Avet MXL MC- resistance ?

[dustyrod]

Have yet to have the opportunity to try the MC reels (living in oregon cannot find a retailer that even has a demo to hold) and was curious how they perform fishing live bait or casting light weight lures/bait. Do the magnets cause to much resistance on the low setting? If dropping straight down will it easily free spool?

Need a lefty reel that I can hand-off to others to use (don't want to be picking out back lash all day) and plan to fish it for Albies (jig/bait), lings/rock fish, & sturgeon. Hoping the MXL is the way to go?


Josh

[wormtosser]

Josh, I bought an MXJ with MC a couple weeks ago; partly so I can hand it off to guests, but mostly because I'm spazzy.

Messing around with it in the garage, it seems like there's too much resistance and you'd think it wouldn't cast well. Out in the boat, it's another story. I took it out last weekend and played with it. Here are my observations:

-It works!
-There really is a big difference between setting 5 (heavy resistance) and setting 1 (low resistance). I can't see throwing something with this rig that would call for setting 5.
-I think there is still some resisitance at level 1 that isn't present on non-MC reels I have tried. It doesn't spin long - maybe 8-10 seconds.
-I don't think that residual resistance at setting 1 has any effect in the real world. Didn't seem to bother my sardines in the least. At the speeds they travel it doesn't have much, ,if any, effect.
-Dropping straight down it doesn't inhibit the freespool at all.
-I read somebody's estimate that it cut casting distance by 20%. I don't believe that. The guys at Avet say that by not thumbng at all you actually cast farther - and after using it, that seems more likely to be true. I was throwing farther than I have on similar set ups.
-casting was so fun I nearly wore out my arm.

Screwing up casts is no longer a reason to limit beer consumption. I'll have to teach my buddy to drive the boat.

[dustyrod]

Sweet, thats what I was hoping to hear. Thanks!

[finadict]

Wormtosser nailed it right on the head! The mags have no effect at all on slow speed freespool like when dropping down or letting a live bait pull out line. The mags work against an aluminum spool. Aluminum is non magnetic...until it starts spinning. When it spins, it creates its own magnetic field. at slow speed the field is weak to non existent. The faster it spins, the stronger the magnetic field from the spool. The magnet in the frame basically creates an eddy current that slightly slows the spool only when the spool has enough speed to generate a magnetic field. The effect is similar to moving your hand through water. If you move it very slowly, you wont feel much resistance. but of you move quickly you will feel resistance.
The MC system really works great. But it is very difficult to get out of the habit of keeping your thumb off of the spool and let the mag do the thumbing. The mag is far more consistent than the human thumb. I started magging avets 3 years before the MC came out and I thought it was a bit strong at first too. But I was also still using my thumb with my weaker mags. Using the MC with no thumb at all im still getting the same distances, and far more consistently with zero backlash.

[wormtosser]

And don't underestimate the beer thing! The "learn to cast" mafia will have to switch routines to "learn to cast with your buzz on," .

[SemperFishing]

I got the chance try out an JX with the MC on a jig stick and 7x iron, found that it worked incredibly well, at most it was getting 1 wrap of line out of every 5 casts and virtually no backlash at all. I found that when you cast it, tap the spool once (but dont thumb it as you would a regular reel), then stop it as it hits the water.

I am planning on getting one after I see the JX raptor and see what the difference is.

And this is second hand info, but a fisherman I asked said that the MC makes very little difference when fishing bait, but is excellent for tossing jigs. Good luck!