Mo's PUM(pick-up-manual) Hack

Started by mo65, April 18, 2020, 03:02:58 PM

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mo65

  It seems like almost every day someone asks "What is a PUM conversion?", "Why do it?", or "Where do I find parts?" The first two questions are easily answered...the third one is a bit tougher. A PUM conversion is simply a spinning reel without a bail. Some surfcasters and folks who toss heavy baits prefer this setup, to prevent the bail slamming shut during a cast. As far as finding the needed parts, eBay is "hit or miss", sometimes you'll see lots of conversion kits offered, other times nothing. These NOS kits bring a premium too. Even worse, most reels don't have conversion kits even offered, so what do you do?
  Well...before flaming out over it...you can easily mod a junker reel for peanuts...just to "test drive" a bailess reel. I have home brewed PUM conversions that work equally as well as my high priced factory conversions. Then if you like it, you can confidently spend more on one. There are even a few modern new spinners offered with a manual pickup. One of the things I love most about the manual pickup is you can say goodbye to line twist. I'm guessing the action of the bail closing must twist line, because none of my bailess reels have line twist issues.
  I bought this trashed Zebco XB75 because it's the first one I've seen come up for sale in ages. These are fantastic reels, and I wish I had a mint shelfie, but this old gal is gonna have to do for now. As you can see from the first pic, the bail is busted. A perfect candidate to go under the knife! ;D




  The Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel is perfect for removing the busted bail.



  Use a fine stone or sanding wheel to smooth the cut off bail.



  Same thing on the opposite end. You'll notice most factory manual pickups have a large exaggerated end, like it is needed to keep the line on the roller. Maybe so for some forms of fishing...but I've never had any issues keeping the line on these stock pickup "hacks". The least bit of tension on the line pulls it to the lowest part of the pickup...that is the center of the line roller.



  Depending on your reel's design, sometimes a washer is needed under the screw(red arrow) to lock the bail arm cam(blue arrow), to hold back the bail arm lever.(yellow arrow)  



  I also had to fashion a new drag clicker.



  Looking at these parts all cleaned up you should be able to see why I like these XB series Zebcos. The large brass gears are a rare sight in a 70s Japanese reel. The coil spring assisted three stack drag is nice too, as is the absence of plastic parts. :o



  Hopefully this post will help folks who are on the fence about trying a manual pickup reel. By performing this hack on a broken reel you won't bruise your wallet, and you'll return an otherwise useless mess to service. Every reel wants to be fished. 8)




~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


foakes

Good job, photos, and explanation, Mike --

That is how it's done folks!

Best,

Fred
The Official, Un-Authorized Service and Restoration Center for quality vintage spinning reels.

D-A-M Quick, Penn, Mitchell, and ABU/Zebco Cardinals

--------

The first rule of fishing is to fish where the fish are. The second rule of fishing is to never forget the first rule.

"Enjoy the little things in Life — For someday, you may look back — and realize that they were the big things"
                                                     Fred O.

Alto Mare

Yes very nice! But I'm more interested on that main gear.
Do I see teeth on top and bottom, or are my eyes playing a trick on me?

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

mo65

Quote from: Alto Mare on April 18, 2020, 03:38:43 PM
Yes very nice! But I'm more interested on that main gear.
Do I see teeth on top and bottom, or are my eyes playing a trick on me?

Sal

   Correct Sal...there are teeth on both sides...but the teeth on the back side are for the anti-reverse. Although I prefer an AR system on the pinion, ahead of the gear mesh, this setup has a bunch of teeth. There is near zero backplay, it sounds like a buzzsaw when you crank the handle! Here's a pic of the AR side of that gear. 8)
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


oldmanjoe

   Look`s like teeth for the anti reverse.          TO late posting
 I have one made on a quick 330 .

  One of the things I love most about the manual pickup is you can say goodbye to line twist. I'm guessing the action of the bail closing must twist line, because none of my bailess reels have line twist issues.  
   
   I can see were it may help with wind knots  ,because you look down to put the line on the pin.    Line  twist , I think comes from bait helicoptering or reeling against the drag .
 Can you give me a little more insight , because i do suffer with line twist .
Grandpa`s words of wisdom......Joey that thing between your shoulders is not a hat rack.....    use it.....
A mind is like a parachute, it only work`s  when it is open.......
The power of Observation   , It`s all about the Details ..
 Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.   Alto Mare

mo65

Quote from: mo65 on April 18, 2020, 03:02:58 PM
   One of the things I love most about the manual pickup is you can say goodbye to line twist. I'm guessing the action of the bail closing must twist line, because none of my bailess reels have line twist issues.

Quote from: oldmanjoe on April 18, 2020, 04:05:27 PMI can see were it may help with wind knots, because you look down to put the line on the pin. Line twist, I think comes from bait helicoptering or reeling against the drag. Can you give me a little more insight, because i do suffer with line twist.

   There are many things that cause line twist, like you mentioned, the helicoptering and reeling against the drag. I also see a lot of line twist when my trolling swivels crap out. Those are all things we can "watch out for" and control. I read once that the cycling of the bail causes line twist...and I think it indeed does...because that is the one factor I couldn't "watch out for"...and when I eliminated it I eliminated twist! 8)
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


Crow

Good job, Mo !  I may have to try it ! I have *a few* spinners in my "someday box" that have broken, or missing bails.
There's nothing wrong with a few "F's" on your record....Food, Fun, Flowers, Fishing, Friends, and Fun....to name just a few !

mo65

#7
Quote from: Crow on April 18, 2020, 04:30:22 PM
Good job, Mo !  I may have to try it ! I have *a few* spinners in my "someday box" that have broken, or missing bails.

  Thanks Crow! Yes, those old dogs with broken bails can be resurrected easily. Many reels with issues casting heavy weights can get a new lease on life with the PUM conversion. This 306 Mitch in the first photo was one that would lock up on a cast and...SNAP...6 dollars worth of terminal tackle flying into the sunset! The kit to convert this model is a stock Mitchell part, and they often come up for sale NIB. There are kits for others too, like the 302 Mitch and the 700/704 Penn. Or if you have deep pockets...pick up a Mitch 498 shown in the second pic. :o
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


Alto Mare

#8
Quote from: mo65 on April 18, 2020, 03:58:27 PM
Quote from: Alto Mare on April 18, 2020, 03:38:43 PM
Yes very nice! But I'm more interested on that main gear.
Do I see teeth on top and bottom, or are my eyes playing a trick on me?

Sal

  Correct Sal...there are teeth on both sides...but the teeth on the back side are for the anti-reverse. Although I prefer an AR system on the pinion, ahead of the gear mesh, this setup has a bunch of teeth. There is near zero backplay, it sounds like a buzzsaw when you crank the handle! Here's a pic of the AR side of that gear. 8)
Very smart, that is a nice size gear, there wouldn't be much back play with the handle.
This is the first I've seen.
About the bailess, I rather have the bail on my fishing reels.
If you haven't fished without it before, it takes a lot of getting used to.
The ONLY advantage I see going without it is that it will save your favorite lure.
Most times you will lose a lure when the bail malfunction and closed on its own.
By the way, I always close my bail by hand, just something I got used to... and that's a good thing.
Thanks Mo!

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

mo65

Quote from: Alto Mare on April 18, 2020, 06:01:13 PM
If you haven't fished without it before, it takes a lot of getting used to. Most times you will lose a lure when the bail malfunction and closed on its own. By the way, I always close my bail by hand, just something I got used to... and that's a good thing.
Thanks Mo!

   It must depend on the user...for me it was a natural. I'd never hack the bail off a fully functional reel...this post was aimed at folks who want to try it and have busted candidates lying around waiting. And like you...I prefer a reel that allows you to close the bail manually. If you like the looks of that XB series Zebco check out this post for a better look at the reel's inner workings. 8)

   https://alantani.com/index.php?topic=29870.0

~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


Alto Mare

#10
You are correct Mo, I'm not taking anything away from your thread and sorry if it seemed as I was.
You always do good work, along with a good explanation and some great pics.

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

Decker

Mo, you certainly have a knack for inventiveness and finding diamonds in the rough!

mo65

Quote from: Alto Mare on April 18, 2020, 06:35:33 PM
You are correct Mo, I'm not taking anything away from your thread and sorry if it seemed as I was.
You always do good work, along with a good explanation and some great pics.

Sal

   Oh no Sal...I understand what you meant. I've fished with guys who didn't like the bailess set up...you're not alone. Thank you for the compliments...I really appreciate it!

~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


Midway Tommy

Well done, Mike, nice explanation.

As far as line twist, I think the biggest culprit is reeling against the drag. I've never understood why people get so excited that they forget to quit cranking when the fish is taking out line.  ??? Bad swivels with untuned lures also causes a lot of twist, as do those silly newfangled slow death crawler rigs. I prefer to jig my live bait rigs while trolling, mainly because I fish a lot of walleye & keeping contact with the bottom is crucial.

I'm not a PUM kind of guy but if I was I would prefer a conical style pickup like this one I added to a broken bail Silent awhile back. Sal sent me the Penn bail that I adapted. Thanks again. Sal! :)




Love those open face spinning reels! (Especially ABU & ABU/Zebco Cardinals)

Tommy D (ORCA), NE



Favorite Activity? ............... In our boat fishing
RELAXING w/ MY BEST FRIEND (My wife Bonnie)

mo65

Quote from: Midway Tommy on April 18, 2020, 06:58:34 PM
I'm not a PUM kind of guy but if I was I would prefer a conical style pickup like this one I added to a broken bail Silent awhile back. Sal sent me the Penn bail that I adapted. Thanks again. Sal! :)

   I see a lot of those conical pickups cut off like that Tommy. It approaches the half bail design. Nice save on that cool old reel! 8)
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~