Don B

Well said HL. An acquaintance uses a process similar to yours and he is a champion world fly rod caster. There are 3 or 4 classes of fly rods in the competition and he won one of the classes.

"I’m going to set up my ultrasonic cleaner, and try to clean, every last one of my reels bearings!" Maybe not a good idea. I was talking with a company that services bearings. They recommended NOT using an ultrasonic cleaner. It causes balls to make dimples in the races. Don

Most metals have a positive temperature coefficient. Heat them up and they will expand. Graphite/epoxy has a slight negative temperature coefficient. Cool them down and there will be some expansion. For metal ferrules you would want to use a fluid to break down any corrosion. After a period of time, carefully warm the ferrule. For a graphite ferrule, first try cooling down the ferrule. If that doesn't work, cool down the rod and then put the rod behind you as described by jerseyhunter and proceed. When you are out and there is is no ice available, you can use your car's air conditioner. Pass the rod across the driver's and passenger seats and center the graphite ferrule near as possible to one of the Air Cond outlets. It Works. Don

Well, tournament casters (not all) hit 45,000 rpm. The extreme distance casters will hit higher rpm. Neil MacKellow was the first to cast a recorded distance of over 900 feet. He used stainless steel ABEC 3 bearings that were first broken in by fishing, Hybrid ABEC 5 is probably optimum for attaining longer distance. No shields or seals is good for casting farther. Steel shields will rob energy. Rubber seals rob the most energy. Rubber seals will be best when fishing. Don

Tapered Leaders: Some tapered leaders may consist of 3 sections while others contain 2 sections. "Each 15m leader features a 6m length of ‘heavy’ leader which then tapers over a further 7m down to the 2m tip which you connect to your reel line." Example, from the largest diameter to the smallest diameter: Section 1, Thickest diameter, 6 meters if parallel line (0 to 6 meters of the same breaking strain). Section 2, Tapered section, 7 meters of line decreasing in diameter. 6 to 13 meters. Section 3, Parallel section of smallest diameter. From 13 to 15 meters. Example "0.26 mm - 0.57 mm (18 lb - 70 lb)" Section 1, Diameter is a constant 0.57 mm (6 meters) Section 2, Diameter tapers down from 0.57 mm to 0.26 mm (7 meters) Section 2, Diameter is a constant 0.26 mm (2 meters) The above examples are either a direct quote or derived from Veals Mail Order. Using a tapered leader allows making the smallest knot possible. It needs to be pointed out that the 70 lb (above} is only good for for the first 18.6 feet of tapered leader. The 70 lb breaking of the line tells us that can not be used to cast 150 gram weight in tournament Also, tapered shock leaders are not allowed for casting in tournaments. Hopefully this will add some clarification, Don

Do a look up on How To Passivate Stainless Steel Parts Updated 4/1/2022 | Published 10/1/2003 Down the page you will/may find Cirtic acid passivation Citric acids; Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Grapefruit There are several processes for Passivating stainless steel and alternatives.

"I lived on Oahu for a year so I know the standard whipping rigs and hammer bomb style rigs. I have used them before and will again this time. I will most likely end up on Big Island or Kauai this time and would appreciate any info on local stores to buy gear and spots to fish from shore." If it's the Big Island, call the S Tokunaga Store. They moved into a store close to the Hilo airport. The store is larger than most and may have what you want. Their number is 808) 935-6965. When I travel to the mainland I usually FedEx my rods directly to the hotel. Don

You may want to check fishing regulations. https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/ https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/fishing/fishing-regulations/ Some areas allow fishing on alternate years. Some areas are no barbed hooks. Some areas are catch and release only. And never approach a seal. It would be best to talk to a tackle shop in the local area.

There are a couple of tackle shops in Hawaii that may have some parts. Brian's Fishing Supply in Honolulu did Newell repair work and had a decent amount of parts. Not long ago Brian sold his shop and retired. I do not know if the new owners have continued repairing Newell reels. Waipahu Bicycle and Sporting Goods have older reels in one of their counters and may be a good source of information. Just a reminder, the sun rises 6 hours on the east coast prior to rising in Hawaii The Newell 332 is somewhat equivalent to a narrow JigMaster in line capacity. Don

I will add a little. If you change the load you may move away from the optimum condition. The initial condition can be restored by changing the drop of the lead/load. (drop - length of your shock leader from the tip of the rod to your sinker) Heavier weight - decrease the drop Lighter weight - increase the drop Your timing will change Videos follow. The concepts relate. Part 1 Part 2 Try changing your drop a little at a time. Perhaps a maximum of 8 inches. It will take several casts to find the optimum drop. For reference, place a piece of tape on the rod at the sinkers location. Repeat for each sinker/load you expect to use. OBTW, the weight in the video is plastic. Casting over 120 meters is noteworthy. Hope this helps, Don

"loads effortlessly" implies to me that either you are casting with too much weight or the blank does not live up to its rating. Try casting with less weight and re-evaluate the noisy level. Still loud ? The problem may be the tips response. (Does not stabilize quickly.) Increase the length of your shock leader. This will give the tip some minimum time to stop oscillations prior to the knot going through the running guides. I usually take 14 turns of the shock leader around the spool. Still loud ? The tip of your rod may be heavy. Shake the rod and compare the number of oscillations it makes as compared to another similar rod. If the rod oscillates more than the rod you are comparing it with, the tip may be heavy. There was mention about KWAG guides. If they are being used for the running guides, this may be the problem. For weight reduction, a better choice for the running guides is LNAG guides. LNAG Light, N frame, Alconite, Guide. Previously I used the following for my casting guides for a 13' 6" rod: MNAG 30 Butt Guide 25 20 16 LNAG 12 Choke Guide 12 12 MNAT 12-10 Tip Top Changing guides may not be an option due to availability. Hope this helps, Don

I did a search on pennfishing and did not find any 515 or 525 mag reels. This implies that these reels are for export (from the USA) only. Also, I am aware of a company that had a manufacturer make reel feet to the company's specification. (It was reported to be ABU reel seat specifications.) The fit was not very good. Veals has provided me with excellent service at affordable prices. Veals on line is how to find them. Ounce you are on their website, type coaster into their search box. They have refunded the UK taxes that are included their listed prices. I highly recommend purchasing a using set of nylon coasters until things have been sorted out. Don The long tabs are cut off to suit.

Well, I still have some rods with 34mm butt caps and high mounted reels with 32mm reel seats. For me the ergonomic size for the handle should be 26mm. In the case of the 34mm handle, it needs to be "reduced" down to 26mm. An appropriate size tube would be inserted into the handle. Should the OD of tube and handle be the same, it would be properly called an extension.

Thank you to all for the nice comments. Regarding the spools, I explained the characteristics required by a tournament spool to Omoto and they made some for me. After my testing and finding them to be quite good, I sent some of them out for additional testing. The additional testing came was positive. I then asked Omoto for 50 additional spools made to same specifications as the first spools. Omoto could not do the job since there were no specifications used. The machinists had cut the spools free hand. Unfortunately their expertise was not repeatable. The following link will lead to a video that influenced the development of the Chief 5000 CTM Mono Mag reel. The Chief 5000 CTM Mono Mag reel led to led directly to the Chief Xtreme Will Power reel.

"would i get better distance with 30lb mono or 50lb braid?" Since I only use braid for backing, I can only answer your question in part. 40 lb mono will give you better natural braking than 30 lb. 20 lb mono will give less natural braking than 30 lb. This means that you can hit the cast harder with 40 lb mono before getting a backlash. However, this ability comes with experience. The other thing that influences natural braking is the amount of line on the spool. Less line gives you better/more natural braking. So, to minimize backlashes and improve spool control you will want thick line and less of it. Another control is the viscosity of your bearing oil. The JigMaster 500 has bushings and the 505HS has ball bearings. You will need to find the viscosity that meets your needs for spool control. My observation is that most people fill their JigMaster reels with either 40 or 50 lb mono. I would not recommend 50 lb mono.