Reel Repair by Alan Tani

For starters SOP here is soaking it in penetrating oil, then slipping two (flat) screwdriver blades underneath twisting both in opposite directions

Headed down the mountain yesterday to pick up some lumber. Went to Lowe's, Home Depot, and Harbor Freight, plus renewed the travel trailer license at AAA.

Stopped by the Swap Meet early, and picked up a few things —- some new, or nearly new reels and rods.

ABU 5500C, Sweden, silver, new
ABU 4601C4, Sweden, Blue, new or nearly new
Shimano TR100-G, LW, Japan, new
Shakespeare Wondercast Deluxe, FG, near new
Cardinal 753, new, on a Fenwick 5' new rod
Mini-Mite Gold on a 4' 3" Fenwick, both new
500C silver on a 42" custom rod,  both new
GS-10 gold, on a Sigma Supra I6 rod, rod new, reel near new
Cabela 8' 6" downrigger rod, new
Shimano MLZ-10 on a 4' Garcia Conolon rod, rod new, reel near new
Shimano MLZ-10 on Shakes Micro-Series rod, rod new, reel looks new

All for sale, plus another maybe 25 ultralight combos that include Wright-McGill, Fenwick, etc. —- plus DAM Quicks, Daiwa's, Penns, Cardinals, Mitchell's, and Shimanos.

Plus many quality ultra-light reels just in the bins without rods.

If any interest, let me know —- before I offer them up to the general public down the hill at about 30% more.

Best, Fred

Does Ted Wong still make the watermelon and what's the secret handshake to get one?  ;-)

I like the Daiwa wooden knobs—-super comfortable.

That BG-90 handle also fits a GS-9 and vice versa.

Quote from: CincyDavid on July 30, 2026, 01:37:38 PMThe wood knob is cool looking, but how does this type of knob feel in actual use?

I've had them in the past. I prefer them to plastic or metal. But I like eva the best, even though it wears much faster.

Quote from: Midway Tommy on July 27, 2026, 05:45:11 PMLooks BG90 to me. The black flip over nut and the hex spacer on the wood knob extension shaft are tell tale signs to me, along with the chrome dust cover. Is there a sticker on the outside of the handle attachment dust cover fitting? There should be a black and gold sticker on the outside flat area.

Yep. It has the sticker.

I bought a 15hp carb on ebay ready to go, the guy told me the knob adjusts the throttle plate. I am going to rebuild the 9.9 hp carb just cause. 

I am working on a buddy's Trinidad 20 and need some help with a stuck spool bearing what is the best way to remove? Thanks Bob V.

I am looking to see if anybody can help me? I am working on a buddy's SR-12 and trying to remove the Bail Roller it's not rolling good and want to clean bearings or replace them. Thanks Bob V.

The measured performance gains are pretty crazy. But so is the price. If I owned a large single screw launch that would never see less than 30ft of water under its keel I'd consider it.