204ft cast using "regular tackle"?!

[castmaster54]

Regarding Bill Peters and the Coxe 25 C standard width reel for 5/8 Skish Distance.
Bill told me that he would dip the shaft (cross bolt) in oil before each cast. This would help control the spool.
George McCabe

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks, George. Interesting.

Paul, I really think that with the right line on the right rod and that 1893 could easily go 100'. Your last reply was enough to push me over the edge to give it a try. I'll let you know how I do.

Do! Will be curious how you make out.

[Bill Sonnett]

Ross I believe the reasons so many old reels are all "gummed up" has to do with two factors. First was poorer quality oil, but most of all, folks I knew in the late 40's and 1950s simply never cleaned their reels. Most of those reels were not used by someone who was casting plugs all day but rather for still fishing for whatever could be caught for the table. When a cast was made horrible noises often emanated from the reel. The solution for many seemed to be to add more weight to the end of the line (often lugnuts or any other small piece of metal) and when things got really bad the rod was grasped a couple of feet above the reel followed by rigorous dunking of the reel in whatever water one was fishing in.

My preferred method of cleaning a really dirty reel is to take it completely apart dropping each part into a large jar of gasoline. After a good soak (sometimes overnight) I remove and scrub each part with a toothbrush, a wire brush or pipe cleaners, whatever seems appropriate. I then lube each part as I assemble the reel. If I am planning on using the reel I put a line on it, put it on a rod and step into the backyard for a few casts, hoping for the best. A reel that casts quietly is always a pleasant surprise. Some in this regard can be helped with some new parts or careful tuning but many are beyond redemption.

[kyreels]

Bill, I understand you have been among the most successful at restoring old reels, but not sure the average reel Joe should be using gasoline as a solvent for the average workshop. ORCA would recommend mineral spirits or other less volatile compounds.

The July 2024 Reel News is now available in the Member's Only Area of orcaonline.org. In this issue, Paul Roberts has written a comprehensive article on reconditioning old direct drive reels. He has some great tips and techniques.

[Paul Roberts]

...most of all, folks I knew in the late 40's and 1950s simply never cleaned their reels.

Same is true nowadays as well. I've been guilty of it too. New reels just handle the neglect better, and keep on functioning -for a time. Usually something breaks first. I began to pay more attention to my modern reels after I began this old reel kick. I don't find many broken parts in most old DD reels I've serviced. Then, there aren't all that many parts in them.

When a cast was made horrible noises often emanated from the reel.

[Bill Sonnett]

I should have made clear Matt that my gasoline regimen is only used on my backyard workbench and I keep the lid on the jar except to place or remove parts from it. This limits my efforts (outdoors) to the warmer months. At one time the McChords (Allen and Charlotte) were one of the very few authorized repair shops for ABU reels. Charlotte worked on thousands of reels and could take apart a 5000 and put it together with her eyes shut. Watching her work was humbling, to say the least. Her shop was in the basement and she had a metal pan about 7 inches deep with a fine wire basket that suspended well into the liquid that she used as a solvent to clean parts. She dropped individual parts into the pan as the reel was taken apart. I asked her what she used as a solvent and she stated that she always used kerosene. I have never tried kerosene but my impression has always been that though it is flammable, it is not as volatile as gasoline and does not produce a vapor until temperatures reach 100 degrees F.

[Paul Roberts]

Langley Lurecast ("super-tuned"): 90ft with 0.10oz (3/32oz) plastic casting plug. Makes 70ft with relative ease. More requires extra line hanging out (a good 3ft) at start of cast and some oomph, as the little plug doesn't really load the rod well. I need to accelerate quickly back and forward to achieve load. A bit maniacal feeling. And a backlash risk. Spent a bit of time picking on the record shots. (Fortunately I'm an experienced picker.)

I have some smallmouth creeks here, usually UL spinning water for me... This is kinda cool.

Also, I would have to adjust my comment in my Reel News article on fishable distances for lures as light as 1/8oz at ~40ft. I'll up that to a conservative 60+ft at present.

[oc1]

The Langley Target 340 casts really well and very consistently. It has absolute free spool, no levelwind, plus the usual infinity spool. It's a different animal that the other Langleys.

[bassmagnum]

Going to begin the process today of putting an outfit together with my 1893. The Gep Rod is missing a guide but I also have a Duo Loc that is complete and in decent condition. I'll start with that one and go from there. I might even put it on my great nephew or niece's spincast rod after that. I think I'm going to have a fun day
Ross

[Paul Roberts]

Steve, I've not acquired a Target. And probably won't, unless one falls into my lap. They tend to be heavily competed for and the NLW perhaps would add further complications to my fishing. I know you've done a lot with them.

Enjoy it Ross! Should be interesting, at very least.

[castmaster54]

Regarding Matt Wickham’s June 21,2024 reply to this subject, “Interesting to try to list Skish Distance reels in the 1940-1942 period “.

I can think of some that have light weight spools, but unfortunately many of them had rather heavy handles. Here goes with standard width reels:

Shakespeare “Classic “-New Classic “ 1972
MODEL GA
Pflueger Nobby No. 1963
Bronson Lashless MODEL NO. 1700
J.A. Coxe 25 C free spool
J.A. Coxe 15 C

That should get things started! Try these and have fun!
A little note: I put a Deluxe Nobby handle on my Dad’s Nobby and an aluminum handle from a Coxe parts kit on my Grandfather’s Bronson Lashless.
MUCH BETTER PERFORMANCE NOW!

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks, George. I hadn't considered handles much. That would be an easy upgrade I would think, to build a better caster.

The list of good reels is a potentially long one. When I started this odyssey, I was looking to find 3 or 4 good old reels to fish with -as my wife reminds me. But there were so many made! I'd had no idea. Suffice it to say I have a few more than originally planned. And I like them all. Some are generally easier to cast than others -notably those with lightweight spools. Some, when set up and lubricated, are pretty close to fire and forget! But all are at least fishable. I find the heavy spool reels require a heavy thumb, and some anti-backlash mech engaged helps some too. My Marhoff spools weigh a full oz! With another quarter ounce for the plastic arbor they come with.

It seems that my best casters are those that, with proper setup (oils being a part of it), require surprisingly little thumbing. I've read in a couple places that distance casters worked to minimize the thumbing required in their reels. Would you say that this is so? Or did top casters simply have extraordinary thumbing skills? I guess my question is: Which plays the larger role?

[castmaster54]

Setting up the reel to minimize thumbing is the most important.
You might need to lightly thumb the spool if the line starts to “fluff”up. That happens when the line is coming off the spool faster than the plug is traveling (during the cast).
Bill Sonnett explained this very well earlier in this conversation.
You need to pay attention and thumb the spool at the end of the cast to prevent the line from over running. You need to clamp down Hard, especially if the rotating mechanism is on the heavy side.

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks, George. What a great thread.