Today in The ABU Garcia 5000D we look back at the last direct drive bass reel marketed to the bass fishing industry. Direct drive reels got their start in the early-1800s with the Kentucky Reel makers and lasted through the 1950s until ABU debuted its 5000 and 6000 reels in the U.S. in 1954. These reels featured a star drag and anti-reverse mechanism that rendered direct drive reels obsolete.
The star drag had been around since the 1800s but hadn’t become popular until J. A. Coxe patented a design in 1924 for saltwater reels (1). The star drag became popular for saltwater reels due to the shear force trophy fish could leverage on the angler. Many a thumb and wrist had been burned or broken over the years by tuna and broadbill swordfish.
Popularity in freshwater reels waned due to the increased weight these mechanisms added to smaller freshwater reels. In fact, the lightest bass reels of the 1950s, made by Langley, were anywhere from four to six ounces in weight. When ABU introduced their 5000 and 6000 at over 12 ounces, anglers felt they were too heavy and wouldn’t cast as well as the standard of the day. Once they tried the precision Swedish reels, they changed their minds.
Enough of the history lesson, let’s get back to the 5000D. This reel wasn’t a true direct drive reel like the Kentucky reel of the past. It featured a freespool mechanism which took the reel out of gear for a cast. Once the handle was turned, the gears meshed, the same as any reel today.
Although the reel didn’t have a star drag, it did have a drag setting knob that controlled how much tension was on the main gear drive. If you needed to let a fish run, you took your hand off the handle and the fish could pull line and the handle would move in reverse, assuming you had the drag set appropriately.
The reel was introduced in 1974 and was billed as “The reel that bass fishermen asked for.” I’m not sure why they were asking for it but evidently ABU had enough requests for it that they made it.
Talking with longtime friend and bass fishing colleague, Rich Zaleski this past week, Rich said he liked the reel due to his support of backreeling instead of using a drag. I can see this as a benefit for those liking to backreel.
The other advantage I’ve heard the reel possessed was its ability to horse fish out of heavy cover without fear of the drag slipping. I can see this but my question has always been, what if your hand slips off the handle? Supposedly Dee Thomas favored this reel for his flipping but in all the images I have seen of Dee in magazines, I have never seen him with a 5000D. He always had a red 5000 on his Flippin’ Stik.
The 5000D cast as well as any of the other ABU 5000-series reels. It was fit with brass bushings, not bearings like the C-series and also had ABU’s centrifugal brake system for cast control. I fished this reel many times over the course of my fishing career and it was no different to use than the 5000 or 5000C. You just had to realize that if a fish needed line, you had to remove your hand from the handle.
This reel had a warm reception when introduced but within six years it was phased out for some reason. To trace its lifespan, I looked through all my old Garcia Fishing Annuals from 1960 through 1978 as well as my Bass Pro Shops catalogs from 1974 through 1985.
The reel debuted in the 1974 Garcia Fishing Annual as well as the inaugural 1974 Bass Pro Shops catalog with a price point of $23.95, half the cost of a 5000C. This was part of the charm of the reel. It wouldn’t break the bank. Then in 1978, something changed.
My last Garcia Fishing Annual is from 1978 and in it was a surprise. There was no mention of the 5000D reel. In its place was the 5500D, the high-speed version, but there was no image of the reel. On pages 24a and 25a, all the reels shown were the bushing series reels and all were red. That’s when I checked my 1978 Bass Pro Shops catalog and found the 5500D. It’s difficult to tell what color the reel is due to the angle and lighting. It’s either a dark green or black. Price was set at $29.95. Still a steal.
This finding prompted me to check my 1980 Bass Pro Shops catalog as well. In 1980 Bass Pro Shops was selling the 5500DA, a reel that had a palming plate to compete with the Shimano and Lew’s reels of the day. Again, no mention of the standard 5000D or 5500D.
I then looked in my 1982 Garcia Products catalog and found no reference to any direct drive reel being produced by ABU. I did the same with my Bass Pro Shops catalogs through 1985 and found nothing. Evidently all direct drive reels by ABU had been discontinued or were not available for sale in the United States. Or, maybe they were special order.
I honestly don’t remember the reel being terminated this early. We sold the reel when I started at the tackle store in 1978 and I thought we continued to offer it into the mid-1980s. But, being the way my memory is these days, maybe I’m forgetting how it actually went down.
Looking back on this reel it makes me wonder if there’s still a place in bass fishing for a direct-drive reel. Back in the late 2000s Ardent took the concept a step further with their Denny Brauer F700 Flip and Pitch reel. This reel had no drag at all, being in gear 100% of the time with no ability to pull line off the spool unless in freespool or with the Flipping Switch engaged. This reel didn’t last too long, maybe five years. But would a reel like the 5000D make it today? It’s hard to say.
Footnote: (1) Antique Fishing Reels, Inventions, Inventors, and Makers of Reels in the United States through 1920. Steven K. Vernon, Second Edition 2018, Thomson-Shore, Inc., Dexter, Michigan
