On 1/18/2019 at 3:38 PM, rippin-lips said:

I’d say roughly about 8hrs total. 1-2hrs in taking it apart and prepping all the parts. 1hr worth of cleaning all the parts for when it was finished. 5hrs in the whole paint process. Then another 1hr to put it all back together after it sat for a week. 

That is not bad at all, I would have thought the prep and masking would have taken longer.  Did you do anything special to prep the surface of the reel frame?

 

 

 

 

My quest for the "perfect" 6' bfs rod has taken a new turn.  I was looking at the 16' Destroyer Cliffhanger when I was offered this used Phase 3 Criffhanger for a price too good to pass up.  It's in great shape other then a bit of wear on the reel-seat coating.  I have not gotten to fish with it much at all yet but got to spend an hour casting with it into a 20'x50' stretch of thawed water at a local pond.  It's so far everything I have been looking for in a short bfs rod and I cannot wait to get it on the water for real.  It has an amazing tip and I think it's sweetspot is going to be right around 3/16oz, which was exactly what I was looking for.  Right now it has a PX68 spooled with 7lb Sniper on it but I might switch it out to my Airy Red Pixzilla and 10lb Sniper.  The 7lb is thin enough that it gets too damaged when I get an overrun and I hope the 10lb will work a little better and not cost me too much distance.  

Just picked up this setup and spooled it during the snow storm. Buying gear helps with dealing with winter. 

 

Daiwa Tatula LT 2000 + Daiwa Airdx 6'6" M/F

 

And the rest of the fleet. My original ugly stik from 15 years ago is the trunk setup, can't believe how stout that rod has been for this long. 

 

 

Bottom to top

Ugly Stick 2pc 6' Medium / Penn Fierce II 2000

Daiwa airdx 6'6" M/F / Daiwa Tatula LT 2000

Daiwa airdx 7' MH/F / Piscifun Carbon X 2000

Lews Speed Stick tp-1 7' MH/F / Abu Garcia Pro Max Low profile

 

I fish from a kayak, and primarily use jerk baits, crank baits, and frogs. Need to work on some finesse stuff this season. 

4 hours ago, superkamikazee said:

Just picked up this setup and spooled it during the snow storm. Buying gear helps with dealing with winter. 

 

Daiwa Tatula LT 2000 + Daiwa Airdx 6'6" M/F

 

And the rest of the fleet. My original ugly stik from 15 years ago is the trunk setup, can't believe how stout that rod has been for this long. 

 

 

Bottom to top

Ugly Stick 2pc 6' Medium / Penn Fierce II 2000

Daiwa airdx 6'6" M/F / Daiwa Tatula LT 2000

Daiwa airdx 7' MH/F / Piscifun Carbon X 2000

Lews Speed Stick tp-1 7' MH/F / Abu Garcia Pro Max Low profile

 

I fish from a kayak, and primarily use jerk baits, crank baits, and frogs. Need to work on some finesse stuff this season. 

I bought the carbon x and won't be able to use it before May at the earliest. What is your opinion about it ?

13 minutes ago, GeekFisher said:

I bought the carbon x and won't be able to use it before May at the earliest. What is your opinion about it ?

I bought it at the end of last season, Oct/Nov and only had a few trips out with it. Caught one fish (1.5lbs), felt smooth, casts nice, its light, and I'm impressed with the build quality for its price point. I haven't been able to fully put it through its paces, so I'm hoping to find out what it's really all about this year particularly how reliable /  trouble free it will be. 

Symetre Fh

Symetre FG

Stradic FJ

I know we don't have many round reel fans here, but I just got this guy yesterday.  ABU 4500CS Rocket.

 

 

 

 

I'm a fan...

 

Karl

 

 

 

Retro re-issue, new build mod Ultracast. 5500 to 4500 conversion.

 

Karl

 

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.  

 

 

1959-1961 model Ambassadeur 6000.  Flea market find for like $40-45.  Still looks new!

22 minutes ago, Big-Bass said:

Tell me about this one, it's gorgeous!

1 hour ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Tell me about this one, it's gorgeous!

Custom made Abu 4600C with CDL parts on it.  Made by Don Iovino in Burbank, CA.  Engraved palming side plate  I also have a custom 2500C he made for me.  Both of these were made and purchased in 2016.  Gorgeous reels.  

2 hours ago, Big-Bass said:

Custom made Abu 4600C with CDL parts on it.  Made by Don Iovino in Burbank, CA.  Engraved palming side plate  I also have a custom 2500C he made for me.  Both of these were made and purchased in 2016.  Gorgeous reels.  

Excellent posts by you guys. Would make a good thread on its own.

5 hours ago, Big-Bass said:

What handle is that? I might get one for my 5601 C4. 

10 minutes ago, FrankN209 said:

What handle is that? I might get one for my 5601 C4. 

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

29 minutes ago, redmeansdistortion said:

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

Not sure.  Don put it on the reel when he was making it.  He asked me if I like it and I said yep so he included it.  It's a nice reel.

52 minutes ago, Big-Bass said:

Not sure.  Don put it on the reel when he was making it.  He asked me if I like it and I said yep so he included it.  It's a nice reel.

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?

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.

 

 

Those are really nice Abu builds.  I've done a couple for people - Put 3.7:1 gears, winch handle, bearings, and upgraded drag in a wiffle spool for cranking.  Did a 70s era 2500 and 1500 upgrade as well.  Fun to work on, even more fun to test/break in.

8 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Those are really nice Abu builds.  I've done a couple for people - Put 3.7:1 gears, winch handle, bearings, and upgraded drag in a wiffle spool for cranking.  Did a 70s era 2500 and 1500 upgrade as well.  Fun to work on, even more fun to test/break in.

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.

Those 3.7s came from an old reel in my "junkyard."  With older reels, it's easier to put parts together and make a reel.  Newer reels, not as much, though Daiwa and Shimano still have many interchangeable parts.

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

Those 3.7s came from an old reel in my "junkyard."  With older reels, it's easier to put parts together and make a reel.  Newer reels, not as much, though Daiwa and Shimano still have many interchangeable parts.

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.