Mike-in-WV

Here is another one for you... Called them this morning to ask about a spare spool for my Silver Max so I could load it with #12 test and just change the spools when I wanted to just like a spinning reel. I have #17 on it now. She told me that was no problem and said that the Silver Max spools sell for $25.00+ but that I would have a 40 percent discount so it would cost me $15.00+. The lady I talked to was very polite and helpful and I ordered the new spool. It's really fast and easy to change out the spools and saves me from buying another rod and reel. Mike

Yes, thats the way I adjust all my casting reels. Just a slight move of the tip sends it to the floor and it makes about a half turn when it hits but not enough to cause any back lash. I agree that casting in the wind can be a problem and it don't take much but if you watch your thumb control you can do it. Marty, Yes I'm using a practice plug and if the wind is bad enough I'm sure I will go back to using the brake or whenever it seems needed. Just wanted to see what some of you guys suggest and wanted to share the results of what I found out today. Now I will probably go back out tomorrow and get a big birds nest, ;D

Do we need the magnetic brake? Do you use it? I was doing some casting in the snow today using a 1/2 oz. casting plug with the magnetic brake set at the off position with no problems at all. The spool brake was set so that when the plug hit the floor the spool would stop dead . No problems casting at all. Most of the time I would have the magnetic brake set on about 5 with 10 being the highest for this setup. Now I'm not sure that I need it at all. Mike

Got my Silver Max the other day and loaded it with #17 Cajun Red and gave it a try. Runs smooth as silk and I really like the way the drag star clicks when you are making it tighter or looser. Awhile back a friend gave me a Abu Garcia 1003LP and it's great too but there was no manual with it. I emailed them and when they replied they sent me one on line in a PDF form to download. A friend of mine bought a new salt water surf casting reel and went fishing in Florida last week. He had oiled everything before fishing with it and some how lost the fancy nut that holds on the reels cranking lever. He called them when he got back to order another one and they are sending it right out free of charge. Now that's good service from a company that builds great reels! Mike

Have you tried a couple drops of oil on the worm gear?

I agree with this 100 percent but I also don't see how they improve anything and it's just butt ugly to me. Another gimmick maybe :-/

Abu Garcia Siver Max or Black Max.

Try #17 Cajun Red Casting and I think you will fall in love.

You haven't even got the reel, yet it's quality? :-? Burley, I have done allot of research on this reel and other Abu Garcia reels and have chatted with several people who own and use them now. No one has complained about them and in fact they have high praise for them. I own an Abu Garcia 1003 Lp that was given to me and believe me it performs flawlessly. With #17 test Cajun red casting and a 0.45 oz casting plug I'm reaching an average 42 yards. This is with a used Browning Matrix Graphite casting rod that is 6'-6", Med Hvy Act, 3/8-1 oz.Lure weight and #10-#20 test. I have no complaints with this reel and it is not one of there best by any means. As long as it does the job intended for it it doesn't have to do any more to keep me happy, Mike

I'm waiting for my Silver max to arrive any day now. They are a quality reel for the price but if the polymer frame bothers you then pay $50 -$100.00 more for a metal frame. The gears and bearing are still brass and stainless steel and the gears on the higher priced reels may have been polished or debured more. You can do that yourself or pay for it. The Pro-Max or Revo are great reels from what everyone say's. It just depends on how much you want to spend and what you feel comfortable using, Mike

For me it's a good test because I like to see and feel how it spins. Some of them remind me of car with a spark plug wire off or just way out of time,Lol. What I mean by that is some of them spin way out of round and shake bad. I like the one's you can spin and they are just as smooth as a well oiled machine. Nothing out of balance or out of round.

No problem on my end at all. Everyone has a right to there opinion and we are all just stating ours. Speaking of the Mitchell 300 they were the most popular reel around back in the 60's everyone had at least one on a pole. Bought my first one when I was about 16 in 1962 . Landed many nice bass with mine fishing a minnow or creek chub deep in Barberton , Ohio reservoir. We would sneak in there all the time. Now the original 300 Mitchells go for a small fortune on Ebay. I still have three of mine!, Mike

Muddy, Your right about that and I have seen it done with others too. Some of Cabelas reels sure look like Abu LP reels to me. Redsyn, Good idea about giving the reels to someone who would love to have it regardless of the price. My wife and I raised 7 kids and there was a time I didn't have enough money to buy a hook let alone a new fancy rod and reel,

It seems that several people on here keep referring to this reel as a $30.00 reel and one even said that they can't believe a $30.00 reel is going to last. It's not a $30.00 reel! It's a $60.00 reel on a half price sale by Bass Pro and they back there products. I'm not trying make an argument out of this tread but I am trying to make a point. NO ONE on here seems to know much about this reel but some are willing to jump right in and knock it without seeing it or trying it. It may be junk and I don't know other wise either but I do know that I have some lower end rod and reels that I have had for years and they have landed many nice fish. I also don't consider a reel that cost less than $100.00 as junk. Cost is not what makes the product good or bad. Quality, design and workmanship is. There are a few guys on here who say they are going to buy one. Maybe they will let us know what they think of them, Mike

;D Yea, the Elk and a few others around us. Someone just caught another monster Muskie out of the Elk a few weeks ago. The big Bucktails work for about anything in there. The white seems best for some reason. I was just trying to see what some of you guys like to use and how you like to fish them in early spring. Stay warm! Nothing but snow and ice here in Clay and 15 out this morning, Mike

You didn't do enough research. The biggest difference between the lower end Garcia LP reels and the Revo line is the frame material. The lower end reels are made of plastic, the Revo Line is made of Aluminum. Corvettes are made of plastic too but I don't see anyone calling them low end cars or cheap :-* ;D Just kidding. Just because it cost more doesn't prove that it is. Many times I have seen people pay big money for a name and not whats in it. Still, you guys who spend the big bucks on reels and rods make a good point about differences in some areas and not much of an argument in other areas. I will let you know how I like the Abu Garcia Silver Max and give a true opinion of it when it get it and try it out. I have one of there really low end reels that was given to me and it works flawlessly and as smooth as silk, Mike

It's early spring in late march early may, early morning, river is moving slow, water is about 15 deep in the pools with huge rocks and boulders in the bottom. River is about 75 yards wide in most spots and less in others. Pools and small inlets with overhanging branches a few stumps and downed trees all along the river edges. What are you going to throw at them and how are you going to fish it? Fast , slow, deep. shallow or top water?

Don't let the idea of a reel costing $60.00-$70.00 make you think it's junk. There is no need to spend $100.00-$300.00 of a reel unless you just want to impress the fish and they don't care whats on the other end of the bait or how well you reel them in. Many times a reel costing in the lower end will be great and last for years. Many of them have the same brass gears and stainless ball bearings as there more expensive cousins, just not as many of them. Before buying a reel do some Internet searching on Google and you may be surprised to read all the good things people have to say about them including some of testing done by the pros. I just ordered a "Abu Garcia Silver Max " for less then $70.00 and after doing the research on it I found out that it has the same components as there other newer high end bait casting reels that people on here have been raving about, Just not as many bearings. I'll ask the first Bass I catch with it if he cares that the reel he was caught with was less than $70.00 ;D, Mike

Can you Imagen trying to untangle a back lash with one of them reels? ;D

WOW!! Thats no $30.00 reel. It's a $60.00 reel on sale and it's really a nice reel! It has 5 Bearings and it's a smooth operator. A friend of mine has one and it is really a nice reel for anyone!. Bass Pro is just having a half price sale. Nice find!, Mike

It also sounds like you don't have the reels adjusted right or your not stopping the spool in time. You may just need a little more practice too. Hard to say without watching you. I just started using a casting reel a few weeks ago after not using one for a long time. It took awile to get the hang of it again but it was worth it. , Mike

Abu Garcia Sets New .U. S. Casting Record SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa ­ Using an Abu Garcia 5500C3CT Mag Elite, Tommy Farmer of Team North Carolina set a new United States casting record of 839.25 ft at the SportCast USA Southeast Regional in Wilmington, N.C., on April 4. Farmer's record cast (equivalent to the length of 2.79 football fields) shattered the previously long-standing US record of 821 ft. Farmer's record-breaking cast came with the Abu Garcia reel casting .28mm diameter monofilament line and 125g sinker

Thats good to know! I like this #17 Casting line real well. Today i ordered a new "2008 Abu Garcia Silver Max" casting reel and I will probably spool it with the same thing or maybe go down to #12 on it. I have casted this stuff all over my yard the past couple of days in the wind, rain and snow just having fun . Hope to pitch a few in the river this week end. Just don't have the time right now, Mike

Muddy has the right attitude here and I agree with him 100 percent. You don't need to go crazy spending $100.00-$200.00 for a fishing rod to "feel" the lure. I want to feel the fish messing with it and I can do that with most rods costing way less than what some of you call a cheap rod! Feeling spinners and a weed can be done also on cheap rods. I have fished with high end rods and reels and much lower than most of you talk about in Flyrods, spinning rods , casting and ultralights and never had a problem feeling or landing a fish, big or small. Yes, an expensive sensitive rod is great but not necessarie by any stretch of the imagination. To many other fishing gadgets I can spend that money on, like sesitive lures Mike

This reminds me of a true story I would like to share with you guys. When I was just a kid (about 10-12 ) my Dad taught me to use a Fly Rod and we spent many vacations fishing WV, Kentucky, PA and Mich for Rainbows and Brook trout. One time we were camping and fishing way back in the hills for Brockie's . My Dad had the best split bamboo flyrod and the best reel you could buy back then (He saved his pennies forever to buy that outfit) Any way we did not catch anything in two days and as we were heading back to camp one evening we came across 3 local kids about 12 years old fishing with sticks with a line tied to them and a bear hook with with small worms on it. They had about 15 big trout between them! ;D. It's not the equipment it's how you use it, Mike