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best ABU closed face reel

I've still got a 505, the red one with the star drag, and I've tried most of the 500 series. Prefer the Gold Max models from the mid nineties. I have two of those, one with drag and one without. I can barely recall the last time any of them had an outing though.:eek:
I'm not really sure why I've kept any of them but judging by the prices they achieve on the auction site they aren't worth selling.
 
Love my Abu's for trotting or short / light waggler work.
I have a 505, a 506 and a 501 which I use most of the time. It's probably as old as I am and still works like new, love the ting of the pick up pin disengaging when the centre button is pressed, great sound !
Also own a 1044 and a Diplomat 602 M which I also love to use.
Keep looking on e-bay to find good examples of the others Abu produced like the Gold Max and 506 M. Mint examples can exchange hands for quite a bit in my experience so proves how popular and collectable they are.
All design classics in my book but probably my favourites are the 506 and 501's, classic match / trotting reels that have stood the test of time.

Duncan.
 
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well i've owned all the abu's at one time or another ,didn't like the diplomats or the goldmax 507 (really are bad) ,the early 704's where rubish but they got better ,the 1044's are good but on the heavy side ,of the 500 series my least liked was the 505 & 503 ,then the 501 the 506 & 506m are my favorites of the baby 500's but the original 507 once moddified (501/506m gears & a couple of tweeks) are unbeatable as trotting reels .

i do like the new 706's a very nice strong reel (possibly even better than the old 506m)

abu's aint perfect (they have their faults) but are the best closed faced reel ,easy too maintain and spare's are available ,new spares are rare but second hand reels are a plenty

i've currently have my 'triggers broom' 506 (had it since the mid eighties ,well the housing is origanal but its had verious inner workings and at least two or three cowlings ,but its still the same reel for the last 25 years) and a brand new 706 and two original 507's ,just brought another and will shortly buy a 501 or 506m just for the gears too swap over .
 
I've been looking at the newest version, seems OK to me, but you cannot beat that metallic ping of the early versions, mind you, i had a 500 series, i cannot remember what it was, 501 or 506 back in the 80's, the gears kept slipping under pressure, and was only about 2 years old., i know that, not good at all.
please, no one mention daiwa, that's a swear word.
 
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Steven Devereux said:
goldmax 507 (really are bad)
Click to expand...

Steven,
not knocking that, I've heard plenty say it and the second hand prices suggest that it's a commonly held opinion. However, I've never seen anyone proffer an explanation as to why they are bad. I've seen them called ugly, too big and bulky etc but little else. Unless my mind is playing tricks on me, I do recall a big problem occurring with an early batch of them. Can you say why you think they are bad?
 
poor oscillation ratio (not 1:1 but variable) poor spool design with those silly skirt thingy's ,prone too tangling up inside the winding cup ,flimsy parts ,but i guess there must be one or two around that are trouble free .i just never come accross one but they do make good keepnet weights
 
SteveD is about right - the 506.

This was the reel of choice of one of the best, modern-era, small-river floatfishers (make that any sort of coarse-fishing fishers) I have known well and regularly fished with. Back in the mid-Eighties we'd take time out (four hours max.) from our respective girlfriends back at a shared home, hit the river, fish a two-man roving-trotting match, then visit our respective Mums who lived only a few hundred yards from one another for a quick "Tea"). 38 chub in one "match" - he on the 506, me on my 1915 Allcock Aerial 4in. Evenly split, with me beating him by one or two, that time at least. I got myself a 506 not long afterwards; still have it, occasionally use it when I need to fish fast and easily.
 
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506 for me, mainly sentimental reason as it was the first reel I bought myself in the early 80's. Took the anti reverse off and used it for trotting a few weeks ago and still working well.
 
gold max for me, never had any problems with them, I also have 506 and diplomates , always had problems with the 506s and the line wrapping underneath the spool .
 
Mark,
I seem to remember my dad having some pieces of foam cut to shape, which fitted under the spool carrier which helped prevent this a little !?
I bought a 501 a year or so ago and ended up selling it ! Not really as good as I remember from my youth ?!?! OR are we spoilt with modern open face reels ?
I had a 706 and it was in a word :- PANTS ! I GAVE it away !
Still have a couple of 506's, but rarely use them...........
 
line wrapping under the spool has been common on all the CF reels i've owned, pain in the backside if you have a fish on.
 
I am a big fan of closed face reels.
I have tried (and broke) most of 'em.
I still have half a dozen or so kicking around.
My humble opinion of the recent ones -

1044 - as SD says, slightly heavier but reasonably well built, the downside being the twin pins which are temperamental.

704 - a bit flimsy but the single pin works well.

706 - the biggest disappointment, and I was so looking forward to getting this reel. A cheap plastic version. The line goes behind the spool more times than any other model.
Last week I was having a few hours trotting the Thames when the line managed to wrap itself around the central spindle, thus seizing the bell housing on to the shaft, thus curtailing my fishing. When I got home I had to use a pair of mole-grips it was seized that badly.
The bell housing has a tendency to want to cross thread.
When the line got caught behind on a previous occasion, I gave it a sharp tug to free it and a fragment of the spool by the chenille groove broke off, causing a snag. The spare spools on previous model were made from a hard material not flimsy plastic as on this one.
You do get three spools and a nice reel case though.:eek:


Now, if only Shimano would set their minds to making a decent closed face reel. ;)
 
i tried underfilling the spool, but that lead to rough trotting, so you cannot win.
 
Dave, underfilling the spool should not hinder the line coming off, because if you think about it the line comes off the spool perpendicular and around the lip of your bell housing.
Try and keep your bell housing well polished, wink, wink, :D

Closed face reels - great for one handed casting, good in the wind, smooth line pick up so you don't bump off fish.

Bad for - reliability, smooth trotting (you need a reasonable flow to pull off line), poor cranking power.


I guess if more anglers float fished rivers then a manufacturer may make a decent CF reel
 
there is a reason (or three ) for poor line release when trotting ,bigest is poor alignment of spool within the winding cup creating some astute angles the line has to flow through from leaving the spool too escaping the cowling apature

abuCFlinerelease.jpg


if the spool is near or at the top of its travel ,the spool is up inside the winding cup .and has too bend over the lip of the spool then exit the spool at a obtuse angle ,then bend around the lip of the winding cup causing friction and excessive rubbing causing jerky flow of line out of the reel.

a under filled spool won't help here ,and if the flow isn't sufficiant this will multiply the effect .

there is how ever a fix ,well a fix that only really works on the abu 500 series that are back wind only ,you see the abu 500 series has a oscillation ratio of 1:1 (one rotation of the handle = one cycle [up ,then down] of the spool cradle {the bit the spool locks into} returning too the same spot every time)

the fix is too synchronize the handle position too spool position of bottom dead centre ,leaving the handle pointing downwards when the spool is at its lowest point of travel .



remove the cowling
whilst holding the handle steady twist the winding cup (clockwise) away from you to release it
twist the spool anti-clockwise to unlock it ,and remove
turn the handle until the spool carrage is at its lowest point ,then grip and hold it there with your other hand.
(at this point your handle will most likley be at a odd angle )
start the dissasemble the handle's fittings (506 its a knobb ,501 a nut and etc) only to the point the handle is loose reposition it pointing directly down (natural position to begin winding from) .re assemble the fittings
refit spool ,winding cup and cowling

CFdiagram.jpg


now whenever the handle is pointing down (leave in this position after casting) the spool will be fully exposed from the winding cup with less severe angles for the line too travel through .giving a improved free flow of line when trotting.

this fix doesn't work (or not so well) with other models that came later as the oscillation ratio wasn't 1:1 any more ,so synchronizing isn't really possible as the handle never quite reurns too the same place at the end of each turn ,but you should still get good results on the other models (1044,507 goldmax ,704 ,706 ? must check this one )

i set up all my 500 series without backwind and syncronized like this .for faultless trotting
 
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