Here is the question. Up until last year I always bought cheap walmart combo specials. Last summer I decided to stop wasting my money on them. I went out and bought a abu record 60 and an ugly stick. Love the rod and reel. I will never go back. I just purchased a abu 7000i and have a catfish safari river rod on order. I'm sure that I will love them. Anyways my question is how do I maintain the reels. These are reels that will last a long time if taken care of. Do I take them apart or do I just drop a few drops of oil on the spots that it tells you to in the owners manual. The second question is I saw on another thread on here that the guy said he modified his abu reel. He put different bearings in it added a bearing to the handle. Do alot of you guys do this. And if so do they just order the parts from the parts sheet that comes with the reels or take it to one of the repair shops listed and have them do it. The third question is I see some guys making their own rods. Is this common. Any help here would be good.
Just keep them oiled as instructed untill they get gritty. The thing to do before tearing yours down, if you haven't done it before, is to volunteer to clean and oil somebodys elses. Best to practice on a really dirty one. There are tear down and re-assembly instructions on the ne. As far as tricking out the reels, use them for a year or two to see if you really need to. Making your own rods is quite fun. Catching fish on something you made, one of a kind, is also quite fun. The only problem is that nowdays, the components can cost more than you can by the rod for. But "Custom Made" by yourself is top notch.
Hi Shawn. In response to your post. What I like to do after every fishing trip is rinse off my fishing reels in fresh tap water and shake off the excess. Then according to the owners manual, I will oil the worm gear, reel handle ,etc. After a year of use I usually send my reels to BASS PRO SHOPS to have them completely dissambled and lubricated. It's a small fee to pay. They use quantum hot sauce grease and oil on the reels. This stuff is great and yours reels will operate smoothly. I can probably do this myself, but todays reels have so many parts, I rather have someone qualified to do it for me. :0a26::0a18: Mark from Nebraska..
Buck is absolutely right on! Use your reels for awhile to see if you actually need any upgrades. Your 60 won't need them, it's already got all the bells and whistles. The 7000 is a great reel as it is. The only reason to add any upgrades like spool bearings is to cast further. Usually only people fishing from the bank have to worry about distance and only in some circumstances. Alot of my bank fishing I don't need to get out too far, but a couple places I've got to get out over 100 yards. See what kind of fishing you're gonna do the most before spending more money. As far as maintinance, I oil the worm gear at the beginning of each trip. I back the drags off between trips so I don't wear out the drag discs. At the end or before the next season starts, I tear all my reels apart and give them a good cleaning and make sure there's no oil or grease on my drags. I add grease and oil were needed and they're god for the season. If you don't know how to do it, then get with someone that does, or go to the library section of this site. There is a great detailed article with photos in it that shows you how. Good luck and enjoy your new set ups. They will last you for years!
If you need to clean the bearings you can use lighter fluid and qtips. I however like to take off all the line and before I take apart the reel. I use yellow rocket or hotsauce on my bearings and may replace the pawl if it is the levelwind version. I either oil the levelwind with sewing machine oil or hot sauce. You can modify your reel with Abu reel candy that is available online at Hatteras Outfitters. I have built my rods in the past and know a lot of the surfcasters still make their own rods.
HEY I WAS TRYING TO FIND THE LINK WITH ALL OF THE DETAILED INFO ON MAINTAING THE REEL AND I LOOKED THROUGH THE LIBRARY IF SOMEONE HAS THE LINK OF KNOWS WHERE IT IS COULD YOU PLEASE POST IT FOR US NEW GUYS WHO CANT FIND ANYTHING ON HERE YET THANKS.
Hope these help http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3049 http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13940 http://www.catfish1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5570
