My lightly modified Cardinal 3

[tincanary]

I picked this guy up cheap on eBay as I'm a gamblin' man when it comes to sellers that post crappy pictures.  The gamble paid off and I got myself a very nice Zebco Cardinal 3 much cheaper than the others sold for.  

She was a little dirty, but everything functioned well.  I don't believe this one saw much use, but spent most of its life on a shelf in a garage somewhere.


Wanting to make it better suited for ultralight duties, I got myself a shallow spool courtesy of Avail Japan and some beefier bail springs courtesy of the IOS Factory out of Japan as well.  Not pictured are homemade Carbontex drag washers.



She came out really nice and fishes wonderfully.  These bail springs make the bail snap back into action lightning fast.  The handle bushing and worm bushing were polished, Super Lube grease on the gears, Cal's Purple on the drag, and 90W gear oil in the worm bearing.  Smooth as all get out.  I spent a couple of weeks in the northern Michigan woods chasing our state fish, the brook trout, and it performed well beyond my expectations.  What a lovely reel!

[ReelFishingProblems]

That is beautiful work!
Would love to see some pictures with said trout

[Crow]

Good job !

[thorhammer]

EXCELLENT.  keep em coming- we don't hear enough from you. I know both Nick and myself are paying close  attention on your round Abu posts, and I'm sure others are too.


John

[tincanary]

That is beautiful work!
Would love to see some pictures with said trout

Not a brookie, but a beautiful wild rainbow I got Tuesday morning.  I got this guy from the bank, I don't shoot too many photos in my waders on the water as my hands are full.  Don't wanna drop my phone in the water.  This was out of the upper Rifle River in northern Michigan.  Got him on a 3/16 Countdown rigged with #6 Owner single barbless hooks. 

[tincanary]

EXCELLENT.  keep em coming- we don't hear enough from you. I know both Nick and myself are paying close  attention on your round Abu posts, and I'm sure others are too.


John

Thanks for the kind words brother.  I'll have more round Abu action coming, just waiting to get my grubby coal shovels on a 2500C for the right price 

[tincanary]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention.  When I was packing up Monday evening to head back to my folks' house from the river, I ran into a nice lady and we got talking about fishing.  Turns out she's close friends with none other than Jim Bedford, probably the most famous trout fisherman in Michigan.  She wants her reels worked on and I told her I'd be more than happy to take care of them.  She's also giving Jim my information as he needs a new reel guy too, the person that used to do theirs retired some years back.  Jim has written many books about trout fishing in Michigan, all are available on Amazon.  He also writes for Michigan Out of Doors and Woods and Water News, both sportsman publications here in Michigan.  

Here's a video of the man himself in action, take note of the reel he's using.

[Midway Tommy]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention.  When I was packing up Monday evening to head back to my folks' house from the river, I ran into a nice lady and we got talking about fishing.  Turns out she's close friends with none other than Jim Bedford, probably the most famous trout fisherman in Michigan.  She wants her reels worked on and I told her I'd be more than happy to take care of them.  She's also giving Jim my information as he needs a new reel guy too, the person that used to do theirs retired some years back.  Jim has written many books about trout fishing in Michigan, all are available on Amazon.  He also writes for Michigan Out of Doors and Woods and Water News, both sportsman publications here in Michigan.  

Here's a video of the man himself in action, take note of the reel he's using.

Now that's a couple of great leads! You don't get those everyday. With people like that the good words will spread quickly!

You sure came across a nice reel. It cleaned up nicely and I'm sure you will cherish & enjoy it! I know I do mine. 

Over the years I've found it quite interesting how many really knowledgeable professional freshwater fisher people prefer, and continue to use, that generation of ABU made Cardinals. For years the In-Fisherman Lindner boys and their staff exclusively used ABU & Zebco Cardinals. That changed a little once they gained sponsorships and started doing more TV episodes. They still, though, when they weren't filming, broke out the dependable Cardinals. I've got a Zebco Cardinal 6 that was owned & used frequently by world famous fly fisherman Leon Chandler of Cortland Line Co who traveled the world promoting fly fishing. He could use any reel he wanted to for the larger fish he chased but when push came to shove he broke out the Cardinal. Nebraska's own Daryl Bauer, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission biologist and fisheries outreach program manager uses Cardinal 3s & 4s. Those guys know top quality when they see & feel it.       

[tincanary]

You sure came across a nice reel. It cleaned up nicely and I'm sure you will cherish & enjoy it! I know I do mine.  

Over the years I've found it quite interesting how many really knowledgeable professional freshwater fisher people prefer, and continue to use, that generation of ABU made Cardinals. For years the In-Fisherman Lindner boys and their staff exclusively used ABU & Zebco Cardinals. That changed a little once they gained sponsorships and started doing more TV episodes. They still, though, when they weren't filming, broke out the dependable Cardinals. I've got a Zebco Cardinal 6 that was owned & used frequently by world famous fly fisherman Leon Chandler of Cortland Line Co who traveled the world promoting fly fishing. He could use any reel he wanted to for the larger fish he chased but when push came to shove he broke out the Cardinal. Nebraska's own Daryl Bauer, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission biologist and fisheries outreach program manager uses Cardinal 3s & 4s. Those guys know top quality when they see & feel it.        

Interestingly enough, these Cardinal 3s are still made but sold only on the Japanese market.  ABU still makes the parts, but final assembly is done in Japan now and not Sweden.  A company by the name of Daysprout is under contractual agreement with ABU to build and distribute them.  While these are almost the same Cardinals that we love, they are a little different in that they now have bearings for the main gear shaft and a quieter anti-reverse mechanism.  They don't come cheap, but if jewelry exists for fishermen, these are it.  https://daysprout-fishing.jp/page2/ds-cardinal/  Something else really neat, ABU makes a rod to specifically match the Cardinal for the Japanese market http://purefishing.jp/product/abugarcia/fw-rod/classics/abu-classics-trout.html

[Gfish]

Cool! Thanks for the reference. This post was gonna be me wondering why someone didn't renew a classic/popular design for that market segment(not making this up). Gotta check out that AR modification, cause that's a feature I love on the original, sound and all.

[foakes]

Thanks for sharing about these excellent reels and those Pros who use them.

The Cardinals are some of my favorites in my personal arsenal. 

A fantastic design coupled with strong components, and clever, simple engineering.

I really love a Cardinal 3 on an old Fenwick or Eagle Claw lightweight rod.  It is a perfectly balanced and comfortable combo.

Best, Fred

[tincanary]

I really want to get myself a 4wt 7'6" Lamiglas Honey blank set up for spinning, with a Michigan handle of course.  Would be a nice match with the Cardinal and capable of fishing the tiniest of baits with the shallow Avail spool I have on it now.  I'm spooled with 4lb Maxima right now, fantastic line that seems to fly under the radar.  Here's the spool I have, the CD0490R, rated to hold 90m of 4lb.  Keep in mind Japanese lines go by the JAFS, meaning their 4lb is 0.165mm versus in the US which is typically 0.205mm.  That's a big difference.  This spool will hold about 65yd of 0.205mm 4lb.
https://www.hedgehog-studio.co.jp/product/1020

[tincanary]

This post was gonna be me wondering why someone didn't renew a classic/popular design for that market segment(not making this up).

Great question and I do think I have an answer.  I was talking with Simon Shimomura about this a couple of years back.  He told me it's the cultural divide.  In Japan, the culture is predominantly buy once cry once, whereas here it's buy something, wait till it breaks, and buy another.  There are truly some very fine reels on the other side of the Pacific, some of them I also own. 

A couple that aren't here in America, on the left is a Shimano Calcutta Conquest BFS and on the right a Daiwa Millionaire CT SV.  These are marketed primarily towards trout fishermen and bass fishermen who like to fish ultralight baits, primarily under 1/4oz.  Both of these will cast 1/16 very easy.

[Donnyboat]

Thanks for all the info, I like the spool you brought for the Cardinal 3 reel, it should cast good, thanks cheers Don.

[philaroman]

I really want to get myself a 4wt 7'6" Lamiglas Honey blank set up for spinning, with a Michigan handle of course

would LOVE something like that...  curious about Redington Butter Stick, if you know anything

Keep in mind Japanese lines go by the JAFS, meaning their 4lb is 0.165mm versus in the US which is typically 0.205mm.  That's a big difference.  This spool will hold about 65yd of 0.205mm 4lb.

you can get the thin, pre-stretched, Japan-made nylon in US sold as guide-size 100m/100yd tippet spools
in simplest, most general terms:
if you wish your 4# running line were stronger -- you replace it w/ 4X tippet
if you wish your 4# running line were thinner -- you replace it w/ 5X tippet
costs double or more, so cheapo like me opts for braid backing + 50yd tippet