# avet reels for heaver



## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

need to know some information on avets.....been thinking about buying one for some time now...only know one person that fishes with them and they seem to like them....anyone else? any info would be great....looking to get one for my heaver...what are the pros and cons of having them and an overall review on them would be great!


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## DickDog (Jul 19, 2006)

Ive got an sx that i use on a 7' boat rod. youll definately need to get it magged if your puttin it on a heaver cause it is oh so faaaaaaassssstttt. 
seems to be real high quality and solidly built. i'm new to the lever drag world so that does take time to get used to and initially found it tough to get the right drag setting. it took me a few lost fish to get it right. 

good luck. thats all i got.


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## gilly21 (Feb 15, 2006)

I love my Avet MXL on my heaver. Absolutely most no questions asked needs to be magged. Drag is awsome on it and a very simple and strong designed reel.


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## f1b32oPTic (Oct 15, 2004)

ive got a magged mxl on my 12' tica extra heavy.

they are easier in my opinion to mag than the sx because there is more space between the side plate and the mag and washer.


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*magging..*

alright thanks for the info everyone...keep it coming .....with your mxl did u mag it yourself or get somebody to do it for you....also any other modificcations you did on the reel?


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## Shooter (Nov 14, 2004)

I have a couple of SX's and love them, I had Ryan at Hatteras Jacks in Rodanthe do mine and they throw sweet. I haven't thrown any of the bigger Avets but I know the SX's have all the line I need for fishn.


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*gilly and fibeoptic....*

which model of the mxl did you have...like what gear ratio..im pretty sure i might go with the mxj 4:5:1 i figure 300/20 is well enough but only 10 more bucks for the mxl...any comments or opinions?


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## dsurf (Aug 5, 2003)

*Avet SX*

I have the new SX two speed with newly designed ball bearing handle......the 3.8 and 6.3 speeds offer the best of both worlds. The added magnets (two lee Valley) make it very controllable.


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*dsurf..*



dsurf said:


> I have the new SX two speed with newly designed ball bearing handle......the 3.8 and 6.3 speeds offer the best of both worlds. The added magnets (two lee Valley) make it very controllable.


...so are you saying the mxl or mxj would be too much? and how did you get it magged...yourself or somebody do it for you .....and did you order the power handle off of the avet site?thanks for the help!!


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## f1b32oPTic (Oct 15, 2004)

cobiacatcher82 said:


> which model of the mxl did you have...like what gear ratio..im pretty sure i might go with the mxj 4:5:1 i figure 300/20 is well enough but only 10 more bucks for the mxl...any comments or opinions?



ive got a 4.5:1 mxl. the gear ratio seems to work well for uprooting 8oz. sinkers that have dug in real well. i used a NW57 zinc plated flat washer jb welded at the bottom of the left side plate. on that ive got a 3/8" x 1/10" rare earth magnet from lee valley. the tolerances are tight so make sure the washer is all the way at the bottom of the side plate and then cover it and the magnet with some grease for water proofing.


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*fibeoptic....*



f1b32oPTic said:


> ive got a 4.5:1 mxl. the gear ratio seems to work well for uprooting 8oz. sinkers that have dug in real well. i used a NW57 zinc plated flat washer jb welded at the bottom of the left side plate. on that ive got a 3/8" x 1/10" rare earth magnet from lee valley. the tolerances are tight so make sure the washer is all the way at the bottom of the side plate and then cover it and the magnet with some grease for water proofing.


....alright thanks with the mxl do you only use it for you nail sinker or do you use it for drummys too?...and about getting it magged did you do it yourself or somebody do it for you...im not experienced with magging a reel myself.thanks for all the help man!:


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*fibeoptic*

also im just wondering the overall size of the reel if you could relate the mxj and mxl to the abu's what would you say?i was thinking the mxl like a 9000? but idk the mxj looks small....i plan to fut it on my 12 foot custom fusion...


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## f1b32oPTic (Oct 15, 2004)

cobiacatcher82 said:


> ....alright thanks with the mxl do you only use it for you nail sinker or do you use it for drummys too?...and about getting it magged did you do it yourself or somebody do it for you...im not experienced with magging a reel myself.thanks for all the help man!:


drum, shark, and RAYS! 

although i dont pier fish for kings, i would use it as my anchor rod for that purpose. 

i magged it myself and i have to say it was scary glueing a $0.03 washer onto a $200 reel with jb-weld. best tip i can offer is to take your time and measure twice and glue once. i actually had to dremel a 1/16" off the washer because it was barely tipping the clicker gear in free spool where it wasnt doing it in the bait setting that i used for my tolerances.


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## dsurf (Aug 5, 2003)

*Avet SX*

Magged the SX myself......used half moon shaped galvanied sheet metal (Lowe's) because required very thin mounting surface.....did not use washers for that very reason. Two Lee Valley 1/8 (dia) by 1/10 (thickness) seems to work fine but you can move around different sizes to different locations to suit your purpose since the magnets are not glued to the galvanized sheet. 
Don't have any experience with the MX but would expect the SX to get better distance while the MX will hold more line......However, I got 500 yards + of 30 lb Jerry Brown Spectra on my SX.


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*dsurf and fibeoptic*

ya about magging it myself i wouldnt feel comfortable reealy either...unless yall showed pics...i might just get ryan at hatteras to do it for me...only bad part is polrly wouldnt have it back for all of drum season ......what about the relativity to the size of tha abus though...look above


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## gilly21 (Feb 15, 2006)

cobiacatcher82 said:


> which model of the mxl did you have...like what gear ratio..im pretty sure i might go with the mxj 4:5:1 i figure 300/20 is well enough but only 10 more bucks for the mxl...any comments or opinions?


I have the 6.1. I magged it my self and found the process easy. finding the correct combo of oil and number of mags is the chalenge and only you can determine what you need. Don't have a comparison to the abu but here it is next to a SLOSH 30


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## f1b32oPTic (Oct 15, 2004)

cobiacatcher82 said:


> also im just wondering the overall size of the reel if you could relate the mxj and mxl to the abu's what would you say?i was thinking the mxl like a 9000? but idk the mxj looks small....i plan to fut it on my 12 foot custom fusion...


i dont use any of the large abu's but id have to say that it is about the size of a penn 545. the mxl looks well balanced on my 12' tica extra heavy so im sure you wont have a problem on your rig. 

one tip for setting it up in the sand spike is to just bump the lever drag about 3/8" out of the bait setting toward the strike setting and engage the clicker once you have made your cast and taken up the slack. when the freight train hits, you can bump it up into strike for a good fighting drag setting that is not too much. that is one of the reasons i like the avets for surf fishing. when the adrenaline is flowing after a big pickup you dont have to worry about too loose or too tight a drag.


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

gilly21 said:


> I have the 6.1. I magged it my self and found the process easy. finding the correct combo of oil and number of mags is the chalenge and only you can determine what you need.


 thanks gilly!....that really helps i tihnk im going to go with the mxj but would you help with the process of magging it? like step by step it would really help cuz i dont wanna lose my reel all of drum season ...would be a reel bummer


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*fibeoptic*

alright thanks for the tip fibeoptic!! i really apreciate all of this help...so its down between the mxl or mxj....and magging it


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*Also Gilly21.....*

that picture is the mxl correct?...pretty sure what im goign to buy now...how come on that one in the picture the thing isnt sticking out the side(its magged right?) might be a dumb question but have no experience with magging reels


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## f1b32oPTic (Oct 15, 2004)

cobiacatcher82 said:


> that picture is the mxl correct?...pretty sure what im goign to buy now...how come on that one in the picture the thing isnt sticking out the side(its magged right?) might be a dumb question but have no experience with magging reels


i think you are looking at the clicker on the non-crank side of the reel. the mags are contained inside the frame on a washer magnet setup.


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## Dolphinpier (Aug 15, 2006)

Cobiacatcher82,

I was like you, very leery about maging an expensive reel myself. So I went to a couple of flea markets and yard sales and found an old South Bend and paid 10 dollars for it. Took it home and started tearing it apart. Took me about 3 hours to do a 15 minute job of maging it. Also not knowing what size magnets to use I bought two packages of two different size rare earth magnets from my local Ace hardware store. Completed the job and began testing to determine if I had enough magnets, to many magnets, or magnets that were to big. In the end I got it balance for my style of fishing. And now I am hanging on to the reel. It has caught a lot of fish for me. Total cost of maging it - about $1.50 with about 10 magnets left over. Next step mag my Avet.


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*dolphin...*

any tips? ive been getting other tips such as using the jb weld is this what you did too? if not could you give a basic explanation of what you did


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## Dolphinpier (Aug 15, 2006)

cobiacatcher82 said:


> any tips? ive been getting other tips such as using the jb weld is this what you did too? if not could you give a basic explanation of what you did


One very important tip. Follow the directions on the JB Weld package. It says let the epoxy cure for 15 hours. I let it cure for about 5 hours and put the magnets in and put it back together. Those rare earth magnets are much stronger than you can imagine. When I opened the reel to check out a slight noise like the mags were hitting the spool - they were. By putting the reel back together to soon the mags tried to flip over to get to each other and they pulled the epoxy up on the outside edges of the washers. They try to flip over because they have to be put in next each other with reverse polarity.

We had a 10 - 15 mph NE wind today so I tried the reel again with a 6 oz. sinker to see how the reel would perform against a head wind. I was amazed. Against the wind I was getting between 81 and 85 yard on every cast with no backlashes. Every thing I've done with the reel has been with 30 lb. test Big Game Supreme. Now I'm going to start down sizing the line and try and get the reel to work with 20 lb. test. The one thing that I learned was to take my time and it is a very easy process.

I'll try to post several URL's when I get a chance. These sites have photos that can show you step by step procedures that will make it very easy.


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*doplphinpier*

alright thanks for the tips!! it really helps me alot...into head wind 85 yeard what about with the wind?....and the url's will be great!!...also what about the magnets....the bigger they are the what or the smaller they are what happends....should i start small or what becuase everyone says i have to find "what size i need"


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## gilly21 (Feb 15, 2006)

cobiacatcher82 said:


> thanks gilly!....that really helps i tihnk im going to go with the mxj but would you help with the process of magging it? like step by step it would really help cuz i dont wanna lose my reel all of drum season ...would be a reel bummer


No sweat I followed a link I found while searching. Do a google search or "magging an avet" and you will stumble accross it. It is very easy. As far as the knob...I don't have it as an adjustable now but working on it. The pic is an MXL and Truthfully I don't see why anyone would get an MXJ for beach casting since the SLOSH 30 is as good a reel and hold as much line. The only reason I went AVET was to get the extra line capacity for cobia fishing. Just happened to turn into my favorite reel after magging and landing a couple big drum.


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## Dolphinpier (Aug 15, 2006)

cobiacatcher82 said:


> alright thanks for the tips!! it really helps me alot...into head wind 85 yeard what about with the wind?....and the url's will be great!!...also what about the magnets....the bigger they are the what or the smaller they are what happends....should i start small or what becuase everyone says i have to find "what size i need"


I started large and worked my way down to small. Ended up with two small. With the 30 lb. test with the wind I have been gitting between 95 to 100 yards. My longest cast by really getting into the cast was 117 yards. The two sizes I used were: Small 3 mm thick and 8 mm wide; Large 3 mm thick and 12 mm wide.


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*gilly21..*

yes your right i have a slosh 30 and i meant to put the L....i will be gettin g the MXL....as far as the magents go i ordred some from lee valley last night.....1/4 x 1/10 and 3/8 x 1/10...should that be good to start with or what?


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## gilly21 (Feb 15, 2006)

you should be good with those. Just follow the step by step directions and you can't go wrong.


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## Dolphinpier (Aug 15, 2006)

Cobiacatcher

Try this site it give a great description for maging the Avet mxj 

http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/helpful/tips-and-tricks/magging-an-avet-mxj/


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## gilly21 (Feb 15, 2006)

Dolphinpier said:


> Cobiacatcher
> 
> Try this site it give a great description for maging the Avet mxj
> 
> http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/helpful/tips-and-tricks/magging-an-avet-mxj/


Yup that is the one I used. Very user friendly, and the pics make it a no brainer.


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

thank you(everyone) very much for the help, ill try once i get some time on my hands, tryin to get some fishin done this weekend, catch a drum or somethin hopefully, well once this noreaster' slows down some. ... ill update to let yall know how it went


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## cobiacatcher82 (Sep 19, 2006)

*gilly or dolphin pier.........*

one last thing, im assuming that this same thing applies for the MXL 4.5:1, i ordered the magnets the other day from lee valley, but do i need to get washers from lee valley? or could i just go to home depot or lowes?


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## Dolphinpier (Aug 15, 2006)

Local store is fine, just make sure they are regular steel and get the thin fender washers. When you are done with the work put a little waterproof grease on the washers to prevent rust. Git-R-Dun


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