I very much enjoy fishing knuckle busters when downrigger fishing... I find in particular I grow very used to the fact that when I'm reeling I am absolutely positively gaining line. This is useful when loading up rods, and of course reeling on fish.

But levelwinds are convenient and gain line faster than my knucklebuster... Which makes them better for novices/guests... I was wondering if anyone has ever seen a reel which is sort of a hybrid of the two:

* Levelwind/casting configuration
* When cranked, it ALWAYS gains line
* If crank is released, drag can operate and line can be taken
* Ideally a freespool switch.

I've seen the Penn 109, which people call a "Direct Drive" reel, which fails the #2 bullet above, because the drag can still slip the spool... Islanders and Diawa/Shimano mooching single action reels fail the levelwind configuration bullet point.

Does this reel exist? Or do I need to start making them?

I started out steelheading with a direct-drive level-wind real - an antique that cast like a charm and burnt your thumb on a fish run. Lot's of fun.

You can turn most any levelwind reel into a direct drive.
Take out the anti-reverse dog and crank the drag down as tight as it will go.
Used to turn my 2500c into direct drive all the time, even took off the star drag knob and machined it down to a round knob.

It is the "D" model Ambassadeurs that do all of the above.
4000D. 5000D, 5500D etc.

They are out of production.....eBay is where to find them.

The old Pflueger Supreme's and Fas-Kast's also fit the bill. Heavy as a rock but a lot of fun, as stated above Ebay is probably your best bet of finding one.

Hmmm... I'm wondering if I was perhaps unclear on one point about the drag -- I want one! So cranking down drags all the way (or reels absent one) isn't what I'm shooting for...

Similar to a fly/knucklebuster reel, if you release the crank, the drag is present and works nicely. The Ambassadeurs -- the descriptions I'm reading say there's 'no star drag', as an example.

EDIT - Okay, I read more and there IS a drag on those Ambassadeurs, that looks like the one! Thanks!

The Shimano Bantam 1000 plus is the reel you are looking for. It has the switch on the front to shift back and forth between level wind and knucklebuster. I have two for the salt and they work great. Again they haven't been made in awhile so you have dig hard to find them.

A couple of photos of the Ambassadeur 5000D, I have three I still use occasionally. I only used them in saltwater a few times, striped bass fishing in the Umpqua estuary at night.Truly a knuckle buster as we didn't have enough band aids to cover my wife's bloody knuckles and fingers after her first striped bass. I might put braid on one to get more line capacity and try it on coho, mooching in the salt.

Yep, there is a knurled knob that replaces the "star wheel" on these Ambassadeur "D" models. The drag is still there.
The reason that ABU modified this part is because the handle on a "D" can spin backwards. During the heat of battle it would be too easy to bump the star wheel and screw up the drag setting.

In reality, because a drag is still present, these are not true direct drives, but sort of a hybrid that offers the best of both.
It's been said that they were designed to yard bass out of heavy cover and most were sold in the US.

He's looking for a crank over-ride like the D models have.
The early Bantams are an option to look at however.....I cut my teeth on these.

Some have a slide type switch and some have a rocker switch.

In silent rehearsal I would say to myself "Set the hook and get him on the drag".
Sometimes that's hard to do in a timely, orderly fashion when suddenly all hell breaks loose and Mr. Big is goin' back to the ocean like a runaway freight train

The "D" models are true direct drive in the sense that handle rotation is connected directly (through gears) to the spool. When line is taken out against the drag the handle rotates backwards. Grab the handle when a fish is taking out line and you get bloody knuckles, the line breaks, or the fish stops. I always set the drag so you could strip line out with a strong pull and used my thumb on the spool to increase drag if need be. That way you would know when the handle stopped spinning, prevented bloody knuckles but often caused a tender thumb from friction heat.

Respectfully disagree.
A pure direct drive has no drag (or reserve drag) at all.
Agree that the "D" models "act" like a direct drive with the handle stopped or turning forward.

that's all a direct drive is, the handle is meshed directly to the spool through the gears, not "clutched" with a drag washer stack(like a normal 5000). you spin the handle, it spins the spool, if it doesn't something's broken!

what i do on my boat is use really long slow action rods with the mooching reels, like 10 1/2 to 12 feet. the extra length and long bend allows inexperienced anglers a little extra time to let the handle go when a fish turns away, just easier to keep the line tight too.

I have seen a Shinamo TR200 that has been perhaps converted to Direct Drive as well-

There is an "issue" with bullets two and three- as I am sure you are aware a reel can't always gain line and have a drag. As well as a direct drive reel with the handle released won't have a "drag" because the handle will of course be freewheeling (and your thub would be the drag?)

Jason, think of a single action/fly/mooching reel it works just like bullets 2 and 3... The only difference is I'm trying to get that in a casting reel.

The "D" series Ambassaduer reels meet all 4 of your criteria. Functionally with respect to drive and drag they are identical to the Shimano Moocher (I have 3 that are still going after 30 years of use), the Daiwa DC375, (inherited 3 but don't use them often), and the Abu Garcia Diplomat (1 I haven't used recently). The difference is the level wind on the "D" and the handle is not directly connected to the spool but through gears. The gear system has one advantage in that the line take up for one turn of the 5000 D at full spool is 18 inches and the Moocher at full spool is 12 inches. The Abu Garcia Dipolmat is made in Japan, probably by Shimano or Daiwa, and is labeled as an independent drag system. Direct drive - independent drag system is probably the best term to describe what you are looking for.

Brian, I actually own one of those Abu Diplomat's (kinda rare reels) and didnt think about it until WN1A brought it up. Lemme know if you want to borrow it. This reel has the loudest clicker on any reel I've ever used...

My guess is that the TR200 had a broken AR bearing or AR dog.
The Ambassadeur D models actually do all 4 functions listed above.
They are a very unique reel that many fisherman are not aware of.

When D model functionality was first described to me, I couldn't comprehend it.
(Which ain't sayin' much )

I've had them since the late 1960's