Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Spin cast reels

I recently noticed a vintage Abu Garcia 505 under-rod spincast reel on ebay, and won it.

Amazing reel. No lever, no bail; just touch the ring in the center of the reel face with your forefinger and the spool releases. The line falls right on your finger, ready for casting.

Then I discovered another innovation. It has a "smart" drag. If you need to lessen the drag - say for a sudden run of a large fish - you just back the cranking handle backwards a bit and the drag reduces itself to a minimum. Start reeling again and the drag reverts to whatever setting you have applied. Genius!