multiplier reels

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 7:58 pm

Hi all, this is my first post on the forum.so here go’s. I’m thinking of buying a multiplier for beach fishing and not to sure what to go for, cost is always a problem but I would be interested it what you all use please.

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 9:16 pm

Welcome to the forums I will move your post to the reel forum where it may get a better response.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:12 pm

Hi killer welcome to the forum,I'm also looking at buying my first multiplier and have decided on one of the daiwa slosh's,not a cheap reel but something that is sure to last.

DAZ big grin

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 2:06 pm

if you will be fishing over clean ground then a 2nd hand abu 6500 would be ideal, preferably a green mag elite. the older 2nd hand ones are better than the newer ones and will be cheaper. they are as easy to cast as a fixed spool if set up right.
if the ground isnt so clean then a 525 mag wouldnt be a bad reel to start out with. again, the older ones seem to be the preferred reel but the newer ones arent bad either.
the 525mag would be a very good all round reel but personally i found the abu easier to use when i started out with multis.

avoid level winds like the plague as they will cut down distance and are a nightmare if a bit of weed is on the leader knot. you will pick up laying the line yourself after a few casts.

another thing to avoid is the cheaper non magged reels, you will not be able to cast them unless your cast is perfectly smooth and they will turn you off multis for life. too many people have bought these
"just to see how they get on"
and get nest after nest and end up replacing them and spending money twice

Regular Joined: Jul 26, 2009 Posts: 343 Location: Surrey

I also think the 6500 CT is a good bet, though I don't agree that it has to be a mag. I get on perfectly well with plain inertial brakes on a bog standard reel.

The Akios reels are also seem pretty good, and they now do a LH wind, which is eminently sensible for the right hander.

I'm not sure 2nd-hand is worthwhile though. They tend to go for quite high prices; if you can afford it I would plump for a new one.

As for comparisons with FS reels... Casting slightly better distance, more compact, but a pain to wind in.

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:51 pm

Thanks for all the info as I am left handed.Now I know what I'm looking for.

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 6:16 pm

Well in for a penny in for a pound, as they say, what would be the best bet. As I’m left handed and I only wont to buy one pleases?

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:56 am

I have two Abu 6500s, an old one without mag braking and a newer one with. I also have a Daiwa Slosh which does not have mag braking. Apart from the mag reel being immediately adjustable, I cannot notice any vast difference when casting. Then again, I cannot cast 200yds + so perhaps my opinion is not worth anything?

Right handed people wind with their left hand when using a F/S reel but their right hand with a multi. I cannot see why a Left handed person cannot adapt in the same way, you will be severely limiting your choice if you are looking for a left handed multi.

The Penn 525 / 515s are brilliant reels but expensive, the Daiwa Sloshs are virtually bulletproof but don't have mags and are about half the price.
I like my Abu's but they don't have the winching power of the 525s or Slosh's (Not that you are supposed to use a reel as a winch, but sometimes ...) so they are used on clean beaches only.

If I was buying a reel now and could only have one, I would go for a Penn 525, if I could afford it, if it was out of my price range I would get an SL20SH

Frank

Regular Joined: Jul 26, 2009 Posts: 343 Location: Surrey

Boxerman wrote:

Right handed people wind with their left hand when using a F/S reel but their right hand with a multi. I cannot see why a Left handed person cannot adapt in the same way, you will be severely limiting your choice if you are looking for a left handed multi.

Frank

Previously there were no LH wind choices in casting reels. Now there is - and reports suggest the Akios is as good as the Abus. Yes, you can adapt, but the only reason for doing so is if you have no choice. Now you do.

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:24 am

To the best of my knowledge, Abus have always been available in left hand wind. I've also read that the Akios reels are not that good - certainly not as good as the media reckon, but I have no personal experience of them.

The point I was making is that the choice of left hand wind reels is very limited compared with right hand wind reels and that the OP should not limit himself to choose amongst only those reels which are available in lhw as one of these may not be suited to the use he wishes to put it to.

Frank

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:57 am

i read a post on another forum from someone who tested the akios reels before they went into mass production. he said himself and others reccommended a couple of very slight modifications and it could have been a very good reel comparable with ones much more expensive. he said akios never bothered with the changes and that is why they arent as good as they could have been, pity really.

as far as im aware all the abus that were left hand were also with a levelwind, this was an easy and cheap job to remove the level wind and to fit a bar to keep the reels strenght.

Regular Joined: Jul 26, 2009 Posts: 343 Location: Surrey

I've seen quite a few reviews of the Akios (as I've been thinking of getting one) and they are all favourable. The company was started by an ex-Abu man, so presumably he knows a bit about reel design.

All LHW Abus do indeed have level winds; the Akios is the first LHW CT I believe. Yes, you can remove the level wind, but it does involve a bit of hacksawing I think. Personally I'd rather buy the Akios.

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:25 pm

I would sugest a proper conversion kit rather tha removing the levelwind with a hacksaw as this would only serve to weaken the reel cage.
Cheers
keith big grin

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 5:43 pm

rabbi2 wrote:

I would sugest a proper conversion kit rather tha removing the levelwind with a hacksaw as this would only serve to weaken the reel cage.
Cheers
keith big grin

You fit the conversion bar first Keith, then hacksaw the top rail off. Russ at Blakdog does a tutorial for the kits he sells.

Frank

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:04 pm

Thanks for the heads up Frank, only I have seen guys who have just taken off the level wind.
Cheers
keith big grin