New Rod/Reel & Jigs

[BaitBucket]

I know this is open water stuff  but thought I would share.

I picked up a new Avet SX 5.3 MC Spooled with 500yrds of 30# PowerPro for $190.
I paired it with the Shimano Convergence 8' Musky Rod for $109.
Also picked up some great looking butterfly jigs off ebay. Contacted the seller and he put a small package of 2x4oz, 2x6ox, 2x8oz butterfly jigs. Cost was $35 with shipping

I plan to use this setup for trolling, casting plugs/plastics, inshore jigging, and offshore jigging (from boat).
Im thinking I may have found my "one" setup that does it all. I will report back through out the season with my findings.

[flyfish413]

Great reel. Be careful with line that narrow of a diameter though. Line that narrow on gear that heavy has  the tendency to bury itself into the spool causing a serious mess next time you cast. The benefit of the no levelwind is you can lay the line back on the spool any way you want. You may find you need to either up the line (maybe to 50+) or be conscious that you're wrapping the line back on with a heavy overlap and not the nice perfect "side by side" a levelwind produces, and make sure it goes on as tight as you can. Setting the hook into a 20lb fish with that rod will absolutely bury that line if it isn't on the spool properly.

And I know you're an experienced guy, so take this with a grain of salt. It's not meant to sound preachy, just a lesson I learned the hard way. In case anyone else is reading this, braid on baitcasters is totally different than on spinning tackle, especially lighter braid.

[BaitBucket]

Yah if the reel didnt come with that line I woulda went with 50#. Thx for the advice

[flyfish413]

Gotcha. Well this might make for a miserable project but you definitely want to take the line off that reel and inspect whats under it then. If they didn't back it with mono, you're going to have a real issue. Hook an empty spool up to a power drill, rip it all off and look.

I'm just gonna go ahead and make another suggestion, do with it what you will. There isn't enough line on that reel. It's rated for 700 yards of 30lb braid, so you're 200 yards light. It should be an 1/8" tops from the edge of the spool. I would strip that line, throw it on some spinning gear as to not waste it. Check for mono backing, I'd recommend 50 yards, maybe more, because all that braid at the bottom of the spool that will never be used is a waste of money. Replace it with 50 lb minimum over some mono backer and you'll have a much more compliant setup with fewer headaches. Either way, gotta make sure its not straight braid tied to the spool because there's no line-tie stub on those spools.

Again, not trying to criticize, that's a sweet setup. Just drawing on my own, very similar, experience. Having that line bury and resulting in a 2oz meathook-covered bullet shooting back at you is zero fun.

[BaitBucket]

It does have some mono backing. I just put new braid on all my other rods lol.. I contemplated pulling it off and selling it.

In looking at the sizes of powerpro the 30# is .011in and the 50# is .014in. Not that much of a difference. Im not sure the 50# would bury any less than the 30# with a decent fish on. I guess ill just have to try it and fins find out.

[flyfish413]

Yeah I had 30 on a Calcutta and it was a disaster. I didn't think going up to 50 would make that big of a difference but it genuinely did. Even though it's just a fraction of a fraction of an inch, it's still 30%-ish larger diameter than the 30, and it will fill the spool better.

Best of luck with it either way, that's a formidable setup!

[BaitBucket]

What were the issues with the calcutta?

[flyfish413]

Just the line getting buried constantly. I'd catch a decent striper and setting the hook would make the line bury a few layers deep. The next cast and it would bind violently. Either the lure shoots backwards or, tossing something heavy like a big jig or a Spook, and Ive had the line snap, knots break and 40# snaps open up, sending my bait for a 200 yard trip through the air. Same thing fishing in heavy weeds. Try to pull a bass through the Oxbow weeds caused the same issue. Not impossible to fix if you love the narrower line, but very aggravating. Just have to make sure the line always goes back on the spool under a fair amount of tension, or, like with the Avet without a levelwind, make sure the line wraps are wide and not right up next to each other like a levelwind produces.

Making slower, more deliberate casts helped, but cut the distance down a lot.

[lowaccord66]

I have a calcutta bsv200 non-levelwind and thankfully have not run into any issues.  I run either powerpro super 8 50# or samurai braid in 50# (very thin diameter) and have hauled decent bass up to 30# without issue.

I run it on a 8' 2-10oz musky innovations rod and use it in fresh and salt.  I looked at some avet's which are nice but shimano's customer service is second to none.  Send the bugger in with my stella and get them both serviced for 30.00!

[flyfish413]

Yup, when I switched to 50# it made a big difference.

[BaitBucket]

Ugh...I may have to make this change then...

I suppose i should try it out fist tho.

[200fisher]

That MC is a sweet reel! And I have to agree, 50# is a lot easier to handle. With 30# and below, the wind knots and the line digging into the spool gave me nightmares.

[flyfish413]

Almost forgot the wind knots when trying to clear a buried line. There's another area where the heavier line helps out. Just bite the bullet and strip the 30 off and save it for spinning gear.