barker Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 hey all, i was wondering if anyone owns or has had experience with any of the avet range of reels? i am looking at the MXL model for its larger line capacity, but as a well balanced pairing for a 15 - 20lb setup. my goal is to use this as my kingy combo, giving some extra drag capability to my existing tld5. i find my tld5 is smooth enough with strike drag but the drag curve really tightens up quick and becomes sticky when pushed beyond the strike button for reigning in the usual king rampage. i am wondering of the avet drag smoothness throughout the full range and their claims of higher drag tensions at strike while retaining freespool. i am looking at the 4.5:1 ratio for that little bit extra pulling power over the 6.3:1. any feedback or other suggestions of reels would be most appreciated. barker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothe Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 Me and my mate both have evets, he has the mxj 6.3:1, i have the 4.5:1 and we both swear by them. Should not have a problem with the kingies with this type of reel. A good investment and trouble free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barker Posted October 20, 2007 Author Share Posted October 20, 2007 red herring, thanks for your prompt reply mate, are the MXJ's the narrower spool model? if so do you guys use them for jigging or as allrounders? also - what line capacities are you running them with and how do you rate their drags for smoothness? with the speed ratio's have you noted your 4.5 to be any more powerful for harder fights or does your mates one perform as well with the 6.3? plenty of questions but thanks already for your opinions, barker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fish33 Posted October 20, 2007 Share Posted October 20, 2007 I have the Black Magic version of the SX, top little reel. I use it for casting from the beach and rocks. Very easy to service, massive drag washer, very free running spool and so far has proved itself a pleasure to use, good to cast with and just gets on with the business when you hook up. I want an MX, its right at the top of my wish list. Gary Testing out the SX to see how it cast after I just serviced it. 149.6m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barker Posted October 20, 2007 Author Share Posted October 20, 2007 gary, thanks mate for your reply, only good reports on the avets by what i have read and heard. the only decision i am lingering over is the choice between the 4.5:1 and the 6.3 ratio models. your SX has the 5:1 ratio i think and i would prefer this for the torque and good retrieval speed, however the MX comes in either 4.5 or 6.3. i am wondering if the 6.3 lacks any in lifting power, otherwise it would be the better all rounder. mostly i cast with threadlines, but i am learning to cast overheads and the 6.3 would be right up that alley when the confidence is up in the future. thanks again, steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant180 Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 I have a JX 2 speed and a Black Magic SX. The SX ratio at 5:1 is misleading due to the small spool diameter. This means that very little line is retrieved with each turn of the handle. I have tried bottom bouncing 40 metres of water with it and it sucked. For metal lures i imagine it would be hopeless if you wanted to retrieve them at speed. Despite this one shortcoming it is a bulletproof little reel that i can't foresee myself EVER having a problem with. The JX 6/3 is equally bulletproof, holds plenty of 60lb braid and 40lb leader (or 80 for jigging), has GREAT line retrieve speed in high gear,and if its smacked by a monster i can whack it in low speed and just crank the fish up. Like all lever drag reels that i've ever seen, the avets become harder to wind at high drag settings. 2 speed is worth EVERY CENT. The only people who say its useless are those who don't own 2 speed reels. If you are not an extremely experienced caster, you WILL need to mag your avet, as they freespool so well that they are HARD as hell to cast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barker Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 (edited) thanks ant180, these are very good points you have bought up about the retrieval speeds of smaller diameter spools, (even if full of line) as with this combo i have got to remember my original goals. medium sport for kingies with 15-20lb, and leave the casting and high speed retrieves for other dedicated combos. i think the 4.5:1 MXL is more suited to what i am trying to alleviate with the tld5. i agree with your comments on two speeds for their versatility when really pushing the limits of a line class as i have a 2 speed 50lb setup and find that invaluable at times. i am pleased to hear of your thoughts on the avet reliability and performance under pressure and thank you for your reply. steve. ps. could anyone vouch for the smoothness of the drag once you have pushed past the strike area, and is there any form of indent or something to feel when you are at a certain spot on the lever travel. ie. can you feel a bump or something when you push the lever up from free through bait through strike and on? sort of like the buttons on the tld's. Edited October 21, 2007 by barker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fish33 Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 (edited) I cant comment on the smothness of the drag once pushed past strike, I run 7lbs of drag at strike and the SX maintains total free spool and that setting doesn't inhibit retrieve. There are click stops on the SX at the bait and strike settings that are fairly easy to feel. Sorry I should have mentioned that I have magged the SX, they are castable without the mags but cant be cast as far or with the same amount of confidence as a magged Avet. Gary Edited October 21, 2007 by fish33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barker Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 thanks gary, i was wondering how to know when the lever was at strike, from the photos i have seen the writing seemed to be the only indication on the sideplate. 7lb of strike sounds great as compared to my 5lb at strike on the tld. they make the 9lb at strike call on the site for the MX. what line class are you fishing on your SX? cheers, steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fish33 Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 (edited) I am using .37 20lb mono. The SX is capable of more drag than 7lbs, My SX gets close to 10lb and still has almost total free spool. Dont believe the Avet company blurb about unique cast control, Avets have no cast control what so ever. Gary Edited October 21, 2007 by fish33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etay Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 thanks gary, i was wondering how to know when the lever was at strike, from the photos i have seen the writing seemed to be the only indication on the sideplate. 7lb of strike sounds great as compared to my 5lb at strike on the tld. they make the 9lb at strike call on the site for the MX. what line class are you fishing on your SX? cheers, steve. There is a "bump", it's just not on the sideplate, it is actually on the lever itself where it attaches to the reel (You can only see it when you take it apart). Don't worry, there are definite "draguations" between freespool, baitfeed, strike and full. I have an sx and a big ex 4/0 2 speed, and at full, the drag is still smooth, no stickiness whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netic Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 (edited) I have the LX 4.61....awesome reel with some good drag power.... Have you guys seen the Alan Tani service?? See the avet rebuilds on the site http://www.pierfishing.com/resources/index...d=reel_rebuilds Edited October 21, 2007 by netic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yockman Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Used a couple for the first time yesterday on a mate's boat. We were bottom bashing in about 85 metres for trumpeter. Started out with a smaller gold one, which i thought was brilliant, then picked up a larger silver model which was outstanding. Sorry I don't know the model of these, but will find out i you want. The larger one had a very comfortable offset handle. We were mugging them all day and this was the kind of thing we were catching, though not always four at a time as in this shot. Went home and checked a few out on ebay. Great things. Cheers, Yockman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant180 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Great trumpeter! Yeah as you push the lever off freespool you feel a definite detent at the bait setting (which basically just slightly pre-loads the bearings and does not quite engage the drag if your drag settings are fairly normal), then another at strike which is very definate and then the stop at full. The bait/cast control is pretty useless as unless you run really high strike drag the reel will still pretty much freespool as well as it does in the freespool setting. On the older model avets the detents were very strong and too much for my liking (need a hard push to get past the detents, but if you get one cheap and swap around the belleville washers for more drag then they are OK). If you are keen on cheap(er) avet reels i can highly recommend buying one from the USA. Unless you do something really silly they are indestructable and any australian warranty is pretty much useless when you consider the enormous price differences (esp 2 speeds!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barker Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 thanks all for your replies, lrrr - good onya mate for the info on the draguations and the full range drag smoothness, just what i wanted to hear. netic - how good is the info on that link you put up mate - maybe controversial to some - but bloody informative for others. have you had yours apart or serviced and found any of this saltwater intrusion? sounds like better informed than mislead. as suggested, would be better to grease drag and service regularly. maybe they have been abused and poorly looked after, but easily repaired as noted. as always though - prevention is better than cure. thanks also for your thumbs up. yockman - ta mate for your input - experience with the reels and the positive report on their lifting power is good. best is that you went home and checked em' out yourself. even happy at bottom bashin' in 85m with what sounds to be the SX (smaller) model is encouraging. could you tell me of the offset handle you describe - is it the soft rubber trinidad type handle or was it the hard plastic torpedo style? thanks again ant180 for your opinions and drag graduations / performance conformation. i am doing the rounds of the southside stores and am finding them stocked with the black magic models only. these are advertised to have an extra thick black anodising- how does that sound? otherwise same-same. the two black magic models available seem to be the BSX and the BMX. from what i can tell the BMX model i am after is the equivalent of the MXL 4.5:1 as it has a line capacity of roughly 360yards of 20lb or 330m of 10kg. has anyone got one of the black magics and does this sound about right? where did you guys get your reels from, where they orders or were they at local shops for you? i would be very interested to hear from any sydney or wollongong members for local purchases or anyone with a good order experience. thank you all for your help, barker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netic Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Mate Alan Tani is a very well respected man in the USA when it comes to Upgrading and serviign reels and seeing Avets are a US brand i would trust in his opinion.....my is still new but i will be doing want he stays soon to hopefully improve my drag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barker Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 (edited) damn straight netic, taking note of experienced people in all walks of life is a sensible thing. it is not hard to realise he is being respectful of a good product and offering to tell others of his findings. offering ways to alleviate the problems is rare - mostly people just winge and bag a product. an experienced man and willing to help in my books is as good as they come. thanks again for putting up that link. steve. ps. i was just reading your reply and my wording in the previous reply. i was in no way questioning the validity of your link and alans findings - i was expressing my praise for his willingness to inform and help others from his own experiences. 'how good is the info....' - as in that is great of him to inform and you to post the link. no offense intended, only respect and thanks. Edited October 22, 2007 by barker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy0884 Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I have a black magic BMX... spooled with 50lb Fins braid and an 80lb Goodger wind on.... its my favourite kingie killer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barker Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 thanks sammy, looks like a nice setup you got there mate. can i ask what the line class rating of your rod is? steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yockman Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Hi again barker, here are a couple of links to the models I was using on Sunday http://www.avetreels.com/avet_pro_ex.html http://www.avetreels.com/avet_lx_2spd.html Good luck with your decision, Yock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netic Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 No worries Barker, i took it the way you intended...... Mate when buying your avet do your research......first off buy overseas and save some money and get access to stronger models not available in the Black magic range..... I looked at all of them and i wanted something i could use for kings in the harbour but also wanted something powerful also to use on bigger fish down south.... I chose the Lx 461 because of its line capacity and the fact that it has alot more drag strength then the aussie models... The models that Yockman listed are probably not suited to harbour fishing... The pro ex is Avets version of a Game reel which is comparative if not better then a Tiagra.......Definate overkill for estuary kingy fishing and if i was gonna be buying a game reel like that i would much rather the Accurate version........ The second reel is a 2 speed which once again you wont need inside the harbour, the second speed comes in handy when you have a fish that has 300 metres of line on you and he wont bugde......thats not a kings style.....he is always moving...either towards you or away from you are a fast pace...I have 2 speed tiagras and the second gear never gets used......and i will only use it on a massive fish...say big blue or Mako... I will posted some pics tonight of my reel but i have matched it with a Rapala Braid composite overhead rod 10-20kg class and put Daiwa Sensor braid on it.....With the rapala rod on it it feels awesome and im sure it will soon become my fav outfit....yet to be christened as i only spooled it up this week.... Let us kno which way you go but im sure you will be extremely please with any avet reel you purchase.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etay Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 This is regarding the newest models of Avets... I believe avet made a few changes in direct response to Alan Tanis findings about salt intrusion into the drags... anyway, my mate bought an sx from the states late last year, and when I clocked the drag, it was well over the advertised "14lb" at full, more like 24 lb at full and 12-14 lb at strike! This was well over mine which is an older model, so, I decided to pull it apart and see what gives. Well, what avet is doing now is glueing the drag onto the spool, to prevent salt water intrusion. With only one side of the drag washed able to rotate, this has the effect of greatly increasing the drag pressure. So, if you ever want to change the drag washer, that may be a little problematic! I guess you could dig it out and use some actetone or something to get rid of the glue... I think this modification was a little unnecessary. I've opened mine up a lot and never found salt intrusion. But I also dunk mine in a bucket for 1 min after every trip. Just be aware that at these high drag settings, it is also slightly harder to crank, but it doesn't seem to affect the casting control (if you have good braid on it). I've found that they cast OK if you have a large weight (>50g), but with small lures/sinkers, they are a nightmare to control. I do most of my casting when the lever is on the "baitfeed" setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy0884 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 thanks sammy,looks like a nice setup you got there mate. can i ask what the line class rating of your rod is? steve. The line class on the Rod is 8-15kg, but it happily takes 8-10kg of drag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netic Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Here is some pics of my Avet from the US Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barker Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 my thanks again to all, netic - have had a good look around the net and see what you mean with regards to pricing and the availability of models from local shops. i did find a fella in south oz with most of the models available and at good prices too. mostly the shops around here stock only the black magics - though i have found the BMX to be the equivalent to the MXL 4.5 with the same overall weight, features and line capacity. i really don't want to lose sight of the intended use for this combo and believe the MXL 4.5:1 to be the closest to achieving my goals. i have other dedicated jigging and 30 & 50lb outfits, so to attain my desire for a more powerful and smoother drag, while keeping an overall balanced feel with this combo would be a good result. thanks for the pics of your setup - they do look the part as well as doing the job don't they. lrrr - thanks mate for your notes on the upgrade avet has made with the washer - very interesting way of solving the intrusion problem that probably only very heavy reel abuse could cause anyway. by the sounds of it, if treated okay, saltwater intrusion would be minimal. i would rather the capability of the two faces of the washer for wear and the ease of replacement if ever needed. would take the advice of greasing the washer if intrusion made it necessary. sammy - thanks mate with the info on the rod for your combo. feels good to fish an outfit to its limit and see what it can do. this fishing game is good fun when you've got good tools to fight with. thanks for the links yockman. cheers all, barker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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