BFS Reel option : New Conquest BFS? Or tune up my Abu 2500C?

[Slazmo]

Never understood why people bother tuning a heavy, bulky and uncomfy tractor that are the round reel abu's. I would get anything over one.

So these unpolished turds go for a pretty penny online. I wonder why?

One of the best round reels ever made... Even if it is heavy, bulky and unrefined.

[tincanary]

I don't disagree with what you're saying. My problem with it is that the modifications are expensive, and the end result is not gonna beat a modded alphas or whichever low profile reel you want to tune. Its also very heavy, bulky and just not comfy to palm. When using BFS, i personally expect it to be as comfy as it gets when it comes to baitcasters.

I agree with you there. The truth is, spool aside, Ambassadeurs don't really need anything in the way of upgraded parts to get them performing at their best. I've been messing with them for many years and similar performance can be had with some good old fashioned elbow grease. There is a lot of friction due to the synchronized level wind that can be mitigated with metal polishing compound, a Dremel, and good lubricants. Don Iovino has been tuning the small Ambassadeurs for over 40 years, and he had them effectively casting a true 3.5g bait way back then, all with the factory parts and spool. That was pretty impressive for the time.

[SSS]

Never understood why people bother tuning a heavy, bulky and uncomfy tractor that are the round reel abu's. I would get anything over one.

It's a great tool for learning the trade of reel repair and modification due to its simplicity. Every single baitcast reel on shelves today can trace its roots to the Ambassadeur. The Ambassadeur was the first mainstream reel with a pinion yoke and the first to use a centrifugal brake as we know it now. ABU held many patents until the late 60s. This is why many baitcast reels of the era were either knuckle busters or used an eccentric lever to disengage the spool. Once those patents expired, it enabled competitors to improve on the design put forth by ABU, and now we have a plethora of options to choose from today. There really have been no revolutionary baitcast reels since the Ambassadeur was released in 1952. Everything else has been evolutionary, continuous improvement of an old design which is still used to this day.

I don't disagree with what you're saying. My problem with it is that the modifications are expensive, and the end result is not gonna beat a modded alphas or whichever low profile reel you want to tune. Its also very heavy, bulky and just not comfy to palm. When using BFS, i personally expect it to be as comfy as it gets when it comes to baitcasters.

Same reason people modify an old car at the cost or greater of a new one. You could buy a modern Mustang GT or mod the heck out of a 1969 fast back.

I wouldn't put a car in the same category.

[SSS]

Never understood why people bother tuning a heavy, bulky and uncomfy tractor that are the round reel abu's. I would get anything over one.

So these unpolished turds go for a pretty penny online. I wonder why?

One of the best round reels ever made... Even if it is heavy, bulky and unrefined.

There is a cult following some og abu's. Since they're hard to find, of course they're expensive.

If monoblocks were discontinued for decades, they too would be costing thousands at this point.

[LowRange]

Never understood why people bother tuning a heavy, bulky and uncomfy tractor that are the round reel abu's. I would get anything over one.

It's a great tool for learning the trade of reel repair and modification due to its simplicity. Every single baitcast reel on shelves today can trace its roots to the Ambassadeur. The Ambassadeur was the first mainstream reel with a pinion yoke and the first to use a centrifugal brake as we know it now. ABU held many patents until the late 60s. This is why many baitcast reels of the era were either knuckle busters or used an eccentric lever to disengage the spool. Once those patents expired, it enabled competitors to improve on the design put forth by ABU, and now we have a plethora of options to choose from today. There really have been no revolutionary baitcast reels since the Ambassadeur was released in 1952. Everything else has been evolutionary, continuous improvement of an old design which is still used to this day.

I don't disagree with what you're saying. My problem with it is that the modifications are expensive, and the end result is not gonna beat a modded alphas or whichever low profile reel you want to tune. Its also very heavy, bulky and just not comfy to palm. When using BFS, i personally expect it to be as comfy as it gets when it comes to baitcasters.

Same reason people modify an old car at the cost or greater of a new one. You could buy a modern Mustang GT or mod the heck out of a 1969 fast back.

I wouldn't put a car in the same category.

I waste too much time and money on both and often buy them just to do a certain build then get board and sell later.

[Shadowcaster1969]

Never understood why people bother tuning a heavy, bulky and uncomfy tractor that are the round reel abu's. I would get anything over one.

So these unpolished turds go for a pretty penny online. I wonder why?

One of the best round reels ever made... Even if it is heavy, bulky and unrefined.

Apart from those reasons, the main thing that motivated me to modify and re-use my old Abu was a nostalgic one. There is just something special about getting the same feel and hearing the same mechanical sound from a reel that you had used as a 9 year old.

[Shadowcaster1969]

So, before this I too had some reservations on the ability of the modified Abu to cast light lures. By light I am referring to micro minnows down to 3g or even 2g . So I thought I have to find out for myself... so I got myself some classic Rapala CD3 and CD1.



At the weight-in, the CD3 was spot on at 3g while the CD1 was 2g.



Surprisingly, casting the CD3 was a lot easier that I had thought. Perhaps the CD series of minnow is dense and aerodynamic. I was consistently able to get up to 25m-28m (75 to 80+ft) in casting distance after some practice. Even managed to land a fish on it.



Casting the 2g CD1 takes a bit more finesse to prevent backlash, but it wasn't that hard neither. Casting distance was slightly shorter to about 20m-22m (60-70ft). Turns out that the local peacock bass didn't think the CD1 was too small for it to chase and eat.





Now I need to find myself a 1g minnow...

[abbor]

If I'm going to tune up old little Abu, I will choose Ambassadeur 2500 (over 1500 or 3500).

3500 is said it don't cast as good as 2500 - I'm not sure of why it's so.

Spool weight 2500 c vs. 1500 c is slim. But 1500 is narrower, and line guide changes direction faster...

With the light aluminium line guides a narrower spool is a much smaller disadvantage, even 4500 casts well with aluminium line guide and ceramic pawl.

I have several tuned 1500C and 2500C and prefer 1500C for the lightest lures.

[Shadowcaster1969]

If I'm going to tune up old little Abu, I will choose Ambassadeur 2500 (over 1500 or 3500).

3500 is said it don't cast as good as 2500 - I'm not sure of why it's so.

Spool weight 2500 c vs. 1500 c is slim. But 1500 is narrower, and line guide changes direction faster...

With the light aluminium line guides a narrower spool is a much smaller disadvantage, even 4500 casts well with aluminium line guide and ceramic pawl.

I have several tuned 1500C and 2500C and prefer 1500C for the lightest lures.

Hi Abbor, I'll have to agree with you on the advantages of changing to the light weight aluminum line guide. It made a lot of difference for me. But I had not tried the ceramic pawl. Can you tell the difference in casting smoothness and distance after changing out the pawl to a ceramic one?

[Shadowcaster1969]

If I'm going to tune up old little Abu, I will choose Ambassadeur 2500 (over 1500 or 3500).

3500 is said it don't cast as good as 2500 - I'm not sure of why it's so.

Spool weight 2500 c vs. 1500 c is slim. But 1500 is narrower, and line guide changes direction faster...

With the light aluminium line guides a narrower spool is a much smaller disadvantage, even 4500 casts well with aluminium line guide and ceramic pawl.

I have several tuned 1500C and 2500C and prefer 1500C for the lightest lures.

Just curious, what is the lightest lure that you're casting with the 1500C? It's probably tough to find a lure smaller than the Rapala CD1.

I have a 1600C IAR that I am also considering tuning up...

[tincanary]

If I'm going to tune up old little Abu, I will choose Ambassadeur 2500 (over 1500 or 3500).

3500 is said it don't cast as good as 2500 - I'm not sure of why it's so.

Spool weight 2500 c vs. 1500 c is slim. But 1500 is narrower, and line guide changes direction faster...

With the light aluminium line guides a narrower spool is a much smaller disadvantage, even 4500 casts well with aluminium line guide and ceramic pawl.

I have several tuned 1500C and 2500C and prefer 1500C for the lightest lures.

Just curious, what is the lightest lure that you're casting with the 1500C? It's probably tough to find a lure smaller than the Rapala CD1.

I have a 1600C IAR that I am also considering tuning up...

Those CD1s do weigh 2.7g, substantially more than the 1/16 (1.8g) they are sold as on the US market. When shopping Rapalas, I tend to look at them first on the EU site since the listed weights are far more accurate than what is represented in the US.

[Shadowcaster1969]

Thanks for pointing that out! I'm quite new in this BFS game and has a steep learning curve on micro minnow lures... As a start I may need to get a weighing scale that will indicate down to 0.1g instead of to the nearest 1g.

Are there any reputable minnows out there that are smaller and lighter than the CD1?

[tincanary]

Thanks for pointing that out! I'm quite new in this BFS game and has a steep learning curve on micro minnow lures... As a start I may need to get a weighing scale that will indicate down to 0.1g instead of to the nearest 1g.

Are there any reputable minnows out there that are smaller and lighter than the CD1?

Yo Zuri Pins Minnow. They weigh 2g, or 1.7g with the stock trebles removed and Cultiva #8 barbless installed in their place.

[tincanary]

One of the best round reels ever made... Even if it is heavy, bulky and unrefined.

The same can be said of the ABU Cardinal 3, sold as the Zebco Cardinal 3 here in the states. Many people love them, and there are even a few out there that won't use anything else. I just finished up 4 of them for a customer of mine, been using them 40 some odd years and countless fish caught on them. Like the Ambassadeur, the Cardinal 3 can be massaged into an exceptionally smooth reel and also upgraded. The rotor bearing can be replaced with a needle bearing to provide instant anti-reverse, manual bail return modification, SiC line roller, shallow spool, many handle options, drag upgrades, etc. The reel weighs a whole 7oz, very similar to and even lighter than some current 1000 sized spinners. It even brings in a respectable 28" per turn. I'm planning on passing mine along to my son one day.

[Shadowcaster1969]

Thanks for pointing that out! I'm quite new in this BFS game and has a steep learning curve on micro minnow lures... As a start I may need to get a weighing scale that will indicate down to 0.1g instead of to the nearest 1g.

Are there any reputable minnows out there that are smaller and lighter than the CD1?

Yo Zuri Pins Minnow. They weigh 2g, or 1.7g with the stock trebles removed and Cultiva #8 barbless installed in their place.

Thanks tincanary, I had missed out the Pins Minnow totally, will try to get my hands on one of those...