FloridaFishinFool

I should mention that one of the side benefits to collecting up a pile of fishing tackle geared for kids that is being repaired and prepared for donating is that my own sons love to play with rods and reels, and this charity tackle is perfect to keep them busy with so they are more prone to leave my more expensive rods and reels alone! So I let my boys play with the charity tackle all they want to so they can learn about it and how to use it, and I don't have to worry about them breaking any of my rods and reels, but that is not always the case. One of my boys recently knocked over a brand new $150.00 rod onto a tile floor shattering the tip guide insert rendering the rod useless for now. But it does help to just hand the boys rods and reels they can play with that I don't have to worry about them abusing or breaking. But it is amazing how fast they can "lose" a reel inside the house. I am missing two right now that I can not find. And as my boys grow up I will involve them in sharing fishing with other kids and hopefully pass that on to them as well.

I hope this is the right place for a post like this one... As a kid growing up I was always appreciative of the time the older guys gave to me to teach me about fishing; starting with my father and other family members, fishing was a passed down legacy that continued on into Boy Scouts where I really began to get into fishing more and more since some of my scout troop leaders were avid bass fishermen and it was always a part of our scouting experience. Now I am that older guy, and all those old timers who took the time to hand to me their fishing legacy and knowledge and experience are now long gone, and their passed down fishing legacy is now mine to pass on to my own sons, now ages 1 & 3. But even before they were born I was already involved with passing fishing on to other generations through some of Florida's wonderful kids fishing charities. While it is nice to fish competitively in small local tournaments with my peers, one of the most rewarding things I could ever do is to donate my time and fishing equipment directly to kids fishing charities so that disadvantaged kids and troubled kids, and kids without father role models to have an opportunity to experience fishing through the efforts of organizations that specialize in passing on our universal fishing legacy. So for me, I love to repair old reels. It is just a fun thing to do. So as I travel around central Florida, I visit garage sales, thrift stores, pawn shops looking them over for equipment for me personally, and I am always keeping an eye out for fishing equipment that I can fix up and donate to churches or non-profit fishing charity organizations who will use this equipment to put it into the hands of kids to hopefully light that spark inside of each of them to make fishing a part of their lives. I have even gone so far as to take kids from broken homes out fishing with me, but this is a difficult thing to do with a heavy liability, so I much prefer to repair and donate equipment and work through various charities that teach kids about fishing from shore or docks which is the most common method for such charities. So I just wanted to mention this and see if any of you were already donating money, time, or tackle to kids fishing charities, and if not, I hope a post like this might inspire some of you to look into it in your area, and let's help some kids learn a love of fishing. When you see the smiles it can put on kids faces, how can we not give to them what has been given to us? I hope some of you will find some local kids fishing charity organizations and give a little bit of your time, money, or tackle and pass it on...

Its a great feeling bringing reels back to life again. Nothing like that first time feeling!

I went to the shimano website and looked up "current" models on their website and picked one randomly to look inside. OK, I see what I did. I misread the "J" on the current models page as an "I" because of how the line underneath hid some of the bottom of the "J" and I missed that. So the schematic of the stradic I used was actually the current model ST3000FJ. http://fish.shimano.com/content/dam/shimanoweb/fish/sac-fish/en/techdocs/current-models--2-/STRADIC/ST3000FJ

Another interesting innovation with this reel is the oscillation gear. Tokushima has designed a gear that is a gear within a gear. In some of my shimano reels all you will find is one solid piece oscillation gear. Not in this reel. On shimano reels, when you turn the handle the spool moves in and out faster that the HK3000. The HK3000 reel's spool moves in and out very slowly and the manufacturer calls it parallel line lay. I was surprised when I first put line on the spool at how perfectly level it was- even and level. Only time will tell if this is truly an "innovation" that will stick around and stand the test of time, but it is different and takes some getting used to. In regards to this just being a $40.00 reel, when it was recommended to me to try it out I was told that Cabela's had sold these same reels for $125.00 several years ago. It is kind of cool getting them for under $40.00. And to find out I like it better than my president reels and shimano reels is a bonus.

Yes, I do own one and more are on the way. This reel is now on season two and like new. This is one of the shimano's I will be replacing with several more of these Tokushima reels:

Yes sir. That is the only reason I started this thread to share my like for this reel with others who might enjoy it too. Isn't that what this is all about? Sharing the love of fishing with enjoyable equipment? All I am trying to do is share what was shared with me and passing it on.

So far just the presidents have been put away. I have not replaced the shimano reels yet, but working on it. This reel has me sold on it. I like the president reels too, but this one is better and costs less. I like it more and just wanted to share. For the price you can't go wrong is all I am saying.

I just thought some of you might like to enjoy a nice quality reel for a decent price. What is wrong with that? When you come across something that is decent and at a decent price why not share? Truth is, someone on another forum shared this one with me. That is how I found out about it and I am just passing it on. No agenda. Just sharing a nice product is all.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-Stradic-6000F-J-Spin-Reel-Tremendous-Amount-Of-Cranking-Power-/181585171324?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a4751d37c http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2014-Shimano-Stradic-CI4-FA-2500-3000-4000-front-drag-reels-STCI4-/111326378086?pt=UK_BOI_Packing_Postal_Supplies_Labels_LE&var=&hash=item19eb91b866 I got my prices off ebay. my mistake. Price it how you want to. A lot of people like the pflueger president reels. This one is superior- and cheaper too.

Well the main frame is solid anodized aluminum. And the sides are cross-fiber molded carbon graphite. The drag washers are standard felt. My reel is easier to turn than any of my 5 president reels also made in China, and it is extremely smooth. It is well built and I am now on season 2 with it and I love it!

First let's take a look inside a brand new nearly $400.00 dollar Shimano Stradic ST3000FI. Shimano has not improved the rotor mount for some of their spinning reels in decades. It is the same old design you find in their cheaper reels, and you find it here in this nearly $400.00 stradic- only one ball bearing #10320 to support the rotor from wobbling when spinning. Closer to the rotor you will find a one-way AR bearing mounted inside the clutch assembly. These two bearings is all there is on a $400.00 Shimano stradic reel to prevent wobble in the spinning rotor: Now take a look inside the all new Tokushima Chinese reel. Their engineers have improved upon the rotor mount by adding an extra ball bearing strategically placed even closer to the rotor. Now the AR bearing is sandwiched in between 2 ball bearings of the same size, so that when you are fighting a big fish and tighten down on the drag, the AR bearing is not taking any of the side pressure as you would experience with the old worn-out shimano design. With the way shimano designs this part of the reel, over time, the rotors get more and more loose and wobbly, but that can not happen with the new innovative Tokushima design: The superior engineering in the Tokushima design should be quite obvious to all who see it. Those two ball bearings will now carry all of the weight of the rotor and maintain it far more rigidly than the shimano design. With the shimano design you will wear the AR bearing at angles under pressure of fighting fish, while the Tokushima design completely eliminates that problem and provides a far superior mount for rotor stability. The new shimano stradic is priced at near $400.00, while the Tokushima reel shown above is only $40.00 with free shipping included. For me, it is a no brainer, and this is not the only improvement Tokushima designed into their reels! There is much more.

I recently posted in another thread about how much I like and enjoy using my new Tokushima HK3000 spinning reel made in China. I was immediately called into question as to how in the world can some cheap Chinese knock-off reel be any good, and that everyone should beware of buying one just because it is Chinese, but rather put your money down on a new Shimano stradic or similar. So I thought I would start a thread about why Tokushima is leaving Shimano in the dust. First, take a look at the new Tokushima reel made in China. It is a work of art and one beautiful reel. But what is on the inside makes it even better! This reel comes stock with 13 ball bearings + 1 AR bearing for a smooth, easy to operate reel.

I have learned over the years that when a cold front is bearing down on us here in Florida, it usually means the barometric pressure is on the rise from low to high. The fish sense this change of pressure as the atmosphere weighs down heavier on the surface of a lake, and the fish sense this change and go deep and don't feed well until the opposite happens and the pressure changes or swings from a high to a low, then the bass rise up and begin to feed more. Like you I went out yesterday on a private lake and saw the short finicky hits at the lures as I was retrieving too slowly allowing the finicky fish too much of an opportunity to look at the lure and reject it, but just before sundown there were some bass out roaming the edge of lily pads and around shore feeding and so I sped up my retrieve and went to top water or just under the surface ripping in the lure and caught two within 5 minutes of each other almost at my feet on shore before calling it quits as the sun went down.

We have a winner! Finally, the real deal. Rinsing can cause more harm than good. If I have a reel in salt water environment I would tear it down immediately after using it, and use a product called Salt Away to chemically neutralize the salt. Just keep a glass jar of it on your workbench and as you tear the reel down, toss relevant parts into the salt away, rinse, dry the parts thoroughly & re-grease or lube parts and put reel back together again. Otherwise, what happened above will happen again over and over. In fact, reel manufacturers are counting on it! Some intentionally use materials they KNOW will corrode with salt contact. Reel manufacturers love to hear stories like this one- so you go buy another reel from them, or pay them as much to fix it as another reel might cost. It is called built-in obsolescence. I would not let reels go for any length of time without some sort of servicing. Gotta protect the investment. So for me, any salt water use demands immediate servicing no if's, and's, or but's about it. For my rods, salt is extremely corrosive to some guides. So I take a small paint brush and brush salt away all over the guides, let it stay there per instructions for the time it takes to neutralize salts, then rinse. And, to prevent any corrosion, I will often wipe the guides with corrosion X and put the rod away, and wipe it off before next fishing trip. My rods and reels will be ready come next use. Will not have any surprises if I follow some basic ground rules. Information on salt away from their website: Salt-Away is a water-based, non-hazardous, biodegradable solution and contains properties that dissolve, release and remove salt crystals from any surface. WATER ALONE WILL NOT REMOVE SALT. Use of Salt-Away will not correct past damage but will work to protect against salt corrosion and reduces costly repairs caused by salt. Salt-Away breaks apart and removes salt accumulation with repeated use. Salt-Away can safely be used on all metals, fiberglass, paint, rubber, plastic, chrome, glass, concrete, brick or any surface exposed to salt. Salt-Away, mixed with water, washes away the salt then leaves a protective film on surfaces until surfaces are again exposed to water or salt. Special high-performing corrosion inhibitors in the product help protect metals from corroding if not rinsed off. Salt-Away will not strip wax or cause streaks or spots. It is easy to apply by using pressure or power washers, Salt-Away's special Mixing Unit, the ready-to-use spray bottles for smaller jobs, and by immersing items into a mixture of Salt-Away and water.

I have been a shimano fanatic since the mid 1980's. But shimano has not been keeping up with the other reel manufacturers. For 15 years or more all I used was shimano and still use them as most of my baitcast reels are shimano and now less than half of my spinning reels are shimano, but this is changing... and shimano has no one to blame but themselves. When I opened up my old stradic I could not believe shimano would be dumb enough to put one ball bearing on the left side of the main drive gear and a plastic bushing on the other side. What was the point to that? To save them money? If you put a ball bearing on one side of an axle it only makes sense to do the same thing to the other side, but they did not do that. That sort of thing turns me off to shimano. Cheaper pflueger president reels have a ball bearing on each side, so what is shimano's problem? Shimano has lost my loyalty with stuff like that. Thanks for the welcome!

Here is the website link to the repair shop for Bass Pro reels- Just call them on the phone and they are very helpful: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC?storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&appID=40 At Outdoor World Rod & Reel Repair, we know you can't afford to be without your favorite rod or reel for long. That's why we go to great lengths to make sure your repair order is turned around as quickly as possible, so you can get back on the water. We're authorized to perform factory warranty repairs at no charge to you. Other repairs start at only $20.95, plus parts and shipping. Plus, for you who repair reels on your own, as a business or as a hobby, we have the most extensive reel parts inventory in the nation. We even have parts that have been discontinued. If you would like to order parts directly from us, you can call us at (417) 873-5274 Mon.-Fri. 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You can learn more about our prices by taking a look at our pricing and shipping information. We repair the following fishing reels: Bass Pro, Johnny Morris, Bionic, Extreme, Carbonlite, Gold Cup, Offshore Angler, Ocean Master, Tourney Special, Cat Maxx, Crappie Maxx, Abu-Garcia, Pro Qualifier, Mega Cast, Daiwa, Mitchell, Zebco, Browning, Lews, Shimano, Penn, Shakespeare and Johnson. We also repair Minnkota and MotorGuide trolling motors. Wrap your reel securely and enclose a note to explain what's wrong, include proof of purchase for warranty repairs, and your return address (street address only). Mail your repair to us (NO CODs) at: Outdoor World Rod and Reel Repair 2300 East Turner, Suite M Springfield, MO 65803

Korean made reels are not bad either. I have a couple that work great, last for years and still smooth. I understand some Lew's and Abu reels are made in the same factory in Korea as Browning reels. (just something I read on the internet, so not confirmed) Even some Bass Pro brand reels are made in Korea.

That's my whole point! So why pay the middle men huge markups when you can get it direct? What some Americans may not realize is that China is very well aware that they have developed a bad reputation over the years of making cheap junk for companies outside of China. The Chinese are today trying hard to change that reputation by stepping up the quality of their products and are working hard on developing their own brand names with some nice quality products. I work on the front end of trade shows and I have seen their efforts first hand over the past several years as the Chinese are now stepping out into global markets with their own branding. I sort of figured if many of the products I was buying from outside of China companies is making this stuff in China anyways, why not go around them and check out some of the better quality Chinese products and save some money? So far it is working out well for me. A lot of Americans who want to keep the "Chinese is junk" reputation intact often are not considering that a lot of the products they are already using and like are also made in China like the president reels, most bass pro brand reels are either Chinese or Korean. I am about to place another order for more Tokushima reels and some others I have found online, and if all them are as good as my HK-3000 then I will be selling all of my president reels and probably even some shimano reels I won't need any more. Another issue a lot of Americans may not be aware of is that one way the Chinese are taking over in already established markets is to just outright buy out existing companies and move forward from there: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/04/05/chinas-branding-failure-only-6-of-u-s-consumers-can-name-one-chinese-brand/ China’s branding failure: only 6% of U.S. consumers can name one Chinese brand "There’s a reason Americans recognize Japanese brands better than Chinese ones: Both countries sell tons of stuff here, but China often does it under other, non-Chinese names. Chinese companies looking to sell in the United States have long preferred to acquire preexisting American firms (with their established reputations, resources, infrastructure and market share), rather than risk entering the market themselves." "In 2012, Chinese buyers acquired or bought stakes in more U.S. companies than in any year since 2007, inking 46 deals worth $10 billion in total, according to the Wall Street Journal. Those deals included the $2.6 billion buy-out of the AMC movie chain in May and the acquisition of bankrupt battery-maker A123 in December. A University of Pennsylvania reportcalled it a record “run at U.S. companies.” “We should get used to this type of headline,” management professor Mauro Guillen concludes. “More and more Chinese firms, and firms from emerging economies in general, will engage in [mergers and acquisitions] in Europe and the U.S.” The market move is now a snowball rolling downhill right straight to China. They now have the financial clout to literally take over a number of markets and they are doing so while we put them down over here while still buying their products. At some point jumping on the bandwagon may not be a bad idea rather than fight it.

The 69's if you go with a newer one. I have several older 67's and several newer 69's and I like the 67's better, but that is just my personal preference based on several years of using them. My all time favorite president is the 6735 and 6740 which are the same reel with different size spools. And don't use a president in or near salt water as they are not made for it. I am sure whatever you decide to go with you will have a lot of fun.

Pflueger president reels are made in China! So are most of the parts for Shimano made in China, Singapore, and Malaysia. I got this reel last season. I used it for fishing yesterday now in season two. Works great. Every bit as good or better than any president I own. I was told on another forum this same reel was marketed through cabelas a couple of years ago for around $130.00, so that puts it in a class well above any president reel. For $40.00 how can you go wrong? I would not recommend it if it were a piece of junk. I have worked on reels for near 35 years. I have seen some junk in my day. And this is one reel I would not call junk. And for $40.00 what is there to be aware of other than a good deal? If you like president reels, you will like this one better is all I am saying. Give it a chance and save some dollars too.

I have already been inside the reel, took it apart and lubed it my way including every bearing. It is a nice well built reel. And I am now on season two with it. All pflueger president reels are made in China too. And most of the parts for Shimano reels are made in china too as well as Singapore and Malaysia. This reel is well built and is awesome for the price. I was told a while back Cabelas sold them for $130.00. My shimano stradic reel now feels like a beast compared to this reel's ease of operation. The Chinese are stepping up their game and this is one of them.

You want a reel that will knock your socks off? Try a Tokushima I am buying them right now for less than $40.00 each. Blows a president away- and I have 4 presidents, and they along with some of my shimano stradics are being put into a box right now while I buy more Tokushima reels. President reels have like 10 ball bearings, and this reel has like 13 or 14 ball bearings and has a super free movement better than a president and is cheaper too! If you hold one of these in your hand and move the handle to the up position and turn it loose, it will swing back and forth like a swing much long than any stradic or president I have. Super smooth, well built, cheap, and looks great too!

While I am a fan of the pflueger president reel series, I have found that not all of the president series offer the same or similar feel or quality of movement. I have found the 6735 and 6740 to be my favorite of the series, and my 6935 and 6925 are OK, but they are not as fluid as the 6735 or my 6740 which are identical in the body, but have different spools. I have worked on reels for nearly 35 years, and all of the reels I have, have been worked on and tweaked to get the most out of them, and still there is a noticeable difference in feel and movement between sizes and newer and older reels. Recently I purchased a Tokushima HK-3000 and have been blown away by this reel. It has more ball bearings than the president reels, and its movement is actually more free and fluid than my president reels. And it has a unique oscillation gear that moves the spool in and out very slowly and Tokushima calls it parallel line lay. The spool is made for superlines and does not need backing line. You can spool slick superlines direct to the spool. It is one awesome spinning reel for the money. Beats the president any day of the week. In fact, I have been putting my president reels and shimano stradic reels in a box and ordering more of these Tokushima reels. Here is an image of my new favorite: My own Tokushima HK3000 And the HK3000 next to the reel it will soon be replacing- an old Shimano stradic