He was very kind to me as he explained what was wrong with a 5000 I found in the field. In 1995, about the time I realized I wanted to collect these reels seriously, I met Simon Shimomura at the Houston, Texas NFLCC show. I used a Mitchell 300 until I was about thirteen or fourteen, when my father decided it was time for me to take the next step- an Ambassadeur 5000! From then on, it would be an Ambassadeur that went on all my fishing trips. One of my father’s favorite reels was the Ambassadeur 6000. In the 1960s and 70s, Galveston, Texas was where my family spent its free time. As a young boy, my father frequently took me fishing. My introduction to collecting tackle started with lures and quickly spread to reels. My name is Fred and I've collected Ambassadeur reels since late 1994. Original/Reproductions: Plates, Decals, Handles, etc. I'm sure you will enjoy using it and knowing it's what a lot of us old timers used in the early days of competitive bass fishing.Table of Contents (Click on links) 5000 De Luxe #223: Where Have You Been? They may make bearings now to replace the bushings but I've never seen the need on mine so I don't know if that can be done. Once it's cleaned and lubed I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the smoothness of a reel with bronze bushings instead of ball bearings. Just remember it isn't going to get a fish away from cover with that low ratio like a 7:1 with a similar size spool. It should work well for any bait you want to work slow, as slow rolling a SB down deep. Blitz spinnerbaits that were designed for those ratios back around '70. If you don't know, the red 50B have a low gear ratio, 3.75:1 if I remember correctly. That was they reel to have in it's day and I still have 4 and they are still going strong. Take care with the small springs as they can be stretched out easily. Be sure and clean under the yoke that the button is made on, and the 2 flat pieces on either side of them, and grease under them lightly. As posted, giving it a good cleaning and relubing with quality oil and grease should give you a great old reel to use.

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