The strength of Avet reels

Started by the rockfish ninja, June 20, 2016, 05:06:01 AM

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the rockfish ninja

This thread is not for a technical question or issue, it's just a testament to their quality and effectiveness.
Last week I caught the second biggest fish of my entire fishing career, I didn't need to weigh it, measure it to know this either. I could just tell from holding it and releasing it.

So here's how the story goes, I went to a secluded spot near the mouth of San Francisco Bay, it's a fairly strenuous trail to get down to the spot (especially on the way back up) and I set out to the spot with my trusty 10 foot Diawa Emcast surf rod loaded with my workhorse SX-J. I get down to the shoreline, rig up, chuck an anchovy on a dropper loop into the deep channel about 60 yards out and WHAM!! I'm into something pretty strong, he peels off about 30 yards while my SX is set at full drag, and we go back and forth for about 15 minutes. When I get him about 20 yards from shore, and I start to see some color, he leaps halfway out of the water and I can see he's a huge leopard shark, makes another jump and comes almost completely out of the water. After about five more minutes of this I finally get him into the corner by some rocks and I climbed down to release him, as I'm definitely not going to eat him. Once I'm down at sea level with him, I cinch down on the spool with my thumb, brace the bottom of my rod with my leg, and reach for the leader to try to get the hook out because at this point I realize he's almost as long as I am. Right then he gets pissed off and decides to bolt, and from my adrenaline I just clinched my real and tried not to get pulled in and SNAP!!! my rod goes in the half and falls down on my head. I guess that was round one and I got a standing eight count right before the bell.

Round two. After regaining my composure I let him run again for about 10 or 15 yards then put the screws to him and winched him in with just the SX and half of a rod. That's when the strength of this little reel became apparent because his head was the size of a shoe box, approximately 5 feet long overall, and was still pissed off. I got him in though and was able to release the hook and get him on his way back into the deep.
I think that ended up as a split decision.

I would have put this in a fishing report thread but with all that was going on I didn't even think of taking a photo, all I could think of was that I had only been fishing for 20 minutes and now my rod is snapped in half. Luckily I was able to jam it together and tape it up so that I could limp through the rest of the fishing excursion, caught a few small rockfish and a striper, and even though I now have to buy a new surf rod, I chuckled all the way back to my car thinking how I horsed him in like that.
Deadly Sebastes assassin.

Shark Hunter

That is how you do it! ;D
Conquer and move on. ;)
Life is Good!

Cor

Looks like an exiting days fishing!   Sorry about the rod, but that happens from time to time
Cornelis

mark d


great post. thks for sharing. how do you avoid the pinion bearing failure when you crank down on the drag ? reason i ask is that i killed mine on a smallish bluefin on my mxl. not complainin mind you. i love the reel, just want to fish it correctly

RUSTY OLD COLT

   I set mine at 9 pounds on strike with a scale and have gone a few  seasons on the bearings without replacement just routine servicing and a good rinse after fishing

SoCalAngler

#5
Quote from: mark d on June 23, 2016, 03:20:02 PM

great post. thks for sharing. how do you avoid the pinion bearing failure when you crank down on the drag ? reason i ask is that i killed mine on a smallish bluefin on my mxl. not complainin mind you. i love the reel, just want to fish it correctly

Avet lists its max drag numbers for all reels. The non-Raptor SX and MX reels should not exceed around 10 lbs of max drag making these reels 30 lb test and below reels.

Like ROC above I set my lever drag reels at about 1/4 of the lines breaking strength at strike, so if fishing 30 lb test thats 7.5 lbs. Now if I get a really big fish or need more drag than the 7.5 lbs I can move the lever past strike for added drag. But, on my SX if I set it at 7.5 at strike I will be over the max drag if I move the lever all the forward past strike. You should do some measurements with a scale before you go fishing so you know where the max drag of around 10 lbs is on your reel.

I use my SX for 20 lb test so I never will exceed the max drag or most likely I'll be breaking off fish.

the rockfish ninja

Quote from: mark d on June 23, 2016, 03:20:02 PM

great post. thks for sharing. how do you avoid the pinion bearing failure when you crank down on the drag ? reason i ask is that i killed mine on a smallish bluefin on my mxl. not complainin mind you. i love the reel, just want to fish it correctly

Well, to be honest my pinion bearing is kinda noisy at this point because unlike ROC & SCA, I push the envelope a bit. I'm tough on my gear I admit but I change out bearings if they act up and these reels can take the rest of the challenge I put them to. With Alan's tip on greasing the drag plate I get even more than the normal specs and although I have a drag scale, I never use it, adjust the drag by feel, and go to war with the rockfish that duck into the reef after they bite. My style of fishing is unique, demanding on gear, but most of all, effective. With this, having to be fast on the draw to prevent them from snagging me up in a hole or having to horse in a fat ling cod, these reels are up to my challenges and I've only had to replace a pinion bearing once so far, had it about 4 years now. (Although I'll probably replace it at the end of the season.)
Deadly Sebastes assassin.

thorhammer

This is a great story with a great technical assessment following. Good job.

John

ez2cdave

Quote from: mark d on June 23, 2016, 03:20:02 PMhow do you avoid the pinion bearing failure when you crank down on the drag ?

My reaction would be to buy a larger reel, capable of more drag pressure, use the same strength line, stay within the limits of the new reel, and enjoy the extra line capacity.

Tight Lines !