Conquest 51, what upgrades?

[Tim Kelly]

Just bought a conquest 51 from ebay, what upgrades need to be done to it? I hear the drag is pretty puny, is it easily upgradeable with carbontex? What else?

[dragon1]

Bigger handle, and spool bearings should be on your list.

I don't know if a deeper spool is available, but it would be a nice option IMO.

Nice procurement!

[21farms]

congrats! i have one conquest 50 and one conquest 51...luv 'em. definitely upgrade the drag star and the handle. if you need any ideas, here's my 50 with the avail 90mm swept handle in 'light chromium' with knobs from a shimano exsence DC and an avail A-type drag star in 'champagne gold':



and here's my 51 with an avail 90mm straight handle in 'champagne gold' with daiwa tatula knobs (heresy right?) and stock drag star (spacer required):

[IAY]

and here's my 51 with an avail 90mm straight handle in 'champagne gold' with daiwa tatula knobs (heresy right?) and stock drag star (spacer required):

You just made me puke in my mouth

To the OP, getting Hedgehog studio kattobi air bearings as well as longer handle.

[dragon1]

You just made me puke in my mouth

Haha...better to spit it out next time, eh?

I run Shimano knobs on a few of my Daiwas and Abus...not even a tinge of reflux to date.

[cndbasshunter]

#1 drag
#2 handle
#3 bearings

[steve1206]

My opinion is that an 80+mm handle is an absolute must. Carbontex drag is a good idea. Spool bearings don't hurt. That would be my priority list in decending order.

[zodiak311]

Definitely upgrade the drag. I personally like the look of the original handle, but it is a tad bit short.

[mike123]

I don't mean to jack the thread, but does anyone know where I can buy a stock spool (or any spool besides the shallow one) for a conquest 51, I only have the shallow spool but I'd rather have more line capacity

[John G]

85mm ZPI Handle, Power Grip II knobs and a Core 100 Star drag

[21farms]

You just made me puke in my mouth

haha, trust me, it's only a temporary situation. i'm still trying to decide which knobs i really want on there. the nice thing about avail handles is that they can accommodate both daiwa and shimano knobs. i think daiwa i-shaped corks would look good on the conquests.

[the hooligan]

A must for me is handle and spool bearings right away. I prefer 80mm and swept, so i use the zpi offset carbon fiber handles. If im throwing extremely light baits, i like the ixa and hedgehog bfs spool bearings. If im throwing up to 1/2oz i go with the hedgehog air bearings. Stock drag is fine for trout/small bass, definitely upgrade if your chasing hogs.

My 51s

80mm zpi handle
zpi knobs & bearings
Hedgehog bfs spool bearings
Avail CNQ5036S shallow spool With mag brake
Avail dragstar

[raul]

Daiwa knobs on a Shimano reel ...... , well, I´ve seen stranger things

BTW, it´s not the puke smilie but it´s close :

[Tim Kelly]

It arrived today. Spooled it up with some 8lb and had a quick cast in the garden, seems like a sweet reel! The drag seemed strong enough, so maybe the previous owner already upgraded the drag. The handle seems long enough for the sort of fishing I intend to use it for, but maybe it might seem too short when I've had a few hours fishing it. Time will tell. Pretty pleased and can see why they have such a great reputation. Solid reel and super smooth.

[the hooligan]

It arrived today. Spooled it up with some 8lb and had a quick cast in the garden, seems like a sweet reel! The drag seemed strong enough, so maybe the previous owner already upgraded the drag. The handle seems long enough for the sort of fishing I intend to use it for, but maybe it might seem too short when I've had a few hours fishing it. Time will tell. Pretty pleased and can see why they have such a great reputation. Solid reel and super smooth.

Nice, good luck with the reel. My first Conquest got me hooked