The Cardinals..

[Mario]

my brother gave me an abu cardinal when i passed a writen test on fishing when i was kid i then went fishing out of my bedroom window the reel fell off the rod and when i had run down the stairs it had bust the thing in two

[BlackSheep]

I have two 54's languishing in the garage, great little reels that should get used more often. I also have two alloy spools for said reels.

I have in the past sold lots of 55's, i buy them to use but always find them disappointing for some reason or another and i do not trust the spools.

I also have a pair of Suverans, now they are something else altogether....................... a wonderful reel to use.

[CWK]

Hi Guys , I've got a Cardinal C5 in good condition . Does it have any real value or is it from a time when quality of manufacture was secondary to price?

If I'm correct in my thinking Bob James used these when carping in a scene of APFA ....

[Gary Bills]

Yes, CWK - I used to use C5's a great deal, and to my delight, Bob James did indeed carp fish with them in a Passion for Angling. They have cut brass, worm drive gears, as you'll know, and they are real power houses. I had two - broke one, like a fool, and sold the other on ebay...I can't remember what it went for, but I wasn't disappointed. I sold it because I blamed it for feathering line. I'd just landed a nice common from Clay Farm, and I noticed the line was awful afterwards. Now I think it was down to hidden snags.The spool, of course, is carbon, and solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.

[CWK]

Thanks muchly Farliesbirthday . It is indeed a masterpiece of Swedish engineering . Very smooth indeed .

I fully intend upon using it when persuing horse gudgeon teamed with a rather nice Bruce and Walker rod ..

[Moley]

It is my understanding that the C5 was made in Japan, not Sweden....I should know as mine used to have small stickers with made in Japan written on them. They were very smooth though and a delight to use but not as tough as earlier Cardinal's. They were swopped for early baitrunners, which I still have but seldom use.

I still use my Cardinal 54, on the odd trip out, as it is bomb proof. Probably one of the best reels ABU made, in my opinion :ugeek:

I hardly use any fixed spool reels nowadays...just centrepins. I really don't miss them that much!

Now if ABU made a decent 'pin..........


Mole Power!!! :sun:

[CWK]

It is my understanding that the C5 was made in Japan, not Sweden....I should know as mine used to have small stickers with made in Japan written on them. They were very smooth though and a delight to use but not as tough as earlier Cardinal's. They were swopped for early baitrunners, which I still have but seldom use.

I still use my Cardinal 54, on the odd trip out, as it is bomb proof. Probably one of the best reels ABU made, in my opinion :ugeek:

I hardly use any fixed spool reels nowadays...just centrepins. I really don't miss them that much!

Now if ABU made a decent 'pin..........


Mole Power!!! :sun:

You might well be correct Moley . Mine has no such stickers only a golden Swedish crown hence my presumption that it was manufactured there . Like you I prefer to use a " pin " wherever possible but there are situations where a fixed spool is preferable .Horses for courses I think..

[Gary Bills]

They were indeed made in Japan, but the engineering was still first rate.

[SeanM]

They aren't as tough as earlier Abus though. I had a pair for about 5 years from the early 90s. I used them regularly for salmon fishing on the Great lakes. The constant casting and retrieval of lures caused internal wear despite regular stripping and lubrication and I eventually sold them. I suspect that a little work with some shims would have cured the problem, but I was a fully paid up member of the throwaway society in those days.

For most UK techniques with the rod spending most of its time in the rests or the reel only retrieving under a light load then C5s will be fine.

[Gary Bills]

They aren't as tough as earlier Abus though. I had a pair for about 5 years from the early 90s. I used them regularly for salmon fishing on the Great lakes. The constant casting and retrieval of lures caused internal wear despite regular stripping and lubrication and I eventually sold them. I suspect that a little work with some shims would have cured the problem, but I was a fully paid up member of the throwaway society in those days.

For most UK techniques with the rod spending most of its time in the rests or the reel only retrieving under a light load then C5s will be fine.

I used my C5s fairly extensively as reels for light dead-bait wobbling, taking pike to over 20lbs, and I never felt they missed a step. It was the line feathering that really worried me; but as I say, I knew less then than I do now about Clay Farm's hidden snags. I've used the Cardinal 66 too - and I would say that it was the most powerful winch in my tackle bag, but a little too "fly" for stalking purposes, with the drum seeming to have life of its own, due to the ball bearings, and so I sold it on ebay. I still rather miss it, though.