The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Duckett wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2019 11:42 pm

OldTackle wrote: ↑Tue Feb 26, 2019 10:46 pm Hmm..just recognized that the gear ratio of my 505 and 506 are NOT the same. My 506 has a ratio of about 1:4. Can someone please confirm that?

I have 2 506s that our parents bought for my brother and I in the early 1970s. My recollection is that they are actually 1:3.9 and the one I have to hand is certainly a fraction shy of 1:4. Sadly, the 503-508 manual I have doesn’t say.

Interesting. As some parts are convertible between different reels it would have been nice to know from the manual. However, when I tighten the syncrodrag on mine to fix the handle, mine has the 1:4 ratio. Have you done it same way?

OldTackle wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:32 am

Duckett wrote: ↑Thu Mar 28, 2019 11:42 pm

OldTackle wrote: ↑Tue Feb 26, 2019 10:46 pm Hmm..just recognized that the gear ratio of my 505 and 506 are NOT the same. My 506 has a ratio of about 1:4. Can someone please confirm that?

I have 2 506s that our parents bought for my brother and I in the early 1970s. My recollection is that they are actually 1:3.9 and the one I have to hand is certainly a fraction shy of 1:4. Sadly, the 503-508 manual I have doesn’t say.

Interesting. As some parts are convertible between different reels it would have been nice to know from the manual. However, when I tighten the syncrodrag on mine to fix the handle, mine has the 1:4 ratio. Have you done it same way?

Good idea, I tried it on the drag setting my girlfriend used last time she was out with me. I'll try it tightened this evening.

I'll also ask my brother if he has any more paperwork from his 506, which I have on loan.

Phil

OK, best hand and eye test I could come up with was:

- tighten drag as suggested by Old Tackle;
- remove the front housing;
- position line “trigger-catch” at the top of the spool and note the position of the winding handle;
- turn the handle 30 times whilst counting trigger-catch rotations.

The result was they the handle had barely moved position after 30 turns and approximately 4 rotations per turn. 1:4 ratio it is.

Damned fine engineering! Clearly an Abu reel approaching 50 years of age is doing better than my 57 year old brain that was convinced the ration was 1:3.9!

Strictly speaking, none of the reels mentioned in this post are "closed face". A "closed face" reel has a cowling covering the entire spool with a small hole in the centre allowing the line to pass through as in the diagram below:

The 503 is described as a simpler version of the 505 so most probably has the same gear ratio. I no longer use my 506 and 507s but use an ABU 1044 for trotting but I've not managed to find the gear ratio yet.

The Abumatics are an interesting and extensive range of closed faced reels but are of little use in trotting. I have a 110 and 275.

I had a Daiwa 125m... cracking reel but I hardly used it... Tengisgol has it now... for trotting I prefer a pin yet the casting of a CF is superb

The spin cast reels like the abumatic are pretty useless unless you are fishing at less than medium range with relatively heavy/aerodynamic lures. One look at the friction caused by those line angle changes tell us why. Popular in the USA before the advent of decent braking systems on multipliers, almost consigned to history as a design now. The last time I was in a BassPro the only ones to be seen were as part of cheap combination deals aimed at children. Interesting for the collector though. Corto - what do you call our usual interpretation of a closed face?

I believe the Abumatic (& type) range where for those who were unable to use a multiplier but had crank handles rods! I have a couple of both rods & reels.
Easy casting a small lure/spinner for jacks or perch - would not like to try & land a double figure pike with one.

Aitch wrote: ↑Wed Mar 04, 2020 1:47 pm I had a Daiwa 125m... cracking reel but I hardly used it... Tengisgol has it now... for trotting I prefer a pin yet the casting of a CF is superb

Like you I prefer to use a centrepin if I can get away with it. However I often relate the story of a day fishing on the lower Yorkshire Derwent. The conditions were perfect so I set up with my centrepin. The float travelled down the swim perfectly being slightly held back against the flow by the pin.

After about an hour with very few bites I let the float travel down the swim at the speed of the current which resulted in a bite. This is what the fish wanted and for the rest of the session this is how I fished ending up catching a good bag of fish.

The centrepin was a waste of time and even a slight hindrance on that day. I would have been better of with my CF reel. Fish can be very inconsiderate!