Not a problem as long as you watch your spool in the cast and adjust it accordingly. It begins stiff, loosens up, then goes stiff again. The casting brake adjustment drifts as the reel warms. It's very light and works great with only one complaint. I have a cheap Okuma baitcaster that I bought as a backup. No worries, I fabricate replacements from phosphor-bronze sheet I have around for making springs for OP's Meeks and Talbots (I repair valuable antique reels as a hobby business).
I had previously bought my dad a Lew's for his birthday, and more along the way.Īll his are still going strong as well, though he has a tendency to crank down the casting drag and wear through bronze spindle pads. My first BB1NG is still going strong with two parts replacements, the anti-reverse pawl, and the handle (parts came from Roy's Bait &Tackle in Corpus) Together they will grind sand, instead of the other way. On Lew's, the worm gear is 440SS, and the pawl is zirconia ceramic. That was when I bought my first Lew's BB1NG, marked for Browning. Even though the reel had only been out of production for 5 years, Daiwa would not support it with parts. The worm gear was nickel-plated brass, and the pawl was 440SS. When I wasn't fly fishing, the Millionaire was my full-time fishing reel, fresh and salt water, though still at the coast accompanied by the clunky Mitchell (the HS Mitchell still works even today, but it sounds like a freight train).įishing the surf at Cedar Bayou in the 80s, sand wore through the Millionaire LW worm gear. In college I bought a Daiwa Millionaire 6H, a quality Japanese reverse-engineered Abu clone (equivalent to Abu 6500). That said, they're still making good Penns, and you won't ever need a replacement.Īnother anecdote about why I like Shimano/Lew's better than Abu. These same China reels are re-branded and sold as high-grade reels wearing other names and bigger price tags. (in comparison, big fish wore out the gears on my Mitchell from high school by the time I went to college - and no one could ever accuse a Mitchell of being smooth.)įor spending your money today, I honestly don't think you can beat top-line Tica reels, for spinning or baitcaster. Penn also gets to play in that smoothest ever group. My UL 4200SS has landed 30" reds, and the 4400SS has fished thousands of miles, landed thousands of fish, including jacks and kings.
My Penn spinfishers have lasted 30+ years in the salt and just won't quit - or corrode. The performance of this particular baitcaster (Shimano design) was a big jump over the traditional Abu design, both for improved distance and ease of backlash control. I've fished quite a few rods and reels pushing 50 years and have my favorites, including older (discontinued) Lew's baitcaster and Penn spinfisher. Even among today's computer-balanced designs, this is one of the smoothest reels ever made. There were a lot of bad spinning reels that showed up before WWII, but Hardy's 1932 patent Altex was the space shuttle of fishing reels (and with a war extension on the patent, it was 1954 before anyone else could use a flip bail). Most distance tournament casters today still use prewar Meek and Talbot non-level-wind reels for competition. Here's a 1914 FE Thomas bait rod and c.1915 Talbot NLW reel (fun to cast and fish a silk braid when you're feeling really golden age). I'm a fishing reel historian, and have level winds that go back to the ninteen-naughties and teens, with obscure mechanisms that had to compete against the Marhoff patent (eventually used on every LW baitcaster after 1928). There are definite advantages to baitcasters, instant retrieve and depth control, but for anyone starting out, treat a baitcaster as a secondary skill. Spinning tackle lets you concentrate on fishing and not worry about casting. There's no arguing both Abu baitcasters and their Cardinal spinning reels were great designs and made to last.Īnyone arguing they're the best has a great argument.įor most beginning fishermen, spinning reels are easier to get the knack than baitcasters.