Avet reels

seascene

Crew Member
Apparently made in USA .. looking for a model for halibut 300' plus. Anyone using a model of Avet and happy with it... thanks
 
I have an MXL that I have 50# braid on. I use it for salmon (with a mono top shot), lingcod, halibut, and tuna. Pretty damn versatile reel!
 
I picked up a couple of these last fall and solar they have been great MXJ5.8 G2
 
I have several Avets - JX, JX raptor and HX - all are excellent reels but for Halibut I would only suggest the 2 speed models
I also have several Okuma Metaloid - 5ii and 12ii - for the price, I would look at the Okuma's - they are equally nice and $100-150 less
 
I have small Avet; SX6/4. It is very light weight. Drag is smooth. Overall the reel is not close to Shimano TLD smoothness though.
 
... thanks
I have small Avet; SX6/4. It is very light weight. Drag is smooth. Overall the reel is not close to Shimano TLD smoothness though.

That reel looks like size and function for me... will check it out on line.

Tight lines to all for opinions ... thanks
 
Overall I like my Avet, but there's a few things I only found out after purchase:

I thought I was buying a no maintenance brick sh*thouse of a reel, which wasn't exactly right. It needs maintenance, you'll want to take it apart every year to keep it in good condition. You can send it (USA) to them and they'll maintain/replace parts for a reasonable fee. Go check Alan Tani's site for DIY info: http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=13735.0

Ease off the drag at the end of fishing, and give it a fresh water rinse, and it will last.

There is a minimal delay in feeling when disengaging freespool (like a quarter turn of the handle). That a nit-pick, doesn't bother me any, but have heard others mention/complain about it.

If you get the SX, be aware of it's drag rating (100% fine for Salmon - not recommended for halibut). Some Avets will eventually require a particular bearing replacement if you're working the drag hard. Avet, to their credit, cares for their product and has a history of making parts available to customers. I don't mind Okuma, but I doubt their parts availability will be anywhere near as good.
 
Overall I like my Avet, but there's a few things I only found out after purchase:

I thought I was buying a no maintenance brick sh*thouse of a reel, which wasn't exactly right. It needs maintenance, you'll want to take it apart every year to keep it in good condition.

This is true, my 2 year old reel has been in the shop 3 times.
they are great when working, but do require TLC.
 
I had a small Avet (cant remember the model) but almost every time I got hung up or jigged a 600g cod jig the line (50 lb power pro) would bury itself and it was impossible to fix. It was spooled extra tight and still screwed up. After the 3 rd time of wasting a reel full of line I gave it to my son and he uses it for perch fishing.
 
This is common with small diameter braided lines. It isn't the reels fault what so ever. If stuck on bottom cleat it off so that the line can't dig into itself. Use lighter jigs or go to 65 lbs. Your son has an awesome reel to treasure for the rest of his life. Cheers :)

If stuck on bottom try wrapping line around handle on crescent wrench to give a pull..also works great
;):rolleyes:
 
This is common with small diameter braided lines. It isn't the reels fault what so ever. If stuck on bottom cleat it off so that the line can't dig into itself. Use lighter jigs or go to 65 lbs. Your son has an awesome reel to treasure for the rest of his life. Cheers :)
I fish the narrows north of race point so the heavier jig is required. Sometimes you get hung up and before you can react you have 300' of line out. Run back up to get some line back and try to save a $25 jig. My Penn reels don't have the problem that my Avet had. I think the shape of the spool has something to do with it.
 
I have Avet SXJ5.3 which I use and alternate with my Islanders for salmon fishing loaded with 50lb test Power Pro. I find they are excellent. No creep when trolling and with an ultra smooth drag the biggest advantage over centre-pin is that when a fish heads for the surface from down deep like an Exocet, or, when a fish does a 180 and heads towards the boat full tilt you can keep up with line retrieval. I just can't always keep up with centre-pin! In the case of the SXJ5.3 where you can buy four for the price of a single Islander TR3 they are superb value. Just like anything else used in saltwater they require some regular maintenance; what doesn't?
 
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I fish the narrows north of race point so the heavier jig is required. Sometimes you get hung up and before you can react you have 300' of line out. Run back up to get some line back and try to save a $25 jig. My Penn reels don't have the problem that my Avet had. I think the shape of the spool has something to do with it.

I looked at Penn ... the ones I saw were all made in China... Does Penn still manufacture some models in USA?
 
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