Abel Super 8
The Abel Super 8 is one of the best built reels out on the market today.
Just pick one up and hold it and you will know what I mean. The drag
has no start up inertia and is made for drag smoking runs by big fish.
Abel has been building this reel for over 13 years now and there is a
good reason why not much has changed.
The Abel Super 8 is made for 8 and 9 weight lines, holding 220 yards of
20# backing with a weight forward 8 and 190 yards with a weight
forward 9. The drag is cork and can handle almost any fish that swims.
One great feature which these reels offer is what Abel calls it's
interchangABELity. In short, this feature allows you to take a large
arbor 8 and 9 weight reel and convert that to a 10 and 11 weight
standard arbor reel. It is a nice feature, but through my experience, you
don't want to tangle with anything that is going to take an extra long run
on you because that standard arbor is painful when trying to gain a lot
of that backing back.
One way I have been able to get around this problem is by placing 50 lb.
spider wire on the spool as backing. When this is done you can put 456
yards of the 50 lb. spider wire along with a weight forward 12 weight
floating line. This allows you to have plenty of backing and the extra
line on the spool allows you to gain line quicker than if you were using
micron backing. With this on the spool, the Big Game 3 spool quickly
becomes a serious 10 and 11 weight reel.
So, that is the good news. The bad news is that the Big Game 3 spool
does not measure up to other 10 and 11 weight reels on the market, but
it does work if you need this reel to pull double duty which is especially
nice if you are just starting saltwater fishing or need a backup reel in
case something happens to your primary.
My biggest gripe however is with how the drag system is exposed. As
my business in the salt is from the surf, this reel's drag system is too
exposed for the punishment the surf dishes out. Sand seems to find its
way between the cork and spool and the drag then is no good. The other
problem I have ran into is with the screw on the back of the reel. It
seems to loosen up easily and then come off. The blue Lock-Tite works
well to keep these on, but builds up when having to reapply after
breaking down the reel to clean. Bottom line is that this reel is just not
made for these harsh conditions.
However, with all of that said, I do believe this is one of the best reels
on the market when not subject to the punishment of the North East
surf. Place this reel on a rod in a boat or wade fish in calm conditions
and I believe that it could handle just about anything that swims
covering line weights from 8 to 12, but really providing it's sweet spot
in the 8 and 9 weight lines.
Just pick one up and hold it and you will know what I mean. The drag
has no start up inertia and is made for drag smoking runs by big fish.
Abel has been building this reel for over 13 years now and there is a
good reason why not much has changed.
The Abel Super 8 is made for 8 and 9 weight lines, holding 220 yards of
20# backing with a weight forward 8 and 190 yards with a weight
forward 9. The drag is cork and can handle almost any fish that swims.
One great feature which these reels offer is what Abel calls it's
interchangABELity. In short, this feature allows you to take a large
arbor 8 and 9 weight reel and convert that to a 10 and 11 weight
standard arbor reel. It is a nice feature, but through my experience, you
don't want to tangle with anything that is going to take an extra long run
on you because that standard arbor is painful when trying to gain a lot
of that backing back.
One way I have been able to get around this problem is by placing 50 lb.
spider wire on the spool as backing. When this is done you can put 456
yards of the 50 lb. spider wire along with a weight forward 12 weight
floating line. This allows you to have plenty of backing and the extra
line on the spool allows you to gain line quicker than if you were using
micron backing. With this on the spool, the Big Game 3 spool quickly
becomes a serious 10 and 11 weight reel.
So, that is the good news. The bad news is that the Big Game 3 spool
does not measure up to other 10 and 11 weight reels on the market, but
it does work if you need this reel to pull double duty which is especially
nice if you are just starting saltwater fishing or need a backup reel in
case something happens to your primary.
My biggest gripe however is with how the drag system is exposed. As
my business in the salt is from the surf, this reel's drag system is too
exposed for the punishment the surf dishes out. Sand seems to find its
way between the cork and spool and the drag then is no good. The other
problem I have ran into is with the screw on the back of the reel. It
seems to loosen up easily and then come off. The blue Lock-Tite works
well to keep these on, but builds up when having to reapply after
breaking down the reel to clean. Bottom line is that this reel is just not
made for these harsh conditions.
However, with all of that said, I do believe this is one of the best reels
on the market when not subject to the punishment of the North East
surf. Place this reel on a rod in a boat or wade fish in calm conditions
and I believe that it could handle just about anything that swims
covering line weights from 8 to 12, but really providing it's sweet spot
in the 8 and 9 weight lines.
