Does anybody on this board have experience casting Avet reels w/o MC?

Started by the rockfish ninja, July 30, 2015, 06:29:15 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

the rockfish ninja

I'm finally at the point where I can replace the SX MC that was stolen from my car last year and I'm just pondering going non-MC. The mags have been very useful on the coast as I deal with crosswinds over at the Goldengate bridge and have to cast straight into a headwind when I work the beach or rocks but 2 small factors have me considering going without. (...and not just the $)

-I know I'll get more distance and with the piece of bicycle inner tube I use on my thumb for casting conventionals I have decent control.
-From a boat it will drop to the bottom faster without the mags, sometimes a factor with big & fast tides/currents.

I've got a pretty educated thumb but I even get some blowups with the mags due to the wind conditions I have to work with so I'm inclined to go MC again but just wanted some outside views.

Thanks
Deadly Sebastes assassin.

RUSTY OLD COLT

I use the SX and the JX Avets and I dont have the magnetic casting control on either start with mono till you get use to it . Once you get the hang of it switch to braid if you like.

Steve-O

I have two Omotos (quasi-Avet clones) w/o MC and the two speed is just for boat and drop fishing however ROC pretty nailed it as you did yourself. Educate the thumb and in big winds sometimes a shorter cast is the best medicine over the dreaded " professional overrun ". :o

I cast heavy iron/lead with big braid and very little 'snap' in my cast...just a smooth Hail Mary heave ho with skimming thumb the whole cast. For me 65-70 yards is plenty.

My Komodo 364 is also without MC and has free spool out the wazoo....heaves 3-4 ounces on a 7 foot 30# class boat rod down to the last 3 wraps on the spool arbor.

And I am a total rookie at distance casting.

the rockfish ninja

Thanks for the tips RTOC & Steve-O, I am actually way passed those stages, been casting conventionals for years and already have an educated thumb. My distances *with mags* is 20-30 yds for close range fishing and 60-80 yds for long distance, plus I already learned that casting conventionals takes a smoother higher arc cast than spinners. I even go at it with an old Penn Beachmaster that has no cast control at all, but I had heard people talk about trying to cast non-MC Avets and having tons of backlashes, just wanted to know if anybody had it mastered.
Deadly Sebastes assassin.

Sluggo

I thought my thumb was educated until Used a non mc avet spooled with braid after playing around with it casting with the lever on the bait setting.  works for me

MarkT

I have an SX, MXJ and JX 6/3, all non-MC. Just use your thumb like any other conventional and go for it. I also have an SX, JX and HX Raptors all of which have MC as a standard feature. I've always thought of MC as a help for throwing iron, not bait, and keep it set to the lowest setting.
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

the rockfish ninja

Quote from: MarkT on July 31, 2015, 02:45:19 AM
I have an SX, MXJ and JX 6/3, all non-MC. Just use your thumb like any other conventional and go for it. I also have an SX, JX and HX Raptors all of which have MC as a standard feature. I've always thought of MC as a help for throwing iron, not bait, and keep it set to the lowest setting.

Good to know, and I usually have mine set at the lowest setting 90% of the time, unless I'm throwing 1 oz or 1 1/4 oz swimbaits.
When I'm bait chucking, it's usually from shore with 3 to 6 oz lead, am I correct when you say "bait" you're talking about tossing live bait from a boat, right?
Because I'm always at the lowest setting going non-MC might be an option.
Deadly Sebastes assassin.

Jeri

Hi Rockfish Ninja,

We just fish conventional surf – sinker and bait, with both MC Avets and non-MC. Distances are perhaps more a factor of the very long rods we use, but also the benefit of the free spooling nature of the Avets.

What we have found is that in serious power casting the non-MC reels are good, but take a lot of getting used to – educated thumb. However, once mastered, they can give casts up to 200 metres. The point here is that the non-MC reels are seriously faster than most 'surf' casting conventional reels, and the metal spool builds up a fair bit of inertia in the release.

With the MC reels, we have found that even on the lowest setting, the magnetic influence is too strong, and slows the cast drastically to the point where distance is severely reduced. So, our remedy with the MC reels is to take out the magnet, and very finely shave 0.1mm off the face of the magnet, then re assemble. What we now have is a reel, that on the lowest setting is as fast as the non-MC reels, but on the higher setting does start to give some control over the cast, but without the 'fury' of the non-MC reels.

Personally, I fish with a modified MXL MC, and can reliably cast sinkers and bait to beyond 150 metres, but then I'm getting older and the shoulder muscles aren't as fresh as some of the youngsters. One factor is that we are using about 6oz sinkers with moderate baits, and rods with a very fast recovery action – so the tip is very crisp in its action. This does help a lot, as slower action rods tend to vibrate a little in the tip on release, and this vibrating action upsets the reel spool, and leads to problems of overwinds at about 50 metres into the flight.

Hope that helps.

Cheers from sunny Africa


Jeri


the rockfish ninja

Thanks for the input Jeri, you've confirmed my thoughts. It will be good to have a non-MC in my arsenal and be able to defy all the folks that say Avets are so fast no thumb can keep up with them.

Now the only thing I want to know is: Jeri, Do you surf cast the Namibia coast? I watched a documentary about and they showed Lions strolling on the beach, If you took me surf casting I'd be hiding behind you the whole time. I know how to handle Scorpion fish and other prickly sea creatures but Lions, Tigers & Bears...........Oh my.
Deadly Sebastes assassin.

Jeri

Hi Rockfish Ninja,

We do indeed surf fish the Namibian Coast – though mostly on the central section, about 300 km long – that is designated 'accessible National Park'; while the rest of the coastline is designated 'inaccessible National Park. We can only very rarely get access to some of those areas under very strict access agreements. What you saw was a documentary on the area north of Terrace Bay, which is totally out of bounds to anyone other than Ministry of Environment staff.

In that area lions have been re-introduced as part of the natural fauna of the area – but they are a separate breed known as Desert Lions – they have adapted to living in those very harsh conditions, and feed on the few Springbok and Oryx in the area, as well as seals. They are mostly 'collared' animals for tracking purposes, and are monitored for their movements. They are also heavily protected from all folks including hunters – unlike Cecil in Zimbabwe.

Apart from that we generally see very few animals on our beaches – apart from seals. Our biggest hazard is 'sun burned tourists', and the odd Black Back Jackal that might come and steal a fish from your catch. Generally, most animals are afraid of man, unless they perceive man as a threat or food. Our biggest hazard fishing in Namibia is when we go up to rivers like the Zambezi fishing for Tigerfish and Vundu Catfish – crocs and hippos and the deadliest of all animals – the mosquito.



Apart from that, the Namibian surf scene is probably one of the safest in the world – just avoid December when all the people arrive – then you are under risk of getting run over with all the 4x4 traffic on the beach. We have several older ladies that go out surf fishing together – on their own, and they never have any problems.


Hope that helps.

Cheers from sunny Africa


the rockfish ninja

Quote from: Jeri on August 04, 2015, 03:56:15 AM
We have several older ladies that go out surf fishing together – on their own, and they never have any problems.

I'd probably be hiding behind them too. :D
Deadly Sebastes assassin.

ez2cdave

Yeah, I know this thread is 3 years old . . .

If you want to learn to throw ANY conventional wihout Mag Control, get a Penn Squidder 149L, flush the bearings, load it up with 20lb Mono, and have at it . . .

Once you can CONTROL that, you can throw ANYTHING !

I love my Squidders . . .

Tight Lines !


GClev

#12
Avet Casting Hacks that didn't make the previous list of answers about non-MC casting - #taming crazy free spool.

Unlike other reels with rimmed spools and good thumb grips like the Penns, Avet spools from SX to HX are buried in the frame and can't be thumbed in a standard fashion.  Avet+thumb=sucks  Here's four choices for better thumbless Avet casting hoodoo.

If you prefer a full spool and a place to thumb it, like Torque or any other conventional reel, tough, buy a Torque.  An Avet full of line has no place for a thumb except on the line, which is bad, total bad juju.  After the launch, thumbing line messes up the line, messes up the cast, and messes up a thumb.  Microscopically, thumbing a spectra line, rubbing the line with anything, breaks micro-fibers.  Spectra is the same plastic as a single-use shopping bag.

Here's an idea. Put it in full free spool only after the 6 oz is headed down range.  In a lever drag, the preset knob is a half-baked adjustable static spool limiter that never wears out.  Casting with the drag is crude and confusing, but effective.  Placing a visible indicator on the preset knob to keep track is not a bad idea.  

non-MC  #1 - Casting with the drag lever in postion #1 - Pull the drag lever to the full free spool position and tighten the preset knob just until full free spool goes away and then add a little more drag, not less(static limiter mode).  Launch a few times and adjust the preset knob to slow the initial spin-up and then let it rip without any thumb.  As the limiter works better, throw harder with everything, longer rod, more weight, and a better cast like the 7 or 8 o'clock otb. More power.  Adjust the leader load angle until the rod gets heavy at launch and then back off the preset knob a tiny bit at a time and keep throwing until the drag is minimized but every full wind-up is consistently met with a confident smooth departure.  Quoting Cyndi, "Time after time."  Here's the trick.  Launch in static limiter mode and move the thumb quickly to the preset knob, where rubbing it back just one quick click immediately restores crazy free spool(in mid-flight), all the stuff of longer casts, an overspin preventer and a full free flight. Setup this way, the drag is too heavy to use effectively without a two click readjustment of the preset knob to the looser side.

non-MC #2  - Casting with the drag lever in position #2 - Bump the drag lever over the first hump on the cam and the spool moves right about .013.  Adjust the preset once again to snug, static limiter mode.  Cast the reel with the drag lever in #2 and then shift the lever back down to full free spool #1 after the 6 oz has sailed.  Shift fast and the cam bump won't catch the line. Set up this way, the drag is on the light side.

non-MC #3 Mid-ranges; boats and jigs, set the drag for the line test and leave the knob alone.  Lower the line level instead. Restating the obvious, casting consistently, thumb the spool, not the line, and never thumb the fluff. So setting up the sx, mx, jx, lx for casting half-strength arm casts from midships, hitting the water and not hooking the peoples, do something only half-stupid and throw away a hundred yards of capacity. Lower the line level on the spool a full quarter-inch (7mm) and make a place for a thumb to work magic on the side of the spool.  Then learn a new kind of casting, digging that thumbnail into the crack just so. That's right, Avet spools don't have a thumb ledge and thumbing them sucks.  Lose ~100 yards of capacity and thumb it sideways is reality.  In the name of consistency, insert #### here about reel spool design by engineers who don't cast.

non-MC #4 - Mag it a little at home your own self with a small 2- or 4-magnet array and some hot glue or JB Weld. No one will ever know.  The new NdFeB magnets come in sizes, shapes, and magnetizations, and are way way cool.






the rockfish ninja

Quote from: GClev on February 13, 2019, 06:17:36 PM
Unlike other reels with rimmed spools and good thumb grips like the Penns, Avet spools from SX to HX are buried in the frame and can't be thumbed in a standard fashion.  Avet+thumb=sucks  [/i][/b].






GClev, I gotta be honest with you, I don't post here much anymore and mainly lurk a little, but I just couldn't stomach the rest of that MASSIVE article about casting "hacks".

The first statement is so off base I couldn't take the rest seriously. I've been surf casting Avet MC's for going on a decade now and although they are not competition level distance casting reels like those expensive ABU surf reels, they are more than enough to get enough distance in your casts to get to fish.

They're EASY to cast, get the job done, and in no way awkward for thumbing the spool to control your casts. On top of that "thumbless" casting is for spinning reels as virtually all conventional reels, cast control or not, will require use of your thumb for some kind of control.

That said, I know your heart is in the right place but please understand this, AN EDUCATED THUMB IS A REQUISITE FOR CASTING A CONVENTIONAL REEL, mag or not, and no amount of "hacks" is going to change that.
Deadly Sebastes assassin.