140/145/146 squidder

Started by alantani, December 07, 2008, 04:58:51 PM

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RUSTY OLD COLT

  Must have missed this post , Sals handle on that squidded is gorgeous . Is it made of polymer or wood ?

Alto Mare

Acrylic acetate, very strong stuff!

Sal
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

Abombs

Hey Everybody, I posted this on pierandsurf forums, but it looks like this forum is more active, so I am re-posting here for more discussion and for general sharing.

I found a Squidder 146 with an aluminum spool for super cheap and picked it up. As a collector I have been on the lookout for one for awhile. Everyone speaks so highly of these little reels. The one I got is a little worn, but in great working condition. Bearings spin really nice. I got it with pretty worn out carbontex drag washers, which tested out at around 6 lb of smooth drag. That seemed a bit light, so I wanted to upgrade that. I found the Ultimate Upgrade drag washers by Bryan Young and put them in. Now it is pulling 12-15 lb of drag (tested with a suitcase scale). Nice. No other upgrades yet.....

I took it out to try casting it and fishing it. Casts great! Not even sure I need to mag it because it is easy to throw without backlash... I tied on a fish finder rig made with 50 lb fluoro, and put a live pin fish on, casted it out. Let it sit for less than 10 minutes, and guess what? It was taken by an 8+ foot bull shark. First catch was a stupid-huge bull shark! Not my target.... Oy.... I fought it for 15 minutes, but in doing so with this new high drag the anti-reverse dog failed... Oy.... The reel made a bit of a birds nest during the ordeal. I was fighting it and trying to undo the birds nest at the same time (walking backwards, maintaining tension), all while holding the handle because the anti-reverse dog wouldn't stop it from spinning backwards. I had the reel on a 12 foot heavy heaver, and this combo under this condition took all my strength to handle. No fighting harness or anything like that.... It wrecked my arms. And it would go 'pop' and slip out of my hands and spin backwards forcefully. I hurt my hands pretty bad. Got bruised up. My arm hurt for a week after. It was very hard to hold on with a mess of a reel and no anti-reverse. Of course, I lost the shark. Couldn't have gotten it up on the pier anyways.... Unlucky day. First fish I caught after spending money and time on upgrades wrecked this reel.

But what else failed on this occasion? The swivel on my fish finder rig broke. It wasn't the 50 lb leader, nor my knots, nor did the hook straighten out (like has happened before). But the swivel broke! This swivel was supposed to be good for 150lb, but not on this day.... Similarly, the main gear did not shear, nor did the gear sleeve--just the anti-reverse dog. Only one part mushed and failed. Kind of unexpected.

I wasn't sure what this reel would be capable of after the drag upgrades. I know the stainless steel gears are a popular choice to upgrade as well, but I have never heard of anyone needing a tougher anti-reverse dog as a result of this. I never wanted to target something so big and powerful. I would like to believe it could handle 4-5 foot blacktips, but again, I would target them with heavier tackle. Just nice to know I could if I needed to. I hookup with sharks as bycatch often, and the smaller ones are much more common.... But seriously, I am a bit shocked that no one else is talking about the "downstream effects" of these upgraded drag washers making the rest of the reel come apart under load. There is so much LORE on the internet over this reel, I feel surprised.

Anyone else experience anything like this with a Squidder before?






Swami805

Pretty much what to expect when you upgrade one part of the reel something else down stream will fail.  Next step is to upgrade to a stainless gear sleeve and dog.  You found the weak link in the chain.  Great story though and nice first post.
Welcome
Do what you can with that you have where you are

Bill B

ABomb, welcome to the forum.   One thing to note on the Squidder, is the small funny looking lever at the 7 o'clock when looking at the handle side.  The small lever releases the dog and turns the reel into a knuckle buster.  It is easy to flip the lever and not know it during the fight.  Have you pulled the dog out yet?  Im sure we would like to see the damage done.  I have had badly worn dogs fail, but never had one in good shape fail.

Bill
It may not be very productive,
but it's sure going to be interesting!

Abombs

Quote from: Bill B (Tarfu) on April 05, 2021, 07:21:02 PM
ABomb, welcome to the forum.   One thing to note on the Squidder, is the small funny looking lever at the 7 o'clock when looking at the handle side.  The small lever releases the dog and turns the reel into a knuckle buster.  It is easy to flip the lever and not know it during the fight.  Have you pulled the dog out yet?  Im sure we would like to see the damage done.  I have had badly worn dogs fail, but never had one in good shape fail.

Bill

Yeah, it wasn't that little lever.... After this incident I do wish the Squidder did not have that feature, but it wasn't me hitting it on this occasion. Not sure why you don't see the photos I posted. I see them on my screen. The photos I posted show the brass dog mushed and deformed. Before the incident it held strong. Afterwards it won't even hold a pound of force. It doesn't hold at all. It is a full time knuckle buster until I get a new dog in there.... I took it apart to look at it, and put it back together again while I wait for a replacement. When I take it apart again I will take more photos with a higher res camera (last ones were cell phone shots).

Abombs

Quote from: Swami805 on April 05, 2021, 04:28:19 PM
Pretty much what to expect when you upgrade one part of the reel something else down stream will fail.  Next step is to upgrade to a stainless gear sleeve and dog.  You found the weak link in the chain.  Great story though and nice first post.
Welcome

Thanks!  :D

I ordered the Cortez aftermarket dog and spring. Although I am not sure how much stronger it could be... It's still brass... But I may have to upgrade the gear sleeve as well. I might just go ahead and order the stainless steel upgrades.

I have a Squidder 140 as well, also with the ultimate upgrade drag washers. I am just going to have to fish it carefully until I invest a little more time and money into these.

Bryan Young

Welcome and that was exciting in both good and bad ways.

Yes, I do recommend upgrading the dogs to stainless steel if you have a chance, although I move not personally seem the dog fail yet. Mushroom yes but not fail.

Looking forward to seeing the photo of the dog when you get a chance.
:D I talk with every part I send out and each reel I repair so that they perform at the top of their game. :D

Gfish

Next Shark/big-one experience after you strengthen the AR system, could be frame torque. This could cause gear sherdding. What do you have for a frame? Posts are the weakest, double bars the next best, and a one piece aluminium frame is the is the strongest.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

Swami805

I can see the OP's pictures, that dog is toast!
Do what you can with that you have where you are

Bill B

Sorry, my work computer (don't tell my boss I'm surfing AT.com) doesn't show some pictures.  That brass dog was bound to fail, it is as worn out as I have ever seen.  A new brass dog will do you fine for the next couple years of fishing.  Bill
It may not be very productive,
but it's sure going to be interesting!

Bryan Young

Wow, them photos are huge.  I couldn't see them on my phone but on my computer, it's clear.  Looks like the gear sleeve also damaged the dog...may that thing got a work out over the years.  I have never see a dog worn because of the gear sleeve to that extent ever.
:D I talk with every part I send out and each reel I repair so that they perform at the top of their game. :D

Abombs

Quote from: Bryan Young on April 06, 2021, 06:06:30 AM
Welcome and that was exciting in both good and bad ways.

Yes, I do recommend upgrading the dogs to stainless steel if you have a chance, although I move not personally seem the dog fail yet. Mushroom yes but not fail.

Looking forward to seeing the photo of the dog when you get a chance.

Thanks, Bryan! Where do I get a stainless steel dog?

I've found some threads here where people create a double-dog. If I could find parts, that seems like a relatively easy mod to try out. I don't have a full machine shop, but I can drill and cut some simple metal parts.

Abombs

Quote from: Gfish on April 06, 2021, 07:30:41 AM
Next Shark/big-one experience after you strengthen the AR system, could be frame torque. This could cause gear sherdding. What do you have for a frame? Posts are the weakest, double bars the next best, and a one piece aluminium frame is the is the strongest.

I have posts on this one. Previously. I upgraded an old Senator 4/0 with double bars I found on ebay for a few dollars. It feels pretty solid now... If I could mill my own aluminum frame for the squidder 146 that would be fun. I might just break down and order a Tiburan frame though, but not until I find a good long term fix for everything else.

Abombs

Quote from: Bill B (Tarfu) on April 07, 2021, 12:45:36 AM
Sorry, my work computer (don't tell my boss I'm surfing AT.com) doesn't show some pictures.  That brass dog was bound to fail, it is as worn out as I have ever seen.  A new brass dog will do you fine for the next couple years of fishing.  Bill

Thanks. Good to know. It might just end up being this way for awhile. Hard to justify pouring more and more money into it if all I want to do is get out there and catch more small to medium size fish.