flyforfish21

in

Western, Olympia Area. However, with the stretch of lakes near Coulee dam, i'll definitely be checking out some of those areas further.

Wanted to drop in and say thank you to everyone on the board, for all the fun and awesome memories in SoCal the last 7-8 years. I know I've been absent of late, just haven't been fishing as much as I wish the last year or two. Wish I would have stayed a little more active on here, but life gets crazy at times. Had a lot of great memories with the SU family and members, and will miss being close to it all down here, but it's time to go for another challenge. Thanks to everyone who fished with me, and most importantly supported me over the years with Animal House Reel Service! That was a cool experience while it lasted. Wish everyone in SoCal the best, and look forward to forging some new friendships up in Washington. Geoff

Most reels have screws that attach the knobs (inside the knob). There are some, especially shimano that have reverse threaded screws in there, so be careful. There are however, some older reels that have riveted knobs that can't be removed. You simply un-do the screw, and slide the knob off. Not sure why any have warped on you, unless they weren't meant to be removed.

The Shrapnel, if accidentally engaged during the cast with heavy baits, actually BENDS the pinion gear it self. The only way to fix that is either find a way to safely and precisely bend the pinion gear back straight, or order the complete gear set from Daiwa Japan ($100). they won't sell you just the pinion gear, tried several different suppliers and got the same answer from all of them. But if the reel itself is slightly off from production, it could happen again and again, until you swap and measure enough parts to fix it.

Shimano Specific -> Reel-ex Everything else (including shimano), ebassfisher (Ian Shields) on tackle tour. Trey at thkustoms also does great work. Those are from my experiences sending my personal reels to people.

Good starting point ^, they have a series of videos that are helpful as well as MANY videos on youtube, as stated above. I agree to stay away from hot sauce grease and oil, unless that is the only oil or grease you will ever use on that reel. The way it bonds to the internals makes it VERY difficult to remove if you plan on trying something else. Don't over think it, keep it simple. Any of the main oils/greases out there will work just fine. Daiwa and Shimano stock oils are pretty solid for the money, as well as their grease offerings. If you are looking for lighter oils to get some speed from the cast, oust met oil or TSI 321 are what I reach for most often. Learn the difference between teflon based grease, and non teflon based. Drag washers require a teflon based grease or you will get uneven performance from your drag system. Cal's grease, shimano star grease are good examples of a teflon based grease. I've serviced and tuned easily over 1000 reels, and can help you with most any question. Please don't hesitate to ask, lots of other knowledgable guys around here as well. One last bit of advice, lay out the parts in order of removing them, then work backwards from there. I see too many guys just throw parts out on a towel and forget where they went. Cardboard egg crate is a great tool to keep things organized and contained so they don't run away. Geoff