To Those Abu Garcia Guys...

[Bair]

Can you tell me what I have? I borrowed an older Abu Garcia Ambassadeur from a friend but I don't know what its gear ratios is and whether or not its worth keeping. Any input would be appreciated.

[Bair]

Here is another one

[0119]

Maybe search ebay for one on sale, it might have the specs posted. You'd probably have to wait till the holiday weekend is over to call Pure Fishing for their help. Might try going to Mikesreelrepair *'s forum and ask Ken D. he or the old Ambassadeur gurus there would be able to tell you quick. The XLT was a quality reel.

[tbone1993]

$20 on ebay. Does not seem to be worth much.

[Dramer77]

call abu, they can probably tell you 

[Fishes in trees]

Those XLT's are great reels,  a medium of the line reel in their day.  The great thing about them is that you can swap out the spools.   Once upon a time, extra spools were readily available.  I don't know about now, though.   As I recall the gear ratio was 5 something to one.    Take a sharpie and make a dot on the edge of the spool.  You can get a good idea of what the ratio is by counting how many spins of the spool compared to one turn of the crank.

[tbone1993]

My experience with old reels is that if they were not properly maintained they are more trouble than they are worth. Clean it up and keep it as a display piece then buy yourself a good new reel.

[Bair]

Maybe search ebay for one on sale, it might have the specs posted. You'd probably have to wait till the holiday weekend is over to call Pure Fishing for their help. Might try going to Mikesreelrepair *'s forum and ask Ken D. he or the old Ambassadeur gurus there would be able to tell you quick. The XLT was a quality reel.

 

I'll have to check out that forum to see what they say. I already tried ebay but no ones selling the same reel and the ones that are close are beat to hell.

My experience with old reels is that if they were not properly maintained they are more trouble than they are worth. Clean it up and keep it as a display piece then buy yourself a good new reel.

I don't think that'll be a problem, this guy takes care of all his stuff and besides you can't beat free at this age.

[OkeechobeeAngler]

I think the ratio was 5.4:1. Any of the older reels, if not to beat up can be cleaned etc. and used to catch many more fish. 

[0119]

Heck my youngest reel was made in 94 and my most used 2 reels are from the 70's.  Old dont mean poorly engineered and uncapable.  Abu still has parts for the XLT.

[tbone1993]

I'll have to check out that forum to see what they say. I already tried ebay but no ones selling the same reel and the ones that are close are beat to hell.

I don't think that'll be a problem, this guy takes care of all his stuff and besides you can't beat free at this age.

True. I have a boat load of free gear that I am trying to get rid of simply because it is dated. Granted it is a lot of fly fishing gear it does not compare to modern gear.  I still use a 7 year old abu spinning reel but it is my backups backup lol

[0119]

Why get rid of it for the fact it is dated?  A fly reel of all things hasnt changed from its most simplistic design it originally was.  To get the large arbor you sacrifice weight and the reel becomes ridiculously wide.  The latest techno carbon drag of my Nautilus is no better than My buddies plain old cork Abel.

[.RM.]

Ambassaduer XLT Plus (circa 1985) 5.5:1
 I have 3 in my collection, IMPO one of the biggest pieces of junk that Garcia tried in the LP line...

 

Tight Lines!  
 

[LgMouthGambler]

Pretty cool older reel. I bet it will still catch fish.

[tugsandpulls]

google it and hey its an abu so its fine lol

[roadwarrior]

Heck my youngest reel was made in 94 and my most used 2 reels are from the 70's. 

 

Hmm...

 

It might be time to move into the new millennium. Modern reels across all product lines

have improved dramatically in the last forty years.

 

 

[0119]

Nope.  Look at hookless.com   Might not be your cup of tea but needing for nothing.  The fish dont know or care what is sitting on your rod.

[roadwarrior]

I'm sure the fish don't know the difference, but you would.

I'll leave it at that. If you want to be an old stick-in-the mud,

that's your choice. 

 

 

[Tuffy]

The XLT line of reels was the industry benchmark reel during the 80's... Shimano, Quantum , Diawa, of the same ilk were pretty lame compared to them.

Of course you get into the bigger Musky/Saltwater reels ,those brands were fantastic and highly sought after today, love the Diawa's !

 

I collected all XLT reels up until a few years ago, and I still use them on the water to this day mainly because I'm an ABU man, but moreover the new Garcia Revvo/Orra stuff is garbage. I'm of the mindset that rod and reel specific type of fishing is a marketing gimmick.

Really,  I need a special rod and reel to drop shot... ? Comical.

 

My one and only complaint with the XLT line was that the graphics rubbed off with little to no use.

No excuse for that.

 

When the XLT 2 speed came out late 80's, it became my go to baitcast reel and it's ALL I use today and 6 of them are in the boat at any given time. They are bullet proof, well made reels that feel good in the hand.  I'm on the water over a hundred plus days every year and I've never had to replace a single part on any XLT reel. 

 

The nice thing about the XLT 2 speed is that the graphics are clear coated over, so unless you have sandpaper hands or throw your gear around, the graphics should last a lifetime..  This coming season will mark 30 years that I've used my first pair purchased new in '89... They still look and function as new, but I also take care of my gear.

 

I sold off dozens of 521 and 321 variants over the past 4 years... Market seems to have tanked on them, and there is nobody coming up that collects in this throw away society... So The 2 speeds and Syncro's are all I've kept.

 

Off topic, but along the same lines, I suppose guys would laugh that anyone still uses the old Garcia Cardinal 3 and 4x as well...Another bullet proof reel simply works. Only spinning reels I use...

 

I say give the XLT a try, goof proof, great wind drag, and they dont break.

 

[Georgia Bill]

Got an ABU Garcia XLT Plus bait casting reel probably bought in the 80's and used very little.  Still looks like new.  However, the spool doesn't turn when you turn the handle.  Wondering if it would be worthwhile to have someone fix it?

 

 

[bulldog1935]

@Georgia Bill sounds like you have either worn out drag washers or stripped pinion gear

 

Inside, they're still your basic Ultracast Ambasadeur, and are pretty easy to work on - most of the changes are on the palm-side mag brake.  

 

 

note also this reel has anti-reverse dog (v. roller-bearing A/R), which makes the main shaft a hair trickier to assemble (good youtube takedowns out there)

 

For Abu detractors, that's the platform ZPI Racing chose for their remarkable bench-raced Alcance with magnesium spool, titanium spindle, and matching tuned mag brake.