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Old 03-14-11, 08:54 AM   #1
pro reel
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Default BPS Prolite special

Did anybody else get one of these on the one day sale, Sat 3-12? I had a bud pick me one up. It's fricken sweet! There was very little info available about the prolite special. I'm not sure if it was a one time deal that these were made for or if this was an early release of next years reel. The prolite was the predecesor to the carbonlite, but the the carbonlite isn't a finesse reel like the prolite was. The prolite special is a finesse reel. It was on sale for $49, limit 4. I'll post some pics later, I just got it from my bud when I got to work this morning. It's a 9+1 bearing reel . It has a curved handle, a ceramic line guide and a shallow v type spool. It was only available in a 6.3.1 ratio with a 24 in IPT. It has a dual brake system with a 4 pin non adjutable cent brake and a mag dial. The mag brake is also similar to a daiwa with the steel ring. I believe that after I tune this reel up it will cast very lite baits with ease.
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Old 03-14-11, 10:43 AM   #2
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I wanted one BAD , but had to work and couldnt get up to nashville to get one. If anybody bought an extra one they would part with please pm me!!!!!
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Old 03-14-11, 08:29 PM   #3
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Them really are sweet looking reels. I wish they kept the carbon lite finessey like the prolite. I was really wanting to get onea them. You can still git 'em on ebay though.
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Old 03-14-11, 08:49 PM   #4
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Well, I opened it up as soon as I got home and I already have carbontex drags on order for it. I was very surprised to see that Daiwa built this reel. It's very similar to a Sol on the inside and I already checked and found that several parts from a Sol that I have here swaped right in. The worm gear and pawl are a perfect fit.
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Old 03-14-11, 09:52 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pro reel View Post
Well, I opened it up as soon as I got home and I already have carbontex drags on order for it. I was very surprised to see that Daiwa built this reel. It's very similar to a Sol on the inside and I already checked and found that several parts from a Sol that I have here swaped right in. The worm gear and pawl are a perfect fit.
Wow, that definitely looks like Daiwa. I really wanna get my hands on some of these!
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Old 03-15-11, 09:09 AM   #6
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Any other thoughts on this reel guys? Anybody casted on yet? Does the reel feel solid, or does it feel like every other $49 baitcaster on the market?

Ryan
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Old 03-15-11, 03:49 PM   #7
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Hi Guys..first post, so bear with me. Just wanted to chime in on this reel. Bought two of them (have to have a back-up reel...lol) and took them home to start fishing. Spooled one with 10lb Trilene XL, added a drop of oil on the bearings and went to my favorite pond.
I fished this hard for three hours, tossing #3 Blue Fox inline spinners and one shallow running crankbait, I ended up catching 24 bass...from 1/2 lb to 3 3/4lb...but mostly in the 1 1/2 - 2 lb range and this reel felt just right for what is now my new finesse setup.
This reel casts like butter, its so damn SMOOTH! Drag wasn't bad at all and it feels solid for a 50.00 dollar reel. Granted, I've yet to use a Curado or Revo, but I do own a Pflueger President, Abu Morrum, a couple of Calcuttas, Lew's BB-1LM and one BPS Elite....so I hope I have a decent idea of how a reel should feel on a cast and retrieve.
My only gripes - the feel of the retrieve could be a TINY bit smoother. I really don't care for the reel handle grips...too rubbery and the magnetic control knob is tiny, so it is kind of a pain to turn with my sausage fingers...LOL
Other than that, I feel it was worth the money and looking forward to modding it...bearings, carbontex drags and new reel handle.
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Old 03-15-11, 08:06 PM   #8
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Default Prolite Finesse Review

I was a bit hesitant about the reel in the store on Sunday, as the display did not feel that smooth in the store. I was also not pleased with the looks of the reel either. So I ventured back to BPS tonight and bought 3 of these Prolite Special Reels... ... after seeing the guts in these things. The regular price went back up to $59... Here is a mini review from casting around the yard:

Spooled up right out of the box with 12 lb. P-Line Floroclear, with no modifications to the reel. Put the reel on a 7' Medium Soft tipped medium powered rod. I tied on a 3/16 Spot Remover Jighead with a Netbait Finesse worm and had at it. With a couple clicks of the dial, i set the breaks to about 60% and it casted flawlessly. I was averaging around 35 to 40 yards with this setup.

I then put the reel to the test. I put it on a MH Fast action worm rod, and tied on a 1/8 oz. round crappie jighead and rigged up a 3" grub. I was able to get around 25 - 30 yards with this setup.

Long story short, this is a VERY SOLID reel for the money. It has the ability to cast VERY light baits with ease and no backlash. I can't wait to see what it will do with a little tune up to the bearings. Casts are like butter, and very, very quiet. The reel is very smooth, in fact smoother than some other high end reels I have. The only thing I didn't like about the reel was the looks of it, and the use of a cheap handle, but I will be changing the handle out. I plan on using one for smaller senkos, one for topwaters, and one for jerkbaits. All baits that I usually fish on spinning rods.

Ryan
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Old 03-15-11, 08:18 PM   #9
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Why are these not on their website ? And , what kind of handle will work on these ?
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Old 03-15-11, 08:30 PM   #10
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Why are these not on their website ? And , what kind of handle will work on these ?
They were a one day special for the Classic, at $49. The price now is $59. Once they're gone, they're gone.

I haven't check into handles yet, i'll get it torn apart tomorrow and worked on though. Maybe pro reel can chime in with handle suggestions?

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Old 03-15-11, 10:16 PM   #11
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? Were these some sort of limited edition thing ? Or old stock ? I am confused. i cant find them at all on their website.
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Old 03-15-11, 10:45 PM   #12
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Yes. It was a limited edition. They have never had this reel before. I tried to find out if they might be planning on offering it next year as a regular model, but the lady i talked to didn't know anything about it. The only thing I have heard was that some BPS stores didn't sell out and were still selling them in the store. I know a few have showed up on ebay for buy it now of $100 or high bid. and i also know that the guy that got me one bought 4. he got one for me and one for him and planned to give the other 2 to kids for gifts, but he is thinking that he might sell those 2, but not for the $49.00. He said he might think about taking $75 to recoup some gas money from driving to the bps in Oklahoma.
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Old 03-21-11, 06:33 PM   #13
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I actually posted this in the wrong thread, so I copied it here...don't ask..

hey guys...just signed up because of this awesome thread. Have one of these reels and its great. My only complaint is that the thumbar is too small for my guerilla fingers.

But I'm definately looking for upgrades for this thing. I want to turn it into a tiny powerhouse and it has the potential for it.

In terms of handles, I already slapped on a the swept handle of a 2010 STX and dropped some EVA knobs on it.

I want to drop in the carbontex washers next, but I'm unsure of what size to get. This drag system seems pretty unique and I don't own calipers to take measurements. What did you use proreel? I foresee a few problem making this upgrade. For one the stock washers are 1mm thick and replacements will usually be less. I know you could just add a spacer to take care of this. Second, the underside of the main gear has a lip along the inner diameter, so you need a washer that wont make contact here.

I'd appreciated if you could update us on what worked for you!

Thanks.
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Old 03-21-11, 06:38 PM   #14
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What I can add is that this reel will take any Abu and most daiwa/bps handles. If you want carbon fiber, the Carbonlite handle is probably the best way to go.

Also it takes standard daiwa bearing sizes, 3x8x4 and 5x11x4.
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Old 03-24-11, 08:55 PM   #15
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really, nothing?
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Old 03-24-11, 09:51 PM   #16
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2 number 43 washers and 1 number 1 washer. The 43's are a perfect fit for the 2 main gear washers. the number 1 goes under the lower steel plate, it is a little big but you can match it with the original and then trim it with scissors and then sand it to smooth the bumps. I greased mine with cals drag grease for a smooth slip with light line. You are correct on the bearing sizes. I used Boca OS 7 hybrids, seals removed and lubed with a tiny drop of rocket fuel tournament to protect from corrosion. I polished the heck out of the spool shaft ends, then I treated the ends and the spacers with tungsten disulfied powder in a paste form. Added a tiny drop of rocket yellow to the spacers. Of course I cleaned everything and went with super lube teflon grease on the gears, rocket yellow on the clutch, and rocket red on the worm gear. I spooled it up this evening. I found a tip on jap tackle site for finnese reels. It said to use braid as a bottom filler because braid is lighter than mono or FC. I used 5 yds of mono to grip the spool, then I used 30 to 40 yds of 30 lb braid, then I tied my 8lb mono to that and there was still room to use most of the 110 yd mono spool. I need a good finesse rod for this reel, the lightest rod I have is to stiff. I found a zebco rod of my kids that was fairly limber, I found a floating walley jig that was nice and bright to use as a casting plug, I stuck a 2 inch grub on it and weighed it. It weighed 1/10 of an oz on my postal scale. I went to the yard and dialed it in. I was able to cast that little jig sidearm about 30 yds with no overurn. I was able to pitch it 15 yds with overrun, but if I put a little more power to it, the light jig went high and the reel backlashed at the end of the cast. I'm completly satisfied and doubt that any high dollar finesse reel works any better.
Here is the link to carbontex washers by size. this where I match them up. The number 43's are 1mm thick
http://smoothdrag.com/Carbontex_washer_sizes.pdf

Last edited by pro reel; 03-24-11 at 09:58 PM.
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Old 03-24-11, 10:02 PM   #17
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Sounds like we're going to have a finesse reel shootout in OK.
Sol, Prolite and 50E, all with Orange Seals. I'm bringing a rod that I hope will be the perfect finesse casting rod. This is going to be fun!
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Old 03-24-11, 10:12 PM   #18
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Sounds like we're going to have a finesse reel shootout in OK.
Sol, Prolite and 50E, all with Orange Seals. I'm bringing a rod that I hope will be the perfect finesse casting rod. This is going to be fun!
Go SOL!

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Old 03-27-11, 12:28 PM   #19
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Thanks, proreel...I actually did the measurements and all while I was waiting for a response. Its comforting to see that the sizes I ordered already worked for you. LOL!

I took it out fishing stock, it's spooled up with 12lb mono. It casted XR8's and a finesse worm on a 1/8oz shakey head really well. But the string was just too heavy and it fished it awkward with all the slack in the line. I'm debating between 15lb/20lb braid and 8lb flouro.

With the stock drag washers 8lb flouro is out of the question. It's just too sticky, but my replacements will be in soon.

My plan is to throw everything from tiny torpedos to light jigs and finesse worms. It might be my river smallie reel. So I'll probably go with light braid and appropriate leaders.
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Old 03-27-11, 12:31 PM   #20
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Also, I highly reccomend a handle swap. It feels much more solid, just make sure its bearing supported.

Second, do you know of anyway to get bearings in the level wind system? I was dissapointed when I found there were none.
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Old 03-27-11, 01:55 PM   #21
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Yes, You could put bearings in there, but it would take some mods. The worm gear has a plastic spacer by the gear side. You have to cut that down to allow room for a bearing. I don't have the sizes right now though. You can go to tackle tour forum and look up articles or posts on the bearing mod to a sol, it's that same
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Old 03-27-11, 03:10 PM   #22
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Yea I noticed the bushing being attached...I was hoping for some simple part swaps.
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Old 03-30-11, 10:18 PM   #23
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I live about 15 mins from a BPS, that still has some of these. I picked one up the other day. If anyone needs me to pick one up for them, I can. I only ask that you mod one for me.
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Old 03-31-11, 01:16 PM   #24
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shoot me an email at keng 8554 @ yahoo.com

delete the spaces
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