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For 30+ years I've always kept a ever so slight side by side movement in the spool. It's always worked for me until I tried the Revo's which I could never dial in to get distance and keep from birds nests.

The way you see most folks drop their combo's on the deck or shove them into rod lockers, on tourney's on t.v. it's no wonder. Combine that with the wholesale usage of uber high lb. test braided line and reels with high drag ratings than was previously available. Something has to give and with the line now being basically.....rope, it's going to be the rod. Surely you as a All-Star rod user, have seen a decrease in quality. When companies are consumed by mega conglomerates, these companies become a shell of their former selves and survive only in name.

TD-S and TD-X were pre TD-Z which was a precurser to the Zillion.

Forgot, I also like them to accurately cast square bill and waking crankbaits around stumps, pilings and other emergent wood. In place of where many would throw a spinnerbait. The first pistol grip rod I got was a Team Daiwa Larry Nixon signature spinnerbait rod. I miss that rod, they had such comfortable reel seats.

Daiwa Lexa with standard Magforce. I intended to buy the Tatula but found it less comfortable to palm. Of all the mag braked reels I had tried in the past the Sol and TD-S gave me the less problems. Zillions, Quantum and many low profile Abu's gave me the most. Thank you I think that is what I was looking for. Do you find that with a mag braked reel, you tighten the handle side cast control knob more, less or the same as with a centrifugal braked reel?

All my life I've stuck with bait casters with centrifugal brakes. The few times I've gotten mag controlled reels I've quickly given them up. I'm trying them again and would like to find more success with them. I never seemed to get the same amount of control without sacrificing distance. Any tips on casting style or mag settings?

I use them every week for walking the dog and throwing super flukes under canopies and docks.

That's funny I've noticed the same thing at my local BPS but it's towards shimano. Just try to buy another brand and you get their "professional" opinion and dozens of stories of returned non shimano garbage.

If they are upgrading to cork as the “rep“ said, then I bet they upgrade the price too. It's their m.o. to upgrade the blank too whenever they change. I hope the blank will have a conservative color, the Cumara deep red was modest compared to some companies.

Look at any Veritas, Vendetta or other recent Abu rod after it was held for a season and you'll see worn.

I'm not sure with the SX. Examine the schematic and verify if each part of the assembly is there. Also you can call pure fishing in Iowa before 5pm central time and they will help you their customer service is great.

I think you'll only see cork on the upper end models above Cumara.

I've used baitcasters almost exclusively for well over 30 years. Recently carpul tunnel forced me to use spinners for everything. I found them to be much more versatile than I gave them credit for being. But I do miss the pinpoint accuracy I can get from the casting reel.

I have the Inshore model Revo spinner, same basic design. It has the smoothest drag I've ever seen and very powerful. They are strong reels and easy to get into to maintain. I've caught fish upwards of 20#'s with it without a glitch and best of all it came with an extra spool, something other manufacturers don't think is important.

The reel manufacturers have you-tube videos on regular maintenance. If you don't find one that'll work for your model try their overseas websites. I've found easy to follow tutorials for spinners on Germany's Abu site, Australia's Abu site and Australia's Daiwa site. Alantani.com has a section for each manufacturer and spinners in particular that have hundreds of tutorials on complete take downs. There are dozens of reel repairmen on that board that will offer you help if needed. Taking care of your reels is very satisfying. I don't consider myself mechanically inclined but working on my reels has helped me improve that.

I use line specifically made to be used as leader by TripleFish or Berkely. They come in a leader wheel. I prefer mono but have played around with the flouro too. #1 tip, find a knot you like, can tie easily, fast and in the field even in the dark. Many knots will point the cut tag end of your leader towards the back and catch too easily in the tip and guides.

What brand reels do you use that are so poorly made that their spools shrink or swell with the temperature? I don't use tape. I don't use backing. 5 or 6 wraps around the spools arbor then a uni knot, check the video under The Spanish Fly on you-tube. The less knots the better.

Google castawaylakes or search the name at catfish1 and other forums. Lots of complaints. Call Jerry, he can answer any Ambassadeur question and he sends the parts you need very fast. You'll end up talking about reels for an hour.... Sparky241, no you can't

Ambassadeurs marked High Speed are not high gear ratio to todays standard. But thats all the better as they have plenty of smooth power. Im all for bearings too and have 6 in my Ambassadeurs but dont discount brass bushings. The farthest casting Ambassadeurs Ive used had camphered bushings. Ultra Cast has meant 2 different things to Abu at 2 different times in their history. One referred to now discontinued models with super sized bearings that the spool rode on. My Ambassadeurs have a bearing in the idler gear, 2 supporting the levelwind and one replacing the plastic bushing around the gear shaft where it comes thru the side plate(a must for genuine smoothness). Bearings in the handle knobs are nice too. I use Abec 7 ceramic hybrids in the spool, the levelwind bearings are also ceramic to avoid corrosion. I like to play with "Rocket Fuel Oil" and Rocket Fuel Liquid Grease" for the reel and I get all my reels custom built by Jerry Foran at hookless. Many are also getting bent drag stars and carbon handles at the Revo Pro Shop. You can also find many custom bits from UT Technology in Sweden and through many Ambassadeur fanatics who socialize on the We who love Abu page on facebook. The sky is the limit.

I use Abu Ambassadeur 2500C and 1500C's from the early 90's remakes to original 70's models. I use older Loomis Kokonee trolling rods and the new Cast Away Mod light wading rods. I guess maybe 1/8th oz pins minnows, spoons or crappie jigs might not be ultra light to many but it is to me, especially with 4lb or 2lb mono when the target is tarpon up to 10lb.s. A lot of fun

Yeah don't get one that begins with an A. Mine have only lasted over 40 years. Still look and perform as new. Praise the shimano god

I prefer to think I have my reels for life and not use them until failure. What if that failure is while your fighting your new personal best??

They get a wipe down and some points get an oiling after every trip. Many get a complete takedown once a month. Freshwater here, even 50 miles from the gulf has salt in it.

Are you talking about that giant foam monstrosity Shaw Grisby and Roland Martin are using on their shows? Or.... the Larry Dahlberg rod balancer butt cap with the interchangeable weights? The balancer used to be available at bass pro. But considering Dahlberg's new sponsorship with Mud Hole, it probably will be available only there soon.

It's sad that they put the time honored Ambassadeur name on those S and SX models. At best I'm afraid you will have a short lived model that will most likely need heavy weight to cast. Don't let that model sku your opinion of Ambassadeurs. You really need to get a Swedish made C3 or better in the 4600 size for bass fishing or tossing lures. Maybe relegate the SX to bait fishing or catfishing.