CAST CONTROL HISTORY IS MADE...AGAIN!
In 1945 Göte Borgstöm forever changed the face of sport fishing with the introduction of the world's first revolving spool fishing reel with a freely rotating spool and a centrifugal brake system. The reel, named the "Record 2100 Sport", was an instant success with fishermen and competitive distance casters, a very popular sport at the time. The design took away the negative effect of the gears engaging the spool during the cast, thus slowing the spool and shortening the cast. With the increase in spool freeness, Borgström also began to perfect the ever dreaded backlash; the problem of line coming off the spool faster than the lure is traveling. To resolve this he added the first ever centrifugal brake on a fishing reel. The brake served to slow the spool and allow the caster more control over the line.
The concept of the centrifugal brake is simple. As the spool begins to rotate, centrifugal force pushes the brake weights along a shaft and engage a brake ring, allowing the friction created to slow the spool's revolution. Centrifugal forces are the greatest at the beginning of the cast while the spool is rotating the fastest, and lessen as the spool's revolutions slow. The original designs featured two brakes mounted on to the spool. Thus the angler had three choices: two brakes, one brake, or none.
Over time, various companies have added more brakes, but the principal was still the same. The greatest drawback is that an angler must disassemble the reel in order to change the settings; not very convenient for modern fishermen using a variety of lures in a variety of conditions. To combat this, manufacturers began using magnetic forces rather than centrifugal forces to control the cast. While the new systems allowed the angler to more easily adjust the settings from the outside of the reel, the new systems had several drawbacks. The greatest drawback is that a magnetic system can never be fully turned off. In other words, you can't get a completely free spool with a magnetic system. Magnets also proved to have less control than the old standard centrifugal brakes.
In 1999, Quantum® made fishing history again by introducing the world's first, externally adjustable, centrifugal cast control system ACS™. Now anglers had the best of both worlds. A fisherman had the control of a centrifugal braking system with the ease of use of a magnetic system. The angler could choose from zero, three, six, or nine brake weights simply by turning a dial on the outside of the reel. No longer did he need to disassemble the reel whenever the wind pickup up or he changed baits.
For 2006, Quantum engineers have yet again made fishing history. The all-new Infinite ACS™ system, available on the new Tour Edition PT and Energy PT baitcast reels is once again revolutionizing the sport of fishing. Since Borgström's original 1945 design, anglers have only had the option of either having a brake on or off. This new design allows the angler an infinite number of settings from fully off (free spooling), to fully on a total of nine brake weights for the ultimate in spool control. The system is adjusted by a simple dial on the outside of the reel, giving the angler total control. Now an angler can accurately dial in his equipment for any lure, presentation, or fishing conditions
It was this type of control that allowed Kevin VanDam to win the most prestigious tournament in bass fishing, the 2005 Bass Masters Classic. Kevin was able to make precise adjustments for the baits he was using. This allowed him to concentrate on the fish, and not his equipment. Now the same type of control Kevin relied on during his unbelievable run through the 2005 E50 Series and the Classic is available to anglers everywhere. Check out the Next Generation of Quantum Performance Tuned rods and reels and stay tuned as Quantum continues to make fishing history.
