Possibly the Best Large Spinner

[foakes]

Just finished up this DAM Quick 5001 for a client.

Some rust inside & out, worn drags, weak springs, paint loss on the frame, sideplate, & rotor.

Inside was jam filled with some sort of clear light green grease with the consistency of Vaseline.

Stripped, painted, polished all interior and exterior parts, replaced a few key parts.

Micro-Tuned, checked over twice, adjusted, bagged, and ready to ship back.

These have oversized drags —- the only plastic is the crank knob & drag knob.

Check out the internals —- it doesn't get any better, stronger, or more effective than this.  Steel, SS, bronze, Aircraft grade cast aluminum, metal aluminum skirted spool.

This reel won't back off to anything.

Best, Fred

[JeffG]

It's a beaut! I have a 270 a 550 that I need to buy a rod for so I can get to the river some day and do some cat fishing, may be land a 30 or 40+ pounder! I mostly do gills and crappie, but occasionally do some river fishing.
    It's tough going on the auction sites with the ultralight reels! Seems everyone is wanting them. You can find the 270's and 550's all day long for under $50, but the microlites are pushing $75-$100 at times.

[MarkT]

Came out nice!  But best large spinner?  What kind of drag will it put put and what retrieval speed?  My Saragosa's, TwinPower and Makaira will all handle good size YT, YFT and Wahoo!  Even my original Battle 6000 has 30# YT and YFT to it's credit and it's not a large spinner, or anything anyone would claim to be high quality or best.  Maybe the best large spinner from DAM?

[foakes]

35.5" per crank, drags are large on top and bottom of the spool, and different materials, drag grease, multiple discs can be added for more drag — if needed.

Handles braid well.

This is a high speed version at 1:4.

There is a lesser known 5001 with a gear ration of 1:2.5.

Best, Fred

[oldmanjoe]

Have you tried power coating yet  , waiting to see how it looks !

[foakes]

This was just baked on enamel black paint, Joe —-

Been busy with quite a few other things.

Now that the weather is warming up some, I hope to finish up the PC shop.

Got some great colors to try out.

Best, Fred

[Vintage Offshore Tackle]

Fred, the box is a mess but the reel is very near mint, an easy 9+.  Any interest in a trade?

[foakes]

You bet, Randy —-

Let me know what you could use — and/or how much money to send you — and I will take it.

Thanks!

Best, Fred

[Vintage Offshore Tackle]

Fred, do you have any P or G series Newells, or S or "No Letter" series with the big adjustable bearing caps on both sides?  I can add cash or more stuff.  I can also use old surface iron, or any of my old Tiburon custom frame/spool kits.

If you would rather just buy it, I will send it to you and you can send me however much you think is fair.

[foakes]

In shifting over to vintage quality spinners —- and getting rid of nearly everything else in conventionals —- the last Newell stuff I sent to you last year.

So I will be glad to buy it and send out the cash.

Thanks!

Best, Fred

[foakes]

For anyone interested —-

Check out this review by Alan Hawk on the DAM Quick 5001.

https://www.alanhawk.com/reviews/quk51.html

It is comprehensive, informative, and well done.

The 5001, specifically, is considered by many to be the "Godfather" of modern offshore spinning reels.

It out-performs most of the modern graphite or cheaply-cast Asian big-game reels with a dozen bearings.

There are some very good high-end spinners (Penn, Accurate, Shimano, Okuma, etc.).

However, the price point is much higher on these —- compared to this 5001.  For me, that is a strong consideration.

The fact that I have parts for these —- also makes all the difference.

No matter how good a reel is —- if parts are not available —- it is just a paperweight.

I have dozens of crates of excellent reels that I can no longer easily get parts for.

How would you like to spend $1300 on a new Shimano Stella —- only to find that Shimano doesn't offer parts support after 4-5 years?

Sit back, have a cup of coffee, and take a look at the write up and photos on this DQ 5001.  You may be surprised and impressed.

It was way ahead of its time —- and in many respects —- is still far ahead of the popular competition coming out of the 3 parts factories in Asia that supply reel parts for about 25 different manufacturers.  All made by the low bidder.

Best, Fred

[philaroman]

Fred,
4001 is same body -- correct?  is everything else "same strength":
bail-wire & rotor-wall thickness, head, arm, hardware, etc.?
if so, in effect, wouldn't that be stronger than 5001
(shorter distance from bail head to spool center = "shorter lever for bending things")

also, less total mass = less severe impact damage when bouncing off rocks/rails

maybe 4001 would be better for heavier braid abuse, if you don't specifically want max capacity/distance

[Vintage Offshore Tackle]

In shifting over to vintage quality spinners —- and getting rid of nearly everything else in conventionals —- the last Newell stuff I sent to you last year.

So I will be glad to buy it and send out the cash.

Thanks!

Thank you Fred.  I will PM you my address. Please also send me yours.  I would love to take old surface iron instead of cash if you have any.  Please let me know if you have any that you would be willing to part with.

Best, Fred

[foakes]

Fred,
4001 is same body -- correct?  is everything else "same strength":
bail-wire & rotor-wall thickness, head, arm, hardware, etc.?
if so, in effect, wouldn't that be stronger than 5001
(shorter distance from bail head to spool center = "shorter lever for bending things")

also, less total mass = less severe impact damage when bouncing off rocks/rails

maybe 4001 would be better for heavier braid abuse, if you don't specifically want max capacity/distance

You would think so, Roman —- but the 4001 (which is also a great reel) is smaller in nearly all respects.  Casing, gears, etc..

Having corresponded with some of the DQ engineers over the years as we traded or provided parts to each other —- I was able to glean a little insight into the mindset behind their products —- prior to their moving production to Asia around 1990.

These guys were second and third generation DQ employees. 

They took immense pride in their work, were mechanical experts in design - production - materials.

But they were also experienced Anglers who fished as often as they could.  And more importantly, they listened to other anglers who had needs as well as suggestions for improved reels.

While the 1000-5000 reels are excellent —- the 1001 - 5001 had a few key improvements that made them better.  Larger drags, adjustable spool height for different line-lays, etc..

They even listened when folks said they needed a lower geared model to fish much larger species.  Hence the 1:2.5 model.

4001 & 5001 are both impressive reels —- but they are each designed for specific targeted species and conditions.

Best, Fred

[PacRat]

Fred,
What steps would you take to improve the drag on a 5001? Mine is in stock configuration. The asbestos washer was greased when I got it and I didn't know what type of grease so I flushed it out real good but now it chatters against the very smooth anodized spool. The chatter is more of a sound or vibration like a cello bow being drawn across the strings. If I cut a carbon fiber drag washer should I also retain the asbestos (feels like felt) to provide a little bit of cushion to the drag?