Light Spinning Reel - Help

[baumgrenze]

I fish mostly high Sierra lakes and long ago settled on a Fenwick Spin/Fly rod, Model SF74-4, and an Olympic HM-4 reel.

The bail spring on my reel failed again last week. I'm not having much luck finding a replacement. I have an inquiry entered at Mike's Reel Repair in Abbotsford, BC and have corresponded with hazeld12, an EBay seller of Olympic HM-4 parts. The latter is sold out and pointed me to Mike's.

Can anyone point me to any other likely sources?

The Fenwick SF74-4 is 7' long and rated for 1/8 - 3/8 oz lures and 2 - 6# line. I normally tie a small enough ball swivel on the end of my line to allows me to pass it through all of the eyes on the rod. I've added a clip to the small end of a clear plastic torpedo float (one of the ones that have screw eyes in each end) and clip the float to the line. The larger end has a 2# test leader attached to it. I usually start with a muskrat nymph or mosquito larva.

If I need to go to a new reel, I am interested in knowing what others are using with similar tackle. It is hard to find any specs for the HM-4 and/or a owner's manual for it.

I just checked my tackle collection. I find I have a I have a Shimano Mark IIS, lightweight, freshwater spinning reel I could put into service. I believe my father (1911-1998) may have been the original purchaser.

It says it is of 'graphite construction' with 2 ball bearings, has a R2 spool, and Standard Bail with No-Fail Bail. It reads Shimano LK-Y on the reel foot.

Does anyone here fish with this reel? Ought I to be happy fishing with it? What should I do to ready it for fishing? If it was Dad's it came out of service by 1991 when he sold his place on Lake Winnibigoshish near Deer River, MN. At a minimum it needs to be cleaned and lubed I would think.

Thanks in advance,

baumgrenze

[IN2DEEP]

I might be able to help you
I've had mine since 1972!
I was talked out of buying a Diawa Silver 1000 and to go for this Olympic instead
It's taken some TLC to keep this reel going. I only use it in FW.





Bail spring has always been the weak point on mine also.
Since I couldn't find a replacement bail spring, I bent my own up using SS piano wire


I've got one to spare
PM me your address
Scott

[Sublime-Steve]

Damn, that's kool

[IN2DEEP]

Yeah, working in a machine shop has it's perks at times

[IN2DEEP]

I just re-read your post and the 750 sized Shimanos are a similar size reel
I have a Sahara 750FB and like it alot
I run 6lb, Berkeley Fireline on one of the spools and mono on the other

[baumgrenze]

Thanks to everyone for your input, especially to IN2DEEP for the kind offer.

Yesterday I spent a whole $2.37 (tax included) at the local Ace Hdwe for five 36" lengths of 0.025" music wire. I took a small scrap of hardwood and drilled a #71 hole in it, inserted the end of the wire, and found that it bent decently. I found that a 5/32" drill bit fit comfortably into the center of the coil on the broken bail spring. I drilled a 5/32" hole close by (it took 2 tries to get it right) and inserted the bit into the hole and carefully wrapped the wire around the drill bit, pushing down on the wire all the time to keep the coils close to one another. I found a scrap of wood about the right thickness to raise the coil above the #71 hole to give the second leg, and bent the wire. I found that it is important to keep the leg that mounts into the hole in the reel body the right length. If it is too long, it interferes with the rotation of the spool. Now that I've got it down, I will make a few extras. Experience inserting the spring and the screws tells me that I had better plan on working over a white handkerchief or something similar so that I do not loose any parts while attempting a field repair in the back-country.

I appreciate the photo of a finished spring. When I looked at the broken ends of mine, I concluded that the two ends were another quarter turn around from what you show. The resulting spring is ‘weak’ (not much snap to the bail return) so I will try to make one more like the one in your photo.

A few years ago, I broke (and replaced) the bail arm on this reel by packing it in a stuff-sack in my backpack. I've since been carrying it in a stout cardboard box, but that takes up a lot of backpack space. Has anyone developed a better way to protect the fragile parts of a spinning reel in a backpack? I am thinking about carrying the Shimano MarkIIS I found in my collection the other day as a backup reel, but 2 safe boxes seems like a lot of space to provide in limited pack space.

Thanks again,

baumgrenze

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[baumgrenze]

I just thought of this, too.

Last week I had a chance to fish my standard fly rig using 6# NanoFil (0.005"), a torpedo bubble, and some FrogHair fluorocarbon leader. I didn't connect with any trout in Upper Twin Lake (Bridgeport, CA) but it behaved better than any line/leader combination I've used before. I fish nymphs first, and the leader promptly sank! The NanoFil went further than anything I've used before. I can't wait to try it under conditions that have produced fish for me in the past.

As I looked at IN2DEEP's photo of the reel, I suddenly realized that the hole in the rim of the spool is a line keeper of sorts. It won't work for me directly. I tie a small swivel on the end of the line, small enough to pass through the tippet on my rod. I think I can rig something using a scrap of #22/24 phone hookup wire. It will beat snugging down the line with a rubber band made from an old bicycle inner-tube.

Thanks again,

baumgrenze

[IN2DEEP]

baumgrenze,
Don't necessarily use mine as your model.
Mine are hand bent also
You did exactly how I made mine
Make sure that the bent tabs are the same length and squared off on the ends as the original and don't lose the original!
Make a few extra and make sure they work in the reel and carry one in your tackle box because the one that you made might break eventually.
It's a cool little reel, especially for it's time