tld.. is it worth it...

[dales33]

Hi Alan, been a while since i visited but the Australian dollar is strong at the moment so im  looking at options.
I live in Victoria Australia and to be honest the fishing is pretty average in comparison to new zealand where im from for palegics and real head shakers.
i spent a fair bit of money upgrading my light/medium tackle gear since ive been here ( new calcutta 150, 400 and 700s open top)
im more on looking at my best options on the tld's i own.
3 hours south of me are the toghest southern blue fin on the plannet.
ive caught yellowfin to 60kg on my tld 20 and 25 in new zealand and king fish to 50kg  but they realy need upgrades, should i sell them and cut my losses or upgrade handles, washers ect.
ive owned them a good 15 years a piece i recon, i look after my gear and the 20's a bit rougher than the 25 cos the 25 gets a bit of side wobble under a fight due to the wider body.
your prices are verry reasonable, but im still wondering if i could get 80 bucks aussie for them second hand would i be better off getting  new non graphite reels or  rebuilding them? Or should i upgrade the drags on these and get a heavier reel with what i save?
i did alot of competition fishing in new zealand and landed some big kingi's on some long fights and didnt realy notice any major probs, actualy i won both reels catching kings in comps on my ambasibur 7000 with carbon washers
regards Dale

[Phinaddict]

Hey Dale,
While we wait for Alan, I will chime in and offer one idea.

Here in the states, with the economy so bad, I have noticed that used Penn Internationals
sell for significantly less than they did a few years ago. You can get a Penn 30 for under $200. and a
30S (two speed), for under $300. off of Ebay. As long as you are selective and not in a hurry, you can score great deals. With the exchange rate, the USD and AUD are pretty even right now.

Add a new drag washer and bearings, service it annually, and it will last the rest of your life.

[wallacewt]

is it worth it. no,unless you love em.cheers

[dales33]

Thanks for the replies guys, i never actualy considered looking for second hand reels in the states, its got me thinking.
im more a fan of the tiagra than the internationals but in saying that ive fished both and the penn is a great reel.
they work hard on game boats for decades and have a great drag system.
ill head across to ebay for a looksie, thanks again.

[alantani]

i'd have to side with wallace on this one.  the tld 15 is nice.  the tld 20 single speed and two speed are nice as well.  the others i would take a pass on.  the tld 25, 30 and 50 have frames that are too weak for the size of the reel.  yet there are still some hard heads that will insist on fishing with them.  honestly, that is fine as long as you keep the drag setting a little light. 

on a side note, i have a small project in the works.  it is an alaskan tld series.   i'm going to put together a set of all stainless steel parts for the tld 15 and the 20's.  i have the handles already.  i just need the quadrants and screws.  alan

[akfish]

What I'd like is a metal frame or the TLD 20. Many people use them for halibut with straight 80# spectra. After a few large fish the gears are fried from frame torque. a stiff frame would go a long way to solving this peoblem.

[CaptDavDavis01]

I could have sworn Ive seen them on fleabay.

Accuframes maybe?

Danny

[dales33]

hi there alan, thanks for the reply, so are you making new bodies for the tld 20?, or witch parts would be replaced?

[whalebreath]

What I'd like is a metal frame or the TLD 20. Many people use them for halibut with straight 80# spectra. After a few large fish the gears are fried from frame torque. a stiff frame would go a long way to solving this problem.

I've  torn the reel frame right off the seat while hauling on a large Hali-90 minutes was just too much pressure. 

[alantani]

i have some left over aluminum frames for both the tld 20 two speed and the tld 30 two speed.  both retail for $175, and i install them with full service included.  a $46 handle is extra.  there are no frame upgrade for the single speed tlds.  alan

[Whiteman]

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to buy a brand new Tyrnos 16/20?

[alantani]

absolutely!

[dales33]

After recieving all your advice and the aussie dollar now level pegged with the Us dollar im going to get myself a reel or two from the states.
most probably a 30 2 speed and a 20, 30, 0r 50 single or 2 speed as well depending on whats avaliable.
ive seen some scruffy looking ones going for a song that the sellers profess work fine with cosmetic damage eg scrapes and nic's, minor corosion between unlike metals.
my question is mainly for you alan, if i can convince the seller to ship direct to you ( most sellers like to ship to the registered paypal/ebay, address only) would you be happy/ prepared to overhaul it for me and fit greased washers ect and then ship onto me at my expense?
i know its a big ask as im in australia but id prefer you to service my reel while its still stateside while i have the opertunity as i have much respect for your knowledge and workmanship.
im not sure if you have a paypal account but i could pay you more or less instantly for labor, parts and postage probably easiest this way.
let me know if this is ok with you, regards Dale

[alantani]

by the time it is all said and done, you will be spending far too much.  here is another option.  go with the okuma makaira 20 or 30 two speed.  you are looking at a 5 year warranty.  by this time they should have changed out the bearings.  to open spool and greased non-spool.  i think that would be your best bet.  alan