The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Shropshire Lad wrote: ↑Sun Mar 24, 2019 9:40 pm Yes Cardinal 66 my go to reels for carp, and I have a 40 I use for barbel

Thanks Shropshire Lad

Mitch300 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2019 3:03 am I too use my 44 and 66 this way, but for a different reason. I do enjoy reading and bird-watching while fishing, and have been known to take the occasional nap at the bank side on a warm afternoon. I don't want my rod to be pulled in by an enthusiastic Cyprinus Carpio when I am not giving the bobbin my undivided attention, so I set the drag to almost nothing as a precaution. The older ABU Cardinals were so well engineered that they are still great reels for this kind of fishing.

G. B.

Thank you Mitch300. Plus you the noise as the spool rotated.

Harry wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2019 7:46 am Fishing in this manner will impart twist into your mainline... I found this out whilst using this method on my Mitchell 400's... and its darned fiddly trying to do up the drag on a Mitchell in the middle of a tussle

Thanks Harry. I know what you mean. I use 410's quite a lot.

That's why I don't use Mitchells in that way!

You can however click the anti-reverse off - the handle and bail arm will then rotate backwards - giving line. Not really suitable for fast running carp however!

Open bail and heavy duty bail arm springs needed.

Open bail nowadays here too, Delkim Smart Line clips help...

Plastic collar stiffeners - taped to the handle!

Olly wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:49 pm Plastic collar stiffeners - taped to the handle!

Classic sort of inventiveness seen amongst this group! I have no idea what the original item suggested is but I do have some shirts with traditional collar stiffeners!!

I freeline quite a lot but rarely do proper ledgering nowadays, so I tend to use a washing up liquid bottle top, a sheet of tinfoil, the rod tip or my centrepin as a bite alarm.

Referring back though, I have used an ABU Cardinal 44 & 66 with the drag wheel clicked to off and it works extremely well if I can't cast far enough with my 'pin.

Olly wrote: ↑Mon Mar 25, 2019 1:49 pm Plastic collar stiffeners - taped to the handle!

Matchstick and a laccy band... too poor for collar stiffeners

They do the job perfectly

Less fiddly than a front drag. Using a specific designed ”baitrunner” reel or the drag system on a normal reel as a “free runner” excessively on any reel will impart twist. As with all things in life, moderation is the key. A quick cast with a Gardener “twistbuster” sorts it out if it gets to problematic proportions.

Watch this space shortly .................

I have used my Cardinal 55's since 1978 like that, just drop off the drag setting and let them fly, I used heavy bobbins and fished them at the top of the needle so to watch out for any drop back bites, they were and still are amazing reels. In 1987 I went over to the new Shimano baitrunner 3500 sea spins like many others did and within 2 years destroyed the internals in them, back then with most of my fishing being done on Horseshoe Lake where it was possible to do 100 doubles in a day during the peanut and tiger nut boom and reels took a good hiding. It was all too easy to set up with the baitrunners but they just never had the build quality of an Abu Cardinal 55. Went back to my 55's and still use them today.

I have even gone to lengths to take the reel into the next few decades for the old skool angler who still loves to use them.
A couple of major problems with them was the spools exploded and the bail trip covers cracked and broke, while spools are now not a problem I commissioned them to come with a line clip fitted, I also now have the bail trip cover made from the same alloy and anodized in the same finish as the spools, having fully serviced and rebuilt all 6 of my reels and done handle conversions too, these reels will out last me no problem.
I have also worked the drag system so now there is no need for 4 full turns on the drag knob, an angler can take the setting from off to lock in 3/4 of a turn. Just in the last 3 months I have serviced over 100 55's and 57's and still they amaze me just how well they were made.

Do I still fish drags off ? 41 years on Indeed I do, why fix something that's not broke