some people love them some people hate them most say best bang for the buck thats what I'm getting out of it. I'm getting ready to pull the trigger myself for them
Mural Painter/ Make Gonzo Butt Caps for all rod builders.
What I am wondering since I want one. The sds 30, ex30 ,trx 30? Is there much difference than topless? Because of the drag ability on the trx, will it last longer if I only use 27-40lbs of drag if that?
I fish all Avet's offshore and love them, have landed tuna in excess of 200lbs on them without a problem. I run 4 EXW30's with 80lb JB hollowcore and 80lb momoi top shots, roughly 540yards total, 2 50SDS with 100JB and 100momoi, roughly 750-800yards total, and 2 EXW50's with 100JB and 100 momoi, roughly 950-1000yards total.
The older Avet's(4/0) weren't that great, they were work horses but had flaws in the design, the new series(30,50,80) are great now and I have 0 complaints about them. They are a little louder I feel, but are work horses and the louder drag is nice if your fishing at night and half your crew is asleep...they won't be for long.
I do like the SDs versions a lot, a topless frame is my favorite, it allows the angler to apply thumb pressure safely, do that on a top frame reel and if your not careful your finger can slip and get lodged under the frame, not a common occurance, but possible, and with inexperienced guys on my boat often it is nice to avoid that when possible. We fish typically with 15-18lbs of drag, but I've had them over that a few times, battled a fish for over 2 hrs at 34lbs this season only to pop the hook next to the boat, but the reel was not the issue, inexperienced crew was. Reel was a beaste and performed flawlessly. As far as a TRX, would not be my personal choice, it is slightly heavier, making you do more work, and the wider frame allows the reel to "wobble" more in a belt, narrower reels will wobble less. Only reason I would ever opt for a TRX is if I were fishing giants or goliath grouper, everything else can be handled with the regular versions. As far as drags, I've heard guys with TRX's saying their drags wear quicker then their regular reels, cannot say in person, only fished 1 TRX a friend had but do not have enough experience with it to see how it wore over time. As long as your operating within the reels drag limit it should not have a problem, but heavier drags will require maintenance sooner, especially on the drag, that is with any reel though with that type of use. Are drag's that heavy really necessary, for most out there no, realistically if your over 1/3 your lines rating you have too much drag period. I never exceed that no matter what, if the fish is still pulling and we cannot keep up, were over matched, he can have my line before I break the reel, unless there is lots of money on the line.
I've owned my Avet 30's for 3 season's now and have not had a single problem now, the 50's are newer. I switched from penn's and TLD's, wanted a metal frame over graphite otherwise I would have kept the tld's. I've had bad luck with Penn's lately, especially service so enough was enough, too many issues with the v series, too many break, the SW and TW's are work horses though, only penn's i'll ever allow on my boat.
Since I purchased my Avet's, all of my regular crew have switched their gear over as well to Avet after being impressed with the reels. Only other reel I'd consider offshore are Tiagra's, but they weigh more and cost more, for my use not worth it.
As far as build quality, Avet's are tough, all aluminum bodies and parts throughout, they cut out the plastic junk and the white mtal other brands use at time's to cut costs.
Good luck with the reels, I'm sure you will love them as much as I do, they have the loudest clicker I've heard which I love, and have proven to be work horses and have landed some very nice fish. Post up some pictures of some fish and the reels as well as your comments and thoughts after a few fights!!
taking a hard look at all of the two speed lever drag reels out there, here would be my recommendations. it you are going to fish a reel until it dies and never be able to service it yourself, i would recommend the tiagra. straight out of the box, i think it offers the best reliability, though not perfect.
if you are looking for decent performance and a reel that is the EASIEST to service, then i would point you in the direction of the first generation penn internationals.
if you have no problem getting in and out of a reel, then you can pretty much choose anything you want!
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
