New Toy

[slinkymalinky]

It's been a while since I posted about something new in my tackle cupboard... not because I haven't been indulging my addiction... just lazy I guess.

Well here's my latest toy...

True to my recently developed opinion that ABU's engineering is undervalued, I picked up a Soron STX20 for what IMHO is about half what an equivalent level Daiwa or Shimano sells for. I'm in love with this reel already... carbon drag out of the box (although I gave the washers a coat of Cal's drag grease out of habit)... smooth as butter... and totally bulletproof.

It's got an interesting spare 'braid' spool, with a couple of silicone o-rings that eliminate the need to muck around with mono backing. I loaded this with 10lb for Jacks and estuary work and the deeper spool with about 250m of 12lb for snapper fishing (can't wait... the season's almost upon us up here)

It's a little heavier than the 2500 Stradic it's going to replace as my main Jack weapon... but oh, so sweet.

So now, after being a die-hard Shimano/Daiwa loyalist for a lot of years, my absolute favourite outfit bar-none is a Lox rod with an ABU reel... go figure.

Cheers, Slinky

[autocad]

looks like a top notch reel slinky. i hope it brings you many jacks. i might go down to my local tackle shop and have a look around as well for one of these. The old exceller 2500 is getting on a bit and will need to upgrade soon.

cheers autocad

[Hodgey]

oooh yeah ... very nice What a shame the handle is on the wrong side

This is the next reel on my 'must purchase' list, after my Abu Inshore

[slinkymalinky]

This is the next reel on my 'must purchase' list, after my Abu Inshore

Yep... I bought one of those too... it was awesome at Monduran. Cast's like a dream and holds a heap of line for a compact reel. It'll be coming out to Fido's with me very soon too.

Cheers, Slinky

[arpie]

You're naughty, Tony!! I thought you'd sworn off spending on fishing gear ..... for a while, at least!!

Very nice looking reel - those O Rings sound interesting!!! Let us know when you have blooded it! The Jacks will be quaking in their boots!!

Cheerio

Roberta

[bassboy888]

that is a niiiiice reel there, i have always wondered how the abu reels compare to the diawa and shimano reels.

[woodch0p]

Hey slinky, I'm still searching for a reel to go with my lox rod 7'6 1-3kg. Was wondering which lox you have withthe stx20

Daniel

[ssymmetri]

very nice!

so compared to an 'equivalent' shimano or daiwa it's just as nice to use?

any noticeable differences besides the weight?

i was tossing up between the abu soron stx or a shimano or daiwa a while back,

ended up gettin a nicely priced second hand luvias

[slinkymalinky]

Hey slinky, I'm still searching for a reel to go with my lox rod 7'6 1-3kg. Was wondering which lox you have withthe stx20

Daniel

sorry it took me a while to reply to this, Daniel. The rod I use with the Abu is their 2-5kg stick. It's not a light estuary stick... it's really designed as a light snapper plastics rod. It's an amazing taper and my favourite rod... it has a really light tip so can be used for flicking small plastics but has so much grunt in the but it will also throw big plastics on heavy offshore heads. Jewhunter has seen it in action and it's almost like using a light flick stick when casting and then having a big gun when hooked up. I'm going to get a couple more Lox rods very soon.

The STX20 is too heavy for a 1-3kg rod but there is and STX10. I haven't had a look at one yet but consider the weight carefully... while they're amazing value reels, I wouldn't want to kill the featherweight feel of a light Lox. A physically lighter reel might feel nicer... personal preference though.

Cheers, Slinky

[slinkymalinky]

very nice!

so compared to an 'equivalent' shimano or daiwa it's just as nice to use?

any noticeable differences besides the weight?

i was tossing up between the abu soron stx or a shimano or daiwa a while back,

ended up gettin a nicely priced second hand luvias

Very different to the Luvias... I have a 2000 and it's my favourite bream/flattie reel... like a feather.

There are no real differences in performance that I've noticed except that the Soron's drag out of the box is way superior to my Stradics and Sols (which have been given after-market carbon drags now of course). The noticeably heavier weight makes them feel very different to fish with though. I wouldn't consider the Soron as a light estuary reel... more of an ultra-light blue water reel for small pelagics or an estuary giant killer for fish like Jacks, trevally, Kings and so-on.

I'm someone who believes that there is no such thing as the 'best' outfit. While I have a favourite/favourites it all depends on what sort of fishing I'm doing. Would I get another one over a Shimano or Daiwa... absolutely, for the right sort of fishing. If I can get my hands on an STX10 I might get one for light estuary fishing if the weight is a lot less than the 20.

Cheers, Slinky