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Ease of Maintenance on a Cabo and Lethal

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I am currently living in South America and want to invest in a couple reels that will be able to perform in various situations, (peacock bass, golden dorado, lake trout, and saltwater if I travel to a coast). My concern is having the ability to maintain the reels as i won't be able to have them serviced professionally. Has anyone worked on these reels? What reels would you recommend for dependability and ease of maintenance? I appreciate any advice.


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I service reels daily. The new smaller Lethal is very easy to self service with a very simple anti-reverse bearing. The left side plate also comes off without having to remove the rotor (flyer) if needed.


The Cabo's are also easy but more complicated than the Lethal. I own and use the Cabo PTS reels and they are one of my favorites.


I have internal pics of the smaller Lethal reels but not the Cabo's.


If I were to purchase them I would get the Cabo. Unless you are buying the Lethal 100. They seem to be much better than the smaller Lethal reels according to Alan Hawk.


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I was thinking of getting one of each reel, one being a 45 series and the other being a 65 series but it seems the positive review on the Lethal is only on the 100 series. That seems to be far more reel than what I need, including when I come back to Northeast for surf fishing. I think I am sold on the Cabo at this point, especially after the review from Alan Hawk. Is there a second reel you could recommend if I decide against the lethal and don't want to invest in two Cabo's?  


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I have the Cabo 50 with 300 td 30# braid and will easily handle 20#-30# fish. Have not found it's upper limit but it is only 15 oz. The larger models are , I think, similarly designed but beefier with more metal and less plastic.. The 50 is essentially the same design as a Penn slammer and comes apart and goes together in no time. Keeping track of shims on the mainshaft is the only problem that came up when I did mine. I have changed out the screws on the cover plate from star drive to philips drive for convenience. I think there are a couple more star drives I need to change to get to the A/R , maybe the rotor nut retaining plate. They are readily available in stainless at my local hardware store. The A/R will slip if it gets wet, sealed or not it has slipped and been resolved with a good cleaning. May just be the lube clogging or getting too thin, but I have  fished it more than 100 nights while wading , usually very calm water but it still got wet,  before I had to open it up.


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Here are some pictures of the Lethal 40. This reel is much larger than any 4000 sized reel and I didn't know that when I ordered it. One of the things I really like is the handle. It is longer and larger than most in this size. It feels great..!

 

 

 

 

 

1763546

1763545

1763544

 

 

The smaller Lethal reels are just fine for your fishing needs. The main gear in the smaller Lethal reels is a hard zinc alloy not aluminum and the main shaft on the main gear is stainless steel. The drag system is larger on these reels than the other comparable reels. Also Carbon matrix drag material.

 

Since the reel body and side plate are aluminum (no plastic) I would remove the cover screws and lightly brush in some grease on all the interior of the reel and then grease the screws when assembled.

 

Penn now greases the inside of their reels that are made in China like the Conflict and Battle. Those reels are also something to look at.

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The bottom picture is when the reel was first opened showing no greased interior for protection if water were to enter the reel. The body screws did have washers on them for protection but grease does better than anything else. The left side cover may look plastic but it is aluminum.


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I really appreciate the pictures, gives me a good idea of what I am getting into.  As I have never been someone to do much maintenance on my reels, (I know it, shame on me), can you recommend what grease I should be using for the different areas and parts? 


I also have a Penn Fierce and Cabela's Salt Striker that I am going to need to start to maintain. 


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Penn's Precision reel grease is good to use anywhere. In the reel shown I used Cal's grease only b/c it matches the original grease and I keep plenty around for the offshore trolling reels.


If reel grease is not available in your area any saltwater rated Marine grease will do. Also get some CorrosionX or ReelX to use everywhere on the reel. The line rollers, bearings, handles, anything that moves and you don't want it to rust or corrode. It really works and I buy it by the gallon for the shop.


If that's not around any reel oil will do also.


Another thing I always do on spinning reels is apply grease to the opening on each side before screwing in the handle and/or nut. This will keep saltwater out of the reel also.


With everything greased like posted above and here a year later everything will come apart easily and you will have no problems.


Also grease the drag system with Penn's grease or Cal's and you will have no problems.


There is plenty more on this forum on making a reel last longer without ever a problem. I just happen to do it as a business and see so many problems that should never happen if only a few minutes of prepping were done. Especially on a new reel before it's used.


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