returning to my roots

[jimmyjoe]

   Since I came to BR, people knew 2 things about me: I had arthritis, and I used 2-pc rods. The arthritis caused me to use spinning gear (until recently) and the 2-pc rods were to prevent theft, as I kept them in my trunk.

   Due to modern medicine, the arthritis is feeling better. And as for 2-pc. rods, I always wanted 1-pc., but I had no choice. Or did I?

 

   I recently acquired an ABU 5500c3 reel on fleabay. It was NOS. I told my retailer about it, and his reply was, "You need a new rod to go with that. I've got rods for sale back there on the clearance rack. They won't be any lower for Black Friday." He had, among others, these 3 one piece rods:

   St. Croix Mojo Bass casting, 7' H/F, 3/8-1 1/2, 14-25 lb. line. Called the "Dock Sniper".

   St. Croix Mojo Bass casting, 7' MH/MF, 3/8-3/4, 12-20 lb. line. Call the "Spinnerbait" model.

   St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass casting, 7'-02" H/M, 1/2-1 3/8, 12-25 lb. line. Called the "Rip-n-chatter".

  

   I tried the Dock Sniper. With a 1-oz. lure, my shoulder hurt. It was too stiff. I knew that was a no-go! Then I tried the Spinnerbait rod. It was light, had decent backbone, decent flex, and was comfortable.

   Just on a hoot, I tried that big 'glass rod, the H/M.  To my surprise, it felt great! It wasn't light, but it was not exactly heavy and clumsy either. It felt like it had .... well, authority. And unlike the Dock Sniper, it had give and flex.

   Call me crazy; I walked out of there with both the Spinnerbait and the big 'glass rod.

   I immediately went to a local lake (99% iced over) and tried a few casts with the glass rod. I spooled up 12 lb. Big Game on the ABU, and put on a 1 oz. Dardevle spoon. I tried to cast it out into a sliver of clear water just to see whether the reel worked OK, and whether the rod was comfortable or not. I haven't cleaned the bearings in the reel yet, but it casts fine. The real shocker was the rod. I cast the 1 oz. spoon, a 1/2 oz spinnerbait that weighs 3/4 oz. total, a 4/5 oz. spoon, a 1/2 oz. Rat-l-trap and a 1/2 oz. Sonar.  Although the 1/2 oz lures didn't travel quite as far as the heavier ones, they all went far enough and were well controlled, with the accuracy being good to better-than-good.

   Most importantly, I had no pain in my hands or my shoulder.

   Talk about going "retro"! The thing is, this "retro" gear is a heck of a lot better that the original "retro" gear. And that applies especially to that 'glass rod.

   Now, when I fish for bass where there are also pike and wipers, I'll have an appropriate tool to use, to go toe-to-toe with them.

   And I know what I'll do to deter theft. When I use a 1-pc. rod, it'll be the ONLY rod I take that day. I think that'll probably work out fine. We'll see.

 

   My list for Black Friday has changed: it's now populated with heavier lures!  C'mon, springtime!     jj

  

 

  

[jimmyjoe]

    I was so pumped up about the rod, I forgot to say anything about the reel.

    I had told @WRB that I was going to get the Shimano Cardiff that he advised. It was on my Black Friday list, when this NOS 5500c3 came along on fleaby for less than 80 bucks total. I couldn't resist.

    A lot of people, especially people used to low profile reels, feel that the old round ABU reels are not applicable to bass fishing. They look upon them as surf reels, or maybe catfish reels.

    Wrong.

    Yes, these reels sit high on modern blank-thru-handle rods (I had always had offset-reel-seat rods) and yes, they are somewhat heavier than lo-pro reels. This makes them feel clumsy. But I quickly got used to it.

    What really amazed me was the power of this reel. It feels a lot more powerful than my 5.5 ratio Shimano Curado 200i.  I bought this to use on heavy spinnerbaits, and I have no doubt whatsoever that it will do just fine. It feels that it can do a lot more than that. A lot. Yet the retrieve speed is more than adequate for burning traps, so gear ratio alone doesn't explain its power. I don't know exactly what it is, but I like it.   ? 

    And I hold a reel differently than most people, because I put 2 fingers ahead of the reel and run the line through them on the retrieve. I've done that ever since I began river fishing, long ago. I used black braided nylon line, and running it through my fingers kept most of the dirt and crud from getting in the spool. It took me some fiddling with hand position, but I can do that with this reel just as well as I used to, no matter that it sits high.

    I need to get this reel "hotrodded", and I think it's going to be my favorite reel, whether it sits high or not.

 

    One other thing. Some people think that the old-pattern ABU reels won't cast very far. If you oil the raceway where the centrifugal brakes run as well as the levelwind gear, you greatly improve the distance.

 

    It doesn't take too much to make an old fart happy.  ???  See you guys next spring!    jj

[Maxximus Redneckus]

U wont never be undergunned with a abu garcia round reel they can do anything a low profile can do ...with much easier matinance