525mag2 first impressions

[lazy hooker]

bought a new reel yesterday.

was a bit dubious as i've had a 525mag (slidey) before...must say it was one of the models that came out about 10years ago and what a hand full that was. it would regularly blow up at least once a session for seemingly no reason!!!quite possibly IMO the worst reel i've ever had.

had a look at the 515mag2 and decided that there wasn't enough line capacity, only having 220 yards of 18lb line so if you lost some gear or had some snapoffs you may even be calling your session to an end or if you fish a spot that you need a big bow of line out to hold bottom it doesn't give much lea way on moving back up the beach so i plumt for the 525 mag2.

why - i wanted a reel that would be comparable to a 6500 in casting but with a fast retrieve. The 525 does that with a set of gears that are bullet proof.

mag set up is much much improved and gives a really good range from positively geriatric with 10 mags on to absolute beserker at 0 mags....the dial is also stiff enough that you will never unintentionally knock them off or down.

clicker is also very good you'll here it no problem even on a howling night.

star drag is the only thing i'm not impressed with seems to me to have far many turns of it to increase or decrease the drag, which if your fishing with the drag down and clicker on may cost you valuable time.

also spoke to warren (wozza from keens) who is known in the casting circles as the equivalent of an f1 mechanic for reels....he recons the hype about blue grease is absolute tosh and there is no need to pull the bearings out and clean out the grease before fishing...and to prove the point he pulled mine apart and proved it...by all acounts that was just the very first batch.

took it over the field this afternoon after loading up with line...first couple of casts with the mags on half way and the lead would be seen to labour as the mags were really taking effect.

after a couple of casts i knocked down the magnets to 3 and wound up a couple of pendulem casts and was consistently hitting the 155-170 yard mark....very happy and can't wait to really run the reel in a bit before seeing what it can do.

one thing that was familiar was the agricultural feel of the retrieve but on the whole i'm really liking this reel...non of the faffing about of a 6500 of balancing the spool etc...just add line and go.

john

[Portland Pirate]

I have always been a bit of a ABU 6500 lover myself, but I did eventually buy a 525 mag a few years ago when I had little other choice at the time. But to be honest over that time I have come to prefer the Penn. Yes it certainly is more agricultural than the ABU's but it is not prone to breaking as easily as the ABU's.
I had a look at the new 525's and I think I will be replacing my ABU's with them.

The other issue I have come across recently is that now I am casting down the butt, I can easily engage the ABU's by accident, causing crack off's and back injury.

[MRG2000]

Originally Posted by Portland Pirate

The other issue I have come across recently is that now I am casting down the butt, I can easily engage the ABU's by accident, causing crack off's and back injury.

I`ve recently changed to reel down too ,and find the same problem ,only thing i`ve found to minimise this is slacken the drag off ,so al least the lead launches ,but only goes 20 yds.Better than cracking off,damaging the rod or yourself.

Gave a Shimano Torium 14 a go on the weekend ,with a couple of blocks engaged ,cast smoothly ,but not particularly long ,will give it a try without the remaining blocks engaged ,and see if the distance comes . IF not i`ll be delving into Johns box for a roadtest off the Penn

[Portland Pirate]

Originally Posted by MRG2000

I`ve recently changed to reel down too ,and find the same problem ,only thing i`ve found to minimise this is slacken the drag off ,so al least the lead launches ,but only goes 20 yds.Better than cracking off,damaging the rod or yourself.

Gave a Shimano Torium 14 a go on the weekend ,with a couple of blocks engaged ,cast smoothly ,but not particularly long ,will give it a try without the remaining blocks engaged ,and see if the distance comes . IF not i`ll be delving into Johns box for a roadtest off the Penn

I love Shimano rods and reels. The beastmaster used to be the best multiplier on the beach. Unfortunately unlike their competitors they have not progressed with their real design. The Shimano Torium 14, is the Beastmaster with a newer and shinier cage. I can not understand why they didn't go down the mag brake road.

I agree with you about slackening off the drag when casting. Even so I had jarred my back a couple of times when the reel has engaged and it has thrown me round.