bulldog1935

Never, Not One. Ever. Manual Bail Technique.

@king fisher there's a hierachy in fly rod MOC with rod length - and there's overlap. Below 7-1/2', graphite simply doesn't work - in order to be strong enough, it's a tomato stake. Especially 7' and below is where e-glass shines. From 7' to 8-1/2', S-glass and cane are the same equivalent modulus, and stand out for both para and progressive rod tapers. In 9' rods and especially longer, there's no reason to use anything but graphite, which is where the industry turned in the '80s. But there were glass jewels from the '70s that more than hold their value today, and everybody wants - e.g., 7-1/2' Vince Cummings Water Witch (St. Croix), 7'7" SA System 5 (Fisher), and any Phillipson under 8' In the salt, my Sage RPLX-7 hurts to shoot line, though it will shoot line to 140'. While my 8-1/2' Japanese S-glass (also para) will do anything the RPLX will do up to 15-kt wind, where using a fly rod is questionable, anyway - and it doesn't shock you to shoot line.

The only references I could find to Pflueger cane rods were posted here. You'll also find the audience for discussion on that link - work on your photos. MontyMan implies Pflueger fly rods were made by Union Hardware, which also implies they were prewar. You can be certain Shakespeare/ South Bend didn't make it - they literally remained in court over reel patents coninuously from 1915 until Shakespeare bought Pflueger in 1966. Condition is everything, and photos are always the place to begin. 8-1/2' is a very desirable tailwater rod, or big western river rod. While the length difference doesn't sound like much, 8-1/2' cane is notably lighter than 9' and more desirable to fish (9' is more common in blue collar cane, and all are over 5 oz) All this said, ballpark value on a fishable rod is $200 +/-

@DaubsNU1 - the biggest rod difference with MOC and lay-up is rod weight. Within strength limits, you can duplicate most any rod taper in most any MOC, but you may pay for it in weight - there are places the taper matters more than the weight, and vise-versa. They already figured out the mass of dark matter in the universe has to be greater than the matter we can detect. So it's either the gravity that pulls you this way, or it's the Lay's potato chip thing - you need more than one brain to leader on baitcaster.

Line has been the biggest change for me, and took the longest - I waited until braid caught up with my requirements - smooth, round, hard, diameters from 0.23mm down to 0.12-mm, with breaking strengths from 45 lbs down to 10 lbs. Leaving everything about monofilament and line memory behind. FWIW, my last Lew's Speed Spool (BB-25SW) caught its last fish on 12-lb Abrazx fluoro at the end of 2018, and my last 4-lb Kamikaze copolymer on finesse caught its last fish on the same trip. I began fishing braid (832) the year before on Super Duty and Tica spinner - also had a lifetime snook gill-cut my fluoro that trip. Things got a lot smaller when I found Japan X-braid the following year. Rod technology has been hit or miss for me, especially fishing soft baits - I'm always more productive on moderate taper rods, including Lami glass on the Lew's BB-25, and Crowder IM6 on the Super Duty - obviously, the rod weight is less important to me. I get faster, lighter-in-hand rods, especially for bottom contact, but I've gone 100% threadline braid from surf to rivers, and won't ever go back.

There's a new option for people who want to fish medium or light fluoro on their BFS-mod Daiwa. Avail just came out with their first Daiwa spool, 34-mm for Zillion/Steez, etc. I remain a Roro fan, but have Avail spools on all my Ambassadeur mods, and their effort will be designed strong.

The trick, figure out what features from each maker work best in your niches, and stick to them. To me, both fanboy and stashed surplus reels are symptoms of not making this effort.

A friend has a pair of KKR spools and likes them both, T-31M and T-37 long-cast SV. He fishes 0.15-mm braid on both. Yes, at 4 g total weight, I'd think there's not a lot of metal thickness there, but it ought to sail light baits. To me, threadline braid is the reason to fish these spools. Ray's Studio offers "long cast" deeper spools for mono. Avail also recently came out with their first Daiwa spool -34-mm for Steez/Zillion - that's plenty stout for mono. I expect they will get around to a 32-mm Alphas spool. That said, you can probably get by with 4- and 6-lb mono on the KKR spool. If you end the day on a cast instead of a big bass, I wouldn't worry too much about mono-relaxation crushing the spool.

If you want to fish light weights, I recommend mag-brake Lew's over centrifugal. I've had Super Duty G, Team Pro SP and Tournament Pro side-by-side on the casting range. Mag-brake Super Duty G casts 1/8 oz 20% farther than the centrifugal-brake reels. If you want to fish light line on the deep spool, back the spool a little over half-way with 20-25 yds 20-25-lb Nylon Mono, with your lighter working line on top. I paid $127 for my first Super Duty G on ebay, and then bought a second at $141 when Lew's closed this model out.

I don't go quite that far, but all my combos are stored (in stand-up racks) with reel covers, and travel with reel covers. Also worth noting, when I bought my '19 Steez, and sold my high-end Lew's to buy my Zillion (kept my Super Dutys), I stuck to 34-mm Daiwa, and all spools interchange between Steez SVTW, Zillion SVTW, Silver Wolf, and SLPW Zillion. Nice thing inside a kayak, pretty much all surfaces are soft, and kayaks never pound the hull. One thing, every rod on a kayak out of sight and mind gets a rod leash. Any reel covers taken out here have to go through a wash cycle at home.

hi friend, I found the last of the last run of ZPI pentagram drag at Carolina Fishing. (actually, @Cbump got the very last piece from C/F). Matched it with Ray's Studio honeycomb SV spool for PE#1.2 X-braid (27-lb breaking strength) - salt ML kayak niche. Momo Zero adjust, Avail STi2 handle. This photo has a BR fan club.

Hmm, 4th year in the salt - full time. (Bought from Asian Portal the week they were introduced). Nothing is chipped, nothing is corroded. Before I opened this thread, read the title and thought, "buy them both, sell them, and buy a Zillion"

I still like my Allbright knots, and we go back 40 years.

@Fishingmickey - it's called Windage Swing when the rod doesn't load with the light weight you're casting. Rather than going where you aim, the cast goes off in the same direction the rod is swinging. This is actually how you measure the low-end weight your rod is capable of casting - does the weight go where you aim, or does it keep going off to the side. Still, rod loading issues don't seem to be related to OP's initial complaint about end-of-cast backlash.

Generally, heavy lures don't get wind backlash, but the jerk of heavy lures on the spool increases start-up backlash. Mid-cast wind backlash isn't exactly named properly. While wind can be a factor casting light or "parachute" lures, the backlash is caused by gravity slowing the lure while it's still traveling uphill. Once the lure is over the hump and on the fall, gravity makes backlash impossible - unless your timing on thumbing the spool at end-of-cast is too late. This late reaction is too typical, even when you antcipate it - I find myself occasionally lifting the rod to take a loose finish-cast loop off the spool. If you're having a consistent problem, and believe it's because of the weight, tighten spool tension and live with shorter casts.

No, end-of-cast backlash is due to not using your thumb to stop the spool. You should be using thumb on the fall to adjust the final elevation of your cast accuracy, and to stop the spool when the lure hits the water. Brakes are for preventing start-up backlash (centrifugal or non-linear mag) - start-up backlash is spool overshoot - and wind backlash, which occurs just before the hump at mid-cast (linear mag brake).

It was a good thing learning baitcast RHW, spinning LHW back when this was the only way these reels were offered. It keeps the casting habits for each technique in different arms. If more people learned this way, and didn't bring their spinning habits to baitcaster, backlash wouldn't be such a major topic on the forum. (same thing goes for fly rod, while your rod arm controls timing, you load and feel the rod load in your line hand)

@Dns1600 1500C has the traditional Ambassadeur 2-hand thumb clutch on the drive plate. 1600C has a one-hand thumb clutch like newer reel designs - the thumb button is part of the frame with no way to separate. (another difference with later S1600C - it has monobloc frame rather than plates and pillars) the x500 x600 designation is the same on mid-frame Ambassadeurs - 4500C to 6500C has 2-hand thumb clutch, 4600C to 6600C has one-hand push-button. __________________________ adding a ps to this old thread, I eventually converted my 1500C Classic to CIAR (R/S plate and complete Avail drive, alloy frame, etc., which took 3 oz from the weight), and I also built a 2500CIT mini surf reel from scratch (no donor reel, just OEM + aftermarket parts).

Line roller is Shimano's weakest point. The Japanese have half-a dozen brands that all fix it the same way. Since I fish salt, the whole sealed line roller idea is a bad idea - saltwater in, steam out. Note, the Shimano line roller is chromed brass (outside only), single ball-bearing, rubber seals and nylon bushings - actually, the nylon parts are galvanic insulators from the yellow metal. This is the same line roller on Stradic to Stella. All the upgrade designs use a better braid groove, same corrosion and wear resistance inside and out, no seals, and dual ball bearings. Spins like a bicycle wheel.

That rod is cane, Norm Thompson Armourcane, which is the same impregnated Farlow's blank sold by Lee Wulff, and sold as (post-fire) Leonard Duracane. 7'6" 5-wt - eventually burned a hole in my pocket, and I sold it, because it's a good value, wide-range functional, and a Gateway rod into cane. Brass Brit ferrules, and the nicest thing about it was the thick-section alloy reel seat.

More proof I began on the darkest side, and my all-time best fish story. I was sight-fishing this bass in an oxbow on the Pedernales headwaters - she was creeping, almost yawning, toward my cats whisker. The massive yellow belly dashed out and snagged the fly. The bass then fought the yellow belly, and sat down at my feet while I was handling her. I released the sunfish, daubed the fly at my feet and caught the bass - - only time I ever had a 5-lb bass wait in line to eat my cats whisker.

I probably set differently from most bass fishermen - my reaction sets are light - kinda like "starting" the hook, mostly coming from salt, hooking big fish with soft mouth membrane. Then on recognition of fish-run, I give a couple of solid sets with power and no jerk. I also use medium leader for abrasion resistance, rarely going below 10 lb, and most often 12- to 14-lb. (JDM leader rates breaking strength rather than lb-test).

C2500 is small frame 2500 is medium frame. @ConnorC - note, there is a significant drag difference between the two reel frames. (small frame uses felt, medium frame carbontex stack). I fish Stradic (large frame and small frame), Vanquish (small frame) and Twin Power (medium frame). Large frame needs a heavier rod to balance, and a favorite rod match is St. Croix Legend Glass. Medium frame and small frame, one-ounce-spread across the reels, can interchange without noticing weight difference, except on the lightest rods (<70 g). Weight difference has never clicked as significant to me, and I don't have a Vanford (new name for Stradic CI4+). Vanquish (magnesium) is the same weight as Vanford (composite), but like Twin Power, is bench-assembled in Japan with technicians matching parts to improve drive smoothness. Vanquish was designed from go to be the ultimate finesse reel, and in a side-by-side comparison, you can recognize the improved drive inertia over Stradic, but even harder to tell the difference against Twin Power. Twin Power was named right, it has everything you gain from forged metal in both body and rotor. I'm sure Certate shares this level of assembly attention, but I also think Shimano worm-drive design (same as Stella) wins an edge. Shimano worm-drive uses labyrinth seals which also improve smoothness, and Certate's edge is both in sealing and light weight. @FishTank has a sweet duo there, and I love the double handle on his Certate model.

I find a lot of uses for PE/acrylic mylar film tape. One of the best is seizing an arbor knot in braid to spool. the tape is extremely tough, only comes off when you want it off, and doesn't leave a glue residue. The tape is so tough, I use it for seizing knots in kayak trolley line, and the tape lasts as long as the double-braid sailcord.

The thing about medium-frame Twin Power, it's not only a beast, it also makes a finesse reel. C3000MHG is a PE1215 spool - 150 m, PE#1.2 - perfect capacity for both bass and inshore. Could make the rod match-up a long story, but looking for an even shallower spool to fit my mid-frame Twin Power, I matched the reel with Vanquish 3000SHG spool (same capacity as 2500S, which would also swap), stacked PE#1 backing with PE#0.6 working line - this came out great. Part of this spare spool choice was remaining stock to fit my '20-series reel - the magnesium spool is also lighter-weight than aluminum spool. The point is perfect line lay result with finesse braid on medium-frame reel and a swap-in spool. One reason I called it done with Shimano worm-drive reels, '19 to '20 models, is the flexibility in swapping spools (I always have a spare in matching frame size).