[crazyplums]

i normally pride myself on the extremely low number of birdies i get when casting/fishing,

well yesterday i went out for a couple of hours, one one reel, every cast birdied before the lead hit the water, i adjusted all sorts, even putting the mags on full (using big bait) but still it did it,

i figured i'd drop the reel into the shop for a service, figured it was full of sand or something,

well, to a degree, there was some crap around it, which was kinda holding the spool, so when i loosened the end cap, expecting some end float, there was none, but it did speed it up, do em up.... no loss of end float but slowed down ! so something wasn't right there...

it turned out that the reel was just running tooooooo fast, most likely as a result of my messing with the end knobs while fishing. a bit of fiddling around had it just right,

apparently, with no mags and in free spool, you want the spool to spin for about 15 secs, apparently a local caster swears to that, any faster and you'll birdie, mine continued well past the 30 second mark !


sooo, if you're birdying lots, have a look at the time it takes the spool to stop,

 

[dabcatcher]

some people think you only need to oil the bearings once a year. i top the oil in mine every couple of sessions. just one small drop. bearings can throw the oil out over time plus with use it looses its viscosity.

while using a reel on your usual setting and you find its starting to run a little fast try putting a drop of thick oil back into the bearings.

 

[lobbit]

8secs and 5 secs full mags 3 secs and 2 secs ,hmmm not good is it

hang on should the spool be empty

 

[crazyplums]

8secs and 5 secs full mags 3 secs and 2 secs ,hmmm not good is it

hang on should the spool be empty

thats not too bad, but it could be more free, i like mine fast, just not as fast as i managed to get them !! on 15 sec free running, i would normally use the mags on 2, or 0 if little wind, only putting them up to maybe 4 if casting a big bait,

on mags, my two reels are significanly different, one i think is modified (by the shop owner... it's his old reel) with the magnets spaced out, it slows to a stop in around 3 seconds, my factory spec one (bought new) runs for about 7 seconds... not good if you were to miss it ! so i'll be getting that one mod'd too.

 

[TOM PARKER]

Lobbit - good question - CP should the spool be empty or fully loaded when you do the spin timing test?

When I got my abu sports mag at Christmas the first thing i did was to take the end plate off and have a look at the magnets and then had to work out how to get the bugger back on! Did work it out ok in the end. I also fiddled with the main axle nut on the end but then read that it is factory set! I basically screwed it up almost as tight as it would go (without damaging it as I have a tendancy to break things!) and whacked the mags on full and used it without any birdies. Mags right down casting into head wind with 4oz lead - birdie!

 

[lobbit]

i usually have the mags on 4 if im wanting an easy life or 0 if its a right thump
i rarely get a birdy thats more than a couple of turns till its sorted , maybe cause my reels running a tad slow i,ll have a go at reaching the 15 sec nark i think
my mags are centered if memory serves me right so i might need to space them out if they cant cope
interesting stuff
............................................
i hate re assembling the end plate myself preffering the hit or miss technique
its that wee bar /plate thing for selecting the mags i know some put a dollop of grease or glue on it to hold it but its a right pain to keep in place

 

[TOM PARKER]

blue tack?

 

[Rob]

The spool won't spin for long when empty, it's too light to overcome the friction from the bearings and the magnets, even if they are backed right off.

I find that an almighty cast with the mags right off will fly without any birdies, a more gentle lob and it's tangle city. That's what the mag reels were designed for, allowing the user to fish at all ranges with instant braking adjustment to suit the conditions and the distance you cast.

I wouldn't worry about how many seconds the spool spins for, oil the bearings regularly and adjust the mags to suit how much oomph you put into a cast.

 

[crazyplums]

the time it spins is just what a local angler (who just happened to know his onions when it came to reel tuning) reccomended as a max, any faster and the risk of birdie increases big time, slower won't make a huge difference, unless the end caps are too tight and the spool isn't very free.

 

[TOM PARKER]

do you have much spool play on your mags CP?

 

[crazyplums]

do you have much spool play on your mags CP?

i did do on the one that was birdying the other day, it seems that some sand had got in the edge of the spool, and the adjusters would do nothing until you cast, by which time it cleared and birdied, now there's none in that reel, and just enough to feel the movement on the other,

i used to deliberately set it with a tiny amount of end play, but to be honest, both reels are running so well, i don't have any at the moment !

 

[swelleyman]

On my old 6500C (30years old?) I can tighten up the spool by tightening up the end 'mechanical brakes' but I didn't know that the Elite was the same! I simply use the knobs to centre the spool and control the 'float'. The brake blocks and magnets do the braking I thought. I've tried the reel without any blocks and in conjunction with the magnets.

When fishing in the dark I now put on one block. This gives me a birdy-free, bomb-proof reel! However, just in case, I bought myself another spool which I carry with me. Thus if the unmentionable happens I stop fishing and change spools. Great care incase I lose the block. So far I havn't had to do it for any reason other than deciding to put on heavier line to cope with snags. Mind you i'm not the greatest caster (!!!) so perhaps I don't get the spool spinning as fast as some of you!

Yes, removing and playing with the magnetic side is very interesting! Getting it back on was easy. Mind you I had to do it a few times in order that the bloody thing worked properly!!! So nowI tend to leave the 'dark' side and just wash me bearings in petrol and re-oil them! Also neurotic about seeing that I don't let the reel get cruded up! Great reel thiugh!