Long Beach 68 still relevant?

[Fishermanny]

Hello again everyone.
Again many thanks to Alan for putting all this together, instructions and tutorials and everything reel rebuilding related. I have a LongBeach 68 which I've changed the drags on (HT-100s) and greased them up. The question I have this time is this: Other than changing drags, is there anything else I can do to this reel to make it better? I know it has slow gears (2.5:1). I was wondering if anyone made any to make the reel a bit quicker. This reel I had serviced at my local fishing store, and they said it's still a nice reel in good condition, but that it'll take me a long time to pull anything in because of the low gears. So is this still a good reel for trolling, or should I hang this one up on my shelf and get something better for trolling? I've used it only a few times off So Cal boats.

[Ron Jones]

Your reel has the gears that many are using in black sided Senators because your gears are faster. You can put a stainless gear sleeve, 5+1 drag stack, big crank arm and handle and double dog your reel and it will troll just fine. The large capacity means you can run straight mono and the open top is always nice. It isn't the best reel or flashy, but it will get the job done as it has for decades. You can also use the guts and spool to make a bombshell black Senator with an aluminum frame, just depends on how far you want to go.

Ron

[Fishermanny]

Thanks Ron, I need to get some thinner metal washers to be able to do the 5+1. I have 4 ht-100's and 4 regular metal washers, and the fiber washer under the main gear. And to complete the 5+1 I need a little more space. Also, do you know where I can find instructions on how to add the second dog? I've found the tutorial on the 111, but nothing on the 68, and I would love to do this conversion. Also, where do I order the thinner washers from? Does Alan sell them?

[Ron Jones]

The 68 and 111 will be just about identical. Their are several ways to do it and it really depends on what you want to do and what tools you have available. Dawn at smoothdrag.com can set you up with the complete 5+1 drag stack. I believe she quoted me $27.00 for drag disks, metal washers and the HT-100 under the gear.

Ron