accurate reels

are these reels that good. they kinda look cool.but there pricey.would they hold up to kayak fishing?


by the way nice site for the norcal locals .
 
www.accuratefishing.com

Stu has one and he loves it.  I'm sure he can give you additional detail.  Make sure you always use a leash when you're on the water!

I heard you need to sell your first-born to buy one of those puppies  

do they make them in left hand retrieve?

I lost a rod and reel that was leashed AND locked into a scotty rod holder.  I lost the rod holder too.  Kelp in the surf zone tangled around the pole and broke the leash as well as the rod holder.  So if the ocean want's it, it's going to get it.   I only use cheapish gear for that reason.

GTO,

I can tell that Xmas is approaching.  I have two lever drag reels, an Accurate 870 and an Avet SX.  

Neither are really suited for the rigors of kayak fishing because of the high level of abuse (subjected to SW) in addition to the higher risk of loss.

Take this with a grain of salt, but I believe there are two types of drags, wet (greased) and dry (non greased).  Supposedly the greased drags are less affected by moisture, while a dry drag is largely impacted.  Not positive, but I believe both the accurate and Avet are dry drags.  For Kayak fishing, wet drags are better.

However, the reason I went to these reels is for their smoooooth as butter drag, especially with spectra.  

I use abu6500's with mono for mooching salmon and was/is very happy with the performance.  However, this past year, having switched to spectra line, those reels just didn't work that well.  The issue is that spectra has almost zero stretch.  Because of this quality, it really magnified the jerkiness of the abu drag.  The Avet helped to resolve this jerkiness.  The other half of the solution was to move to a softer, slower action mooching rod too help absorb some of the stress.

If I were mooching shallow (less than 50ft), I'd avoid spectra and just use the abu, mono and a fast action mooching.  If I'm going deeper, I prefer the spectra on a softer rod.

For rockfish, I'm usually at least 60 ft down so I rely on spectra (accurate 870) to get down/stay down. The reel is great because the drag is smooth and holds up well on the long runs.  Its also fun fighting a fish with spectra because you feel everything from the fish.  After spectra, mono feels like a bungee cord and you really lose a lot of sensitivity.

If its in your budget, I would get a higher end reel (accurate) especially if you are using spectra.  If your going to fish mono for our local species of fish, its probably overkill.

PS, both of these reels have excellent drags, but the downside to the Avet is that it has difficulty adjusting the drag pressure in small increments.  The accurate does not have this issue and is great. The only downside to this reel is cost.

Stuart

Eric,

Trinidads are better.  Get the 16s or above.  Drags are larger.  If you are thinking about rockcod.  I would get a Calcutta.  It is nice to have the gears in gauge with a turn of the handle.  I know you want silver...but, gold is better.

Ken

I went to Allen Tani's reel repair work shop and replaced the drag washer on my Abu 6500AB (I removed the stupid AB as well). It is amazing how smooth the drag is now, night and day. I am getting a 6600 for Xmas and will do the same with it. I would recommend that for your 6500 Stu, you won't regret it!

thanks for the info

for the kayak thing I like using cheap rods but good reels. I love calcuttas for fresh water but I found the newell 220 to be the best for 15-20lb ocean stuff (salmon, rockcod, and beach casting striper). it casts/flylines better than calcuttas because it has a superlite graphite spool and no level wind or free spool adjustment. im used to it but some people don't like that you have to thumb the line when you retrieve. They are constructed mostly of graphite/plastic so they are light and rust is less of an issue. i have also found newell's to have a stronger and much longer enduring drag system than calcuttas which become 'jerky'. best of all newell's are easy to take apart. the old timer story goes that you can take them apart with a dime and thats still mostly true....best of all i think they still list for 129$

I will second Bill on the 6600.  I just had one pimped with an upgraded drag and it is amazing...super smooth.  I also forgot how nice these worked when the bearings still worked!

I just tore apart one of my Shimano TR200 reels last weekend to clean and lubricate it.  I have never done this in the three years I've owned it and it has seen frequent hard use on my kayak for three years.  

I was amazed at how little evidence of saltwater intrusion there was.  Everything was in very good shape and basically just needed some lube.  These are very good reels for the price... and pretty much bomb proof.  I'd recommend the TR100 as  a smaller and easier to handle model for anything less than 25# rods.  

Also... through one of my wholesale suppliers, I can get some pretty good prices on certain Newell, Shimano, Tica, and Alutecnos (Italian big game)reels.  Let me know if you're looking for something particular and I can check to see what kind of deal I can get for you.

Erik

All of the above is excellent advice.

Alan Tani has changed my opinion of reels.  He can take an inexpensive, reliable workhorse reel like an old Penn or well used ABU 6500 or 6600 and make'em smoother than most new expensive reels out-of-the-box.

i was trying to figure out why my ears were burning!  joel, thanks for the invite.  so this is where you guys have been hiding out, huh?  i'll keep an eye on this board from now on.  the place looks great.  it looks like you're off to a wonderful start.  

for going mano-a-mano in a kayak, i actually think the lowly jigmaster is a pretty good choice.  no bearings to rust out, single screw take-apart for easy cleaning.  you can get a narrow spool conversion kit from pennparts.com to turn it into a jigmaster 501 for less line and better balance.  don't forget a power handle.  i've got another all day reel repair seminar at the san jose fisherman's warehouse on january 20th.  can't make it????  figure out who's going and have them bring the reel.  

congratulations on the new board!  alan

Hey Alan glad to have you on board!

I can't recommend going to Alan's reel repair seminar enough, I only spent about half an hour there and $6 and basically got a brand new 6500 out of the deal. New drag washers and no stupid Anti-Backlash.

January 20th, just in time to "fix" the 6500 I am hopefully getting for X-mas. Alan loves Abu's by the way  

Jan 19th is my bday......I'll try to get the 20th off as well...great, maybe we can celebrate my bday at Fisherman's Warehouse....we can learn how to fix reels and eat cake   .....can someone buy me a cake with a stripper in it.....female please.....a good looking one would be nice.  

Count me in Alan!