My last Rarenium check

All good things must come to an end. This is my old trusty Shimano Rarenium 2500 which I've proudly pimped up to becoming my most used and trusted reel fighting a good variety of species from small fish to lunkers. It has never failed me and have been thoroughly enjoyable to fish with as it is very light and super smooth with maxed out hybrid ceramic and full ceramic bearings. It's even got some communal Stella parts inside in order for it to take on more bearings.

This will be my last check in with this reel before I hand it to a happy new owner. As previously salt water bashing prepared many moons ago, I've not had any issues with it and therefore didn't really open it up for a routine service.

A thorough strip down and check will be done to ensure that the reel is in tip top operating condition before leaving me for good.

Stripped down, like a DIY kit.

Top left and right, marine grease still covers all internal surfaces of the crank case. Bottom left, main gear's in excellent condition with no signs of wear. Bottom right, worm gear system like new, bearings smooth as silk.

Top left, pinion gear with no signs of wear. Top right, one way bearing's still nicely lubricated without grease spills inside. Spool has no pitting or damages. Carbontex drag washer's in excellent condition, just some well used grease that needs replacement.

Top left, rotor in excellent condition. Top right, spool support clicker and line roller's like new, just need grease top up into the line roller system. Bottom, knob shaft and bearing's still packed with marine grease.

Bottom left, pinion support full ceramic bearings will be replaced with hybrid ceramic variants and packed with new marine grease for longevity and smoothness.

Full ceramic bearings will be kept for my other pimping projects.

Top, reassembly with some marine grease top up. Bottom, line roller system filled with marine grease for a water tight seal against any water intrusion, excess squeezed and wiped off.

Crank handle screw and main gear support bearing's also packed with marine grease for a physical seal against water intrusion.

Complete reassembly with some minor marine grease top up.

My last Rarenium check is now done and completed. I'm proud to say that the extra care put into this reel has paid off very well in maintaining the condition of the reel for long life coming out of various battles without breaking a sweat. I'm sure the new owner will find just as much joy in fishing with this reel as I have.

Fun with salty pond dwellers

How do you fill the void of a cancelled overseas trip hunting for wild barras and togas? A few good sessions at our local salty pond poking fun at some of the dwellers that are surely getting bigger and badder by the day. It's also an excellent time for me to christen some of my light to medium tackle ensuring that it's battle ready when the opportunity comes again for wild barras and togas.

A decently sized brownie giving the Evergreen Temujin Quad Twister a nice warm-up.

Apia Bagration ready to deliver, without fail. Lovely fall and twitch.

Another fat cow, bending the Quad Twister with conviction.

Apia Bagration strikes 2.

Also on the Quad Twister, with some intimidating runs quickly subdued.

This brownie fell for the Ima Sobat. Twitch, fall, BAM!

Next to the brownies, there are also some speedsters. Ima Ikuri delivers.

A healthy GT putting up a good fight.

Care for a red drum? These guys are not to be messed with. MajorCraft Skyroad ML + Rarenium with smooth drag set-up holds up very well for their bull runs and dirty darts.

Apia Bagration. A few in the bag please.

Another day, another session. This time with my MajorCraft Corzza MH rod paired with the newly pimped up Shimano Metanium. Not a tense moment experienced with a medium heavy set-up.

Ima Honeytrap does deep throat.

Another brown fatty tries to out-gun the Corzza. The Corzza has plenty of reserves for this.

Moneyshot honey for the record. Ima Honeytrap.

Corzza takes another grouper.

This one fell for the DUO Ryuki. The Corzza MH does pretty ok for light lures too. Impressive.

Heavy lifting needed here.

Jackall's Waver Shrimp wished it was a real shrimp!

Another chunky grouper pulled up for photo op.

Jackall Waver Shrimp does the damage as well as taking some damages too.

Heavy fatty on the Skyroad ML rod. Works the Jackall Sasuteki Craw to perfection.

Don't be fooled by the small sized Ima Survivor. It's also another favourite among pond dwellers here. The bruisers have claimed a few casualties here to prove that sometimes the Survivor won't survive their homeruns

In the gob. Ima Survivor survives a near death experience.

MajorCraft Skyroad making sure Ima Survivor is too sexy to ignore and also survives the ordeal after.

Corzza takes on a nice brown cow with good back bone power. Ima Honeytrap slowly worked at the bottom.

Corzza pulls up a healthy fighter. This one gave the MH tackle a good workout.

Geecrack Swing Chatter survived, Ima's Melty Nymph didn't.

Another healthy fighter. The groupers are getting bigger and badder. MajorCraft Corzza tames them too.

Jackall's Glossy Shad is just too real for our friend here.

Another brute fighter that's a bit reluctant to come up for a quick photo. Corzza coaxes it out of the water.

This fighter decided to swallow the Jackall Glossy Shad. Luckily the jig head and hook is just inside the mouth cavity.

Corzza tames another grouper.

After a few good sessions with the MajorCraft Corzza and Shimano Metanium pairing, I noticed that the stock drag on the Metanium has sufficient stopping power but isn't the smoothest. I suspect at times, it was rather jerky and may have allowed some fish to effectively throw a few hooks off as it's not being able to apply a constant and smooth pressure on the hook up. I'll need to put this theory to test with a different set of drags. On to more bruisers!

Ima Survivor lives to fight another day!

Feisty GT gives the Quad Twister some power runs.

Even the GT finds the Ima Honeytrap too hard to ignore.

Grouper hits the deck, courtesy of MajorCraft Corzza.

Jackall's Glossy Shad is causing quite a stir among the groupers.

They are bigger and meaner. Corzza MH set-up takes them with confidence.

In the gob. Jackall's Glossy Shad survives the ordeal with some facial damage sustained.

Another brute falling prey to the Corzza.

Jackall's Glossy Shad seriously chewed up.

Big mean groupers. They don't come any smaller than this anymore.

Last draw for this amazing Glossy Shad.

Curled up with protest. Easily subdued with the Quad Twister.

Ima Flachette twiddles along, BAM!

Ambitious youngster went for a big lure.

Ima Flachette swirls it's flashy irresistible tail.

Quad Twister wrestles another grouper out of the pond.

Capture credit goes the Ima's Rundam.

Healthy fatty fights the Quad Twister.

Spy-baito works for salt too. DUO's Spinbait whirls across the bottom.

A youngster, big fight nonetheless.

Ima's Sukari pulls this fella out.

Stunted grouper needs to eat too. Messed with the wrong bait fish.

DUO Realis Shad twitching around the shallows to stir this fella up.

It's not photo manipulation. It is stunted and crooked.

Big and mean. A few good hard pulls but the Skyroad takes it in.

Ima Sobat clocking in some catches here too.

Another curled up with protest. Easily tamed size.

Another one for the Ima Sobat.

MajorCraft Skyroad takes another grouper out of the pond.

Ima Honeytrap banks in another for the record.

A skinny one, hungry and angry at the same time.

Ima Honeytrap does the trick.