# Akios 656 vs. Avet MC (Level Wind or Not)?



## NightHawker (Jan 9, 2015)

Greetings Everyone:

I went to TackleDirect in Egg Harbor Twp. NJ this past weekend and came out with a good overview of their line of Avet conventional reels for the surf. Two reps spent an hour with me, reviewing my options. Having started my "fishing career" years ago with conventional rod and reel, I want to venture back into this realm. My budget for a new rod and reel is approximately $350.-$400.00. I believe I've narrowed my rod selection to the Tsunami AirWave 11'ft heavy action. My question: as much as the Avet MX looks and certainly feels like a quality bait caster, the price is a bit steep ($269.99). I am also weighing the option of purchasing an Akios 656 CTM or CSM, priced more reasonably at $159.99. Also, returning to conventional reels, how crucial is a level wind vs. non-level wind, and am I sacrificing lots of casting distance if I get a level wind? As always, any and all comments and suggestions are most welcome. Thanks !!!


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## Wkndfishlife (Oct 13, 2013)

I feel like the levelwind can slow down the cast and also cause you to get a shock knot hung up while casting. Some people have special knots that can slide through the level wind with ease, but you really need to be precise with the knot size. The plus side to a level wind is that it will always lay on the spool nice and even. A big plus if you are fighting a fish and you don't want to guide the line. I have had a little bit of experience with Avets and they are a decent reel. They don't have the mag/ brake adjustments like the Akios does. The Avet just has a mag switch with 5 different positions. I have an Avet MXL MC and it does pretty well. Holds a lot of 20 lb and fills nicely with 40 lb shock. I haven't messed with Akios, but I am looking for an Akios 757 CTM S-line in the near future.

Most people will take the reels out of the box and tune them up. New bearings, grease, brakes, etc. This is usually how some people get extra distance, but your form during a cast is really important. If you want some further guidance, Tommy Farmer has a Youtube page that has done some reviews on Akios reels. Also, he is on this site and can probably give you more info.


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## poloman (Nov 6, 2014)

Get the avet sx mc if you're ever gonna deal with fast runners. That and a bass pro shop 12' om xh won't let you down at all. You'll get good distance with the avet, and it has the guts to winch in big, strong fish. Get the sx mc secondhand and the OM new if you can.


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## poloman (Nov 6, 2014)

Or you can just get an om 12' XH and daiwa slosh 20 or 30. Run both red brakes with the reel; they're cheap, light and plenty strong...Us down south are partial to our daiwas for good reason.


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## Sandcrab (Mar 20, 2002)

I have the Daiwa Saltist and Grand Wave are great reels. For distance however, my Akios 656 SCM will smoke them both in the 2-4 oz range...

Sandcrabv


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## 1thofa87 (Jul 23, 2011)

I have avet sx reels that i use jigging for Amberjack and bottom fishing on party boats. But I was surprised how great casters they are! The only thing about them is that they don't have anywhere to thumb the spool on a cast. Not a dealbreaker because they cast so tame it really doesn't matter. Not to me at least. Even still, I still mainly use them for my boat setups. I prefer a star drag reel for fishing from shore. I don't have an Akios but they look great and I've never heard anybody complain about them.


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## penn97 (Jan 26, 2014)

if you go on ebay you can pick the avet for a little bit cheaper


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

The Akios 656 CTM and CSM are both great reels. The casting performance is top shelf and the reel handles big fish nicely, even large red drum. They hold about 300 yards of .35mm (15lb test) mono so line capacity should not be an issue.

You give up a little distance with the CSM so if distance is important to you and you don't mind laying down the line then the CTM may be the way to go. I will say that the CSM casts amazingly well and doesn't give up all that much to the CTM.

Tommy


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## SpeedRacer (Sep 5, 2010)

So if one decides to go with a CSM, why not use use a heavier braid and forgo the shock leader? Wouldn't that address the knot catching on the levelwind issue? 

Not sure how much distance you would give up using heavier braid. I guess the questions are.....
1. Use braid that is thinner than mono and/or stay within the same diameter as the mono one was planning on using
2. Use Braid is the same strength as the shock leader
3. The levelwind will lay the line down more clean (at least in my case) and how much will that make up for for the drag/resistance of the levelwind? I'm just asking. 

I use a CSM on one rod I use for certain areas where I need to reel the line is as fast as I can to avoid snags. I can't seem to reel that fast when trying to lay line down. I also use spinners there too for the same reason at those spots(sorry for going off topic). Now I'm not sure how much I'm losing in distance due to line size and or levelwind but I feel like I'm doing ok. 

I guess I should try switching reels on that rod and my heaver (which has a CTM) and see how it goes.

I hope that didn't sound like I was high jacking the thread.


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## bronzbck1 (Jun 13, 2007)

Easy Akios is the reel


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

You are comparing apples and watermelons here. The 2 reels are not even in the same class..


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## BigWillJ (Jan 21, 2001)

AbuMike said:


> You are comparing apples and watermelons here. The 2 reels are not even in the same class..


Kudos for that profound statement Mike......but which do you prefer, the apples or watermelons?


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## 9 rock (Nov 30, 2008)

1thofa87 said:


> I have avet sx reels that i use jigging for Amberjack and bottom fishing on party boats. But I was surprised how great casters they are! The only thing about them is that they don't have anywhere to thumb the spool on a cast. Not a dealbreaker because they cast so tame it really doesn't matter. Not to me at least. Even still, I still mainly use them for my boat setups. I prefer a star drag reel for fishing from shore. I don't have an Akios but they look great and I've never heard anybody complain about them.


I love my sx and have used it for everything from trolling to surf fishing it's super fast casting so I can't hit it like I can my saltist but in cranking ability it blows them all away , in fact I caught my biggest drum 50 in monster with it at the point ,, , this after I had it spooled at the Red Drum ,, they put 20lb on my saltist and 14 lb on the avet , and told me it was a nice pup reel , I looked at the guy and laughed and said ya ok ,, the next day I went in with pics and said glad I had a good pup reel to catch this on 

1


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