Just installed the Tres Irby (Hatteras Outfitters) upgrade on my BG 6500, but I passed on the Abec 7 bearings. Now has 6.3:1 stainless gearing plus the 4th bearing in the level wind.

Last summer, I put the Penn 704 size washers in to try to beef up one of the wimpiest drags in any reel out there. I said I'd report back with some feedback. When I took the reel down to do the upgrade, both of the Penn washers were chewed up pretty badly. I guess because they're not an exact fit for the inside of the gear. If you do the swap, just keep an eye on them. The Penn washers are cheap enough to change a couple of times a year. The reel now has Smoothie washers. The last time I tried Smoothies was in the mid 1980s, and they didn't last very long. But these seem to be of a new type of material, so we'll see. A preliminary pull test, very unscientific, indicates more top end drag pressure. Almost feels like my Calcutta :)

The drag is the weak link in every Abu conventional I ever used. Hope I've found the solution--but at $5 for 3 Smoothies plus the thrust washer, it's an expensive fix if these new Smoothies wear as fast as the originals.

I think you'll like the upgrade Mike. Its tough to get oil into that levelwind bearing though. Best way I found was to hold the reel sideways with the levelwind worm gear verticle. You want the levelwind bearing on the bottom. Drip the oil down the length of the worm gear and gravity will pull it right into the levelwind bearing for you. Let it sit a minute on its side. Be free with the oil on the wormgear so enough runs down into the bearing. Excess oil on the levelwind bearing won't slow the reel down the way it will if you put too much in the spool bearing. With fast rocket oil I had to lube it often but if you use the normal rocket oil or simple 3 in 1 oil , you should be able to oil it less often.

High speed stainless gears are nice. You don't always need to retrieve fast but when you need it , its nice to have and the stainless is the way to go.

You are both pleased with this upgrade, right?
I've been thinking about it for some time but with the price being almost as much as a new Trophy, is it really worth it? Just alot of coin, ya know.

Smooth as the Calcutta on an informal test, eh? I have to admit I've been pretty weak. I've had the Smoothies for almost a year and never put them in. I hope I can still find them but I may need to give this kit a whirl...

I just did a robust upgrade on my 6500 pro rocket 6.3:1 gears , level wind bearing , power handle and extra smoothies drag washers . Ill have to wait, maybe this weekend Ill be able to get out and cast a few test casts . Might be tough with all this snow we are supposed to get today .

I went about the upgrade diferently. I bought a 6500C4. Got the high speed gears and the bearing levelwinnd from it. Swapped with the BG6500CL. That left me with a souped up BG6500 and a C4 which was now a C3. Good backaup reel. However , by doing it that way I only got the brass high speed gears and not stainless. I never did upgrade the drag but from what Mike said , it sounds like the drag does improve with the upgraded washers. I did upgrade the bearings but have decided that in the future I'll only go for bearing upgrades after the original bearings are shot.

The upgrade kit from Tres includes Abec 7 bearings, but after reading the various boards, I decided to stay with the stock Abus. I decided to stick with 3 in 1 oil after trying the various Rocket Fuels. Even the red label doesn't last long enough to get me thru one tide of constant casting. Getting to the level wind bearing is easy with the left plate off, and I guess with 3 in 1 oil, it should't require oiling as often as it would with the RF.

I'm going to throw the Abec 7s into my CT Mag. Might as well use them for something, and the price of the upgrade kit wasn't any more than the price of getting the gears, level wind bearing and worm gear sleeve, and the Smoothies separately.

What's the difference between the stock ABUs and ABEC 7s, are the 7s wearing prematurely or something?

Thanks

The abec 7's are higher precision and therefore have higher speed potential. Potential is the key word. If you lube with heavy oil , you won't realize that potential. Believe it or not , the bearings run the fastest , dry. Of course they won't last too long if run dry. So unless you switch to a light bearing oil , it doesn't make sense to spend the money on the more precise bearings. I've never had bearings die from simple wear. In one form or another , its always corrosion that gets them.

And dry bearings will probably corrode faster. The guys touting the Abecs are tournament casters and the guys slinging bait who make a few casts a night, for the most part. My needs are entirely different. But, they're in the upgrade.

The BG has held up pretty well, over two seasons. Now, I'm trying to decide whether I want the BG7000CL, or whether I want to order the faster gears and spool for my red 7000. I still like the slower 7000 for certain uses. Decisions, decisions.

Hey fellas, Thinking of getting either Mag Elite or BG6500. Mag Elite would be the one with the level wind with the added power handle. Don't really like the plastic drag control on the side of the spool though. What do you guys think? The BG seems like a pretty rugged reel like my 7000C. I like rugged.

I like my 6500CL maybe a tick or two more than the Mag Elite. Just a good feeling reel. And it does "feel" more rugged than the ME. Honestly though, I've switched back alot to the Calcutta again 8) and probably fished that more last fall then the other two combined...

But you can never have too many reels }>

Big Game , no doubt about it. Besides , the slider for the Mag control on the Mag Elite is in a bad place for fishing. I ended up having to tape mine down with electrical tape to keep from hitting it forward and blowing up. BG6500CL is my favorite reel of all.

I have both the CS (level wind) Mag Elite and the BG. The BG has a more solid feel to it. It's also easier to work on, getting the magnetic strip back on the Mag is like getting the dog spring in a Squidder to seat right :o

The mag really isn't necessary on the level wind models, the centrifugal brakes and the level wind combine to slow the spool enough. I've seen you cast both your 965 and 975, and the 975 is a "hotter" reel than the BG. You know how to cast, you really don't need the mag. Sand gets into the groove that the slider control rides along, too. For the difference in price, which now really isn't all that much, I think the BG is built just a little more solidly. Swapping the baitcaster handle for the power one just about covers that little difference in price, anyway.

Speaking of Mag Elites, Saltheart - I have your reel. Bill is probably right where I'll see you before he does...

OK John , I'm not worried about it. :)

Thanks guys, Mike for some reason I thought the mag was just a faster, longer casting reel. I didn't realize what the mag part of it was, duh. Anyways, thanks for the imput. I have my eye on a Fin Nor spinner too. I think I like fishing eels better with a smaller size spinning reel like the 5500SS. I don't know why, I like my conv's for everything else....

I think a conventional is a better reel once you have a fish on. Its also better for casting heavy stuff. But the airodynamics of an eel mean that if you have to toss it a very long way , a spinner is sometimes better. That sometimes would be when you need to reach something and the wind is against you. Any other time , including when the wind is against you but you don't need too much distance , I prefer a conventional. John and I threw eels into the wind all night last year. Pretty good blow right at us but we had no trouble with the conventionals because we didn't have to reach anything in particular that was far away.

I agree, and I am such a good (awful) caster now that when I throw of the eel or two every night I catch myslef and prevent a backlash. I always backlash in the day with small jigs ;D

Saltheart, You are right in both cases. I like to fish a few holes in the canal where distance is a big issue and I think I can get an eel off a little better with the spinner. The otherside of that is in all places for a conventional reel to excel is the canal. You need that extra power. I didn't use a spinner once last year, I plugged more than anything. I also didn't get any over thirty last year either though :(