Probably most of you have not heard of this reel. It is offered on E Bay and imported from where else but China. If you go to EBay and enter this item #130284593272 you should get a picture & description of the reel.
Well I saw the reel a couple of weeks ago and bought it for 7 bucks . The reel arrived several days ago and was amazed at the quality of the the product. The drag is easily adjustable and appears smooth. It’s clicker is kinda weak but I don’t mind that. I think I got one heck of a bargain but I would like to warn anybody that runs across this product that the reel is configured for a left hander. That is for a person who holds the rod in their left hand and reels with the right.
I contacted the seller about this and was told the only instructions for the reel was those printed on the box. There is nothing on the box other than one way clutch system. Which mean a right hander might have problems with this reel.
So if you run across this item and are right handed you might want to consider your options before buying the reel.
Fortunately I am left handed and more than satisfied with the reel.
If it is a roller bearing type clutch that it set in the spool, the retrieve direction can usually be reversed by removing the assembly from the spool, flipping it over, and reinstalling it.
I would agree with the comments on the last two posts in that there is probably a way to change the reel over. I can’t imagine a company making a reel only for lefties. But since I am (1) Mechanically challenged and (2) a lefty, I ain’t going to try to flip it over.
I am a righty and I agree with calling the Left Hand Retrieve (LHR) the righty system. I suppose this is just because I am right handed, my right hand seems stronger holding the rod (probably just in my head, but oh well), and I reel with my left. Most companies from what I read would have called it a Right Hand Retrieve reel versus a “Lefty” setup but why argue semantics?
What I think would be more awkward is people that cast and reel right handed. A friend of mine does this and has to constantly switch the rod from hand to hand.
I’ve noticed that if a reel can be changed to reel from the other side (notice how deftly I sidestepped the left/right deal) and if there is a line guide, it can be moved so as to continue its function. Also some reels have a ‘dual’ direction line guide so all that is required is mounting the reel on the rod so you can reel with whichever hand you like…respooling the line in the other direction of course. Just something I’ve noticed.
I have done this for as long as I have been fishing. Its second nature for me to just switch hands when i am fighting a fish on the reel. A friend of mine thinks i am absolutely crazy but it works. I learned it from my dad and wouldn’t have it any other way.
mgliss
I bought one too just to see if it was any good at all. I paid about 8 bucks delivered and have taken it apart to see if I can make it work for left handed retreive. So far no, go. I did do a search for Freedom Fly Reel or Freedom Fry 300 which is on the box and is about the only identifier that I can find the box and came up with a french company named Caperlan. I emailed them and asked if it and be converted to left hand and thus farreceived a reply thet they have sent the email up the chain of command.
I am guessing that it cannot be converted as is, because there is a spring that is inside a hex nut that works kind of like an antireverse on some spinning reels. I can’t turn the hex nut over because it has three little screws holding the spring in place and when upside down it interferes with the C- clip going back on. I am think what I need is a spring that is a mirror image of the one that is on it.
The seller on Ebay said all I neeed to do was turn the nut over, but that doesn’t work. I guess he’s just selling them and doesn’t know squat about them.
Anyway, I thought somebody might like to know. If I figure it out, I will report back.
Remove spool.
Remove C Clip.
Remove hex nut.
Remove three screws and plate from Hex nut with the tiniest philips head screw driver I could find in my house, remove spring inside hex nut and turn it around so that the little pin is now on the top of the nut… re-assemble in reverse order and it is now left hand retreive.
I have been using this reel on decent sized LMB for some time now. So far it has held up quite well. One thing I do like about it is that when I set the drag it stays at the setting while some of my more expensive reels need to be reset . Only complaint is that the paintjob is prone to chipping.
I have 2 of them and agree that they are not the usual pieces of junk. I switched the spring clutch over just to see if it could be done. Nothing is under sproing level pressure. The conversion was easily accomplished. Returning it to the original configuration was a little harder. Getting the spring in the bore with the pin down takes a bit more finagling to get all the coils in. Not overly hard and I doubt that most people will be switching back and forth frequently.
Sonny,
The original post was made in JANUARY, so I’m guessing the E-bay listing is way out of date. Maybe you could
google the reel name, or maybe Bing?
