Lew's B B 1 Speed Spool

[J Francho]

I'd like to start an intelligent discussion about the Lew's BB1 Speed Spool, specifically the 5.1:1 ratio reel.  Light brakes, large profile, and no anti reverse.  To me, this sounds like a step backward, however, the reel is light, and from all reports very smooth and refined on the retrieve.  No doubt David Fritz had a hand in it's design, and he has some interesting crankbaiting techniques.  I know he's wrote that IAR prevents him from feel certain feedback from the bait, or bites, and the play helps him give the bait a tiny bit of slack.  Seems like you could do that with the rod itself, but I also know he lays his rod across his lap sometimes while retrieving the bait slowly.

 

Any thoughts on how this applies? How about you owners out there, does it actually help?

[21farms]

i remember being very put off by the idea of not having an instant anti-reverse on a modern reel. my experiences with the shimano spirex with no IAR are not good ones which is why i bought the 6.4:1 with IAR instead of the 5.1:1 without IAR. the previous BB1 thread caused me to think back to my fishing in the early 1980s with the original lew's reels. i remembered that cranking was indeed fun without the IAR...when a fish hit, i definitely knew it because the handle would jerk backward which is definitely a more immediate sensation to me than it would've been through my hand holding the rod. i wish now that i would've gotten the 5.1:1 version.

[Diggy]

i remember being very put off by the idea of not having an instant anti-reverse on a modern reel. my experiences with the shimano spirex with no IAR are not good ones which is why i bought the 6.4:1 with IAR instead of the 5.1:1 without IAR. the previous BB1 thread caused me to think back to my fishing in the early 1980s with the original lew's reels. i remembered that cranking was indeed fun without the IAR...when a fish hit, i definitely knew it because the handle would jerk backward which is definitely a more immediate sensation to me than it would've been through my hand holding the rod. i wish now that i would've gotten the 5.1:1 version.

 

That sounds great

[flippin and pitchin]

John, I fished Lews for 20 + years and still have 5 that I retired. I have a new generation BB1 in 5.1 to 1 and have used it twice this year. The lack of IAF is not as pronounced as on the early model, at least to me. It's not a feature that provides me with some great advantage as, say, over a Winch. I feel the vibration of the bait very well through the reel in my hand. Outside of that, I like the ergonomics of the Lews. It was very easy for me to set once and go.  My BB1 is not fickel to adjust.  The distance I gained over my Winch's is surprising.  The retrieve is very smooth. I fish cranks on a 7 foot glass/composite and 7'6" graphite with a parabolic action. Both provide that softer action and slight delay in feeling the strike.  That factor may cancel out any benefit of no AIF. I don't have the touch senses of a safe cracker so I don't know. I like the reel well enough that I have a second one on the way. I like similar feeling reels but that's my perference. If I could get parts for the old Lews, I would still fish them.

 

How intelligent that is, I don't know.

[J Francho]

Very intelligent.  I wonder if the AR on the BB1 pairs better with a glass cranking rod?

[Grantman83]

As I posted on the other discussion, I own and have owned almost all of the new Lew's iterations including tournament MG, Tournament, Super Duty, Tournament Pro, Team Lews and Team Lew's Pro.  I have had no issues with any of these reels.  I purchased the BB1 with high hopes.  It was smooth on the retrieve no doubt, which is in line with all the Lew's I have owned. 

 

However, maybe I got a bad reel, but I simply could not get any distance on the BB1.  It was purchased with the expressed intent of being a mid to deep cranking reel and I paired it with a champion 765 glass, 12lb Fluoro and a big Strike King 6xd.  I have this same line on a shimano chronarch d and a cumara 72mf.  Now, I may not be a 20 year vet on casting, but I have been using baitcasters for the last 4 years almost exclusively and do not consider myself a novice.  Furthermore, I have owned every major manufacter's reels from Abu, Shimano, Daiwa and Quantum.  I tried every iteration of brakes and and spool tension I could in an attempt to get good distance.  I should have been able to bomb such a heavy lure on such light line and yet I could only cast without a backlash if I had four brakes (2 blue, 2 white) and the tension tightened down way too much. I had used kvd line conditioner on the chronarch and lews.  I  was casting lighter baits on the chronarch with two brakes and loose tension almost twice as far as I could get on the BB1.  My team lews (the red/silver) had 2 centrifugal and no magnetic brakes and was bombing chatterbaits farther than the BB1.  Again, this is a problem I have not had with any other Lew's reel.  Even the MG and Super Duty which are only magnetic brakes required at most 3 brakes and a loose tension when I casted on the same rod. 

 

Sadly, I sent it back for a Lexa in 4.9:1.  We shall see how it turns out.  Overall, It palmed great, was light and had a smooth retrieve.  My only bad experience with a lew's reel. 

[Hooligan]

Very intelligent.  I wonder if the AR on the BB1 pairs better with a glass cranking rod?

Definitely.  It softens your reaction and the tendency to really rip that bait.  You become attuned to making certain that handle is on a stop,if you will, and then setting the hook.

It's a great reel in terms of casting and in terms of fishing.  The brakes are a tad finicky, but I've found that to be true across the board with Lew's.  Not a drawback, but more a statement.  I have yet to get used to the BB1, I'll put a lot of time on it this year, though.

[J Francho]

Can you elaborate on "finicky"?  Is it like the Gen 1 Revo STX, where it went from zero to too much, or something else?

 

Since I prefer moderate taper graphite cranking rods, this probably isn't the reel for me?  My slow cranking often involves moving the bait with rod, not the reel, so I'm guessing this isn't good match.

[flippin and pitchin]

Very intelligent.  I wonder if the AR on the BB1 pairs better with a glass cranking rod?

 

 

I don't have enough time with the reels to offer an informed opinion. I will be curious as to how they feel when my 2nd BB1 gets here and goes on the 7-6 graphite. BY the end of April, I should have enough time and hopefully strikes to get a true feel for the reels.  The fact the reel was designed without IAS was not a factor in my purchase.

 

I for one like glass or composite for crankbaits.  I still think softer actions might nullify the Lews feature. Heck, it may enhance it.  One thing I know, it casts as far as I need to cast and does fine in the wind. I also have MG, Tournament, Superduty and T-Pro models. The MG took a few casts to get dialed but showed itself to be a smooth caster. It's very comparable to the REVO SX for needing a couple of extra casts to set up.

 

One final thought John, Was the lack of IAR in the original BB1 models engineered or the result of loose tolerances ?  Riddle me that batman.

[J Francho]

The ratcheting dog and bone style AR was pretty much all there was back in the day. I think it was the mid 90s when I got my first IAR reel. Incidentally, the dog and bone style is included as a backup on a few Shimano reels. It's pretty much the strongest design. Hard to get it to fail.

[Hooligan]

The brakes are very similar to that of the Gen 1 Revo, yes. But there is more to it, in that it seemingly changes from cast to cast without altering any of the settings. It's almost as though unless you make the exact same cast every single time, you never fully utilize the brake, or it is fully utilized when you don't want it to be.

I'm much like you in that I will move a crankbait with my rod a lot at different times, essentially walking it over structure. Hence my preference for Ross's little faster than traditional glass rods. There are situations that I throw glass, but it's rare.

[21farms]

my experiences have been similar. i had two of the tournament pros and have a team pro and those cast great. i've only had two outings so far with my BB1. the first time, i wasn't get much distance and a lot of backlashes...i was pretty perplexed. the second time, i tightened up on the tension knob like lew's service manager told me to do (not unlike what you had to do with the 1G and 2G revo SX's i might add) and i concentrated on being smooth in my delivery instead of trying to "kill it" if you know what i mean...everything was better...better distance and fewer professional overruns. so, i think it is finicky in that you can't just whip out casts without thinking about how you're doing it like you can with other reels. i think i'll have it all figured out shortly.

[katmandew]

Not having IAR on my BB1 doesn't bother me one bit.  It casts a mile and is very smooth.  Casting is truely effortless. I fish it on the Powell Diesel glass cb rod.  I get great feel and have had no problems at all.  I like it as much as my TP's.

[0119]

No IAR on my custom made 4500C's and Im glad not to have it.  One less bearing to give out.  The dog is less likely to fail.  Never have to press it out of the sideplate and endanger more parts.

[sarcazmo]

I also fish mine on a Powell Diesel CB rod.  I dont know the difference having the AR or not tbh havent been fishing bait castes long enough to make an informed opinion.

 

I will say it seems to cast better than my TP, although I use each for a different set up.