The test reel for the PQ 5-Year Challenge hit its fourth service anniversary on October 26 (today). I cleaned the reel this morning, fished it mid-day, and wrote this report in the afternoon.
Background: Briefly, the 5-Year Challenge resulted from some board members expressing the opinion that the PQ reel was a “one-season” reel (it would be completely worn out after a "season"), and certainly wouldn’t stay in an angler’s arsenal for as long as 5 years. The subject reel is being used to test those opinions.
Other threads in this series:
BPS Pro Qualifier BC Reel – 5 Year Challenge – Interim Report (12-7-2011)
BPS Pro Qualifier BC Reel – 5-Year Challenge – A Speed-Bump On The Road To Paradise
BPS Pro Qualifier BC Reel – 5-Year Challenge – Three Years In
BPS Pro Qualifier BC Reel – 5-Year Challenge – Time To Pay The Piper!
Current Statistics (based on documented catch data and assumptions as discussed in the 12-7-2011 thread): Reel placed into service: 26 Oct. 2009 Months of service as of this report: 48 Number of “catch days” (days when fish were caught with this reel): 373 Number of fish caught: 786 Biggest fish caught: 48.6 lb grass carp Biggest bass caught: 9.5 lb LMB Number of cycles (casts & retrieves): 39,000+ (see note) Note: Number of cycles is based on catch data, not on total days/hours of use. The reel was used many days where no fish were caught, especially during the winter months. I fish this reel nearly every day and actual number of use days probably easily exceeds 600-700. Actual number of cycles could easily be in excess of 60,000. Frankly, it is getting difficult to calculate the number of accrued cycles on this reel due to the significant number of days where it is fished, but no fish are caught – resulting in thousands of uncounted cycles. Significant Events In the Last Year: On January 25, 2013, I filed an interim report to detail a parts replacement necessary due to damage to the level wind system caused by debris lodging in the worm shaft (See the “Time To Pay The Piper” thread linked above). Otherwise the reel has been mostly trouble-free for the past year (see the "When Plastic Trumps Aluminum" section below).
The biggest fish caught with the reel during the past year was this 34 pound grass carp:
The biggest bass caught with the reel in the last year was this 6.08lb LMB:
Special mention goes to the smallest fish ever caught with this reel, landed just a few days ago: a 1 7/16” minnow! It was a tough fight but I managed to land the fish (And how the heck that treble drilled the minnow right through the eyes I'll never know.)
Previous Maintenance/Repairs: December 2010 – Annual cleaning. December 2011 – Annual cleaning. Replacement of line guide pawl at about 26 months of use. Interesting factoid – the pawl had probably made at least 320,000 passes across the worm shaft at the time of replacement. July 2012 – Repairs / cleaning (see the "A Speed-Bump On The Road To Paradise" thread linked above): Repair 1 – debris jammed the line guide pawl causing the pawl to create a burr on the worm shaft. Filed off the burr and thoroughly cleaned the reel. Repair 2 – centrifugal brake wear – replaced the palm-side sideplate assembly.
January 2013 - Repair / cleaning / upgrade (see the "Time To Pay The Piper" thread linked above):
Repair – replaced the worm shaft, line guide pawl, and two idler gears.
Upgrade – replaced the stock drag washers with Carbontex washers.
October 2013 – Annual cleaning.
Current Condition: The condition of the internal parts of the reel are about the same as previously reported – some wear on the clutch return pawl that doesn’t affect function, and the centrifugal brake shoes have considerable wear (as reported in the "Speed-Bump" thread). Otherwise, things are looking pretty good inside. Externally, the reel has a bit more minor rash on the top of the reel, very little on the sides. Spool bearings are getting increasingly noisy but spin well when cleaned. If you are familiar with the whine made by Shimano Digital Control reels during a cast…that’s sorta the noise I hear when I cast this PQ – you get the audio experience of a DC reel without the high cost… Otherwise, the reel is fishable, but it’s readily apparent that you are not fishing with a new, tight reel. As I mention with every report, this reel has not been babied, and has often been rode hard and put away wet. In winter, the reel is frequently rode hard and put away frozen, with ice still in the line guide when taking the rod out of the trunk of the car. I still believe that much of the centrifugal brake wear that I reported back in July 2012 may have been a result of cold-weather service (air temps down to below freezing) - causing some of the grit and congealed oil film on the brake drum to become particularly abrasive - accelerating wear on the brass drum.
When Plastic Trumps Aluminum:
Earlier this year, I noticed the clutch bar (thumb bar) getting a little loose. My initial thought was that the bar had cracked on the inside surface (it’s a plastic part) and that the nylon(?) shims on each side of the clutch bar were probably worn. I added a clutch bar and a set of shims to a parts order without disassembling the reel to determine the actual cause for the looseness. When the parts came in, I stripped the reel and quickly found the actual cause – wear to the aluminum frame caused by the action of the clutch bar. I went ahead and installed the new parts but they did little to tighten up the bar so I am not reporting them as necessary parts replacements.
In the photo below, note the vertical grooves (indicated by the red arrows) cut in the frame by the “legs” on the bottom of the clutch bar - this entire area of the frame should be completely flat. As mentioned, the clutch bar is is a plastic part but it does have some sort of plating on it. That plating, with perhaps the addition of grit and grime under the bar, were enough to actually groove the aluminum frame. Thus, plastic trumps aluminum in this case. This is the causal factor for the loose clutch bar and potentially could be a source of an eventual frame crack. I checked my other 5 PQs and this wear (to a lessor degree) is present - the severity based on the amount of use of the reel.
Summary:
After 48 months of use, where are we at?
Parts replacements:
Parts replaced due to wear: (necessary) 1 line guide pawl, (optional) original drag washers
Parts replaced due to damage caused by debris: (necessary) worm shaft, line guide pawl, (optional) idler gears
Parts replaced (probably) due to my failure to maintain: palm-side sideplate assembly (to replace the brake drum)
Parts ordered and installed but did not fix the problem: clutch bar and shims
Lessons learned:
Keep the brake drum CLEAN and appy lube to the drum to prevent premature wear.
Accept that the dual-braking system (DBS), along with its advantages, has some disadvantages - added complexity and potential wear to parts that are not readily replaceable - like the brake shoes.
Closing:
That's it. Hopefully, I won't have another report until the reel hits its fifth service anniversary and I issue a final report in October 2014.
Will this PQ last another year? Stay tuned and we’ll find out...
