Dennis, as you have seen in all the photos I send you, I always thoroughly clean all the vintage spinning reels I get in my collecting efforts. I use the Penn Rod and Reel Cleaner as well as Otis 085 Gun Wipes to clean my reels. This is a remarkable reel that I had not seen before. You did an outstanding job as usual. What a great video1 - Chris
I have a GS555 which I stripped and serviced after watching one of your videos on the GS series. There was a difference I noticed between your reel and mine. My reel has normal round drag washers and the normal keyed and eared metal washers. The leads me to think there may have been a change made at some point in this reels production run.
I bought a 545 after watching a video of yours saying how much you like them. They are now in my Mt Rushmore of reels and I have 5 in the series. Only issue is the eccentric lever switching between retrieve and free spool can be difficult to engage at times. It becomes sort of stuck in neutral when under tension. Otherwise they are absolutely excellent.
That may be a function of the double spring. It can be held in neutral easier than the single spring versions. That double spin may also make it harder to shift between the free spool and retrieve - Thanks for watching - Good luck fishing with your Mt. Rushmore reels! - Dennis
I absolutely love the Gti series reels. I feel like they are the best value you can get dollar for dollar on the used market. They are excellent for long casting big baits for catfish
These were of the same era. There are significant differences with the GT1 series - weight, internal bridge design and that the GT1s are level wind reels. Both are work horses that will still catch a lot of fish!
Thx so much fo reply. So the square on the eccentric cam itself can round and cause problem? That would be an easy and relatively cheap fix for me. It has to be something on the plate assembly itself as ive experimented with switching out plates so that would make sense
Yes - I prefer conventional reels, like this one, for surf casting, versus the large spinning reels. I have the reels matched to 9 foot rods that enable me to get the line where it needs to go. Thanks for asking - Dennis
@2ndChanceTackle 9 foot? In Italy our surfcasting rods starts from 12 foot and the most common size is 14 foot. And unfortunately, a lot of people doesn't use conventional reels
@@2ndChanceTackle oh ok now I understood. In Italy we are like fishermana in UK: we need to cast more than 80 meters and sometimes 120 meters. And also, we don't care about changes in tides , the excursion Is too small to exploit them. We use strong frontal wind as our advantage because that creates a lot of waves and the current
Dennis - what was the liquid cleaner you used on the handle with steel wool in the beginning of the video; it looked like maybe a turtle wax product? Not sure I've seen you use that before. Thanks. Jim
Dennis, as you have seen in all the photos I send you, I always thoroughly clean all the vintage spinning reels I get in my collecting efforts. I use the Penn Rod and Reel Cleaner as well as Otis 085 Gun Wipes to clean my reels. This is a remarkable reel that I had not seen before. You did an outstanding job as usual. What a great video1 - Chris
You’ve got a great collection Chris! It’s nice to see people taking care of their vintage reels. Thanks for the tip on the gun wipes - Dennis
Another quality Reel from Penn .
It sure is Bobby! One of my favorites
I have a GS555 which I stripped and serviced after watching one of your videos on the GS series.
There was a difference I noticed between your reel and mine. My reel has normal round drag washers and the normal keyed and eared metal washers. The leads me to think there may have been a change made at some point in this reels production run.
I bought a 545 after watching a video of yours saying how much you like them. They are now in my Mt Rushmore of reels and I have 5 in the series. Only issue is the eccentric lever switching between retrieve and free spool can be difficult to engage at times. It becomes sort of stuck in neutral when under tension. Otherwise they are absolutely excellent.
That may be a function of the double spring. It can be held in neutral easier than the single spring versions. That double spin may also make it harder to shift between the free spool and retrieve - Thanks for watching - Good luck fishing with your Mt. Rushmore reels! - Dennis
Good video.Bill
Thanks for watching Bill!
Sweet looking reel
It’s a great reel and a fun one to work on. Thanks Jeff - Enjoy your day
@2ndChanceTackle yep! You're welcome , will do, you as well my friend
Reminds me of the GTI levelwind series.
I absolutely love the Gti series reels. I feel like they are the best value you can get dollar for dollar on the used market. They are excellent for long casting big baits for catfish
These were of the same era. There are significant differences with the GT1 series - weight, internal bridge design and that the GT1s are level wind reels. Both are work horses that will still catch a lot of fish!
I still fish a couple of those and have a bucket of old ones release is weak link.
Do you have trouble with the eccentric lever being soft under a bit of tension? This is a issue I have and can’t figure out what causes it
@bobwarren8836 yes, over time it rounds out inside. I release tension before free spooling and does well.
Also the brass square wears out gear on a couple
Thx so much fo reply. So the square on the eccentric cam itself can round and cause problem? That would be an easy and relatively cheap fix for me. It has to be something on the plate assembly itself as ive experimented with switching out plates so that would make sense
@@bobwarren8836 you're a reel surgeon i learning a lot about my favorite reals. Keep grinding.
Dennis you have a lot of fantastic reels. Do you also practice surfcasting?
Yes - I prefer conventional reels, like this one, for surf casting, versus the large spinning reels. I have the reels matched to 9 foot rods that enable me to get the line where it needs to go. Thanks for asking - Dennis
@2ndChanceTackle 9 foot? In Italy our surfcasting rods starts from 12 foot and the most common size is 14 foot. And unfortunately, a lot of people doesn't use conventional reels
We don't need that much length to reach the fish. Our channels are near shore and we normally just need to clear the first breakers
@@2ndChanceTackle oh ok now I understood. In Italy we are like fishermana in UK: we need to cast more than 80 meters and sometimes 120 meters. And also, we don't care about changes in tides , the excursion Is too small to exploit them. We use strong frontal wind as our advantage because that creates a lot of waves and the current
I like Abu Garcia round bait casters, do you recommend any of them for salt water.
Dennis - what was the liquid cleaner you used on the handle with steel wool in the beginning of the video; it looked like maybe a turtle wax product? Not sure I've seen you use that before. Thanks. Jim