Ambassadeur 8500

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Wagtail
Arctic Char
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Ambassadeur 8500

Post by Wagtail »

I've just bought an Ambassadeur 8500 and was wondering what type of fishing it is designed for. I guess light sea boat work? There is a code on the reel foot 730100... does this allow the reel to be dated? Any information gratefully received :Hat:
'The Chub is a very controversial fish. He has a strong army of supporters, but he has an almost equally strong army of detractors. The trouble is that the detractors do not know what they are talking about'. L. Vernon-Bates

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Old Man River
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Re: Ambassadeur 8500

Post by Old Man River »

Hi Wagtail, the 8500 is an Abu star drag reel, although they were also used for rough ground fishing from the shore, they have a centrifugal brake in the opposite side plate to the handle as I remember, I used to have one, sold it and regretted it, they are a vintage item , tough as old boots.Mine had black sideplates.

The larger ones went from the 7000, I have one from 1982 I think , to 7500, 8000, 8500, 8600, 9000, and 10000, I have sold on a 9000, and 10000, the 8500 was my favourite at the time.

Date wise, I couldnt really say, but mine was old in the 1980"s , I would think that yours has brass sideplates, which may be coloured,black, or silver , the Ambassadeurs were a really good range of Multipliers... I do know that the American 8500"s had blue sideplates, They all had Bushes as opposed to Bearings.

The modern ones have bearings, and are very poorly made to the older models.

I will have a search around and try to sort something out from the ser number ... I take it the ser number was on the underside of the reel foot ?

OMR
Hurrumph....... whatever happened to Handlines ?

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Watermole+
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Re: Ambassadeur 8500

Post by Watermole+ »

OMR's post has put it more-or-less in a nutshell.. :Hat:

The 8500 was a good, general, powerful workhorse for all types of sea fishing and would deal with just about anything you would ever encounter in British waters, but in my opinion, not a good distance casting reel because of the heavy spool. If yours is in good condition, you have bought well as it is a sound investment because the build quality then (1970s & '80s) was much better than later Abu reels which had a lot of 'plastic' bits in them.

I have an old, red 6000 in it's original leather case with spares, which I would never part with and although severely restricted for distance casting by having a level wind, is beautifully put together and still a great reel to fish with today.

I'm not sure what degree of truth-if any- there is in the story, but apparently one of the Abu designers had a row with them about declining build quality, was sacked and started up on his own making reels under the 'AKIOS' brand.

I don't know what Abu quality is like today, but I have seen and actually tried one of the very small, Akios 555 tournament reels (comparable to an older Abu Record 5000 or 6000) and have to say that the general build is very, very good.
The casting ability of them however, is just staggering! This reel has adjustable brakes on either end as well as an adjustable mid-cast, magnetic braking system and ceramic bearings to help, but after only about 1/2 hour tuition, I was pitching 150 yards with no overruns-which I thought pretty good, but then my tutor picked up the rod, adjusted the brakes and calmly pitched the same weight over 200 yards with no apparent effort!!!

I think that it is fair to say that, although there are a lot of "budget" quality reels made today, some of the more expensive ones are streets ahead of the best of what we once used.. You really have to use them to appreciate how good they are-and I was very impressed indeed.

wm+

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? Yet one of them shall not fall without your Father knoweth" ..Jesus of Nazareth, King James AV

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Banksy
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Re: Ambassadeur 8500

Post by Banksy »

I had the little silver 6500CT, with no level wind, and it really was a joy to cast with.
I could usually put a 6oz lead plus two clipped up, baited hooks, out to a distance of 150 yards, with little effort.

The only drawback was when it came to winding in a decent cod from that distance - it took forever, compared to using a big fixed spool reel.

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Reedling
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Re: Ambassadeur 8500

Post by Reedling »

And.. if no levelwind you have to thumb the line nicely across the spool on rewind or you suffer the consequences of an almost certain crack off, or at the least a birds nest next cast.

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Old Man River
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Re: Ambassadeur 8500

Post by Old Man River »

Hi Banksy. your post made me smile.. back in the early 80's I bought an Abu 6500,As I remember it was about £70.00, so in its day a quite expensive reel, I was just starting field casting ... it had a level wind fitted, so I manufactured a replacement crossbar, and my wifes face was a picture when she brought me a cup of tea in my workshop, she saw me taking a hacksaw and file to my nice new reel that was about three days old...

I still have that reel and use it regularly...it is as good now as the day when I took the hacksaw to it...so I suppose it is "almost " vintage in its own right..I usually use it with a Conofkex Flick Tip, another almost "Vintage " beach rod.


Reedling... Level winds are poison .... :Chuckle: The early Abus had centrifugal brakes, but magnetic breaking was fast entering the field casting arena , nowadays most surf anglers with multipliers use mag brakes, the Akios reels are a lovely example and quite tame when adjusted, the early Abus were or could be very "twitchy" and overruns were quite common, I used to tame my reels with a mixture of balanced centrifulag brake blocks and different oils to slow the bearings down.

These days the bearings dont have oil in at all... they are made from Ceramics, and are super smooth and trouble free, the Mag breaks take all the fun out of unpicking birds nests :Hahaha:

OMR
Last edited by Old Man River on Fri Apr 12, 2019 11:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
Hurrumph....... whatever happened to Handlines ?

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Liphook
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Re: Ambassadeur 8500

Post by Liphook »

The Akios Shuttle reels are manufactured by Omoto who also OEM for the likes of Tronix and TFG as well as Abu. Simon Bradbury was representing Abu in negotiations with Omoto when he saw an opportunity to create his own brand and so formed Akios. It didn't go down well with Abu, a bit like the Greys/Sonik situation! But thats the world of sales for you. The Shuttles are a good reel - basically a beefed up 6500 style of 'round baitcaster' with 4mm shafts, stronger gears and a QTC/Zeta style CNC machined cage etc. The original 6500 was adapted by sea anglers and tournament casters but having been designed originally for freshwater lure fishing it was always slightly lacking. I have to say that the cheap Akios reels are nowhere near as good as the Shuttles and are available in other badges at less money. Like most tackle companies there's the odd cherry in the bunch but most of it is the same old rehashed junk with a different badge on! It's not Omoto at blame rather the set unit price that dictates specification and quality.
Back to the earlier Abu's there are spares and service parts available from the likes of Blakdog and Pete Coogan. If you Google the serial number on the reel foot you'll find the year.

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Reedling
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Re: Ambassadeur 8500

Post by Reedling »

So no need to thumb the line anymore? things have moved on it seems I am still using my old 7000's when I can, with a flick tip. I do feel old fashioned now :Chuckle:

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Watermole+
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Re: Ambassadeur 8500

Post by Watermole+ »

Reedling wrote: Fri Apr 12, 2019 12:49 pm So no need to thumb the line anymore? things have moved on it seems I am still using my old 7000's when I can, with a flick tip. I do feel old fashioned now :Chuckle:
Even with magnetic braking, overconfidence will very quickly give you a big 'birdie' and bring you down to earth Sir..no need to feel old fashioned!
The reel I was given instruction on was an Akios 555 "MM3 Tourno" with a body machined from one piece of aluminium alloy with no separate pillars or level wind. It was fitted with ceramic bearings but it still needed to be set up carefully to get the best out of it, so I would say that although modern reels are "tamer" now, they still require understanding and skill. It had a recovery rate of something like 6 to 1 which soon winds it all back for you. Of course, modern line has improved out of all proportion which helps-and is now virtually memory free. I used 0,3 dia. "Sufix" with my tuition reel which is about 15lbs and incredibly smooth & good natured compared to that which we used years ago.

Many thanks Liphook, for putting me straight re. Akios-Abu history..I did not know that. Apologies for wrongly quoting.

Reedling-The norm today is to have tapered shock leaders which match your reel line diameter exactly and go up to about 50-60lbs at the business end over several metres, so when used with a snap link to the weight, crack-offs are now very rare occurrences. To be honest, even with my limited experience, guiding the line back and forth across the drum isn't too difficult, even in the dark.

I agree with OMR that level winds on high speed reels today are a recipe for disaster..useful on boats-but not from the shoreline or beach!

I will never part with my old Abu, but it isn't in the same league as the better reels today.

wm+

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? Yet one of them shall not fall without your Father knoweth" ..Jesus of Nazareth, King James AV

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Old Man River
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Re: Ambassadeur 8500

Post by Old Man River »

Thats a nice combo Reedling, although I would find the 7000 be just a bit big for the standard Flick Tip, unless of course its the 'Super Flick Tip ", a friend of mine used the 7000 and the "super" off Filey Brigg, and you would be hard pushed to find anywhere rougher than the "Brigg " to fish. The rod handled it very well, I borrowed it a few times and it was one of those rods that you felt was made for you ( me )

I really like older sea angling gear,to collect and use, and really have more than my fair share ...... If I could find another "Super" at the right price I would have it,now that Conoflex are no more I have noticed their rods are becoming collectors pieces... I have a couple that I would not part with.

OMR
Hurrumph....... whatever happened to Handlines ?

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