I tried posting this earlier but it didn't take. I kept getting that Website not responding message. Anyways, here we go again...

So last night or early this morning, I was reading Tres's site, "Hatteras Outfitters". My interest has been in the Abu 6500 CS Ulti-Mag. Everything was going smooth until I was reading about the care and maintenance of these reels.

Allright, let me be completely honest with you. I have no clue how Conventional reels work. The basis of what I know is if you turn the handle, the spool revolves and the levelwind moves back and forth. I don't know where the gears are, or the drag washers or how the magnets control the cast.

On the site though, Tres was talking about adjusting the magnets and centering the spool, oiling the reel and making the levelwind in synch with something or another. Frankly, I have no clue how to do this or what he is talking about.

I'm starting to think that conventionals aren't for me. How hard is all of this stuff? Will I be able to figure it all out? Do you think I should put off getting the 6500 Ultimag?

For starters, you don't need to worry about that much fine tuning to get into conventionals. If you start off with an ABU Trophy Striper, probably the best bang for the buck, you get a C3 or C4 (forgot what it's based on) with a slightly higher retrieve ratio, already fitted with the power handle for something like $85. If you are just starting out, you don't need a souped up revolving racer to get your feet wet and worrying about aligning the spools, popping magnets or taking a dremmel to your bearing sleaves. Just get a decent reliable reel like a C3/4 TCST and go fishing... Besides - you are going to get super distance on a reel, period. If you want to drop $130 on a reel - get a Big Game 6500CL

Crawl before you can walk... If you get a hot rod conventional reel all you'll get are faster, nastier backlashes...

Well before today the only conventional reels I've cast were boat rods. That all changed this afternoon , I went out to the field and put a 3 oz. bank sinker on my new Big Game 7000CL and Lami XRA 1205 loaded with 30 lb Dupont Magnathin line. I started slow got 50 yards no backlash 1st cast. picked it up a little , got a few minor backlashes while I got used to it. By the time I was thru practicing 6-7 casts I made it out 75-80 yards. Now I know it will be different with a plug or jig but I am happy with my first try at it.

I also test casted my new rod Mike T made a lami SB 121 3M with a 6500 Neptune loaded with 65 lb. whiplash(new). And I finished up with a couple casts about 450 ft. with a 4 oz. sinker. (check that , it was more like 400 ft. 130yds.) I was thrilled with the casting of that rod! :)

It doesn't matter to me how the reel is put together inside , it matters how they perform. If it needs maintenence I'll drop it off for someone else to fix.

Slipknot,

That's the thing. I gotta know how things work. When I was little, like 8 or so, when a TV, radio or watch broke beyond repair, I took it apart. (or maybe they were broken because I took them apart :p ). As of right now, I know all my fishing gear inside and out. I know how they were built, all their features, where to get new parts. I read every bit of material that comes with them several times. It's an obsession with me. I think it's a good thing though. What are you going to do when your out on your favorite beach at 2 am and your drag goes haywire? That's the question I always ask myself.

John,
I'll look around for that reel you were talking about. This reel is strictly for eels. I might use it if I ever come across 3oz or larger plugs or jigs though. Probably going on a Sabre 1088. I'll have to check with Mike though about prices and shipping though about that rod. And probably 12/65 whiplash or powerpro. That depends on what Mike and you guys recommend for the guides he puts on there.

Now I'm worried about if I should go with a left handed or a right handed retrieve. I've looked around and almost all of them are right hand only. The series that could fit me and my left handed ways are the C3, the C4, and the Anti-Backlash series. The Abu Eon and Morrum Mag also come in left handed but the Eon doesn't hold enough line(195/14) and the Morrum Mag is wayyyyyy out of my price range.

See, I'm not exactly sure I could handle a reel with the handle on the right. It doesn't feel comfortable on my long beach. I guess I'll just go with a 6501C4. Anybody with or against that reel choice?

Patrick
The reel john mentioned is called the 6500 TCST.
It is a modified version of the 6500-C3 with the same retreve it has a power handle and an additional bearing in the levelwind and is Cranberry color with a Striper Logo on the side.
There is no info on Abu's site about this reel because it is an exclusive to one of my distributors.and it does not come under the price controol.thats why it's only $5 more than the C-3

Also coming up for a limited time the C-3 reels will have their $15 rebate program.(will not include the TCST)

If you are a lefty , the ABU 6501 C4 is your best bet. That's also a simple reel you can learn to maintain in about 15 minutes.

Learning to use a conventional is easy if you remember you are fishing , not in a casting tourney. Start slow with all the brakes in and the tension adjusted a little tight. Remember that down time is not acceptable when fishing so even if you are giving up 20 yards , keep it conservative till you get good. eventually , you'll get better distance with the conventional but right from the start you'll gain the advantages of a conventional for landing fish. Everyone gets backlashes.

If you weren't a lefty I'd say just get the BG6500CL and be done with it. Since that's not available for leftys , the 6501C4 is the best choice for you.

For your first conventional, don't go all out... Get a C3 (can't beat the price, especially with the rebate) or C4 as they come lefty, get the 1088 Sabre or All-Star and once you get really used to it, then you can expand your horizons with millimeter mag cast spool tension side plate controls using bumper fluid for lubricants - type fishing reels... Better yet, buy 2 C3s or the 6500 Anti Backlash, basically a C4 (don't use the "distance s#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g" AB feature) but you get the second reel for free from ABU. That way you have a spare reel spooled and ready to go if you encounter "Professional Overrun" during the cast and can't pick out the line. Maybe pick up the power handle which is much nicer than the 6500 paddle handles...

When you get good and have a job, buy a Calcutta 400 - that comes in left handed models...

Slip, liking the new gear, eh ;D

Look, the worst thing you can do, for the fishing we do up here, is read those distance casting boards, like HO, and Gowge's and Ron Sutton's. You'll walk away thinking you need to cast 150 yards to catch fish, and that you need a reel that's tuned to an inch of a NASCAR racer, and have to blow $10 for a bottle of Rocket Fuel that stays in the bearings for all of 10 casts before you need to reload., and all the rest of the nonsense. Those guys are tournament casters, and in their fishing have to toss anywhere from 85 to 150 yards to reach the structure. You don't, and you don't need a reel that's tuned to that degree. Conventional reels work very simply---the handle turns a main drive gear, which in turn drives a pinion gear that turns the spool. The spindle of the spool goes thru the pinion gear, into either a bushing or a bearing under the metal cap on the side plate. One end of the pinion gear is slotted, and that end fits over a corresponding piece of metal on the spool spindle, that's how it turns. Most moder reel have a one way roller bearing on top of the drag washer stack that prevents the handle turning backwards--that's your anti-reverse. Older reels have a spring loaded dog that engages a ratchet attached to the main shaft that serves the same purpose, but this insn't a "continuous" style of anti reverse like the one-way roller bearing. In the main gear, there's a stack of friction washers that allow the spool to slip and turn backwards under pressure--that's your drag. In a level wind reel, there are plastic gears attached to the left hand side of the spool, they engage corresponding gears under the left sideplate. Those gears, in turn, drive a pinion gear attached to the end of a worm gear inside the level wind bar on the reel. this causes the worm gear to turn. In the screw cap underneath the level wind guide--the thing that travels back and forth that does the job you thumb used to have to do--there's a small pawl which rides in the grooves of the worm gear.

Servicing the CS Mag is a job best left to the shop---getting the magnet to sit correctly under the left plate is tricky. For this reason, the guys steering you to the Tourney 6500 are giving you good advice. If you want to spend a little more than that, I highly recommend the BG6500CL. It has beefed up plates and a sturdier frame. The Mag is more sensitive to sand issues.