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AVET Reels had a Facebook video contest back in April. They had a week or two for folks to post videos of themselves using Avet reels, and they selected five finalists for voting. My video was one of the finalists, and after a week of voting, I'll be damned if I didn't win one of their JX Raptor reels!

Here is the video I submitted for the contest:
[img]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q120/dvretz/th_Avet%20Reel%20Video_zpse9thkcpr.mp4[/img]



And, the reel arrived on Saturday:




I'm looking forward to trying it out soon!

I heard about AVET's new G2 models around Christmas, and I ordered a few back in January. After much anticipation, they arrived this week. I opened the boxes, and to my surprise, I managed to pull serial number one. I thought that was pretty cool!

That's pretty awesome on both counts. I wish they'd stop jacking around and release a levelwind model. Sure could use a half dozen medium sized ones for my catfish rods. Their reels that I have used have all been first rate and I know they could build a levelwinder with equal quality.

Nice video. What kind of rods do you use? They look much easier to handle than the short stubbies.

Very cool. I love my 2 speed Avet with its butter smooth drag. I'd love to see them release a levelwind in a smaller reel with lever drag for salmon and other lighter duties. Congratulations on a great win. I'm sure you'll get many miles from those beauties.

Congrats, Dan!

lots of winning there.

I recently ordered an LX 6.0 one speed. On backorder. I already have a penn international 16vsx which has been a workhouse, 500yds of 100lb powerpro with room to spare. I ordered 65lb powerpro for the avet, should be a real nice all around rig.

Congrats! Great score

That neptune's heart G2 looks sweet!

Congrats Dan, those are some sweet reels.
The video doesn't play for me, I don't know if it's on my end or what?

Exactly what I was thinking.

Although, I do adore my 6500C3's. I just bought a Catfish Special & plan to to buy several more.

Congrats! Cool video. Hope to be on that boat one of these years!

Your # 1 Dan !

Congrats on the win and a great video!

Congrats on winning the video contest Dan!

I've long been a fan of Avet's for the saltwater.



Late buddy with a Seeker/JX combo, one of my favorites for jigging bottom fish.

As far as a level wind, I see them as something to add weight and fail. On the sx's we use for salmon rods so long as you don't use a max fill on the spool the line will slightly hump in the middle but it won't bind the reel and there's still plenty of room for 300 yds of 55# braid.

I have traditional 5'3" and 5'6" stout stand-up rods for dunking big weights in the strong Cook Inlet tides. Those severe tide currents require heavy lead weights, running up to 5-pounds, so the pool-cue rods are a necessary evil. I run Avet 2-speed EX 30/2 reels on all of our big halibut rods. That low gear sure makes it easier on the anglers.

Out of Seward and PWS, though, I much prefer fishing with lighter 6'6" jigging rods. I have tried several, including G.Loomis, St. Croix, TFO, Shimano, and Seeker. My favorite of the bunch is the 15-40# Seeker Blue Lightning II. They use a composite blank with a stout graphite butt section and softer fiberglass tip. They seem more durable than the 100% graphite blanks I've run, and they have plenty of backbone to pull up big halibut. As testament, there are several others in the video over 100 pounds caught on those rods.

Recently, I've resorted to buying Seeker blanks and building my own rods. I prefer a longer fore grip than the factory offering, and I'm using full aluminum reel seats and titanium-framed guides. They have turned out well, thanks to .358 NormaFan's help. And, now that I've started building rods, I've ordered up some blanks from other manufacturers, in my continuing quest for perfection. Just what I needed, another hobby that caters to my loony-level addictions. Sheesh!

I run Avet JX reels on my jigging rods. I can get 300yds of 80# braid, with a little room to spare, so they offer plenty of line capacity for the places I like to fish (up to 350' of water).





I have mixed feelings on level wind reels. I ran them for a long time, and like you, wished and waited for Avet to offer one. I still have a few level wind reels on my freshwater rods, but I no longer have them on any of my saltwater rods. The level wind components always seem to be the weak link and the first thing to fail. I've had the pawl break in the middle of fighting fish, so that the line stacks up in one spot and jams the reel....all kinds of fun! I've seen more than a few pinched fingers in those stupid things, as well, and from personal experience I can vouch for the unexpectedly high pain factor associated with doing so. Ouch!

As a whole, I don't miss the level wind feature, at all. In fact, I just sold all of my Shimano Tekota reels on my trolling rods and upgraded them to Avet SX reels. I will miss the line-counter feature, for sure, but the little SX reels have all the line capacity of a Tekota 500, in a smaller, lighter, and much sexier, lever-drag package. Avet's magnetic cast control is a really nice feature for pitching 3-4oz rockfish jigs to a school of birds, as well.

No need for line counter if you use color marked line. I use Daiwa Saltega PE-4 and PE-5, good stuff.

The custom built seeker sounds like a good rod. My only complaint with the blue lightings is I've had several of the inserts in the guides pop out, haven't had that issue with any other rod. Aside from that, I've had those rods for almost 10 years and while sometimes I prefer a shorter parabolic rod for jigging, the blue lighting is just a rock solid rod for 8-24 oz jigs whether pulling up rock fish, lings or butts.

Yep, I have Berkley Tracer braid on my trolling rods. It changes color every 2ft, so I count by fours as the line goes out.


I have AmTack guides on the first two I built, and I haven't had any issues with that one yet. At the recommendation of my parts supplier (Angler's Workshop), I tried the Alps titanium guides this time around. They are a little more robust and, oddly enough, less expensive. We'll see how they work this summer.

Here are the AmTack guides:



Here are the Alps guides:

Me too! I hope you're able to make it work one of these trips.

Congrats on the prize there Dan. Looks like you guys had a good time making the video as well.