Spinning Reel

Hello Everyone,
Thought I would try to pick your brain... I went cat fishing with a guy last year(lost contact with him) and he let me use his reel, it was neat, with a front drag and another mechanism in the back that you flip up to allow the fish to take line without spooking it. This mechanism would "lock" whenever you started to crank the handle, allowing you to reel the fish in, any ideas what type of reel this may have been? I want to pick one up but cant seem to find anything on it. Thanks for your time.

Yeah, nice for big cats...
FishUSA has a good assortment:
Bottom of the bait runner barrel - http://www.fishusa.com/Okuma-Avenger-ABF-Baitfeeder-Spinning-Reel_p.html
And a pricier option - http://www.fishusa.com/Shimano-Thunnus-CI4-Saltwater-Spinning-Reels_p.html

thats it....thanks you two

With the Thunnus you could buy a cult classic Shimano LC or a pair of TICA ABYSS reels both are built like tanks and hold more line then you'd ever need opposed to the Thunnus for roughly the same price also look cosmetically better IMO.

christ, why do we fall for every new gimmick that comes out every year. these manufactures and advertisers reel us in like the fish we catch. and we fall for it every time. my dad and his bros had no problem catching northerns, walleye,and bluebike on nothing but metal rods and shakespere knuckle-busters (still got 'em). i thought they taught me better, but i fall for this crap too.

I don't know about falling for every new gimmick that comes along, but I like the idea behind this reel. I would much rather hear a click that tells me a fish is on my reel rather than a splash caused from my pole flying off the boat telling me there is a fish on. I'm thinking of buying 2 of these reels, mountain man, I think from posts I have a read over the months you have experience with larger tackle, as far as the Okuma avenger what size(s) would you recommend for river cats??

This smaller reel (my new personal favz ) still holds a ton of line but smaller frame spool hurts it's max casting distance by at least 10 yards.

Bascially if you're fishing the bank go with a larger reel, and on the boat you don't need as much reel. If you're just after channels a smaller reel as opposed to needing a larger reel to pull a flathead from cover. The ABF40 is about as small as you want to go and The ABF90 is too much of a reel IMO so I would suggest the ABF50 for the best of both worlds. The only problem I had with the avenger if sometimes the baitclicker does lock which means it's not allowing the line to run freely but is still locked on the fighting drag. So it's just a matter of checking if the line can be pulled out easy. If not just click the baitrunners lever off and back on then it should work.

You can also use Shimano SPRIREX 4000RD basicly the same why as the clicker,by using the fight drag. Just lower the main drag down a bit, then lower the fight drag as low as you can. when your line starts being pulled out and your ready to set the hook slide the fight drag up to highest setting and SET THE HOOK !!! that will be enough to get a good hook-set then adjust your main drag during the fight or thumb the spool. It sounds like a pain in the A** but its not at all. I have done this many time with great success. BTW have any of you had problems with the Okuma's ??? I have a 30 series that broke on the shaft between the main part of the reel and where you mount the the rod???? Dave

niSe tHumm dUUd

shOoD pRobLee waSh teh paWLisHH awF tHo

looKz gHey

Relax...its an inside thang! I guess you just had to be there...

thAnxZ giZe

mY dai = oFisHuLY brYteNNd

Dayum kids these dayz!!!

I've had a saltstriker for about 6 years without any of these issues. I've landed a 28" red drum, a bunch of bluefish up to 30" and striped bass up to 25" and numerous fish run and snap me off. I was more worried about my rod taking the abuse than the reel. If you're having issues, you probably haven't cleaned your reel after saltwater use.

If you're buying purely for freshwater use, I'd go with the Okuma. The Cabelas has a bunch of watertight gaskets to try to prevent saltwater from getting in. You pay extra for that. Those just add to the parts that can break too. There seems to be a much larger range of sizes too. I haven't checked out the saltstrikers since I bought mine, but only had two sizes to choose from. I bought the largest, which I think has the capacity of the Okuma 65. Probably all you would need for freshwater use, but not going to handle a large red drum, cobia or shark. I have had mine stripped clean in the surf, although I did kayak a bait out to where it only had about 50 yards of play... My next reel will likely be the Okuma 90.