Boogey Man

Pure Fishing bought them out, that's what happened. I was an Abu for life guy. Years ago, the Black Max, Silver Max and Pro Max were round Swedish made reels, not Walmart blister pack reels. They had one series called the Tournament Pro, it was one low profile, and several round reels. The low profile one actually had dual breaking and a flipping switch built into the thumb bar. Weighed about 10 ounces but those older Swedish made reels were built like a tank. Man, can you imagine a Swedish made Revo. Now THAT would be quite a reel.

Me too. Plus it's cool to say BFS. When I started out tho it was called RTS. Right Thumb System. It was alarmingly cheap too. Then I saw this new kinda rod and reel. It was an odd looking apparatus. The guides were underneath the rod. So was the reel. The spool didn't rotate either it had a wire thing, the only thing I could think to call it was a bail. You flipped it over and when you cast, it let the line come off the spool. Then when you started reeling, this bail thingy flipped back over and wrapped the line back around the spool. A miraculous invention!!! We decided to call them spinning combos!???

Daiwa Fuego CT on the big auction site for $67.

Nope, you fellas got it all wrong. It's not Shimano, it's not Daiwa... KastKing is now the official reel of BR????? Seriously, I don't think you could go wrong. Both great brands.

Missed that part in the original post?

Slightly over $100, but you can usually find a Lews Tournament MB on the auction site NIB for around $108. Awesome little reel.

Then they came out with this one. It was the Eon EXL 3600. I bought it too. Shortly after that, I quit buying Abu's???

I had one of those lol. One of the worst reels I ever had. As far as the rubber getting sticky on the reel, mine did the same thing in its original box. Almost like it was melting. The brakes were extremely temperamental, some times it was like there was no braking and it would cast a mile, then the next cast would go nowhere. I could hold the reel and twist the whole gear side plate and handle. It was supposed to have a disengaging level wind. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't. The planetary gears were actually a pretty simple design, but it was a nightmare opening up the reel to get to them. After I decided I was never going to use it again, I wanted to see the inside of it lol. I traded it in at BPS during the spring classic trade in. It may end up being a great reel for you, but I personally wouldn't invest much money in it.

I found an Abu Garcia 2017 catalog online, it had the new MGX, MGX Extreme and the new ALX, but still had the Gen 3 Revos. Odd that they would publish it if they are updating the Revos....

If it will cast a lure and reel back in, go fishing with it and have fun. RW is just sour Pinnacle didn't give him one to review?.

My panfish rig is a 6ft med/light Berkley Lightning Rod, $40, my reel is A Shimano Sienna 1000, $30. Nice little rig for Rooster Tails, small jigs and such. In the last few years, I've gotten more into UL fishing. It's great for those days when the bass aren't cooperating and you just want to feel something pulling on your line. Actually I catch a lot of bass that way too. Not very big ones, but on that rig they feel like it, lol.

I've had an Apex Elite for little of a year. From day one it made a clicking noise on retrieve under load. I sent it back to Ardent (they have a 3 year warranty), they replaced the pinion, main gear and spool and all was well. I understand every company has problems with a product so I wouldn't judge them based on one reel. From the first email I sent them about the reel, I received an email back from customer service within one hour. Communication was great the whole time. I think this is company that will stand behind their product. This reel will cast a mile, actually will outcast my other pricier reels. All my other reels had centrifugal breaking and I wanted to try one with mag breaks only. The breaking system on this reel is very effective, even one click on the mag break dial makes a noticeable difference in casting, so fine tuning of the breaks is very easy to dial in. I had read a lot of online reviews before I bought it and most of them were very positive. Very lightweight, palms well. I'll give it til the end of this season to see how it holds up with more use, but right now I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

We could give better answers if we knew what techniques you were planning to use it for. The Mickey Mouse is used by most fishermen here as an up close flipping stick. Also doubles as a close quarters spinnerbait rod. Has a nice soft tip with plenty of backbone. Is yours the standard Mickey Mouse or the Mickey Mouse Signature Series?

X2 on the Pinnacle Primmus, it's a sweet little reel that doesn't get much attention. Can be found online for about $150-$160 NIB. The Lews Tournament Pro is hard to beat and can be found on the bay for about $150, and the new Lew's Tournament MB which is very close in performance to the TP can be found for about $110.

It was a spinnerbait hook? Ouch, that's a big ol' hook lol.

Maybe combine that with bass fishing, call it extreme trolling lol. SirSnookalot will be along shortly to tell us how it works for 'cuda, lol. I jest, I jest... Hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day.

I don't know Hootie, little hard balls flying around, sticks with metal clubs at the end...people driving around in carts after having a cold one or 12...sounds like a sure fire recipe for disaster if you ask me lmao. (also just kidding lol)

that sucks. We all talk about tackle, technique and fish catches here but we've all had those little (or big lol) oops moments. I've had a lot of trips where the screw ups were more memorable than the rest of the trip. Hope you and your dad get back out on the water soon.

Had a buddy of mine after using his pliers to unhook a bass throw his pliers in the water instead of the bass. Heard this big "plunk", then a few expletives, so I looked back to see him holding the bass and explaining to me what he did lol.

From taking the MB apart, everything "looks" the same as the TP but as far as the actual longevity, time will tell. After your post, I did check few things on both reels, the TP has no movement on the handle grips when pulling them in and out, the MB has a slight bit of movement of the grips sliding back and forth on their posts. Also when pulling out on the actual handle and star drag, their is a slight bit of in and out movement on the MB, none on the TP. To me, it doesn't effect the performance of the reel, but may indicate the TP is the more refined of the two, which it should be given the price difference.

I've actually missed the line guide on the reel. Made a cast, noticed something was not right, reeled the line in and noticed the line was all bunched up on one side of the spool, lol. Stuff like that happens to the best of us, lol.

I have used a Rapala F09 which weighs 3/16 oz, it was a bit tricky due to the aerodynamics of that particular lure lol, but it handled the actual weight on the lure fine. Also 1/8oz Strike King Mini King spinnerbaits.

I just bought an MB a few weeks ago and other than the differences listed on Lew's website, given the price difference I honestly would pick the MB. It doesn't have that "buttery" smooth feeling the TP has, more of a "connected" feel. I actually like the size and profile of the MB better. Casting distance is just as good as the TP. I know it's the same breaking system as the TP, but the MB is a little easier to get dialed in. It casts light baits very well. You can find both at good prices, I've seen the TP for around $140 and the MB for about $115. Can't go wrong with either one, but the MB is a very good little reel an a very good price.

An update on the reel.... Got it back from Ardent today, they replaced the main gear, pinion and spool under warranty and all is quiet. I hated to give up on this reel because it will cast a mile, even outdistancing some of my other reels which include a Chronarch CI4 and Lew's Tournament Pro. Two thumbs up to Ardent and their customer service.

I had a chance to use mine a little more this morning. Was casting a 1/4oz popper like a dream. Caught a few small bass, the biggest being about 13 inches so still haven't gotten a chance to test the drag. The size fish I catch, a good drag test may take most of this year lol.