have stuff that works.

 

This is what a thread like this one was created for! Discovery of new reels and what's inside of them and how it can benefit all of us. I am looking forward to digging into the reels you mentioned so thanks!

That Rick Clunn reel is the same reel as the Ryobi Caspro.  Those are also all over Ebay but mostly in an updated version with a blocky front end.  If you wanted more of the same there is that option too.  I don't know what all they changed or if it was just a cosmetic update to extend the appeal of the reel.  

 

Old version:

Updated version:

 

Different color scheme updated version;

 

This is a super cool find.  It's another BPS pro angler collaboration reel and I believe an old Ryobi or Doyo.  It has that signature early low profile look but doesn't have a "hood" over the front and has old pre-Doyo style Lews paddle knobs.  It really strikes me as a late 90s take on rebooting the Lews Speed Spool with an OEM house brand reel.  I think it's neat.

 

 

 

You guys are finding some cool reels! I am making a list and will be checking some of them out and may even purchase some of these. I gotta compare the innerds! I will let the innerds show how these reels stack up compared to each other. Bells and whistles will count on these reels, as well as function of that flipping switch.

 

Out of curiosity, I would like to ask the reel tinkerers around here about one particular subject that really bugs the heck out of me and causes me to take a lot of time, trial and error to solve.

 

99% of the time every reel right out of the "new" box whether it be a spinning reel or baitcast reel, they always have some side to side play in the handles.

 

They do try and shim most of it out at tail end of manufacturing as reels are assembled each person has boxes of shim washers they use to adjust each reel before putting it inside their new box for shipping and sales.

 

But what I want to know is if any of you go to the extreme to shim out any side to side play even more than the factory does?

 

Over the years of working on reels this is something I check on every reel I finish up. And if it is one of my personal use reels, if I find any side to side play of pulling out on the handles and pushing them back in to visually check and see just how much side to side play there is in each reel. If I find any side to side play I shim it until there is none. Gone.

 

It bugs me to use reels with noticeable side to side movement in the handles, and I was wondering if any of you also are bothered by it and go the extra mile to eliminate it on your reels?

 

BigBox that RyobiCa Caspro is still a $100 reel. I have a couple of searches programmed to alert me to any new ones that pop up online. I'll be looking for one.

 

I found an old Quantum with one of those flipping switches that makes the thumbar an automatic return situation. Not keen on that feature but the price of this reel made in Japan is super low below $20. It might be a good one for the kids to have to play around with.

 

Just found out this same reel was made in both Japan and Korea. I have decided to purchase a Japan made version. This one is made in Korea. I assume by Doyo?

 

Not sure who in Japan would have made the Japanese version? Anyone know?

 

Thanks ahead of time for any information.

 

When I get mine in the mail I will probabaly install an all metal drag star and swept handle and improved drag washers and see what it might need as far as bearings go. Looks like a solid metal reel for under $20. Perfect for me to play around with and pretend to give the kids dad's stuff. (They won't know unless they read this comment.) For some reason the kids always want to get into my tackle. I have to keep a close eye on my rods. Reels I could care less about. Those are replaceable. Rods, not so much.

 

 

 

 

 

8 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

BigBox that RyobiCa Caspro is still a $100 reel. I have a couple of searches programmed to alert me to any new ones that pop up online. I'll be looking for one.

 

I found an old Quantum with one of those flipping switches that makes the thumbar an automatic return situation. Not keen on that feature but the price of this reel made in Japan is super low below $20. It might be a good one for the kids to have to play around with.

 

Just found out this same reel was made in both Japan and Korea. I have decided to purchase a Japan made version. This one is made in Korea. I assume by Doyo?

 

Not sure who in Japan would have made the Japanese version? Anyone know?

 

Thanks ahead of time for any information.

 

When I get mine in the mail I will probabaly install an all metal drag star and swept handle and improved drag washers and see what it might need as far as bearings go. Looks like a solid metal reel for under $20. Perfect for me to play around with and pretend to give the kids dad's stuff. (They won't know unless they read this comment.) For some reason the kids always want to get into my tackle. I have to keep a close eye on my rods. Reels I could care less about. Those are replaceable. Rods, not so much.

 

 

 

 

 

I had that reel.  Mine was a 1st gen Accurist and my 2nd baitcast reel.  My 1st was a Walmart Pinnacle Vision Limited round reel.  I got the Quantum because of Bill Dance.  That reel could also be a Quantum Profile.  The Accurist was a Profile but with the ACS centrifugal brake.  One or both were graphite (plastic) framed.  I always thought the shark like appearance of that reel looked cool.  I haven't seen any other reel with that organic, almost predatory, appearance until the Daiwa T3 (unfortunately also plastic).

If you're looking for $20 alloy frame reels I'd say stick to the BPS and Pinnacle 90s reels.  They are hugely undervalued IMO.  Old Quantums were frequently plastic framed back then.  I remember buying a 2nd gen Energy and it had a plastic frame.  The 1st gen was alloy but the 2nd went with "graphite" (graphite powder mixed ABS plastic)  There was a resurgence of brands trying to push that material as something new and innovative at the time.  You'll see it crop up time and time again because it's a a super cheap way to make mass produce a reel.  The most recent time around all brands began to call it "carbon fiber" to cash in on that buzzword.

 

10 second low effort ebay (ebay is high retail) finding but even this is cheapish.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/187458844406?

Yes sir that is exactly what I am trying to do right now. Get my kid some older metal frame baitcast reels for cheap. He's 12 and wants to fish in saltwater, and I want to give him some decent reels he can dunk in the ocean, and its nothing to cry over if he damages or destroys one.

 

The problem I am having is finding lefties. Most of these reels are right handed. Thanks to you putting me onto some brands I had not previously considered, I am now finding some real oddball reels along with some that look all too familiar. I may buy a couple of them just to try them out. But probably not this one... an Abu.

 

 

This one looks to have that same flipping switch on my Rick Clunn and the reels you mentioned:

 

 

 

Here's a strange one just listed on ebay. A Pinnacle YPB10 listed as parts only with starting bid at $2.99.

 

 

I found one that bulldog might like... she's a beauty, just too bad handle is on the wrong side. This one is probably more like the Pro Qualifier you posted above.

 

 

9 hours ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

Yes sir that is exactly what I am trying to do right now. Get my kid some older metal frame baitcast reels for cheap. He's 12 and wants to fish in saltwater, and I want to give him some decent reels he can dunk in the ocean, and its nothing to cry over if he damages or destroys one.

 

The problem I am having is finding lefties. Most of these reels are right handed. Thanks to you putting me onto some brands I had not previously considered, I am now finding some real oddball reels along with some that look all too familiar. I may buy a couple of them just to try them out. But probably not this one... an Abu.

 

 

This one looks to have that same flipping switch on my Rick Clunn and the reels you mentioned:

 

 

 

Here's a strange one just listed on ebay. A Pinnacle YPB10 listed as parts only with starting bid at $2.99.

 

 

I found one that bulldog might like... she's a beauty, just too bad handle is on the wrong side. This one is probably more like the Pro Qualifier you posted above.

 

 

He can use right handed reels if he is right handed.  It's better to learn this way so he can develop proper casting technique. 

 

Lefty reels are great for spinning reels and flipping when you don't change hand positions between casting and retrieval.  The problem with newer anglers is that they think you can just use a left hand baitcast reel and not palm the reel or partially palm the reel but also cast while partially palming the reel so they dont have to change between casting and palming grips.  This can lead to terrible casting performance because they can't move their wrist on the cast and make terrible lob casts or exclusively side arm swing.  I see it all the time.  They can't put any energt into the cast and are absolutely shocked to hear that you can empty and entire spool of line on a bomb cast.  

 

The issue isn't left hand reels because you can cast properly with them but they do enable people to learn incorrectly.  A right hand reel forces you to have a proper trigger finger behind the trigger casting grip and then transition to some sort of palming grip by changing hands.  You can absolutely do this with lefty reels (I do on mine for long casts) but you can also just sort of hold the reel and lob cast without changing grips.  Many newer anglers are doing this thinking they are clever and their casting distance suffers because of it.

Days like today are days I either love or dread. Depends on how it goes, and this time it went well with trying to rebuild a 33 year old Shimano 6500 Baitrunner spinning reel from the 1991-1993 era. But this old reel threw me some curve balls I could not miss.

 

The first thing I did was overhaul the reel top to bottom to see where it stood as is. I found I needed a new rotor bearing as the old one was rusty and super noisy even though it worked fine. My son did not like the noise. So I ordered a replacement for $3.50.

 

I knew from the initial rebuild that I had no rear drag. But I decided to put it off until I received the bearing, and had reason to go back into the reel.

 

When I disassembled the rear baitrunner drag mech this is what I found in there, and photo shows the order the parts were in when removed:

 

 

So I pulled up the schematic for this reel and this first one shows the correct schematic for this reel. Just a plain old standard 6500 model:

 

 

The parts found inside of this reel I have did not match the original schematic. I found parts inside from a later 6500B model 2003 era, and I found parts missing like the shim washer under the drag tension spring RD113 was no where to be found. So I then pulled up the 6500B schematic to compare it with the parts I found inside:

 

 

This is the order the parts should have been in:

 

 

Hmmmm... my older reel has a newer part that is not supposed to be in there. RD6780. So what was going on? Why wasn't the rear drag working? I found the reason was incorrect drag stacking height was not correct for the threaded adjustment to tighten down on drag washers. I could crank the rear drag knob all the way down tight and had no drag whatsoever.

 

Someone, possibly a reel repair shop had attempted a repair maybe, or someone at home attempted a repair trying to increase the height of the drag stack to get some pressure to screw down on the drag washers. But they missed a key critical detail. And that is RD4631 shim washer under the tension spring was missing! This meant the tension spring was buried down inside of its holder and did not stick out far enough to even be able to put tension on the drag washers.

 

This is how I found it:

 

 

I added back into this reel a slightly thicker shim washer than stock to account for years of compression of drag stack. This way I could reuse old drag washers without having to replace them.

 

 

Not only did I add a thicker shim washer, but I also removed the newer part that is not supposed to be in this reel.

 

 

And now I have more than enough spring sticking out to screw down good tension on the drag washers.

 

 

And now I have a fully repaired original baitrunner 6500 with plenty of baitrunning rear drag again! 

 

I think someone realized they did not have enough ability to screw down this tension spring and they attempted to increase drag stack height by the addition of that newer part and by putting it in the wrong location to cover over an indented cut out in the frame for the drag washer. By adding in this part it increased it the thickness of the part which is not much, but by covering over that cut out area it added some drag stack height by preventing the drag washer from being seated properly in there.

 

But what happened to that washer under the tension spring? I have no idea what it was missing. That was the important part!

 

What was really missing was the tension springs ability to give and take. The way they did it removed all spring tension and when screwed down tight it was a solid screw down like a vise. Adding that extra thick shim washer under this spring lifting it above its holder really did the trick on restoring that rear drag mech.

 

This rear drag threw me 2 curve balls this morning and I knocked both of them out of the park this time- fortunately for my son. He should now get many more years of use out of this reel catching big reds, black drum, snook, and whatever else he hooks into out there.

 

 

 

One more detail bugging me, but I won't touch it unless it becomes a problem, but I noticed the pawl tension spring RD3012 looks kind of weak, and not engaging the pawl as hard as I would want it to be, but I will only address this if necessary because that spring is buried down deep under all of the baitrunner clutch mechanism. Its an easy job, just lots of disassembly again and as long as it locks in solid and does not jump it will be fine.

 

Spring RD3012 can be adjusted to increase tension on the pawl if needed one day.

 

I have found in other baitrunners that heavy duty use can bend the pawl. So one day if I got back inside of this reel to work on it I will more than likely install a new pawl and increase spring tension- but only if needed.

 

Now all my son has to do is figure what color braid line he wants on this reel. So far I have ordered bright blue, and bright orange. He likes the colored line for some reason. I'll be curious to see what color he chooses for this old reel now back to working like new again. It may not look like new, but we don't care so long as it works like new. A near $300 reel for less than $40. Just needed a little long overdue TLC.

 

BigBox, my son and I both don't want to switch hands when fishing. We both watch videos of fishermen who cast with their right hand, and then switch the rod and reel over to their left hand to fish with it. But I don't try and cast from a palming position. I get my full cast out there and then go back to palming if needed.

 

Switching hands is something I have avoided for decades- more than 30 years. I started out doing it that way with right handed reels, but quickly made the switch to all left handed reels. My son has followed suit.

 

That said, I am about to hand him a saltwater reel, a Daiwa 300, that is right handed just to see if he will use it. I got it for free because it had been used in saltwater and was completely locked up when I received it and was basically going into the trash, but I said let me see if I can save it. I am a softy for old salty dogs no one else would attempt repairs on and tell me I should just throw it away as well. I guess I view them as a challenge that I won't let a reel beat me. No. I gotta whip it into shape and make it useable again if nothing else.

 

This is how she looked when I acquired this reel

 

 

Trying to disassemble this one required bigger heavier tools than normal. I could not remove the line guide pawl cap. It was glued onto the reel! I had to use one of the largest screwdrivers I had and a lot of force to remove it. Maybe I should have heated it up some first, but I did not know it had been glued on permanently. But I managed to break it loose and take reel fully apart.

 

I had to replace the handle as one of the grip posts was too loose and bent to the point of falling out. I ws not able to straighten it back, so I tossed it, and used an old Bass Pro handle I had laying around that works just fine and now has 4 bearings in it.

 

This images shows the glue still inside the threads and pieces of solid glue all over inside the cap.

 

 

And now all finished up and shined up some and ready to fish again in saltwater, this time treated with corrosion x to try and prevent further corrosion issues. I replaced a couple of bearings in this one as well and repaired the baitrunning clicker that was not working. But she's back!

 

 

I am hoping my son will give this one a try, but he may reject the handle on the right side. For a free saltwater baitrunner type of reel hopefully he won't complain. If he does, its just another reel to sell or trade in at some pawn shop for something we do want. I just traded in some reels to a pawn shop and got him a $200 rod he will use, in exchange for a handful of reels neither of us would have used. So it all works out.

 

And last week I dropped by the old rod and reel repair shop I used to work at, and found a new growing deeper box of customer abandoned reels I need to dig through. This box represents maybe a couple of months of abandoned customer reels. By the time I get back down to central Florida to dig through this box again, maybe it will be filled up!

 

I think I will grab those old stradics if the shop does not want them. That old gold Daiwa looks interesting too. I love boxes like this! The shop not so much. But at least they can use them for parts same as I do- or repair a few and use them.

 

I gotta get back down to the shop. I was just informed one of our shop's long time customers, an old guide captain just brought in boxes of his old reels and donated them to the shop. So if I want to get in on some of that, its time for a road trip to see what is in those boxes. I also need to find a 7'6" MHF blank for my son's inshore custom spinning rod he wants to build. Only 12 years old and already wanting to build his own custom rods.

 

This comment is for Bass Pro and Rick Clunn reel owners.

 

I recently purchased a couple of old Bass Pro Rick Clunn signature reels off ebay for like $20 each. Cheap! Cheap! Cheap! Love the prices!

 

One of the reels has a sticky thumbar very difficult to move up and down in its slot. Lubricating does not help. Trying by hand to move the thumbar up and down proved difficult. It should freely move up and down.

 

For this particular reel this is an important issue to correct because the part that the thumbar uses to switch the reel into cast mode, and same part the reel uses to switch or push the thumbar back up into a retrieve reset mode is a plastic piece that can twist and even break off if the force needed to apply through it is too great.

 

 

 

Addressing this problem can be accomplished one of two ways. One way is to sand down the two thumbar retainers on each side, but those are already very thin as they are. So that is not the best choice here.

 

In my opinion the best choice is to lightly sand the ends of the thumbar just enough to make it move up and down in its slot without any resistance or difficulty. Once this accomplished, the reel can be reassembled, and one can be sure the connecting part is not subjected to too much force moving in both directions. Ease of operation here is key to longevity for this reel.

 

Just lightly sand both ends of thumbar with fine grit sandpaper to remove just enough plastic so thumbar can move freely in its slot.

 

Not all reels will experience this problem. When reel is apart on the bench one can quickly check for this problem by simply inserting the thumbar into place in its slot and test it by hand. If it is too tight. Lightly sand. If it moves freely as is, this is not needed.